Better LAKE than never...

Well its been a month now since we had our 'stay'cation and the only piece I documented was how Kaden took right to the water & jumped in without fear.

But that wasn't the only fun we had while we were away taking a break from all the day to day hustle and bustle.

Most mornings we woke up, had breakfast on the deck and then headed straight to the water for a little morning swim. The boys (Justin and Kaden) took turns jumping off the dock as Logan and I chilled in the water. Justin and I had one goal--wear the boys OUT so they would NAP well. Most days it worked. A few days Kaden got to stay up with Justin and I while Logan took a nap, he thought he was pretty special & he was right.

On the days that both boys went down soundly, Justin and I were able to sit down by the water and relax with a drink in hand. It was so nice having that time together where we didn't have to do anything. Far too often when we are home we get caught up cleaning out the pantry, hanging curtains, doing laundry, editing pictures that we don't take the time for ourselves. This was a great reminder that as a mom and dad, we still need that time to be husband and wife.

After naps we usually would head right back down to the water but this time we did more boating than swimming. We weren't sure how the boys would do on the boat but after the first few minutes of being a little freaked out they both settled in and were ready to take over the captain's chair. & as many times as I have been on this boat, I haven't driven it once--but I can't say the same for our boys. Justin happily slid over to let the boys take over and navigate us back home. Mind you there wasn't a boat in site, Justin was still right there & we were pretty much idling. And although the boys weren't able to push the throttle they had the biggest smiles on their faces.

& then there were the random things we did. We went shopping at the outlets. Twice--had to go back for more of the same things we found on the first the day. We went and played miniature golf at Sugar Creek which just happens to be the one that Justin and I would go to all the time when we were sans kids. I loved getting to take the boys to not only the places that I have been enjoying for the last 10 years or so but to all the places that Justin has been enjoying since he was a little boy.

I'll admit, I didn't quite get why Justin wanted to be at the lake so badly--we had a neighborhood pool. We had our own beds, a bigger space, central air, & all the kids' toys. Why would we need to go 2 hours away to do the same thing we could do here?

Well, now I get it. Its about making memories. Its about telling your family stories. Its about showing OUR kids everything he loved about his childhood & watching OUR kids relive those moments. & I'll be honest again, I won't let another summer go by without doing this again. It was just perfect.