Annual August Lake Trip Highlights

We are back from our 5-day trip to visit my parents at their lake home. This has become an annual tradition for us. August typically provides reliably good weather and mid-August tends to be a time when Phil and I can both get away from work. Overall we had a really good trip. Both boys ended up with a virus of some sort that resulted in fevers that would come and go but spike during the night. Some of the vacation ends up being what I call "type 2 fun" which means it's more enjoyable for the remembering self than the experiencing self. But I can see that vacations will only get better as the kids get older. Paul is at a GREAT age for travel. He had so much fun and was so positive and excited about everything. On our second to last morning when it was overcast and windy, he looked outside while eating breakfast and said, 'What a beautiful day!' That was basically his attitude for the whole trip, aside from when he wasn't feeling well. He was up for anything and everything and was just so happy to be up at the lake! 

Basically living his best life - sitting comfortably on a chair, eating a graham cracker.

Here are the highlights from our lake trip. 

Phil's annual lake swim: I'm not sure when this tradition started, maybe in 2019, but Phil tries to swim across the lake during our August trip. The winds were pretty calm on Tuesday when we got there so Phil decided to do the swim that day. We are not sure how far it is to swim across the lake, but we are estimating about 1.5 miles, but probably more? The photo on the left was takien at the start. The 2nd photo was around the half way point. He was swimming to the 3 white cabins across the lake. 

For those of you who are married, you know how there are things your spouse loves to do but they are not your favorite, and yet you do them because they are important to your spouse? That is how I'd characterize his annual lake swim. I kayak in front of him to make sure he stays safe and then he gets in the kayak on the other side and we kayak back together. On this day, the wind was to our back on the way across, so I didn't really have to paddle - I more so had to steer/reposition the kayak to stay in front of Phil. But on the way back, we were paddling right into a wind that seemed to have gotten much stronger. I was in the front and water kept splashing into the kayak. There was some grumbling on my part. But it was the highlight of Phil's vacation. I've done this swim once in 2009 (you can read about it here) and will never do it again. I am not a strong swimmer so it took me 1 hour 40 minutes. It took Phil 1 hour 5 minutes this summer. So significantly less time!

My parents watched the boys during the swim. My mom captured this cute photo of the boys. <3

Water activities: My parents have no shortage of water toys for us to enjoy. We always try to get out on the pontoon and kayak and this year I took Paul out on the paddle board for the first time. This is the first summer that he has really loved the water and was willing to go out on the paddle board with me. Will is not keen on the water yet but if he is like Paul, he will eventually change his mind. Will enjoyed the pontoon ride, though!

Outdoor time: We saw lots of wildlife on this trip - but luckily didn't see the black bear that's been spotted in the area! I spied this group of turkeys (which is referred to as a "rafter of turkeys" according to google) on a run one morning. And most days, this family of ducks would swim by. Will got very excited and would quack at them!

Much time was spent on the dock, although Paul only fished twice and didn't want to get too close to the tiny sunfish when I asked him to take a picture with it! Will is a wild man and terrifies all of us on the dock, so a life jacket was a requirement when he was on the dock. 

Paul had a great time on the lily pad, too. 

Indoor time: It was rainy towards the end of the week, so my mom and I took the boys to an amazing toy store that is about 30 minutes away and they both got to pick out a toy. Paul is masked since he had a fever the day before so I wanted to play it extra careful. Will was especially excited about alllll of the toys and was exclaiming carro (car in spanish), bus, ball, trucks, etc. Will picked out a bus and Paul picked out a trivia game about dinosaurs and other animals. He is his father's son (Phil is excellent at trivia). 

Paul put together lots of puzzles and the boys enjoyed playing with the toys my siblings and I had when we were kids. 

On Wednesday, we painted some rocks. We've seen painted rocks on walks in our neighborhood so I decided to buy a kit for my parents home in case we had any rainy weather. Paul had so much fun painting 3 rocks. 

I helped w/ the cat and fish but the he did the sun all by himself. 

Phil's birthday: Phil celebrated his 41st birthday at the lake and had some help with his birthday candles. When Paul came downstairs on the morning of Phil's birthday he said - "where are the presents?" I had to explain that adults don't necessarily exchange presents. I gave Phil the gift of time - he'll golf with friends sometime this month or in September. We are not 'gift people' and much prefer the gift of time doing something we love. 

I didn't take a picture, but we also went out to lunch with my 99 year-old grandma. She's in good health but I know how fast things can change so I am thankful for every visit we get with her! 

We also ate well, played lots of uno, rummy and one game of hand and foot. Yes, there were low points, but that is travel with young kids. It was great to get so much time with my parents and to enjoy a slower pace of life! 

On my first morning back at work, I presented on our weekly national sales call which is something I've never done before! Nothing like jumping right back in head first! Luckily I presented the same deck that I presented at that conference in July so I didn't have to do much prep work but it was a bit of a stressful start to the week. But as much as I loved vacation, I am very happy to be back to our normal schedule/routine!