We had a great time spending 4th of July at the lakehouse this summer. For the past two summers we have been in Chengdu and you just can't get that American holiday spirit in China. With doctors appointments behind us, we headed out for a whole week at the lakehouse. That's something Joe and I have been looking forward to since we got the place. It was also more special having the boat there.
We spent a couple of days getting things ready for family that we would be having over the weekend. We finally got some patio furniture and chairs for the decks and boat dock. I even tackled mowing the lot. It took me about two hours with a push mower! Good thing I started at 7:30 in the morning because it was HOT! It's beginning to look like the place is actually occupied now.
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| Raising the flags |
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| Every morning |
On Thursday, Kelli and Pam came down a little early. We spent the day doing some shopping for the house and enjoying the lake. Joe took Kelli out and showed her how to drive the boat. She even got Joe up on the slalom ski. It was so relaxing getting out on the water before the rush of the holiday weekend.
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| Kelli driving the boat |
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| Pammie! |
On Friday, Doug, Paul, Candice and Talon came down. We had a great time on Friday night just spending family time together. It was a trip watching Doug, Kelli, Paul and Joe playing a crazy game (name censored). Paul and Joe are so competitive and it was hilarious watching them trying to one-up each other.
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| Doug and Teener just chillin' |
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| Our family and their CRAZY games! |
Saturday brought the rest of the family and some dear friends. We had Jay and Ashley, my Mom and Dad, Doug's grandmother, Ashley's parents, Jay's friend, Justin and my nephew, Wade with his family, Sarah and the boys, Clayton, Drew and baby Owen. In addition, we had Toodles, Riley, Nelson and Teener, the family dogs. With everyone there, it was fast becoming the place Joe and I dreamed of having when we bought the place. Our dream was to have a place where family and friends could come and relax and enjoy the lake. We had a fun-filled day out in the water, on the boat and riding the tubes, wake board and knee board. We grilled and topped off the day with cakes and pies, homemade ice cream, watermelon and watched the fireworks over the lake from the upper deck.
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| Papa Joe and Talon on the boat | | | |
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| Jay, Justin and Ashley |
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| Drew, Talon, Clayton |
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| Mom and Dad |
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| Just a catnap. The lake can wear you out! |
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| Drew, Clayton and Talon on the boat |
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| Sy and Jay |
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| Nana |
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| Nelson |
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| This is the life! |
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| Homemade ice cream! |
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| Fireworks | |
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| Cousins - a couple of times removed! |
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| Baby Owen |
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| Watching fireworks |
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| Jay and Nelson |
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| Watermelon, yum! |
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By the end of the day many had gone home but the best part of the day was my whole family under one roof for the night. It's been a long time since we have all spent the night in one place and it was such a joy to have us all together!
Tomorrow - we get ready for another wave of guests! It's GREAT to be home!
Love to all!
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