It was Uncle Adam's idea to go to a lake during Labor Day weekend. My parents said Ok as long as you do the research. So Adam found the place and we all showed up for Labor Day Laker Fun!
This is the only picture you can see our house in the background. It doesn't look big but it held all 15 of us!
The first day we got there was a little chilly.
Can you tell from all the sweatshirts?
But Tommy didn't care!
The next morning the boys went for a bike ride.
While the girls and Grandpa and Tommy went for a boat ride. Our ride was much more fun according to Adam. Heehee!
Charlotte was just happy to drive the boat with Grandpa. You can tell how happy she is but how many of her bottom teeth you can see. :)
We came back to pick up the boys and make some sandwiches for the boat. Charlotte was excited to make her own sandwich for once. Mmm cheezit sandwiches!
Time to head out on the water again! Uncle Adam was ready!
Sandbar time! Hey look that's me! I made it into a picture or two! :)
We met up with one of Adam's friends and his family and their little boy joined us on the tube.
Tommy and Dada decided to take the tube for an actual ride at some point during the day. He loved it! He was smart to wear those goggles.
Charlotte was by Emily's side the entire weekend I think. :)
Look at Charlotte's face. She looks like she's actually riding the tube around. Turns out, she's just floating gently in the water. Ha!
The house had a beautiful deck where we spent most of our time.
Photo crew goes to Emily for this one. So cute.
Not sure who took this one but I love it. Isabel looks to the future of boating.
Uncle Adam grabbed some GoPro Shots that turned out pretty great as always.
Charlotte took a good one too! ;)
This one is especially cute. #topknot
Our last night at the house, Brandon got out the karaoke machine. Many of us sang a tune from Andrew's iPhone. The kids' greatest hit was "HandClap" by Fitz and the Tantrums. I was involved in that performance and we had the whole crowd going. It was so much fun that no one got a video! Boo!! :( But it was definitely awesome. Charlotte was a dancing machine!
At 10 pm, it was sound DOWN. No more karaoke. The kids had to go to bed and everything fell silent. All except for the game of spoons in the kitchen. I didn't play this time. It seemed VERY intense so I'm kind of glad I sat this one out. I don't think there was any blood or biting so that's a plus.
Awwww someone wrote Lake Keiper on the steps. Cute!
Awwww, someone decided to cross it out and write Thornburg instead. I wonder who that was... ;)
We picked up some sweet shirts for the whole family while we were in town.
The weekend getaway was a super success. So much so that Charlotte crawled into my lap at 4:30 pm on Monday and fell asleep. It was a big exciting and tiresome weekend. Definitely a win! Can't wait to do it again!
The weekend before my birthday, we planned a trip to go out on Lake Wawasee. We packed up Friday morning and headed out.
The kids decided they wanted to dress themselves that day. Charlotte chose to turn my High School State Champs t-shirt into a dress. Nice work, Char! Project Runway, here you come!
Tommy decided to don his Captain America costume. Yep, we took him to lunch at Sonic wearing that. He was a big hit!
We arrived in Syracuse and hit the beach. This is the best little beach and they have paddleboards and kayaks available for anyone staying there to use.
We had both kids out on the boards/kayaks. They loved it.
Don't fall!
Tommy made some sand angels. He was a sandy mess!
We got the boat in the water and took it to the Channel Marker for dinner. Late night boat cruises are the best. Oh wait, I forgot about the bugs. Blech. But other than that, they are great. :)
The next morning, this was my lake view. Hello, cutie! Hello, lake!
My parents, Adam, and Emily took the boat out early in the morning for smooth wakeboarding water. We joined them later. My boat selfies are not on point. ;-)
Charlotte took a turn driving.
Tommy floated on the tube at the sandbar.
So did Grandma and Charlotte. Sun queens!
Tommy rode behind the boat on the tube.
He hated it. Andrew loved it! Just kidding. He was just glad it was over.
However, it was not over. Adam and Andrew rode the tube all the way back to the hotel. Boy, was he sore!
Not quite the spring chicken he used to be. :)
Charlotte was ready for a boat break at that point so she went up to the room with Tommy, Gaga, and Pop, and they had naptime.
We continued boating and saw a dude on a water jet pack or aqua flyer or whatever it might be called. For a cool $100 grand, you can do this too!!
Instead we surfed behind the boat and drank beer. I also surfed but I don't have any pictures. Waaahh waaahhh. :)
Here's a video of Uncle Adam's beer roll that Andrew caught on camera.
Later that night, we went to the bar and I somehow ended up with this picture on my phone the next day. In fact, there were about 20 of them. Thanks, guys! ;)
On Monday, after we got back, it was officially my birthday. I got to hit up my favorite places, Target, the mall, 9 Irish Brothers and Red Lobster. At Red Lobster, we took selfies.
I had to get a pic of the boys too!
Then it was time for a mom/kids selfie. Looks about right...
Nope, that's more like it!
Even my car wished me happy birthday!
It was a wonderful birthday weekend. Lots of fun and celebration!
