We’re On Lake Time This Week

We’re visiting my parents, which means we’re in Summer at the Lake Mode. So far it has been relatively blissful. While J isn’t officially on holiday, the majority of Europe shuts down in July, so he only has two meetings the whole week!

Trips here are one of the things that get significantly easier as the kids get older. They can bait their own hooks. They can climb the ladder to the sleeping loft unsupervised. They can apply their own sunscreen. They can walk safely down the steeply inclined wooden ramp to the lake. They dress themselves and brush their own teeth. They toast their own marshmallows. They put on their own life jackets. No one needs to nap and everyone goes to bed at the same time. It really does make a difference!

In addition to this being one of my “happy places,” our kids adore it here. Some teenage angst has come along for the ride, but that’s to be expected and has been minimal in a mostly amusing stereotypical way.

So far we’ve:

• Had s’mores on the beach (twice).
• Spent hours fishing; “we” being John and especially L. Last night, on his final cast of the evening – well after dusk – L caught a catfish. That was exciting. He’s up to 7 fish so far this trip.
• Inspected the garden I helped plant in June; I’m not sure if it was bad luck or bad timing or a combination of the above but it’s not going to be a stellar crop. Whomp, whomp.
• Judged A’s water handstands out of 10. She could literally do this for hours.
• (Moderately) deep-cleaned the interior of both our vehicle and my parents’.
• Gone swimming every day (we arrived Sunday, so I’m now up to THREE stints of swimming here, which makes four in the last week).
• Played a lot of Wordscapes.
• Enjoyed (?) a freak 3-minute rain storm.
• Had breakfast on the beach, toasting our bread over the fire.
• Painted rocks. Lots of rocks.

Your turn. What “mode” are you in this week? Have you ever painted rocks? Have you ever played Wordscapes (it’s highly addictive!)?