Pictures from Our Trip Part Two

Here are a few more pictures from our trip to the lake.  

Lawson wanted to drive the boat!

Captain Lawson

Molly at Ha Ha Tonka

Trying to get a group picture is near impossible

Look!  The girls are getting along and smiling!  

This is what it looks like when Molly and Isabelle go fishing.

Jason caught quite a few fish while we were there.  This was not the largest but I think it was the first!

Again, group pics aren't always super easy, but this was the best of the trip!

I love my family and I love having time to get away together and do family things.

pics from our trip, part one

these are just a few of the pictures we took while on our "vacation" to the lake over memorial day!  

moll loves sleeping on the boat

my girls on our last boat ride

lawson sporting his new hat and swimming trunks

fun at ha ha tonka state park

isabelle and dad fishing together

i think she looks about 16 here  

despite the fact that the water was freezing, both girls swam

j is a great dad to be in that water with them

my kids love the lake.  it is hard driving there and back as they aren't great travelers, but to hear them giggle and see them high five each other when we get there makes it worth it (mostly).  we fit a lot into this trip so i will have some more pics tomorrow!

Family Vacation-Part Two

So we left off having survived being stranded......

Day 3:  Woke up after a night of some crazy thunderstorms.  Girls were doing what they do every morning, drink their milk while watching a show and Jason and I had just sat down with a cup of coffee and then it happened...mishap numero dos.  The power goes out.  At first I expected it to come right back on, but it didn't.  I wasn't too worried at first and then we realized we had no water.  Apparently  the water is on a well, which is on a pump run by electricity.  Bummer.  Jason and I pondered what to do and when we had finally made the decision to pack up and come home the power came back on.  I am glad we stayed because the weather was so nice (due to the cold front coming through) and we had a great day.  I was also glad that we had planned donuts for breakfast!  No power required to eat donuts!!!! 

isabelle with her first fish.  i know grandma grape would be proud.

second fish!  she had a great time with her dad.

We had another great day on the boat and eating a yummy dinner.  I fixed chicken nuggets (from a recipe I will share later this week) and some french fries (from a bag...hehe). 

Day 4:  Going home day.  We had actually considered staying an extra day, but when we woke up Friday morning, there was no water.  There was power, but no water.  They had found a leak in the area and were working to repair it.  SO....we packed up our stuff, went on one last boat ride, ate lunch and came home.  And as a side note, the water did not come back on for over 24 hours, so I am glad we left when we did!

the only picture of me with the girls.  and of course, there are zero of me and lawson!

1st, what is up with molly's face?  she was having fun, i promise.  we stopped in joplin for ice cream on our way home.

Overall, we had a great trip.  We had fun on the boat, the girls had fun being outside whether it was walking to Mimosa (where of course we let them buy candy), playing in their pool or being on the boat.  Jason and I had fun being together without our iphones!!!  Lawson did great, as usual.  He has done pretty well every trip we have taken with him so far.  While we were there, Isabelle got sick, so that was a bummer, but even she didn't do that bad being sick.

It was hard not to think about my grandparents and how they would have liked seeing kiddos at the lake again.  Or how my grandma would have loved having someone available to take her fishing!  Mostly, I am so glad we went.  Yes, the drive was long, yes, I did freak out when we were stranded and when we had no power and water, but it turned out okay and we have some fun memories to look back on.

Our Family Vacation-Part One

So, we went on a little family vacation.  It was really pretty nice.  We did have a few minor mishaps, which of course felt like major mishaps to me and only tiny mishaps to Jason.  Here is a recap and some pics of our time. 

Day 1:  Long, long, long drive to the lake.  It takes my mom a little under 5 hours to get to the lake.  It took us right around 6 to get there.  We thought we were so clever to leave in the morning, make a stop for lunch and then have the girls sleep the remainder of the way, except they didn't sleep.  At all.  It was an interesting trip. 

After we finally made it to the lake and unloaded our stuff we went on a little boat ride.  The girls loved the ride and it was so nice to be out on the boat.  Then we had one of the girls favorite dinners, Crusty Chicken and Noodles (my parm dijon chicken they call crusty chicken) and went for a walk. 

they put on their life jackets pretty much the instant we got there.

molly's first boat ride!  isabelle went on her first boat ride when she was 6-7 months old.

eating at my favorite spot to eat at the lake.  they didn't sit with us the entire time we were there.

And just so I don't forget to mention it, the lake house is great in that there is no phone (or cell service), no television, and no internet (which you probably figured out since there is no phone or cell service!).  That means lots of pure family time.

Day 2:  Woke up and had some delicious pancakes.  Packed up a picnic and went out on the boat.  Attempted to eat lunch on the boat, but the girls weren't really into it.  Jason and I were into it, so we had ourselves a little picnic while the girls wondered why we were sitting still in the boat. 

lawson chillin' on the boat.  my mom said having him in his stroller was probably a safety hazard.  glad he made it home safe and sound!

yes, i realize molly doesn't have pants, or a diaper.

Went back to the house for nap time and then let them go for a little swim in their pool. 

i realize the lighting in these pics is terrible!

Fixed another of the girls' favorite dinners, pizza, and then went for another boat ride.  This time we decided to go quite a bit further than we had before and well, this is where mishap number one occurred.  While out on the boat, far from the house, with virtually NO other boats around, we ran out of gas.  My biggest fear about going out on the boat was getting stranded and there we were, out of gas.  It was then that we realized the gas gauge on my mom's boat did NOT work.  Luckily, when I am freaking out, Jason is usually very calm.  Also, lucky for us another boat showed up and took pity on us and towed us back home.  Of course, it was hard not to take pity on us.  It was almost dark, there were three kids and our boat was going nowhere.  (Oh, and lake patrol was not in our area!)  We made it safely back home and got everyone settled and I think I finally relaxed sometime around midnight.

pic of molly on the boat while stranded!  i didn't take many pics after we ran out of gas.  didn't really feel like capturing the moment.

And since I don't want to take up too much of your time today, I will post the last two days with pictures tomorrow!