Smith Mountain Lake ~ Part Two

Monday

When we woke up Monday morning, the kiddos were adamant about eating cereal out of plastic cups. Not sure why, but I thought it would be funny to read that little tidbit several years from now.

After breakfast, we drove over to the beach at Smith Mountain Lake State Park. We were a few of the only people there, the water was calm, the sun was out, and it was very relaxing. For the most part, Steph, Pax, and I lounged on our towels while Tony, Wes, and the twins played in the water and sand.

Our beach babe

Vivian telling me how many fish she just saw.

Then it was time to bury Daddy.

When we got home, the kiddos showered, ate lunch,

and napped before heading down to the basement to play pinball!

We went out to dinner that night at a little pizzeria.

 

Before we left, we had to get a couple group shots.

That night was eventful. During a chase-the-kids-around-the-room game, a lamp was knocked off the table and broke. This wouldn't have been so bad if we Gavin hadn't already broken a different lamp and we hadn't already thrown a candle lantern off the side of the back deck (breaking it into a million pieces) because of a hornet's nest that was inside of it since the previous Saturday. The good (and maybe also bad) news was that there was a matching lamp in the master bedroom. This was good because then we knew exactly what the living room lamp looked like pre-destruction. But it was bad because that also meant that everyone else (the homeowners and property management company) knew exactly what the living room lamp looked like pre-destruction.

But being resourceful people, Wes and I went to Goodwill the next day, found a $2 lamp that was similar enough, painted it with a $3 can of creamy eggshell spray paint, and put it in the master bedroom (moving the original matching lamp from the bedroom to the living room). 

This is the matching lamp we found in the master bedroom.

Here's the $2 replacement we found at Goodwill.

And here's the Goodwill lamp after we painted it!

Not too bad for $5!

Tuesday

We started off the day by boating over to Mitchell's Point Marina for breakfast. But, we got there too late and lunch had already started. 

Oh by the way, did I mention that Steph is pregnant? Well, she is. And she's so stikin' cute.

Little Miss refused to get her hair pulled back before we left. Then when we got on the boat, she freaked out because her hair was in her face. To appease her, Steph was trying to braid her hair. 

Here's our boat docked at the restaurant.

This was the view of the lake from the marina.

One last shot before we took the boat back home, put the kids
down for a nap, and Steph and Tony left to go back home.

 After nap, we took the boat back up to Bridgewater Marina to return the raft and get some ice cream!

 

 

We boated back to the house, ate dinner, and went to bed.


Stay tuned for part three...

Smith Mountain Lake ~ Part One

Saturday

We arrived at our Smith Mountain Lake house last Saturday (August 4th). We went to the same lake, but rented a different house from last year. This was the view from our back porch:

And here's the main living area:

The rest of the house had three bedrooms (two upstairs and one on the main floor), three full baths, and a partially finished basement with a pool table, dart board, and pin ball machine. Wes and I took one bedroom upstairs, the kids took the other upstairs bedroom, and our friends, Steph and Tony (who met us there and stayed until Tuesday) stayed in the main floor bedroom.

The kiddos were ready to swim just a few minutes after we arrived!

 

 So, we did.

Gavin and Vivian are fearless when it comes to swimming. It's actually quite crazy. They've really taken to the water (and to their independence in the water) this summer. They jumped right in! And they didn't even need us to be in the water with them.

 

 And no, they cannot touch the bottom. 

Wes and I eventually joined them.

 

Sunday

Sunday morning, we drove Bridgewater Marina where we got coffee, looked at the carp (i.e. a big, gross fish), and picked up our boat.

Wes, Tony, and the twins got on the boat and took it back to the house while Steph, Pax, and I went grocery shopping before droving the car back. After lunch and a nap, we took the boat out for a spin that afternoon.

Even Paxton wore a life jacket! Well, he did for a little bit. It was too hot for the poor little guy.

 

We had a raft and tried to use it, but it was WAY too difficult for two people to stay on at the same time, which kind of defeats the purpose because that meant that the twins couldn't ride it. It was a very different raft from the one we got last year. We'll know better next time.  

Wes and Gavin are on that raft. Struggling to stay on.

Vivian really wanted to at least stand in the raft for a few minutes.

 

 That night, we ate dinner together and played with the twins until bedtime.


2012 Lake Vacation Part TWO
2012 Lake Vacation Part THREE
2012 Lake Vacation Part FOUR