Of course, during all of this fun, we were under construction to repair the wind damage from the tornado that hit the lake/house on April 27, 2011. I was hoping to have things completed before Memorial Day, but alas, they were not. Unfortunately, we had to change contractors, get a second "new" roof and deal with the fallout, but hey, what's another thing added to our 'to do' list? A huge thank you to my cousin, Wes, for making it all better! He's the best out there; the house looks great now!
Karen, Mike and Gavin visit for Memorial Weekend to get the summer started off on the right foot.
Zach found the biggest splinter on the dock and had to visit the Dadeville doctor's office for a surgical removal. Ouch!
Barry and baby Heath (age 8 months) come for a quick visit and a bite to eat at Oskar's - our favorite place on the lake. Mmm, lemon!
Did I mention it was our favorite place, well, it is Mom & Dad's favorite too! See the smiles on their faces?!
Look, he let me hold him for 2 whole minutes before he needed his daddy! Oh, baby Heath, you are so sweet!
The Seymour's arrive! Clare and Olivia eating, what else...smores! Oh my gosh, they had so much fun together. This was the year that all kids were excellent swimmers, barely any whining, just happy, content, fun-filled days. I love this age and I love their independence.
They help themselves to snacks throughout the day, leaving us moms to enjoy our time.
Campfire laughs with Liz.... (Lizard)
Sunset is beautiful and smores are delicious.
I told you they were buddies!
Another snack time...and it looks like a pow-wow.
Laura takes a nap on mom as we relax on the shaded dock.
Ok, so maybe Laura didn't like the boat, but I have to say, I think what she really didn't like was the straight jacket (aka the life jacket). It was hotter than Hades that day, when is it not?! Laura actually quieted down and slept while the boat was moving. So...she does like the boat, just not the heat (me & your mom too, baby girl).
Three amigas enjoying a nice bottle of Stag's Leap. Hey, we had to clear out some of the wine because we are moving. The girls love their wine, so why not enjoy the good stuff?
All smiles from these kids: Brady, Olivia, Clare, Zach, Parker & Danny - pj's and campfire stories. Oh, were the stories funny!
Go, Amy, go! I have been dying for a canoe for so long and we finally got one! It's such a serene way to spend a morning or evening. Don't even think about it mid-afternoon with the heat!
Serious water power. I think they are having fun....
Kobe was a 'free bird' at the lake. I love it when he can be off leash and he does too.
A little stop at Chuck's Marina for a game of air hockey
Pizza at Chuck's
Brady
Amy gets beer with her pizza, I get warm grape juice that they call 'wine'. Oh well, it's all good.
Parker and Jen
Four Amigas! Oh, they are such Chuck's cronies - right at home.
Jen and Amy - enjoying a relaxing Friday afternoon on the lake and a beautiful view from Chuck's.
Cannonball!! They added lots and lots and lots of dives this year. I am so proud of them. I guess that 1.5 dive team practices actually got through to them. I was so upset that we missed all the practices for Smyrna's dive team due to weather, school schedules and dive team cancellations, but hey, at the end of the day, it worked! They are 'divers' at ages 6 & 7.
We borrowed the green beast from our neighbor's the Schorr's and it was a hit.
In the water to cool off
The McCurry's arrive! Jenna is ready to play.
Carly
He helped me with the fire....a little too much. Yes, he's holding a torch.
Pryor & McCurry kids with Kobe - boating time
Mimi established art shows whereby she paid the kids for their clay art pieces. The kids continued this tradition all summer. I have many wonderful pieces of artwork and I'm low on cash :-)
Olivia's canvas
Skylar presents her pieces to the crowd
The Berry's arrive! Another first for the summer...Zach learned to make armpit 'farts'. Yippee. True boy.
Garrett diving
Michelle's first visit to the lake....hot mama! We get lots of bikini shots, don't we?!
Christina's first trip to the lake as well. All smiles...
