OUR official start of summer!

We finally headed to the lake this past weekend for some fun in the sun! (and to burn up & get eaten by mosquitos!) Our friends, Brian & Shauna, from the motorcycle gang came & hung out too.

We stay on Brad's parents' houseboat. Brian & Shauna were fresh meat for all of Ann's stories about B-rad as a little boy so she told them all the classics & I always get a BIG kick out of it - because no B-rad story is complete without her hugging & kissing him. Hilarious! Shauna's the one I told ya'll about that is a really good photographer. She didn't bring her fancy schmancy camera because she was afraid it would get wet. I had mine with me so she took some pics with it.

Shauna took one of the next 2 pics & I took the other one. Now, I know you may be perplexed as to which one is the pro & which is the amateur because they're both SO good... plus the little girl in them is too cute for words!

OK, enough suspense. Shauna took the top & mine is the bottom...

Payton & I courtesy of Brady.

Lora helped Madelyn into her suit. Please note the cute bathing suit. Black with white & pink right?

Erin fed Payton peaches before we went out on the little boats. Insert major boat sinkage drama here. When we're at the lake - it's a relaxed atmosphere. We get up when we want, eat breakfast around 10:30 or so & then we go out on the lake for a bit. Saturday morning, Brad & Brian went to get our ski boat from the storage place. Again, this was our first adventure out & it hadn't been in the water since we had it winterized. B-rad pulled the boat around to the houseboat. Eric & I went over to help him get it in the slip. And he had the engine cover up & was looking around. That is not normal. He started drifting away from the slip so Eric had to reach out & grab the boat to get it where it needed to be. And I was like, "What are you doing?!" And B-rad said, "The engine compartment is full of water. " Ruh.roh.

For those of you non-boaters, it's normal to have a little bit of water in your boat. Hello, you're floating in it. But for the whole compartment to be full is bad. The bilge pump was pumping water out like crazy (which is also strange to have happen right after you put the boat in...). So Eric & I were holding the boat & B-rad was looking for where the water was coming in. I looked at Eric & whispered, "Is the boat gonna sink?!" And he just shrugged and said, "I don't know."

I started having visions of the boat sinking to the bottom of Rough River. And of course, we'd have to buy another one & you KNOW B-rad would have to get a bigger & better one. I was starting to panic. And B-rad's so funny because he was calm. He was working franctically to find where the water was coming in, but I just wanted to scream, "GET IT OUT OF THE WATER!!!!!!" I tried to keep my big mouth shut because although he seemed calm, I knew I would get in big trouble for talking! He lifted up the backseat to the access door underneath. Full of water. He was checking hoses & feeling around & EUREKA! he found it. It was leaking around the steering...stuff. So I said, "Uhm, should we get the boat out of the water?!" To which B-rad replied ever so calmly... "Yeah, probably."

I ran back to the houseboat & asked Brian, "Can you go back & get the truck & trailer? The boat is filling up with water & Brad wants to pull it back out." His face dropped, he grabbed the keys & ran back up to the parking lot. That's what I like. Running. Faces dropping. Not B-rad calmly looking for a leak that will sink our ship.

After they got it back in the parking lot & all the water ran out, they realized that one of the plugs in the back of the boat was missing. B-rad had never been able to get it out before. So when they came back down to the houseboat we were all like, "Damn thieves! Who steals a plug out of a boat?!" Well, uhm, er - later we realized that there was a 'sticky' spot on the back swim deck. B-rad then decided the guy who winterized the boat had been able to get that plug out. Then he used black tape to tape it to the swim deck of the boat (you know-so we could put it back in & not sink to the bottom of the lake?!). And when B-rad put the boat in the water, the tape loosened up & fell off & the plug sank to the bottom of the lake. Hmmm, no plug thieves...how disappointing...

After the near catastrophe, we were ready to go out for some sun, fun, water & skin burning! Shauna is an adrenaline junkie like Brad so she was up for anything. She picked up the knee board right away. Shauna & I

Brian took this pic of B-rad. Pretty good huh?!

Brian never could get himself pulled up on the board. No judgement here, I could never knee board either. I don't even attempt it anymore. Now I just sit in the boat & soak up rays.

What we've been waiting for! Pics of Brad wake boarding. Shauna & Brian took pics while I was busy being captain of the ship.

These pics are SO clear! I could never get any this good with the point & click. (And will probably never get them again. I need to bring photo assistants on every lake trip...)

B-rad's parents also have a jet ski. After we came back from skiing, Brad took Shauna for a spin. I told her to hang on to his jacket tight. B-rad knows better than to try & flip me off that thing, but Shauna's another story. He tried to toss her off, but the joke was on him because when she started going, she pulled him right off with her.

Brady loved the fact that I could take action shots of him jumping off the slide & pushing Cole in the water. Here he is showing off...

The big kids liked the action shots & showing off too. Here they are trying to make it look like they were standing on the water.Brian, Lora, Eric, Erin, Cole & Madelyn coming back to the houseboat in the other ski boat.

It was SO hot outside that the water felt like bath water. We got in to try & cool off. Then we had a cannonball splashing contest.

Cole is going through the, 'everybody hates me' phase. Brady had pushed him off into the water & I laughed. So he asked me, "Jaime did you think it was funny when Brady pushed me into the water?!" Of course, I said, "Yep!" Then he pouted, "you don't like me anymore..." After the pouting was over, he asked Shauna if she would be his friend. She told him she would. Part of being Cole's friend is allowing him to bother you when you're in the water.

But Shauna fits in just fine because she gives it right back to them.

Payton is one of the cutest babies - ever. She's almost 7 months old & she is chun-ky!

Madelyn & Eric joined in the swimming fun.

Lora held Payton in the water. Erin said she loves the water. She would splash her arms & legs & smile! Notice Payton's suit? Look familiar?! Black with white & pink?! Yup, Erin got them matching suits. I just had to laugh at her about that!

Later that evening it was time for tubin'. Brian & Lora let us borrow their tube. First up were Shauna & Brady.

After they crashed, Brian & Brady went out for a spin. Shauna was trying to get Brad to go faster. She was yelling at him, "Faster Brad! Go faster! Sling shot 'em around!" Like I said, adrenaline.junkie.

Shauna & Brian took the jet ski out after tubing. Love.Brians.face!

That concludes Saturday. It was jam packed with excitement! Sunday we got up early because Brian & Shauna had to leave. We ate a small breakfast & I went back in & took a nap after they left. We hung around the houseboat Sunday afternoon. Ann made lunch around 2. We were all worn out (& I was burnt...) from the day before so we decided to pack up & head home around 4:00.

It was really foggy Sunday morning. I just went out & thought, "Hmph, it's foggy!" But Shauna came in & got my camera.

And she took this:

and this.... What a show-off.