Weekend at the Lake

J had Friday off so Thursday afternoon we headed to my dad's for the weekend. We were both SO READY for a fun, relaxing weekend on the lake. I knew we were going to have fun when the girls wanted to jam out to Bon Jovi and Daughtry in the car on the way there! It was hilarious to see them "dancing" in their car seats.

When we got to dad's Thursday night we met him at the store to get what we needed for a cookout that night with some friends. Burgers and hot dogs... perfect. We finished the evening with cake and ice cream for the Birthday Girl.

Let me just go on the record saying that I can't believe she is two! TWO! My heart is having a really hard time with this. Thankfully she will still let me hold her.... sometimes.

Friday we hit Wal-Mart early. Pappy had to take his girl birthday shopping! We also needed a few things to take to the lake with us... yippee! Dad and I were talking Friday and we decided we needed to buy another life jacket in the 30-50 lbs size. It was time for Laila to move up to the bigger life jacket. So while we were filling up the boat at the marina, I went in and got a new life jacket. Little Girl LOVED it! This year she has been preferring to sit up on the boat and snack rather than swim.... until now. Now that she has her new life jacket she has more freedom. She was moving around and swimming on her own within minutes of getting in the water. She has never really swam on her own with a life jacket so this was a BIG deal!

So Friday we swam, then came home and had pizza and hung out. It was a perfect Friday, in my opinion.

Simply beautiful.

There is a big fireworks show on the lake on Independence Day Eve. My girls have never seen a fireworks show... I know, I know, I'm a lame mother. :) It just hasn't ever worked out with their ages and with Jared's work schedule and such. But this year we did it right!

Saturday morning we got up and had a huge breakfast (thanks Dad) and early naps before we headed to the lake. We got out about 2pm and got ready for a long, fun day on the water. Let me just say, my girls were nearly perfect. I only had to get on to the big girls a few times and Mika Lynn was as good as can be. We swam and swam and snacked and played. We met up with friends and tied up together.... think of the song "Redneck Yacht Club" and that was pretty much us!

Sis and me! I know I desperately need a tan, but it is so hard to get one when I spend most of my time outside making sure Baby Girl stays in the shade and cool. 

This is how it goes when I try to get a picture of all three girls....
Take One:

Take Two:

Take Three:

The last one would have been good if my hand hadn't been in it. They are such a mess, these girls!

Mika Lynn and I hung out in the back of the boat, in the shade. She was especially fond of Pappy's Captain's Chair.

Ooooh, I love this baby. :)

We were out on the lake for over eight hours. I am still in awe at how good my girls were. And I must say that I had a great time. The girls spent the afternoon and evening jumping off the boat and swimming. They had a ball and I loved watching them. As long as my girls are having a great time, I don't mind being the palest person on the lake!

Seriously, this is one of my favorite pictures - how cute are these two "Whitneys"?! Laila Whitney and her Aunt Whitney, they are big buddies!

SPLASH! I kept trying to get an in-air shot of Peyton jumping but she jumped too fast and I was always too slow with the camera. Eventually I'll get a good shot of her jumping. She did so good!!! I'm so proud of her for jumping and Laila for swimming and jumping so well. They amazed me!

A little sass for the camera! She was posing and showing off some dance moves on the boat. Needless to say, we were cracking up. So much personality wrapped up in such a small package - love it!

Here we are, our little family, waiting on the fireworks show to start. The girls loved it! Peyton got super excited over the red ones (her favorite color). And after each firework went off, Laila would either say "Oh that one did" (I think she meant that one exploded) or "that was cool". They had a great time and I loved every minute of this special day with them!

I hope you all had a wonderful celebration of our country's independence. We definitely did!