Summer Fun at the Lake

My goal this summer was to spend the entire month of July at the lake - which, surprisingly proved to be more of a challenge than I'd anticipated. It wasn't for lack of interest in staying at the cabin -- summer is, after all, one of the most wonderful times of the year there -- but real life in the Twin Cities threatened to call us back home on more than one occasion. I tried my best to 'just say no' to unnecessary scheduling - playdates (as much as I do love spending time with friends), extra-curricular activities, summer kids concerts, family birthday parties, farmer's markets, dinner with the neighbors - you name it.

My focus on spending time at the lake with the kids was worth it though. When I think back to the summer we've had together, I'm filled with memories of Tory and Aden swimming in the lake, going for jet-ski rides and fishing from the dock from sun up to sun down.

Fishing is one of the things I'll remember most about this summer. The kids fell in love with the sport and have become quite the little fishermen (for their ages, at least). Tory learned to bait her own hook with "crappie nibblers" this summer, gained the courage to reach into a bucket of minnows and perfected the art of casting her own rod.

Aden developed a love for fishing as well. I told Andi the other day - I don't want to call it too early, but we may have a future pro-fisherman on our hands! Aden will contently fish from the end of the dock for hours. We started him with a dummy practice weight on the end of his line at the beginning of the summer (because trusting a two-year-old with a real hook - yikes!) but he quickly caught onto our plan. These days, Aden is fishing with a real hook and reeling in one fish after another on his own. Word of warning to anyone standing near him though - watch out! Sometimes his hook goes a' flying.

Andi bought us a new jet-ski this summer, and it's proved to be one of our favorite things to do at the lake. It's easy for me to take the kids for a spin around the lake, and a few times we've driven it over to play at one of the swimming beaches on the lake for a change of scenery.

Andi also bought a tube that's perfect for the kids to ride. It has two seats that sit down low so they're fairly protected from bouncing around while being pulled behind the jet-ski. And, of course, Andi takes great care while driving to make sure the kids are safe and secure. The first time we took it out, I hopped on the back of the jet-ski as the spotter and we were half-way around the lake before I realized my two-year-old baby boy was riding behind us on his very first tube ride! Aden did great though - actually, both kids do - and it's easily one of our favorite things to do at the lake this summer.

I know there's a few more weekends of summer left, but I'm already dreading the end of my favorite cabin season. We've had so many fun memories this summer and I'm thankful for all the 'extra' time we were able to spend at the lake.