And we’re back from another trip to the lake with Will and the kids. Because it’s July and it’s hot and the best solution to all that is to just head to the lake.

Betsy Beagle, an admitted non-water enthusiast, realized her wanting to be with her people outweighed her dislike of water.  And so not only did she dip her toes into the water, she joined us on a boat ride! I’m pretty sure she had no idea what she had signed up for, but she made the best of it.

Walker, age 4, feeling he had mastered water skiing, decided to give knee boarding a try and of course nailed it his first go round. Nailed it to the point of within a few feet of starting out, decided to try out tricks, like going one handed and cutting across the wake of the boat, as one does when you’re just starting out with a new skill. It was his attempt of doing what he so nonchalantly called “A 160-100” that caused him to wipe out though. You might say that one should know what the trick is called before attempting it, but when you’re 4, these things matter little. You just go for it.

For the record, it was a 360° he was attempting, but it will forever be known as the 160-100 with a shrug of the shoulders and a flick of the hand as one says it.

Our last morning, I woke up early one morning to the sound of Edie knocking on Will’s door across the hall. She had tried water skiing over the Fourth, but with the lake being so choppy, she couldn’t quite nail it. I knew she wanted to try it again, but I also knew my girl was not up for giving it a go with everyone on the boat. Since she was a baby, she has always preferred to work on new tricks in private, not unleashing them until she absolutely, positively knew she could nail it.  And so, when I heard her voice that morning,  I could hear the determination in it. I knew what she was up to and I was not wrong.

Which is why the only photos I have of her skiing are from Will’s phone.  Which is actually as it should be, because while photos and videos are nice, sometimes the best memories are the ones that have no documentation, because we’re too busy being in them to stop and capture them.

Although when a big old carp comes swimming up to the dock and you manage to hook it, it’s awfully nice to be able to show exactly how big that fish really was.