First Weekend Of The Season At The Lake

  

 There is nothing like experiencing the first sunset at the lake of the season.

 

The kids were excited to take in the sun, sand, water and fun at the lake.

 

Good thing Grammy has a big hammock at the lake!

 

Max and Bailey decided to be Emma's helpers on a frog hunt. They were so cute following her with their little frog cage. They didn't have any luck this time out.

 

The weekend was filled with .....the big kids tubing .....

 

the littles tubing .....

 

swimming ...

 

digging in the sand with a naked little cousin ....

 

jumping off the raft ....

 

getting up on skies for the first time ....

   

 another successful ski run by Emma ...

   

 and some slaloming by Eric!

   

 At the end of a long day at the lake there is no better place to lay your head than on papa's shoulder.

 

As the sun was setting the kids were still in the water jumping off the raft

 

and relaxing on the rafts.

 

What a great weekend at the lake. We are so thankful for an amazing place to spend time as a family, make special memories and soak up God's creation and all the blessings and fun that come with it.

Summer Lake Lovin'

There is so much to love about the lake! 

Max dug right in and embraced everything the lake had to offer this summer.

As I said .... he literally dug right in.  He quickly became a fan of the sand .... he just couldn't get it figured out that it was something that shouldn't be eaten.

It is always fun no matter how old you get to play kitchen with the sand and water.



There were always cakes in the oven and soups simmering on the rocks.   

There were often breaks from playing in the sand to do things like  rowing around on the wake board.

Or having fun just tossing a ball around or trying to float on it! 

Swinging was one of Max's favorite things to do.  He had some siblings that were eager to give him a push and if papa was around he always found himself in his favorite swing being spun in circles.

And this exchange between these two doesn't even need words. 

The big kids found their way out to the raft weather the sun was out or not! 

Frog hunting is another fun adventure at the lake.

Max seemed to find his way into the water from the sand every time.

It was always fun driving the boat with daddy!

Or just enjoying the view!

The kids never seemed to get sick of the water! 

And sand and water equals hours of fun! 

Seeing these two brothers together this summer was so much fun! 

The one thing that will never grow old and will always be welcomed every evening are the beautiful sunsets. 

We feel so blessed to have an amazing place to have fun, enjoy family, soak in God's creation and build memories.  We are BLESSED! 

A Week With Special Friends

There are friends that walk into your life for a short time and leave footprints and then there are friends that walk into your life and you know that they are friends you will continue to walk through life with.  When we met Kurt and Lauren in China we totally hit it off.  We were together shortly before we each departed and went our separate ways to get our children. When we arrived in Guangzhou for our final leg of our journey we say the Holt guide and she showed us to our van to get to the hotel.  It was so fun to open the door and see Kurt and Lauren and sweet little Lulu.  As we shared our "Gotcha Day" stories and all that happened in province it was one more thing that bonded us together.  It was like we instantly had a bond and clicked.  We spent most our week in Guangzhou with them whether sight seeing, shopping, eating, walking around, going to appointments, filling out paperwork or just hanging out.  We felt like we were on vacation with friends that we had known forever.  We laughed at how much Eric and Kurt were alike and the two of them together kept life pretty entertaining.  We felt so blessed to have met such amazing, fun friends but also friends who shared the love of our Savior.  They were friends we could laugh, cry and pray with.  When you walk through a journey like this with someone there is a bond that is undescribeable.  We have said numerous times that having our paths cross on this journey was and is such a gift! 

We were more than excited when they decided to come to visit and hang with us at the lake for a week.  We couldn't wait to see them, to see Max and Lulu together again and to meet their sweet boys. 

Our week was so full of good things.  It was so much fun to see Max and Lulu together again. It was amazing to see how they have bloomed and blossomed since being home.  We spent so much time with each other in China we each had a true picture what each other's kids were like and how they were interacting and attaching those first days in our arms.  So to see each other's kids now and their little personalities emerge was nothing short of amazing.  

My kids were totally smitten with sweet Lulu. We often had to tell Shane to back away and not to smother her.

All the kids loved playing together in the playhouse ....

and hanging, climbing, sliding and swinging on the swing set!

Max loves the water and wasted no time in showing Lulu the fastest way to get in water and not get in trouble for getting his clothes wet.

Yes, that is right ... just take them off and ....

go for it! 

Alexa and Emma are so great with little ones.  I am so thankful for the way they love on Max and other littles ones that are in their life. 

Kurt found time to throw his line out a few times but often had the littles following behind with lines they wanted to be thrown out too! 

The kids spent hours playing in the yard!

They also spent quite a bit of time warming up in the hot tub after getting chilly in the lake. I wonder what Lulu was saying to Max here!

The kids had fun helping Kurt try hunt for some fish!

Everyone loved going out for a boat ride!

The rides were even better when there were snacks involved! 

The kids had fun playing in the water ....

drinking some lake water .....

and diving off the raft!

The waver runner was a hit with all the boys both little and big! 

The kids spent hours playing in the water and sand.

They little ones even have tons of fun with a bucket on the deck!

We had beautiful weather and ate most our meals out on the deck.

We enjoyed beautiful sunsets and evenings of game playing, eating, laughing and good fellowship after the kids went to bed.

Lauren and Lulu loved their time in the hammock. 

Lauren was especially intrigued with the trees above her.  There have been many pictures take at the lake over the years but I am not sure anyone has taken a picture of this amazing work of our Creator from under the tree! 

Boat rides at sun down were the best!

Love these boys aren't they so cute!

This is the GorDonald Crew! What a bunch of sweetness! Oh and a bit of energy too!

 We have said numerous times that having our paths cross on this journey was and is such a gift! We are so thankful for our new life long friends.  We look forward to building more memories with them!