I love everything about the lake.  It seems like the only place in the world where drinking Mountain Dew and eating Golden Oreos for more than 3-hours straight is not only normal, but expected.  I love how warm the water is.  I love watching Ross and Rayna jumping into the water… climbing back into the boat… jumping back out… climbing back in.  (Repeat as many times as possible each time to boat stops.)
Should I give a disclaimer for this next picture? Yeah, that’s probably a good idea…  
By the age of 3, Matthew was on his dad’s shoulders skiing with him.  By the age of 5, Matthew was skiing alone.  He’s been slalom skiing (only one ski) since he was 8 years old.  Ross is also a natural in the water.  (Thanks to Cindy with Infant Swimming Resource, Ross has been swimming *without floaties*  since he was only a year old.) 

It seemed only natural that Matthew would get Ross out there with him the first chance he got.  The smile on Ross’ face said it all.  He LOVED it!   He had been watching Matthew jump the wake earlier in the day.  While skiing together, Matthew asked, “Ross- Are you having fun?”  Ross’ reply was, “Yeah, but when we gonna’ jump?”   

I remember sitting at Ryan’s Steakhouse one night when I was really young and telling my dad I wanted a pet pig.  The next day, I had the pinkest, cutest potbelly pig you’ve ever seen.  Within a few years, other family pets included: a skunk (deglanned, of course), a goat, squirrels, 3 English Mastiffs and, our personal favorite, ‘Rocky’ the raccoon.  My dad has always done whatever he could to make us happy.    

Although I’m sure he’d love to tube and ski at times, he’s always been the official boat driver.  Since this has been the memory of my dad at the lake for as long as I can remember, I thought I’d just take a picture of him just simply driving the boat.  Although he’s happy driving the rest of us, he’ll occasionally offer up some advice.  You may not be able to hear it through this picture, but he just told Matthew for the sixth time, “You can do what you want, but I wouldn’t be diving that deep without a life jacket on.”    

That’s my dad.  Quirky and fun, yet very cautious.  This is the same man who recently taught himself how to ride a unicycle, but decided he should wear a helmet when he rides it.  If you know him, you’ve gotta’ love him.        

I was about to put my camera away when I noticed Matthew and Rayna together up front.  As Rayna silently looked out at the lake in front of her, Matthew was gently rubbing that little, tiny foot that had found itself resting on his knee.  I’m a sucker for those sweet, tender and real moments.   

Our day was almost over.  The sun had just began to set.  The most beautiful, golden glow was reflecting off the water all around us.   
I was sitting beside Matthew with the warm wind blowing in my face. 
As if it could get any better, I had the sweetest little girl sitting in my lap with her head heavily resting on my shoulder. 
I’m so glad Matthew got a picture of us together before our day was over.     

Just for the record, we did have the perfect ending to our day at the lake: 
Patty melt plate, hashbrowns scattered, extra pickles. 
In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, I’ll be more clear…  Waffle House!     

Rayna ended up in bed between us early in the night.  In addition to her sleeping side-ways, every hour or so she would either lose her ‘Baby’ or try to wake Matthew up to play.

Just a few hours later, Ross woke-up crying because all the ice was melted in the water beside his bed.  When he came into our room, devastated about the loss of his ice, he spotted Rayna.  
At 3pm, I guess Ross didn’t consider our Queen-sized bed not being big enough for 2 adults, a side-ways sleeper and himself.  
Time to make room for one more person.

After the third time of me almost falling out of bed, in the wee hours of the morning, I relocated myself and Rayna to the guest room downstairs.

Sleepless nights… tossing and turning… babies crying…
It’s all worth it to wake-up to this…  

Matthew and I were REALLY excited about taking Ross to his FIRST baseball game… 

We were so excited, in fact, we arrived over an hour early. 

NOTE TO SELF:  If you’re taking a 3-year old to a baseball game (OUTDOORS) (IN JULY), don’t arrive over an hour early if you want to stay for more than one inning.

The first 20 minutes were great.  Ross jumped on the giant Spiderman….

I handed the camera to Matthew where Ross and I could get some pictures together…

We were there for just enough time to get on the big screen! 

We had been in our seats about 20 minutes when Ross told Matthew, “I’m ready to go.  I’m tired.  See…”  (as he opens his mouth as much as possible and attempts to make a yawning-sound)

Oh well. 
We went (kind-of). 
We ate peanuts and ice cream. 
I officially marked ‘Take Ross to a baseball game’ off my list. 

More than anything, Matthew and I got to spend some much-needed one-on-one time with Ross.  That in itself was worth a $3.50 Coke!