At last!

Sometimes you want to go where things are comfortable. Where there’s a calm and peacefulness and this is it for me! There’s nothing better than this view

Or this one

Or watching this

Jim

And this

Jonathan

And this

Jacob

And then there’s the excitement of new things happening on the river. The towpath has been washed out because of flooding. For as long as I can remember, there's been detour signs taking bikers and hikers around where the path used to be. There's new signs, big ones too! Signs that construction is underway.

Should be interesting to watch the progress.

Can't wait to get back....til next time

Lazy river day

We grabbed a blanket, some drinks and the ipod and headed to one of our favorite places....the river! Bright sunshine, crisp blue skies and calm water made for the perfect day.

Time passes so fast when we're there.

It's a little piece of heaven and I'm a happy girl when I'm there!

The weekend's winding down...we're watching some football and I'm searching for our Christmas cards...yep, that's right, Christmas! It'll be here way too fast!

Hope you had a great weekend too!

Say it isn't so!

We lived it up this summer...we hit the river most Saturdays and squeezed every drop we could out of it.

Rounded up the gear, kids and puppies and we were off! All in all we probably spent the most time there of any summer yet.

Finding the rope swing helped with that! We tied off most mornings while the kids jumped and we chillaxed!

But like all good things...it's coming to an end. Tonight was a big dose of reality...yep....winterized! The boat's done for the season.

..so on to pumpkins and spices and chilly nights and crisp mornings. But you best believe we'll all be anxiously awaiting the first hot day of Spring!

Good to the last drop!

We did it again...we got up early and headed out. Bundled up and huddled together...it was another nippy morning!

But so worth it! Duffy and Jacob got in a little skiing before heading to the ropes for a little swinging....

And for the record...rope swinging is no joke! ;) Jake got tangled in the rope today and has a little souvenir to show for it.

The weather was beautiful this weekend. And while I love when the season's change, I'm gonna miss this

I've never happier than when I'm floating on the water! Time goes way too fast when I'm there....

Who'd a thunk it?!

So this morning started out like every other morning we plan to go to the river. Up really early and on the road. No problem. The time we spent there was great!

Duffy found a slalom course down the river where we rarely go...needless to say he was excited!

Julie tried to ski after years of being off the water

and Jake skied and did a little wakeboarding. All of that followed by some fun at the ropes

and then...we headed to the dock to drop Duffy off. The kids, puppies and I waited like we always do for our turn to put the boat on the trailer. I watched as Duffy drove past the ramp...hmmmm wonder why? Then I hear him calling my name for the shore..we made our way down for him to announce we had a flat tire. Oh no! Truck or trailer....trailer. And no, we didn't have a spare, I know, I know, but we didn't! So after some quick discussion, we decided that he and Julie would take Mason and Titan and go to the house to get the pump. Yep - so off they went while Jake and I headed back to the tree with the ropes to wait for a text to say they were back. A little more than an hour went by and they were back. Tire inflated and we were ready to roll! As Duffy pulled the truck out of the water, people were pointing and yelling...your tire's flat! Great! Of course it was....urgh! By this time, the dock area was PACKED with boats. But because we have favor =) there was one spot left.

So, to work we went! Digging out the jack and getting the tire off. Have I mentioned how hot it was? HOT...no joke!

Finally....off to figure out the next step. (condensing the story for lots of reasons but mostly my sanity :)) we bought a new tire and back to the boat. New tire on and we're back in business.

So, picture this, windows down, music playing, rolling back to the boat garage and Duffy casually mentions that we should've bought two new tires...he thinks the other one looks, well, wobally. Yeah, yeah....but not today! So a little further down the road and POP...yep, the other tire blew! So after a few words that aren't fit for blogging ;) we had no choice but to drive about a 1/2 mile because there was no shoulder to pull off. This time we're in a parking lot with zippy shade! Not a drop. We unhook the boat, dig all of our tools back out and Jake and Duffy go back to work. Julie and I were off to buy one more tire! We hurried back with cold drinks in hand. So very L O N G story short, after the purchase of another jack and a call to a towing company, we finally got the other tire replaced!

We backed the boat into the garage 7 hours after the first attempt at getting it out of the water...let me help put that into perspective. It's a 10 mile trip!

It was a day...just let me tell you. Lots of sweat and work and brainstorming...but no tears and no melt downs. (ok...maybe a 30 second one. But, really can you blame us?!)

Just a swingin'

When all of the morning 'glass' has been broken up by wakes from skiers and wake boarders, the old routine was to head for the dock. But no more! Not since we found the ropes! Jake's had his eye on them for a while now and convinced us to stop by a couple of weeks ago. And we've been stopping ever since.

Depending on what time you get there, there's usually a few others there partaking in a little fun!

The kids have a blast climbing up and swinging down...

I even gave it a try....let's just say that I didn't hold on long enough for Duffy to get a picture. But this is the splash! :) Oh and did I ever have the blisters to prove it! My poor hands! LOL

Oh how I love summer!