Blog Friends...Now Real Life Friends!

Last Saturday, Ryan and I got up SO EARLY, because he planned to barefoot on the lake before the water got choppy from other boats, but his skiing partner called off the trip at the last minute, so we went down to the edge of the water to enjoy the stillness of the morning with our coffee.

I was every bit as cranky as I look in this picture. In fact, when I took it, I said to Ryan, "Let's go ahead and take a picture of a moment neither of us really wants to remember for life. LOL! I was cranky from lack of sleep, cranky from the canceled boat ride, cranky because we couldn't find the key to the family boat for us to sneak out for a quick private boat ride while everyone else was still asleep, and cranky most of all because the ladies on the deck at the cottage two doors down had a LOT to say and their voices carried more than my decaffeinated mind could handle. I finally had to go inside. No point in sitting by the stillness of the water when it's not still! HA!

Eventually I perked up, and it was good, because we had a fun day planned! My friend Natasha, who became my friend because of this blog, was on a road trip with her family, and they just happened to be driving through the lake area that day! We made plans leading up to our trip to meet together, and it was the highlight of our day!

Natasha, Dave, and their kids, Sam and Rachel, were real-life delights just as they are blog-friend delights!

GROUP PHOTO!!!!

It worked out that the weather held AND the boat was available between tubing trips so we could take them out on a boat ride! It was a fun way to start our time together:

When we were done with the boat, we came home and went out to eat together at a little pancake house in town...and then we took a walk through town. There was a festival that weekend, so there were little booths and vendors that were fun to visit.

And then...because it only seemed good and right and appropriate, we went to the coffee shop together to talk, enjoy air conditioning, and let the kids color and play games for a while.

And then we had to say goodbye. :( But what a fun time we had together while we had time!

Back at the cottage, everyone was hanging out on the deck and in the boat, so we got some cute pictures. {Bet you can't guess which one was Ryan's idea!}

We got to see the ski show this year, and thanks to my zoom lens, I got some fun shots of that!

We had ribs for dinner that night and it was fun to sit around watching the kids play before bed!

A Day on the Water

Double the lake love today: we've got podcast AND blog stories about our fun this weekend! Check it out!

Click here to listen

Last Friday was such a treat. To have Ryan with me all day and to be on the water {which was NOT as stormy as they predicted} was a joy!

We got up early and went down by the water to drink our coffee and just enjoy the view.

So beautiful and so peaceful and quiet beside the water. {And there was KIND of a sunrise, so that was a bonus!}

Ryan's brother and a couple of the kids came out for a morning boat ride, and we tagged along. It was a great ride - no choppy waters then! Donuts and coffee on the boat cannot be a bad way to start the day.

And then we just enjoyed the day. Long walks, some naps, reading, playing, enjoying the goodness of the day.

 Even though it was mostly cloudy all day, Ryan took me on a boat ride, and we went on a walk that landed us at the coffee house. {Imagine that!!}

It did get nice enough that afternoon to go tubing. {And by that, I mean Ryan went out in the tube and I stayed in the boat to take pictures.}

{This is Jenna giving the thumbs down for her dad to slow the boat down, and Ryan giving the thumbs up for him to speed up.}

It got a little rainy later that afternoon, so Ryan and I went shopping for a gift for my friend Natasha, because I was planning to meet up with her the next day!

By that evening, Ryan's entire family was there. That is a lot of family! Lots of cousins and their friends everywhere!

The evening ended with some edgy nerves...we started seeing emergency vehicle lights everywhere and learned they were investigating a possible drowning on the lake. After several hours, they called off the search, because the investigation began with a report of someone seeing a person in distress in the water, but they had been unable to locate anyone, and no one had been reported missing. I never heard that anything ever became of it, but it's still a little unnerving to watch!

A long day, and a busy day, but definitely a great day! {Even more so after we concluded everyone was safe!}

Lake Love!

How in THE WORLD is it August already? This is the month when I just hang onto my hat and run, because it is SO FULL. So much beauty and wonder crammed into one tiny month.

This past weekend kicked off the full and busy, with a trip to the lake to see Ryan's family! Thought I would show you, over the next couple of days, some of the fun we had!

We headed up to the lake Thursday night, and of course the first raindrops hit our car literally the moment we drove past the city limits sign. LOL! It was supposed to be pretty stormy and nasty all weekend, but we were so fortunate and there was very little rain throughout the weekend.

We had hurried so fast to get there in time for the sunset boat ride, but the rain meant no sunset to see, and the water was a little choppy, so they canceled the sunset ride. Ryan and I went for a walk instead, and it was actually perfect walking weather!

 Rain or no rain, we love the lake.

We played with the kids for a bit before they went to bed.

{Sorry for the blur, but this one cracked me up. He was trying to land the floatie ring on the baby, and that little guy thought it was the funniest game EVER.}

Family game of Uno. It was my first time to play Uno since I was a kid, so I didn't remember how to play.

Winning team.

NOT the winning team. HA!!

And Ryan got to pose for some artwork. LOL.

It was a great start to a weekend by the water. :)