A Week's Worth

We've spent the last four Fourth of July weeks at Lake Chelan with my family.  We had a great time again, but there was a general feeling of finding something new to do next summer.

This year, Holly and Charlotte joined our crew for the drive.  Don't they all look chipper and ready to go?

We got there quickly and safely.  The only major event along the way was finding that Burger King kids meals are only $1.99 in Cle Elum.  That pleased everyone.

There was a lot of story time in Chelan.

Books were read by Grandpa.

Books were read by Grandma.

Books were read by the Story Time lady at the farmers' market.

And books were read by the pool.

The kids were in the water everyday, if not multiple times each day.

If they were lucky, Grandpa joined them.  Ellana had star-power, even in the pool.

Bethelle really got comfortable with the pool in San Francisco, so she put that new comfort to good use in Chelan.  You could have mistaken her for a fish.  I'm very proud.  There was a time when she was the kid in swimming lessons who was throwing a fit.

Babies and Mamas were everywhere.

The family that swims together...

No one was a better swimmer than three year-old Charlotte.  Holly is a private swim instructor, so Charlotte has been well trained.  She jumps in, swims to her mom, rolls over to take a breath, and swims again.  After some mommy-time, she swims solo to the steps, rolling over for breaths along the way.  So impressive!

Nick had a lot of work to do, so he was only there for half of the week, but everybody was happier when he was around.  Everybody.

He never misses a chance to flip or banana-boat into the pool.  Can you make out his face in this picture?

Curie was a total water-baby, but she got pretty chilly after a while, so I got some great snuggle time with her every day.

Self portrait!

Troy.  'Nuf said.

Past years, we have seen small, local parades.  None were scheduled this year, but that's no reason not to have one!

We all donned our Fourth of July best and made our own parade around the pool.  We even invited a neighbor.

Mom brought this craft project for the kids.

Grandpa forgot the visor part and put the stickers directly on his head.

Look at all those bowling shoes and bowling smiles!

Good form, Asher.

Nice, Grandma!

Who out there has not cocked there head like this while watching their ball travel down the lane?

We made a couple trips to the park.  This one is just outside our front door.

And this one was a favorite spot for para-gliders and hang-gliders to land.

Let's all pause for a moment to appreciate just how cute this picture is.  It's a miracle that I have not eaten those cheeks right off!

The lake was ice cold due to the long, cold, wet spring, but that did not affect the fun.

The petting zoo...

The house has a great deck.  Although a house across the way blocks the view of the lake, the fireworks are fantastic from here.  This year, we opted to venture our little family down to the water for the show.  Rigby and Bethelle were a little scared because the bursts seemed to be right over our heads.

Here we are before watching Cars 2 in the so-cute old-style theater.  The movie was disappointing.

We wrapped up the Fourth with a reenactment of the Revolutionary War.  Those are the Americans in the front, beating up a redcoat.  King George is standing in the back with the crown and pool noodle(?) and I'm narrating on the right.

All in all, a great week and an even better crew.

Does anyone have an idea for us for next summer?  It should be drive-able from western Washington and accommodate 20 people for a reasonable price.  I'm all ears.