The Lake, Part II

Last week we had the enormous joy of returning to the Lake for a few days. The kids and I were at the Lake for two weeks earlier in June for Brad's wedding and some vacation time. Karl was able to join us for the first week, but since we have an ungodly number of family weddings this year, we had to reserve his vacation days for those wonderful events. Quite frankly, he didn't miss out. By the time Karl left, we were well on our way through a hideous stomach flu. I don't think the Lake has ever seen so much puke. A second trip to the Lake was needed just to redeem the place of all those gory memories. Kory and Cara and their kids were also able to join us to make this the second annual Fay invasion of Weller Inn. After such a dry and hot July, the water was really low which created a beautiful little beach for the kids to play on. And play they did. Sam, Lucy, and June are old enough now to really carry on all by themselves. Give them a few trucks, Dora dolls, random figurines, and stuffed animals and they are content for hours. Ruben will even join in for 20-30 minutes at a time before he and June start fighting over the same toys. The adults enjoyed watching the kids play together, holding meaningful conversations and playing angry birds on Kory and Cara's new Kindle Fire. None of us had ever played before, and it was fun to watch the brothers talking strategy while sitting on the couch in the great room after the kids were in bed. When the kids needed a little separating, I took a kid with me next door and sat on the front porch to work on an adult puzzle while Aunt Pootie entertained the whiney kid. Those are always some of my favorite Lake moments - sitting quietly with the Lake in view talking to someone I've known my whole life. Even though we only see each other a few day or hours a year, we're family and there's no question of how much we love each other. Overall, a much needed respite. Although next time, we're not going to let the Fay boys be in charge of buying donuts. Seriously, 2 dozen donuts for 4 adults and 5 children? That's 3 donuts a piece. Do you really think Kye is going to eat 3 donuts?