Maybe we are 'Boat People'

Chances are, if you know Jarrod, you know he wants a boat.  And a new truck.  And a new house.  And a new bow.  And, and, and...  Haha!  Now is definitely NOT the best time for us to get a boat, and I honestly wasn't even sure I was a boat person, but I did agree to renting a boat when my family was here visiting.  And I'm so glad I did!  Beaver Lake was nothing like I thought it would be.  It was nothing like the memories I have of lakes from my childhood (not that there were many, but I always think of lake water as being gross.)  Beaver Lake was gorgeous, and the water actually reminded me of Alaska.  Crazy.  

Disclaimer - I know Riley should be in a life jacket.  And she was for some of the trip...but there were other times that we took it off to give her a break because she was crying so much.

Riley's idea of boating involved either being in the water, or eating.  Sounds about right, huh?

Looking at these pictures, I realize it doesn't really do justice for the gorgeous water, but you can at least see how clear it is.  If you look closely, you can see Jarrod's legs under the water.  

Another thing I learned...it's hard work to tread water in the lake while holding a child.  So, I felt the need to definitely have my life jacket on!

The pontoon boat was really nice.  It didn't go too fast, and there was plenty of room to sit and walk around.  We rented the boat for 8 hours, and the kids lasted about 5.5...not too bad!

 Perhaps one memory from the day that I'll look back on and laugh about someday was how long it took to convince Gavin that it was ok for him to pee in the lake.  Poor kid had to pee so bad and refused.  He just wanted to go back and get off the boat to come home.  Eventually he did, but it certainly did take a while!

We're looking forward to more days on Beaver Lake.  I think we'll make it our goal to rent a boat a couple times a summer.  Maybe someday we'll get a boat...but not for a while. :)

Mother's Day

Sunday was Mother's Day, and Jackie brought a little gift for me to open "from Gavin" and had him sign the card, too.  Honestly, that was the best part of the day!  If you look closely, you'll see an A, n, and an i that he wrote himself.  Not in the right order, and not sure with the G and the v are, but talk about making a mom feel good!

Then, we got to spend the rest of Mother's Day at the lake!  Aunt Pat's friend, Dan, took us out on his boat and then we played on the "beach area" of the lake since the water was so low.  Gavin loved the boat ride!  He was a little unsure of going into the water though.  It took forever to convince him to just get his feet wet, but once we did he loved it!  He was actually making me quite nervous with how adventurous he was getting, walking out farther and farther and even sitting down or trying to lay on his belly.  

After we were back to Aunt Pat's for dinner, I realized I didn't get a good Mother's Day pic of me and my favorite little boy...so I grabbed him and snapped one myself and got this.   

It was a great day!  I'm so lucky to have such a loving little boy that calls me Mom.  Next year, our baby girl will be here to celebrate the special day, too.  

Vacation: Seneca Lake

After visiting Watkins Glen State Park, we took advantage of the gorgeous day and took a boat ride on Seneca Lake.

"Captain Gavin"

With Aunt Briana and Uncle Tyler

Just relaxing, enjoying the breeze

Tyler really enjoyed the boat ride...LOL

Walking up to see the real Captain

Checking out the view with Grandpa

Grandma Peters is so silly!