Family Time

We packed up the kids & the car and after a 7 hour pretty uneventful trip (miracle) landed in Tennessee to visit my Dad & Linda at their lakehouse.  Dad & Linda were extremely gracious - Linda 'relocated' all of the breakables, they had life jackets ready, great food, good wine, and were up for lots of adventures with the girls.  Dad has a pontoon boat & a jet ski & the girls were game for it all.  I was a bit surprised at how fearless they were in the water.  That is after Jillian was assured that there were no sharks, crocodiles or whales in the lake (I think I let them watch too much Animal Planet).  We were either on the boat or in the water.  They had a blast!

Dad giving them their first boat ride there.

Abi jumping off the boat.  She also 'swam' to the dock one day - about 80 yards.  I was surprised & impressed & hoping that would help her go to bed earlier.  No such luck.  Darn TN doesn't get dark until at least 9:15.  Go Vacation!

Jillian & Arturo jumping off the rocks.  This was Jillian's second jump - the first was by herself.  Abi also jumped, but unfortunately had a bit of a belly flop & did not want to try again.  Who blames her, eh?

Dad bought these cool rafts with water pistols & the girls had a blast squirting everyone.  Even Stella enjoyed it.

The twins loved the water too, and Stella was pretty self-floating with the vest on - and it was a good thing b/c she rarely wants help.

Jillian as the Captain.  A face of controlled contentment.

Linda was a great help with the girls & made some delicious meals.  Yeah Linda.

The girls thoroughly enjoyed tubing and the jet ski.  Dad did a great job of giving them a thrill of a lifetime without necessitating any trips to the hospital.

The little marina had a school of Carp that loved dog food & old bread & the girls had a blast feeding them(the twins also loved the old bread & thought it should NOT be wasted on the carp).  We visited the carps twice & both times the girls had their hands in the water petting them, feeding them & enthralled with every moment.  As we were leaving the second day, Jillian said "Bye Bye.  You guys are my new best friends forever!"  It was cute.

I was very proud of how well the girls got along.  They were probably too exhausted to fight much, and they really played & shared well during this trip.  Yeehaw!

Overall we had a wonderful time & will enjoy going back (even better when the girls are older) to try it all again.  Thanks Dad & Linda for a wonderful time.