Houghton Lake - Part 1

Back in April, a solid month into the Global Pandemic, Steve and I threw caution to the wind and opted to book a cabin up north, on Houghton Lake, for the last week in July.  It would be our first week-long camping trip with our family and we knew that if things eased up a little bit, we would all welcome the change in scenery.  It would give us something to look forward to and a chance to take our boat up with us too.  Steve stayed in the same location many times when he was growing up and his dad even made a trip up to visit us one of the days that we were there.

We loaded up on Saturday morning, knowing that we would not be able to check in until mid-afternoon.  The kids were an incredible help as we unloaded the truck in record-time and I suspect that it *might* have something to do with the fact that they were anxious to slip into their bathing suits and try out the paddle boards that were available for them to use right off the shoreline.

While Jimmy wasn't able to use the paddle boards, he immediately spied this (almost-antique) hot metal slide that he ended up spending quite some time on during our visit.

The dock was longer than any that the kids had ever seen before and it made a nice place to sit, watch for fish ... or run down at warp-speed whenever my back was turned.

Jack was a natural on the board and the setting sun made for some gorgeous views for me up on the swing while I kept an eye on my swimmers.

One morning, we woke to a lot of rain -- and a lot of puddles -- but it cleared out before too long.

And it wasn't long before the kids found bikes there that they could ride around the circle driveway.

There was even a tractor for Jimmy to ride -- even if it was a tad squeaky!

These two.  They are inseparable most of the time.

Sam thought ahead and packed her rollerblades, and while the driveway wasn't the smoothest ever, she still put in a few miles doing laps over the course of the week.

This is a sign that you have had a long day and are fighting your usual afternoon nap.  (Actually, Jimmy ended up taking some of the best naps out on the boat in the middle of the lake).

Another fun feature for the kids (and for me!) was the shuffleboards.  Obviously, they had never played before ... and it had been YEARS since I had played ... but they took to it rather quickly and we would find ourselves playing a few times a day while we were there.  

In fact, we came home trying to figure out a way to put a pair of shuffleboards in down at our neighborhood park.

The competition was fierce!

Jack brought some of his fishing gear and sometimes he would fish off the dock and other times, Steve and him would take the boat out.

He has really taken an interest in fishing lately and I hope that that hobby lasts him a lifetime.

He's hard-wired to always be 'on the go' and his idea of relaxation is doing doing physical labor.  Fishing has opened a new side of him that helps to balance his adrenaline-infused demeanor.

My fair-haired child managed to catch both some rays of sun and a frog.

There was a patch of cat-tails across the street and we ventured over there one day so that the kids could pick a few.  We have cat-tails on our lake at home, but this area was thick with them, all within walking distance.

Later, Sam turned them into both a woven basket and a mat.  

The frog continued to stay in the same place for quite some time, so the Jack got a chance to hold it too.  And no, we did not bring it home.  Ha!

4th of July - 2020

As we continue to muddle through the Year of Coronavirus, we kept our plans for the holiday simple.  We headed down to the park for the annual celebration, with sanitizer in hand, knowing that the activities would be more muted than in the past.  We social-distanced, while being more conscious than ever of what we touched and what food we consumed.  Steve opted out of the Cornhole tournament and the kids stuck together in their close-knit group to build sandcastles and run around in the sun.  It felt nice to be around more people and we were thankful for the beautiful weather.

Each year, we bring our patriotic colors ... and I love it!

Bikes decorated and ready to join in the parade.

Blue shirts just emphasize those beautiful blue eyes of his!

My hibiscus plant is really starting to take off and in no time, it will be at least another 18" taller.  The same can nearly be said about this girl.  She continues to be in the 80th percentile for height.

The same goes for Samantha.  Those legs.

These two have the most special bond.  Maybe it is because they are my two blue-eyed babies.  Maybe it is because they are both the younger gender among the kids.  Maybe it is the age difference (5 years).  Whatever it is, I hope that it always stays that way.

I purposely made sure that Jimmy wore his bathing suit because he was in the water exactly 3.2 seconds upon arrival down to the park.  I don't blame him one bit.

There was some serious sand-castle construction taking place.

And ditch-digging.

And it was worth every last minute of it because this group WON the sand castle building contest!

Later, Grandpa joined us for some 'grilling and chilling.'  We did fireworks in the driveway ...

These boys LOVE their fireworks!

... and then ended the night watching the spectacular fireworks over the lake in our boat.  This was the first year that we watched from out boat (we usually watch them in our driveway), and it was certainly a night to remember!

Jack's Quarantine Birthday(s)

 Jack's 7th birthday fell during the Covid-19 Quarantine.  The Stay-At-Home-Order was still in effect, so the idea of celebrating on time with family and friends was not an option.  Instead, we celebrated on his real birthday (May 17th) with our immediate household -- the same people that we have been spending every waking moment with for the last several months -- and I did my best to still make it special for the Birthday Boy. 

All along, I had planned on a NERF theme.  Jack LOVES NERF guns, darts, targets, etc.  And I thought that it would make a great party idea to celebrate with a bunch of other 7 year old boys.  While we didn't end up celebrating with his friends this year, I still used the blue and orange colors and pulled a few things together.

Traditional cinnamon rolls for breakfast:

All of the gifts from us were wrapped with standard NERF colors -- blue, orange and white.  And the target was something that I made simply using a bunch of concentric circles and orange tape.

I couldn't possibly love this picture more if I tried.  And, I love how Sam took the liberty of writing "from your favorite sister" on any of the gifts from her.

Spiderman joined us and can never pass up an opportunity to help someone else open their gifts ...

Jimmy was pretty excited about the mask that he picked out to give Jack (it is used during NERF gun wars).

Sophia was still in her pajamas -- that's what happens during quarantine -- but showed up with smiles for the Birthday Boy.

Samantha surprised Jack with something special -- a ticket so that she would play any game of his choice with him.  Definitely a thoughtful idea!

Steve's gift to Jack was a great one!  It was a tackle box with anything and everything in it that a fisherman might want.  Truthfully, Steve won the filled box during a raffle last Fall and we saved it for Jack's birthday.  It was perfect timing because Jack has now started to really LOVE fishing.

One happy boy!

And, of course, I made him a cake -- an oreo cake, per his request.

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Grandpa came over one day to go fishing and to give Jack his birthday present.

Once again, Little Brother was on the scene to assist with the package-opening.

It was a 2-pack of salt guns for shooting bugs!

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Finally ... at the end of June ... we were able to celebrate Jack's birthday with family!

With the warmer weather, we opted to set up the taco party in the garage!  

Jello in cups, designed to look like NERF darts.  Wow, the kids loved those!

New googles for diving this summer!

And white sunglasses, which seem to be one of his dad's signature items -- along with camo.

And, there is another favorite thing -- a camo tank top!  Yup, this boy is ready for the Summer months now.

Lighting his OWN candles.  

Happy birthday, (again) Jack!