A belated vacation blog...

Notice the French(ish) braids, done by the "I'm not a hair mom".  I was very proud!

This chipmunk got so used to being fed, he would come right up on the porch as if to ask, "where's my portion today??!"

 My mom's flowers make for a pretty backdrop to the chipmunk feeding. 

Our friends got a new boat...

...which made for faster and much more exciting tubing!

If memory serves me, Tyler actually saved this one.  He had his falls too, but managed to stay on during this flip; I'm not quite sure how!

The speed made Evie nervous and she wanted her sister on with her.

We finally met Talia!  (my niece's little girl)  What a cutie. :)

Talia and her grammy.

And with her great grampa.

Coming back from a canoe trip trying to get closer to the bald eagles that landed across the lake.

Hot and humid means we hang out in the water all day.  Just what we like at the lake.

We celebrated a late birthday...

...and an early one.

Look at that same mischievous grin on both of their faces.

The swings had to move locations when the tree they were hung from came crashing down! (luckily without anyone on them)

Tyler fished and fished and fished.  Caught a couple, but I think it didn't really matter, he was just happy to be out on the lake, pole in hand.

First time up on water skis!  She was determined, and got up within a few attempts.

He wasn't going to let his sister have all the glory, and he also got up with just a few attempts.

We love the loons, and when they call, it draws everyone's attention to the lake to see if we can see them.  Evie and I actually had a canoe ride encounter where they were playing, diving and surfacing within feet of the canoe, but alas, no camera!  (It was my first canoe ride with just Evie, and if I'm being honest, I wasn't sure she wouldn't get excited and stand up and tip us over, so I purposely didn't bring it.  Turned out to be a bad decision as she sat perfectly still and there we were, no camera.)

This year we were all a bit separate in when we could be there, so this is the family picture with as many as were there at the same time.  Missing Dennis, Kev, Carol and Dick.  :(

We have seen a bald eagle the last few years, but this year there were a pair of them flying down the lake.  Of course, my camera was not at the ready so I caught only one.  Still a majestic  sight.

Once again, Dennis was okay with me taking our kids and running away from the heat for a month, while he had to be content with a week in the middle of the month.  As usual, we spent a good amount of time at the lake, which has always been one of my very favorite places in the world, and has fast become one of the kids very favorite places in the world.  Above are some of the most memorable moments from summer, 2012.