the rosier rundown: Lake Vacation ~ Part One

Last Saturday, we packed up the car and drove 2.5 hours southeast to Smith Mountain Lake.

It. Was. Incredible.

We are definitely going again next summer. We rented a 3 bedroom house with 240 feet of gorgeous shoreline, a dock, and a cute little beach right in our back yard (see pics below).

Wes' mom, dad, and brother met us there on Saturday and stayed until Tuesday around 1pm. Then, Wes, the kids, and I were on our own until Thursday afternoon, when my sister and her boyfriend came over until we all left the lake on Saturday morning. Let's start with the first Saturday.

Saturday

As you can see, the kids were super excited when we first got there.

It didn't take long before we had to go outside and test out the water.

Surprisingly, Vivi ended up walking right in. Not surprisingly, Gavin was right at home in the water. We waded in the water and "swam" for a good 40 minutes before heading back inside for dinner and bedtime.

Sunday

When G & V woke up really early the next morning, Wes and I decided to take them to the playground at Smith Mountain Lake National Park (which was only about a mile from our house). Vivian ruled this playground. She was ridiculously excited about everything there, but mostly the slides. She kept climbing the steps and going down the twisty slide over and over again. On the other hand, Gavin was a bit obsessed with this alligator thingy. We played for a while before walking over to the beach and checking out the scenery.

When we went back to the house, everyone went outside and swam for a few hours. Then, we went out to to dinner. The kiddos were okay. Some days they're great when we take them out to eat, and other times, they're less-than-great. Okay, sometimes they're outright terrible. Thank goodness this wasn't one of those times.

(Okay, maybe it was on the verge. I'm not sure why Viv felt the urge to stick her potatoes on her fingers.)

Near the end of dinner, we took the kids outside to shake out some of their sillies. Wes found a gated area; perfect!

Monday

Monday morning, we ate eggs, sausage, and toast. Then, Viv did the dishes.

Then, Wes and I took G & V outside to play at the beach. This is where my fav photo sequence of the entire week took place.

When we finally made it down to the water, it was time to collect "lakeshells," throw rocks into the water, and actually play in the water a little bit.

Of course when we told Gavin that he could get in the water a little bit, he walked right in. And, he kept walking in until the water was waist-high.

After a nap, the kids ate PB & J for lunch. Well, Viv decided that she was going to take her sandwich pieces apart and scoop out the good stuff. Where does she these ideas from?

We went to Bridgewater Plaza after lunch and got to see all kinds of fun stuff; including a ton of carp (i.e. gross fish) swimming very close to the surface. The twins were intrigued.

We went out to eat again that night, but unfortunately, the twins were not on their best or even close-to-best behavior. Oh well.

Tuesday

Tuesday morning started off with the four of us going to the little general store down the street. Then, Wes, Gavin, Grandma, and Pop-pop drove over to the marina to pick up our boat for the day. Viv and I stayed behind to run some errands. We went to the post office, cleaned up a bit, ate some popsicles, and got in our suits for the boat ride.

Then, the boat arrived in our back yard!

The kiddos had a LOT of fun on the boat, especially when they got to "drive" with Daddy and watch someone ride the waves in the raft being pulled behind the boat.