Lake Mitchell State Park

We headed to Lake Mitchell State Park in Cadillac on Thursday.  We got a later start than we intended due to getting back from Indianapolis at 2am and some morning craziness.  Nana and Auntie came with us.  We ended up meeting Auntie on the highway due to some crazy traffic that held us up in GR.  We arrived without incident and started setting up.  

Eric always holds this heavy thing of water and lets it drip slowly in.  I came up with a better idea, if I do say so myself.

Friday morning we headed across the street to do some swimming.  The lake was beautiful.  No waves, either.  Just the kind of water my babies love.  I brought the life jackets with because my dad and Eric were planning a day trip on Saturday, with the boat.  I didn't realize the red/black infant life jacket only went up to 30lbs.  Which B is exactly but I did head out to buy new ones for them.

Pretty girl on the beach

B and J eating trail mix.  He ate the chocolates, she ate the rest.  Works perfectly;)

Joelle wanted to be buried!

We went for a walk, that evening, on the docks and along the shore.  They had to wear their new life jackets.  Whatever.  I was sitting on this bench eagerly anticipating someone falling in.  It never happened.  Just so you know the water is ankle deep there.  They wouldn't have gotten hurt or drowned...just all wet.

The little man roasting his hobo pie.

Saturday morning I couldn't find Adelyn.  I peeked in on Joelle and there she was.  Sweet sisters:)

Papa came and took us boating for the day.  He brought the tube up and I sooooo wish I had thought to bring my zoom lens.  But, alas, I didn't and I didn't bring the camera on the boat either.  

Papa took the kids around the lake for a boat ride, first.  Mind you, B has been BEGGING to go on the boat allllllll summer.  He HATED it.  HATED.  We started going fast and he started balling.  So we went slow the whole way back.

Ironically, Joelle was the one we convinced to go tubing first.  I went with her.  She thought it was ok.  But started slipping beneath the cover of the tube and the tube (nowhere really to go, except stuck) but that feeling wasn't for her.  I lifted her back on the boat and my Dad took me for a wild ride.  I'm not as young as I used to be...  I fell off and Joelle started screaming like you wouldn't believe.  So I am loved..;)  We headed back.  

I convinced Brecken to go.  He didn't like that either.  I put him back on the boat, I climbed on and Auntie got off to go tubing.  She fell off.  B was all concerned but I was already prepped (given the prior experience) and just assured him her life jacket would hold her up.  We headed back.

Now to convince Adelyn.  Ha.Ha.Ha.

Eric went with her.  We were parked at the beach for 15 minutes trying to convince her.  She was cracking the people up that were floating by us.  She would say yes, then no, then yes, then not fast, then no.  I tried to convince her with candy.  No luck.  We told her B and J did it.  No luck.  Finally my mom whispered that she would take her to get candy by herself and she decided to go.  "But only for 4 minutes!" she yelled at my dad and I.  She was literally yelling that and waving her 4 fingers at us.  So we took her for a ride, slowly, around the lake.  Then her hat started blowing off and Eric had to hold onto it with his teeth.  The things we do.

We spent the whole morning and afternoon on the beach.  The girls wanted to go on a boat ride again.  B ABSOLUTELY did not want to go.  The second the boat started moving Joelle was OUT.

She loves her Mackinac Island hat.

J woke up and I got this cute shot of the two of them:)

Water fights when we got back!  The rule in our family is, if you splash someone, you get splashed back!!  Game on!

Two gaming up on one...story of our children's lives.

A view of Papa's boat

No one said Mommy couldn't play either..

This little one fell asleep on our way back..

I made hamburgers for supper over the fire.  I think I had 8 in my grill basket.  I flipped it, at one point, and 3 fell out.  I was ticked.  Eric was elated.  We had 7 people to feed.  Auntie had left for a reunion for her boyfriends family.  Eric got a hobo pie.  My mom had purchased some yummy slice mozzarella and Eric put a piece on his sandwich.  He bit into it and said "There doesn't  to be paper between those cheese slices, does there?  Ummm.  Yes.  Hahahahahaha.  Here's Eric holding up his paper with melted cheese slice.  Whoopsies.

We had so much fun with Nana and Auntie....and I'm SO disappointed I didn't get any good pictures with either of them!  Ugh.  I need to be more intentional with that..