Lake Chelan

I know I just posted back to school pictures, but I still have a few more things to add about our summer.

We were invited by some friends to a lake house on Lake Chelan...a place that we've not had a chance to visit before.
Our friends are older and don't have any young children, so our three had the run of the place and all the activities that were available.
It was a fun, relaxing and beautiful weekend - just right for the last hurrah before school started.
Before you go any further, be warned:
This post contains a lot of pictures...especially of kids having fun!

This was the dock and the beautiful view it provided.
I loved it especially in the morning when no one else was awake and the water was still and quiet.

 and also in the evening when the wine had been poured.

It was a lovely place!

The first thing the kids did when we got there was swim out to the little boat they keep anchored near their dock.
As you will see, Ivan LOVED this boat...

 ...and quickly became the captain.

Here comes the first mate.

 Great entrance First Mate...or should I say "Grace"!  :)

The first mate soon tired of her duties and headed back to shore.

That water was COLD...so thankfully Dad was around to help her warm up!

The afternoon we arrived we took the kids tubing.
They all climbed on this cool tube that could hold all three sitting up!
They loved it and our host accommodated them by going pretty fast!
This is the part where I can't stop posting pictures.
I just love the expressions on their faces!

New day - new tube!
This time it was one rider at a time.
Jenelle went first!

Then Ivan...but his daredevil tricks cost him and he hit the water and literally skidded and rolled for a few seconds.
Freaked me out!
(although I do wish I had it on camera!)

And last was Hannah, who also drank in some water during her ride.
You can be assured that Jenelle mentioned several times during the trip how amazing it was that SHE didn't fall off the tube!

And later in the visit there was still more tubing, but this time on a hot dog tube.
Earlier, Ivan had asked me this...
"Mom, do you think its possible for someone to do something, maybe like tubing, and they fall off, and then they develop a phobia of that thing they did?"
My answer was short...
"No"
I wanted him to get back on that horse, or hot dog as it were.
I'm glad he did because the boat was driven slower this time, they ALL fell off at the end AND he had a great time!

Isn't the scenery gorgeous?!
Snow still in little patches on the tops of the mountains.

In addition to being out on the boat, we just floated around,

 or rowed around,

 or paddled around,

We drove into Chelan and had pizza one evening.
We ate burgers at a nearby hamburger joint for lunch one afternoon.
And we also took the boat down to a neat little shop called Kelly's for ice cream...twice!

It was a wonderful time!
We all loved it and we'll happily go again!

Now I leave you with more of (handsome - shh...don't tell) Captain Ivan and his pirate ship...

Back To School

It's that time of year again!
The summer went so fast this time.
Usually I am chomping at the bits for school to start, but for some reason this year, it snuck up on me.
Life just gets more hectic during the school year and this summer there was a lot of "chill" time and it was nice for everyone.

But, nevertheless, they are going back, so here are some pictures from their first day!

They're happy, but not actually as insanely happy as their expressions would imply.

Now they're supposed to be acting cool.
But when you're 12, you realize you can be cool by simply standing still in the midst of chaos

My 7th grader...wow!

This year brings mascara and lipgloss...I think she wears it very nicely.

I said yes when asked because I knew, possibly from personal experience???, that there was a good chance she might be tempted to put it on at school anyway.

My 3rd grader.

Will any teacher be able to resist those eyes???!!!

And my 5th grader.
He gets irritated when I say it, but...isn't he handsome?

And finally, who can forget the new shoes.
When your choices are white, navy blue and khaki, you really look forward to new shoes!

For the past few years, when I take back to school pics, I also let the kids do "crazy faces".

Here are some from the past...
2009

 Group insanity...

And 2010...

So this year, I provided the same opportunity.
But they weren't all as excited about participating.
Well, Ivan was...

And Jenelle was...

But PLEASE...
For the love of Pete!
Make that camera go away!!

I feel lucky just to get the "regular" photos, so I'll not push my luck!

Hannah in Texas

Hannah got a wonderful opportunity to travel to Texas and visit with family this summer - sans siblings!!
Because of Donald's frequent travels to the UK and my sister's visit here, we were able to coordinate her flights to and from the Lone Star State.
(not quite ready for her to travel solo)
Hannah flew back with Steph and the boys and started her trip at their house.

Awww...cousins!
Here's Logan, Hannah and Dalton...
Look how much they've grown!

August 2005 (Hannah, Dalton, Ivan and Logan)

I seriously want to smooch on those sweet soft chubby cheeks they all have! 

Steph and Eddy have always had the sweetest dogs...and Hannah has always loved them.
Samson has to top the list of sweethearts!!

After an absolutely fun-filled time in San Antonio, she traveled towards the Houston area and hung out with Meema and Papa.
Hannah got a chance to meet the newest addition to the family.
Her name is Cora Hodge and she's a doll!

This is my cousin Ben and his wife Bridget's little girl and you can read more about her at Bridget's blog by clicking here!

Now on to Austin!
A busy trip since quite a few of our family members are here...
Aunts and Uncles, Cousins and Grandparents!
Hannah was anxious to meet Rosie.
We've all been anxious since, oh, I'd say around the middle of December!  :)
Thanks to her mom and dad, we get to "watch" Rosie grow through pictures and video...

...but of course nothing compares to "real life"!

Wow...my girl used to be the one wearing onsies and holding sweet little toys!

Who replaced her with this young little lady!?

Hannah had a great time with Papaw and Maw Maw Vick...eating sushi, ice cream and visiting places I've not yet been to!
I'm jealous!  :)

And she had a chance to hang with her Ross cousins... Richard and Cole!
Aunt Susan took them to the Pedernales State Park to try and get some relief from the heat!

Whew!
Tired just thinking about all that running around...in addition to the triple digit heat!
But Hannah LOVED it all!

Her final stop was a visit to see Granny and Grandpa before Dad flew in to take bring her home!

I was SO happy when I saw her happy beautiful face at the airport!
She was full of excitement from her trip - it couldn't have been more awesome!
But what I loved was that she was also ready to be home!!
Thank you family...you made her summer!!