At Gamma & Gampa's House (Part 2)

I broke these up into several parts because, as you'll see, I've been making tons of photos of the kids, and I thought they'd be easier to enjoy this way.  Not that I think anyone besides me enjoys these blog posts, but on the off chance that someone else does enjoy them, I figured I'd help the reader.

Wednesday was lake day.  Aimee, the kids and I drove to Benewah Lake (part of Lake Coeur d'Alene), ID with my in-laws, Tom and Jaime Dahl.  The whole route is made up of great motorcycle roads.  Of course, I was driving a Sprinter Van.

This time, I switched from the cell phone to our trusty old Cannon digital camera, because it takes makes better photos, I could keep it hung around my neck in its case and it would be a lot less expensive to replace if I dropped it in the water.  The scenery at the lake is wonderful - not as pretty as other parts of Lake Coeur d'Alene, but it wasn't nearly as crowded either.  

Eli was the first to run to the shore.  Any time he's around a body of water, he feels compelled to throw rocks into it.

Jer-Bear was still back up the hill with Aimee.

The rest of the kids soon joined us on the shore. 

Gamma and Gampa bought the kids swimming goggles at a store in Plummer, ID. 

Eli was a lot braver in the lake than he is in the Junction City pool, for some reason. 

The kids' swimming has improved dramatically since we adopted them! 

The kids played a game where they attempted to stay on this log while Gamma and Gampa attempted to roll them off. 

Who needs fancy electronic toys when you have water and logs?

Eli really got into playing with the logs, but he had better luck with the smaller ones. 

As usual, Jer-Bear loved the water! 

See?  Logs!  Who knew? 

Water, dirt and cheap, common household items are all Jer-Bear needs to have a ball. 

Isaiah tried to balance along the longest log. 

And he made it!  Now it's Candace's turn!

The kids then swam the log further out and tried to climb up on it. 

It's not so easy when the log keeps rolling on you!  Abi and the little boys stayed closer to shore. 

Even Jer-Bear got in on the log game. 

The older kids then started playing pick-a-back games.  It's amazing how much more confident they are in the water, considering what they were like a few years back. 

After lunch, Gampa pushed Eli along on a log. 

I tried to get a shot of Hadassah diving into the water, but didn't quite get it. 

That's my family! 

Later that afternoon, Aimee and I celebrated our 8th or 9th [ ;-) ] anniversary with a movie (Man of Steel) and dinner at the New Garden restaurant in Pullman.

I started going to that restaurant in with my ROTC buddies 13 years ago.  It's still the best Chinese restaurant Aimee and I have tried in Europe or the US, and the owner still remembers us!  Happy anniversary, My Queen!