Making memories on the water

I have some of the very best memories from when I was little at the lake.  We used to live on a small lake in Tuscaloosa county.  Even after we moved, we still spent a lot of time there on the weekends and in the summer because we had (and still do) have a LOT of family there.  I learned to waterski when I was 4!  Waterskiing, riding the inner tubes, and just swimming in the lake was the most fun.  Now, my kids are able to do all of these same things.  Different lake, different boat, different time for sure – but same amount of fun and memories being made!

Fourth of July

I love the 4th of July!  It is a great holiday to just sit around with the Fam, chill and of course EAT!  The lake is the perfect place to do all of this.  My cousin, Cori, and her family came up to spend the day with us.  Everyone had a lot of fun.  Chace and Dylan took turns trying to stay up on the waterskis.  Then they moved on to the one person tube.  Todd was making it his mission to throw them off.  Dylan learned a hard lesson while flying by the dock on one of his rounds – tie your swim trunks tighter!!  Cori and I were just walking down to the dock when he was riding and all of a sudden, all we see is a bright white hiney streaking by!  I haven’t laughed that hard in quite some time.  His swim trunks were stripped off and then he couldn’t let go because his hand was stuck in the handles of the tube.  It was a priceless Kodak moment, too bad we hadn’t gotten down there 10 minutes sooner.  I probably would have had the video camera going, and that would definitely be YouTube worthy!  Dakota and Lael rode the 4-Ball tube, Lael loving every second of it.  Dakota was more like Caeden, not exactly thrilled.  Madyson spent all of her time in the water with Chris.  She didn’t want to get out for anything!!  Cori and I got on the 4-Ball too.  Todd slung her off one time and I didn’t even realize that she was gone.  Fun times!

At the Lake

We are going to continue the fun we had in Chattanooga at the lake for a week.  Todd is off on Monday for the July 4th holiday, so he will stay til then, then he will have to go back to Huntsville without us.  We will stay at the lake, hang out and enjoy!  Today we mostly just sat on the dock, taking turns riding the tubes and waterskiing.  When it got dark we settled in on the dock to watch the fireworks show from across the lake at Cedar Bluff.  It was awesome!  I thought we would be able to hear them much more clearly though, but Dad said that it was farther than it looked.  I tried to get pictures of the fireworks, like I do every year.  But, I failed again, like I do every year!  I did get a great shot of the Fam though!

Chattanooga – Day 3

Last day in Chattanooga – We had planned on going to the Children’s Museum. But, Todd thought that he would be finished by 10:30, so I decided we would not have enough time to dedicate to the museum. Lael was not happy, but I promised her that would be tops on our list the next time we come. We try to do different things when we come – and there is plenty to do in Chattanooga! So, we left early and had breakfast at Chattanooga Cupcakes. YUM! This is the cutest little bakery. They have all kinds of cupcakes. Lael chose her favorite, Red Velvet and Caeden chose his favorite, chocolate. It was not nearly as easy for me! I finally decided on a Key Lime cupcake that was TDF! There was a little squirt of yummy creamy delicious Key Lime flavor pudding stuff in the middle of it and and on the top. I had forgotten how much I love Key Lime pie! I think Caeden was more impressed with his IBF root beer than his cupcake! They were so huge that even Lael had a hard time eating all of hers.  

After we left there, we went in search of a bookstore, Lael wanted to spend the last of her money on books. We went into one that was a disaster! It was like a flea market type of bookstore full of old dusty books. Lael was impressed with a Nancy Drew that I swear must have been from one of the first printings in the 50′s!! She had already read it though. So, we left and went a little farther and found another book store. This store only had about 20 kids books though, and nothing Lael was terribly interested in. Then they found the candy/toy aisle. This is where it got interesting as Lael tried to add up how much all the stuff she wanted cost and how much money she had left. Trying to get Caeden to pick something out was like pulling teeth though! He was not overly impressed with anything, but finally picked out a packet of silly bands. When we got back on the sidewalk outside the bookstore, I noticed the sign that had Lael’s name all over it. 

We got back to the hotel and Todd was already there. So, we packed up our stuff, said goodby to Chattanooga and headed back to Huntsville! Next time I will pay more attention though and will NOT miss my turn for Highway 72!

Chattanooga Day 2

The twins were up pretty late last night because I had promised them that they could swim in the pool, so they were doing that at 9:30! That meant they didn’t get into the bed until about 11:00. Combine a late night with a super dark hotel room and they slept til nearly 10:00! That is a major first! It doesn’t matter what time they go to bed at home, they always get up insanely early! Anyway, we had planned on going to the zoo today. The shuttle doesn’t go to the zoo, so we got the car from valet parking (which the twins thought was the weirdest thing! They could not understand why we had to pay someone to park our car, and certainly couldn’t fathom why we couldn’t go get it ourselves!) We headed out to the zoo and pulled into the parking lot where I realized that I forgot my camera!  Ummmm, no way can I go to the zoo without a camera. So we turned around and went right back to the hotel. They didn’t complain {m.u.c.h.} At the zoo, we had to buy tickets right in the gift store, so Lael starts trying to pick out a souvenir. We always give the kids $10 each to buy a souvenir when we go on trips. Not a lot of money to be sure, but enough to get something cool usually! Lael is a spender, her money just burns a hole in her pocket until every red cent has been spent! I convince her to wait until we leave so that she doesn’t have to carry around the stuffed animal in the park. I am certain that is what she would pick out! We get into the zoo, and lo and behold there is a carousel! Keep in mind they just rode one yesterday! Do they insist on riding this one as well? Of course! The zoo in Chattanooga is not huge by any means, we made the complete circuit in about 1.5 hours. But, it was cheap and a great way to spend ½ a day.  

We head back to the hotel to park the car and set out to find some lunch. I was itching for Mexican, and I had seen a Qdoba yesterday as we were coming home from the North Shore. Lael complained that she doesn’t really like Mexican food, but she is the one who ended up cleaning her plate! My burrito was the size of Texas, and after eating most of it my tummy felt like it was holding all of the burritos from Texas. Ugggh! But, it was delicious! Did I mention that I love Mexican?!? When Todd got back to the hotel, we headed out find somewhere to eat dinner, my burrito was still weighing pretty heavy in my belly. But, I am a glutton for punishment. We went to the River City Brewing Co. It looked like the wait was going to be interminable, but we told them we were willing to sit outside and were seated within 5 minutes. Hooray!