Water Weekend

We do a lot of boating around here.  So much so that it seems we are never in town on the weekends and our "off" day is merely staging or recovery from boating.  It's hard to make that interesting on a repeated basis for this blog.  We've had a few weekends off recently, however,  while we get ready for this:

Yikes. 

A few weeks ago though, we outdid ourselves.  Perhaps we were, on a subconscious level, trying to fortify ourselves for the lockdown we didn't know was coming.  I call it "water weekend."

Saturday dawned early for Alastair and I when we headed to his first swim meet of the season at 6:30 a.m.  I don't get out the door that early unless an airplane is involved!  It did allow me the rare opportunity to roust my early rising son from his bed for one day and I really enjoyed it.  I "rised and shined" him, a treatment patented by my annoying innovative parents which involves singing "rise and shine, and give God the glory glory" in several verses.  My sweet boy is still young enough to think it was great fun.

We arrived on time and got him checked in and all marked up.  Our team uses sharpies to record the kids' events and positions on their arms, their names on their backs, and the swimmer number on their hands.  As a ready bench mom, I offered the kids optional mustaches, but I had no takers.

Alastair did really well and even got his first blue ribbon for individual freestyle.  He was feeling a little cocky so I tried to explain to him how different heats work and that while he might have won a first in his heat, he might have been slower than a kid who got a third in the heat before him.  No dice.  Apparently, at five, a first is a first.  Period.

After the meet, we came home and started packing to go camping.  While packing was more stressful the day of, it was kind of nice not to worry about it until it really mattered.  

We arrived at the lake and Kim (and his helpers) set up our new tent.

 Emery was an essential part of the process.

 Then there was time for some exploring little trails that led to the beach and the campground itself.

Then...  Lake time!

It was pretty windy when we set out, but we found a nice quiet cove and put the calm to good use.  Going out late is awesome because there are fewer people around and we can swim, ski, and just hang out with no wakes to contend with.  The kids thought it was pretty cool to eat dinner on the boat as the sun set.

Then we headed back to let the kids sleep in a tent for the very first time.  It seems Kim and I were more into the "sleep" part of that equation than they were.  After getting up very early, they both managed to giggle and wiggle around until after 10.   I think on our next trip I'll let Alastair crash with Kim on the air mattress and take back my trusty camp cot.  This pregnant lady needs her sleep.

 Up bright and early.

Sunday we all dined on bagels and juice boxes and headed back on the lake.  My brother and his girlfriend joined us for some wake boarding and a bit of tubing.  The water was really rough but we had a nice day in spite of it.

Oh yes I did. 

After some tough boarding for the guys and some wild tubing for Alastair and his uncle, the guys decided it was time for their open water swim.  Did I mention that Kim and Bill are training for a mini-triathalon while I am pregnant?  Yep, it figures that everyone around me is on a quest to get more fit and fabulous while I morph into the physique of the Stay-Puffed Marshmallow Man.  Nice.

Swimming in relatively big open water was a lot tougher for them than their pool training and I think they were both a little freaked out.  Both agreed that it was good to know that in advance though and they are still determined to be ready by July 15th.

Our weekend ended with everyone in the family sacked out on the couch by 5pm.  The kids didn't even get up for dinner but went straight to bed.  I figure that means that they had a wonderful time.  I sure did!