Vacation Part 1

Life has been crazy lately. A very good crazy, but crazy none the less. The kids and I went to the lake for just over a week, then as soon as I got home, I left for Chicago two days later. It hasn't left much time for the blog, but I definitely want to share pictures from our vacation. There are a lot of pictures so I'll be breaking it into two posts. 
On Tuesday morning my sister and nephew arrived from San Francisco. We helped pack a few things and then we all headed to the lake. That same day my aunt along with H and B's second cousin came up to the lake as well. All four kids had a blast playing with trains, visiting the park, and of course swimming. Well maybe not so much swimming for H and B. The water was a wee bit chillier than they would have liked. We also had a brief visit from my uncle and his wife.

Harry and Elise. He LOVES her.

Wednesday involved boat rides, more trains and swimming, and our first time flying a kite. It also involved severely over tired kids thanks to a failure to nap on Tuesday and a poor nights' sleep. Rob drove up for the day, so we got to enjoy a little time with daddy too.

This is what no nap and only 8 hours of sleep looks like.

My other sister and her husband arrived from Tennessee late Wednesday night, so we had more company on Thursday. We made a trip up to the root beer stand where H and B got to try their first corn dogs and their first banana split. The sun came out just long enough for us to walk down and come back.

New dress up gear.

Friday morning my brother from Colorado arrived, and the cottage really started to get cramped. We had a few friends that came up for the day as well. There was tons of food, drinks, sunshine, and booze. We swam, went to the fish fry, and watched fireworks. H and B hadn't seen fireworks before this year, so it was a new and exciting experience for them. We picked up a few sparklers and small 

fountains, but the main event was on the lake. 

UD!

Finally a warm sunny day! A drink and tanning during naps.

It's been years since I've spent the night at the lake on the 4th. Nothing is better than fireworks on the lake. Seeing the reflection of the fireworks in the water. Listening to the boat horns honk when they see fireworks they like. Breathing in the fresh lake air as you sit on the pier and take it all in. It's perfect. Seeing H and B love it all too was amazing. Friday night was one of my favorite nights ever with them. It was beyond perfect to see the looks on their faces and hear them yell the colors of all the fireworks as they lit up the sky. I hope they love every 4th of July as much as they loved this one.

iPhone pics do little to capture the gloriousness of it all.

As the fireworks on the lake died down, we did some sparklers and lit off a few fireworks from our personal stash. At 11pm, two hours past bedtime, we finally called it a night. The kids were definitely worn out, and they passed out within 2 minutes of laying their heads down. I went back out to watch more fireworks and have a night cap. When I went to bed around 12:30am there were still a few people lighting off fireworks across the lake. They party too hard for me.

Town festivities and the rest of part two coming on Wednesday!