Lake Vacation, Part III

I'm so thankful the boys were able to experience such a wonderful vacation! Even though I wasn't there with them (although, to them, I think that was part of the appeal!) I'm glad they have these memories to look back on. They're already talking about plans for next summer! My parents are awesome for taking on such a huge task (4 boys = LOTS of noise!) and embracing everything that came along with a week long vacation! Dirty clothes, smelly boys, wet towels, messes upon messes upon messes, differing opinions, sleep deprivation (mostly by Mimi), and lots of "Hey Mimi, Mimi, Mimi...." 

They had the BEST VACATION EVER!!!!

 They met Asher, who was also staying there for the summer and they had a great time playing with him! Lots of hide-n-seek in the dark, dock games, cops and robbers, and whatever crazy games they could imagine (and apparently there were lots of them). Meeting new riends at the lake was always SO fun!!

 Wyatt matched his Minion

 Kids these days....

And that's a wrap to the great Lake Vacation of 2017!!! Can't wait til next year!!!

Lake Vacation, Part II

While at the lake, they also did a lot of "touristy" things, which is really all the super fun activities that we can't do here in KC! They chose one activity a day- well, that was the plan. Go-carts, mini golf, bumper boats, Dog Patch arcade. So many fun things to do!!

Lake Vacation, Part I

Life at the Lake is something I've enjoyed since I was a baby. Every summer, we'd spend a week or weekend at the lake quite often and those are some of my very favorite memories! Since the boys have been born, I've been fortunate enough to take them to the lake quite often, that they also dream of going to the lake each and every summer and some of their favorite memories have been made there!! This year, we were hoping to make it a full family vacation, but with Levi's work and traveling schedule, and us having a wild and crazy dog, I wasn't sure how we could make it work. So, it turned out that Mimi and PawPaw took all 4 boys by themselves for the ENTIRE week! A few years ago, they took all 4 boys for 4 days, but since they were a few years older now, Mimi was sure they could handle a full week! And oh my goodness, they had the time of their lives!!! I totally missed out on SO much fun! But I'm SO glad they made the memories that will last them a lifetime!!! There wasn't wi-fi out there, so we didn't get to FaceTime each day like I had hoped- not that the boys would stop and talk to me anyway- too much fun to be had. But luckily Mimi was great about sending me pictures!!!

I got a little teary on the morning they left because I knew they were going to be making so many memories that I wasn't going to be in! But I was thankful for 2 parents who lovingly took them for an adventure of a lifetime!!!! Plus, a week alone in the house wasn't the worst thing ;-)

They swam and swam and swam. They played their iPads. They ate Dairy Queen (a lot) and a ton of other junk food. They went to Ozarkland quite a few times. They stayed up late. They played cards and board games. They had nothing but FUN!!!

Lake Day!

We were able to squeeze one day at Lake Perry with the VanAllen crew! The boys have been begging and begging to go out on their boat so we were thrilled that it actually happened!! It was a day full of swimming, boating, and tubing- just like they like it! The water was perfect, the sun was shining, and we had lots of smiling boys on the boat!!! Good times!

Laking It!

While this summer has been pretty sporadic with sunshine, we try and make the most of it when it finally does appear! So when Friday turned out to be a gorgeous sunny day, we jumped at the chance to head out to the lake with the Van Allen's!! It was a chilly to start but once the sun came out full force it was just the perfect day to boat, tube, and sun ourselves!!

They got a new tube this year, which was perfect for 4 little boys to ride!!

We are hoping for an indian summer so we can enjoy the lake and the boat and the pool all the way into October!! We love us some lake time!!!!

Boys Trip to the Lake

When I was planning my adventure to Virginia, plans turned out that all four of the boys would head to the lake with my parents for the first few days. My parents had already had their vacation planned before I got my trip booked, and while they wanted the boys there for some of the time, they still wanted to be able to relax somewhat on their vacation. So they got to go to the lake for 3.5 days!! And from what I heard, it was 3.5 days of pure FUN!!!!! These pictures are here to prove it...

My parents are just the best!!! They gave these boys a trip of a lifetime and also allowed Levi and I to have the trip that so needed without having the guilt of leaving our kiddos behind. Mom and Dad- thank you so much for always taking care of our boys, without any hesitation or boundary, and showering them with more love than we could ever imagine!! They are so lucky to have you guys! But just so you know, they're already planning next years trip....so get some rest!

The Lake via Instagram

A very random picture post of the lake, via Instagram!!!