I forgot some pictures...

Oops! I forgot a whole day at the lake after my post. So, if you just go here. Read the next post first and then come back. Family photo on the dock.

Here are few moments we would like Kate and Jack to remember. Sharing their seat at breakfast. They do have those super nice moments at times.

Smiling for the camera on the jet ski. Thanks kids.

Gosh they appear to be sweet. Don't let this fool you. I only post the pictures they cooperate in.

Warming up after a big dip.

Kate and Jack got kick boards for a gift. They used them as knee boards and kept pulling each other saying, "hit it!"

Cute baby... farmer tan dad.

Playing in the sand.

Water balloons at the beach.

A week at the lake, oh my...

We just spent a great week last week at the lake. Warning this post is very, very long. You may need to get a snack if you want to make it through the entire thing. We picked up Chere Saturday morning, packed the car and hit the road. Kate, Chere and Bryn sat in the middle and Jack was squeezed into the back. I have to say, I am surprised someone did not have to stay home.

This picture is not nice, not nice at all. But it just shows how packed we were in the car. Jack was cozy!

Bryn loving her ride to the lake. Unfortunately, she has a tendency to know when there is about 25 minutes left on any long trip and gives us a piece of her mind.

We made it to the cabin and the kids were very excited that this year they were sleeping on bunk beds (well not Bryn- she slept in the pack n play).

First night snap shot.

I am not sure if I am trying to hold Bryn's feet from falling or what, but here is a little family photo.

Jack and Kate jumped in right away when we got there. It was a little chilly because it just finished raining.

Ah, breakfast. The kids slept in almost everyday. The brushed their teeth (almost everyday) and jumped in the water. What a great week.

Gotta love the boy.

A little blurry, but fun to see our adventurous (and cautious) Kate jumping off the dock.

Kate's getting very big. We decided this is our 8th year of our annual trip. She was just a little baby when we went for the first time.

Chere won the ultimate form contest when jumping off the deck (Chere this is for posting my picture on Facebook...)

A little relaxing.

Bryn really did do a great job napping, sleeping and playing on the beach. She had a rough night on the last night. We were certain she would not return to her regular self when we went home. I think she is half way back.

The cinnabon... fun!

Much time was spent on the jet ski. Skiing, tubing and knee boarding was a great time. Even when I swallowed half the lake and lost hearing in my left ear. This year it was not even Krista who dumped me.

Paddle boating was a favorite of Jack's. This year he was big enough to sit on the back on his own. Thanks for the ride grandma!

So Kate decided she was going to try skiing this year. Trying is the optimal word here. Once she got her skis on and felt a little tug on the rope she was a little scared. Maybe next year!

Busy girl.

Determined riders. Kate and Jack convinced grandma and grandpa for several rides around the lake.

Jack was also big enough this year to go tubing on his own. He was very excited.

This is my attempt at a new profile picture for Ann's Facebook page. And my neck is quite thick here, so maybe it looks like I worked out the whole week at the lake....ha!

We had a great week at lake. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for the hospitality!

Ok, second night of blogging...the pictures are all messed up. Not even backwards, just messed up! So, we start with the end of the night...MOVIE NIGHT! They are watching Toy Story 2 (with Jessie, of course). I wanted to watch Toy Story 1, but that didn't have Jessie in it, so we compromised:)

Earlier in the day the kids did some sprinkler fun, this is an action shot!

Bryn attempted to watch them for a while, but it was MISERABLE if you were not in the water.

Before Kate went out for sprinklers she sat inside with Bryn. Every time I came in to check on them Bryn was giggling...while Kate ignored her and played with her princesses. Hey, at least everyone was happy.

The next few shots are Jack taking in the sprinklers. These three really are backwards. Here is the end result of his work...a drink from the water can.

After he gave the grass a drink first, or course.

This is how he got the water to start out with:)

Action shot of Kate and Jack "taking a shower".

Good night Daddy! Do you remember when these pj's fit Kate? She was a year old...let's say they were washed a few times...not that I am getting that big:)

Oh, these were just a few shots to show you that the yard is not totally falling apart while you are gone:)

One more action shot for the road.

Miss you Dad!

Ok, here is my attempt at blogging. Mike is out of town for the week so I am in charge of the blog so he can see what we are up to. I had to work all weekend so the first day was a quiet one. This is the only photo I was coherent enough to take on Monday:)

Kate and Jack wanted a fire tonight, but my fire starting abilities are limited. I made a small attempt...without success...so Kate roasted her giant marshmallows on the electric stove. It worked quite well I would say.

We are also camping on the deck tonight. How do you get a tent to stay up on a deck instead of grass you ask? Duct tape!!! Deb's idea, but it worked like a charm. I'll let you tomorrow how the night went. As you can see, the couch cushions are going to be our "air mattresses" tonight.

Kate and Bryn are testing out the tent before it gets dark. We might fall through the cracks, should be interesting.

We went to the beach this afternoon when Bryn got up from her nap. It was SO windy...almost like Ottertail. Bryn was NOT happy for the first half of our stay. I tried to get a picture of all three, but you can see Bryn was not excited to be there.

Despite the wind, the kids were their usual fishy selves. Here is Jack doing a little alligatorin'.

Here is one of the happy moments that Bryn had. We only lasted under the umbrella a few minutes before she got mad, then it blew away anyway. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the shade on a picnic table.

Here is an action shot of Kate jumping in the water and going under.