We headed down to the lake with Will and the kids for the Fourth of July.  The celebration (meaning the fireworks) was held on Sunday, the 2nd, which turned out to be wise, as the evening of the Fourth was wet and not at all conducive to fireworks.

The lake was packed – the coves across the lake from us were filled with anchored houseboats and sailboats and every house on our cove had a houseful. Because the water was so choppy from all the traffic, we kept our water sport activities to the mornings and evenings, when it was quieter, leaving the afternoons for lounging around the dock.

The kids fished, swam and floated in the cove. The fellows fished and worked on some projects around the house, like hanging birdhouses and powerwashing decks and boats and I did my thing  – made dinner every night, cleaned the kitchen a few times a day and finished three books. One of which I had started before we arrived, so I really only read like two and half books in four days.

Edie and Abigail both brought girlfriends and the pack of big girls sat up late playing cards and giving themselves haircuts after we all went to bed. The guys watched Star Wars movies every night (episodes I & II) and I read.

Betsy beagle, who does not necessarily care for water, preferred the new boardwalk to the dock. She mostly kept to the porch though, because that girl loves a good porch. Once again, Walker attempted to train her, although she’s not always receptive to his instruction.

And Walker? Well, in all his glorious four year old energy, he soaked up having four big girls to carry out his every whim, while gladly modeling his new Hawaiian shirt.

It was so packed down there, we had a hard time with the wifi and our cell phones connecting, which meant, we were mostly unplugged, which was glorious. It may have been the very best part of our mini-vacation.