Fireworks time
Zach and Garrett....big time buddies
So, this was the day our boat broke down in the middle of the lake. Fishermen helped us get it to a marina. We are very lucky to have Reed Mitchell (Mitchell's Marine and also Amy Storm Orrico's dad) around. He met us as the marina with an SUV so we could drive home and had our boat repaired the next evening! Amazing! Thank you, Reed. So, the kids had ice cream and played while we waited. Not bad...
Dave's boss, Andy, spent Father's Day with us since his family is still in England. We'll all be in New Jersey together soon. P.S. He fell in love with the lake too :-)
Happy Father's Day
Time for some fishing. Gavin caught 4 fish in about a 15 minute time period on his visit and now Olivia is catching them too.
Home from the lake, I have a lunch date with my book club girls. Look at sweet baby James. We were cracking ourselves up!
On to Napa Valley for Amy Storm and Dave Orrico's wedding the last weekend in June. After a little sight seeing in San Francisco, and a couple of fish tacos (yum), we were in Napa. This is our Saturday morning...10 am, first wine tasting. It turns out to be a very good day. This was at Frog's Leap, then we ventured to Cakebread. Both were great tastings.
As I'm turning up my glass, I see the outdoor ceiling fans I want for the lake replacements. I got them! :-)
Wedding luncheon at Brix in Napa for Amy & Dave- Amy & Avery pictured.
You can't see it, but Mitchell is red in the face. He gets embarrassed easily, thus the kiss!
Jen, Dave Orrico (the groom) and Aimee
Tapas for dinner with.....the dentist :-)
And he likes his beer....
It's turning out to be a silly night after all that wine during the tastings, luncheon and dinner. Hey, it's Napa, what else do you do?!
Meanwhile, Zach is at Mimi & Papa's house and he lost his first tooth (age 6)! Man, $5 for the first tooth? Guess what...it's only a $1 after this. Save it, big man.
Sunday evening wedding for Amy & Dave at V. Sattui winery in Napa
Overlooking wedding location....beautiful. Birds flying overhead, chirping, sweet smells, it was absolutely perfect.
Reception in the barrel room
Meagan & Jen
End of the night silliness :-)
A little coffee and stroll along the Napa River to say goodbye. It was a whirl wind trip and we signed a contract on a house (rental) in New Jersey over the weekend, so we had a lot to celebrate! Thank you Orrico's for a truly amazing time and thank you for letting us share in your special day/weekend.
Kids playing with cousin, Gabe, at Mimi & Papa's
Breakfast in the 'Big' chair at the grandparents. Who wouldn't want to stay there? PJ's all day, t.v., Walmart visits for toys, playing with cousins and doggies.....
Back home with mom....time for a haircut. He wanted a Bieber do...
Fourth of July with the Smith's again.... oh what a weekend!
Karen and Gavin
Karen, Gavin & Mike
On the boat watching fireworks...Kobe too
Floating, drinking and singing and chatting....
It's a duel with sparklers...hey, at least they are not lit (not yet)!
Mmm, hmmm....Smores again. Do you see a pattern?!
Mike & Jen
Gluten Free style Smore
Trouble is brewing...that's what we call these two.
Gavin & Zach
This calls for a late night swim...for Dave and Mike....Can opener!!
Free bird.... Gavin
Swimming and loving it
We celebrated Kobe's first birthday at home in Atlanta on July 5th. He had a treat cup and the kids had a donut. I think he liked his birthday song.....spoiled doggie.
This is Jenna with Kobe during our July vacation. Kobe needed a break...but Jenna followed him :-)
Then comes the lake visitors; poor guys didn't have a dvd player, so they had to resort to crosswords, card playing and napping. Hey, that's what the lake is all about! I'm glad you enjoyed your time.
Tommy
Aunt Barbara
Dad - his afternoon nap
We will be putting the lake house on the rental market very soon. I hope many others will get to enjoy what my friends and family have over the past four years in this beautiful spot on Lake Martin. We love you, Eden!
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