1st boat trip of the season...

80 and sunny for Easter weekend and our first trip up to the lake for the year.

lake jocassee

tubing fun...

celebrating Mother's Day & Jeff's birthday...

Granna & Gramps came to help us celebrate Mother's Day & Jeff's 34th birthday last weekend. It was action packed from start to finish. They arrived Friday afternoon and we mostly just hung out visiting and then went out to dinner. First on our list of things to do on Saturday was Carson's soccer game. It was really hot and sunny so Jeff brought our tail-gating tent along.

great action shot of Carson (even if I did cut off his head)
I must have been taking!

the little girl in red is one of Carson's classmates

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Next, grabbed a quick lunch at the house and then headed off to the lake. This was Anne & Charlie's first time out on our boat (last year when they came to visit, the boat was in the shop but I'll get to that later). It was a beautiful day to be on the lake - hot but breezy. The water is still cold but we all ventured in eventually in order to cool off.


We had a great time on the boat and all was going well until it was time to crank up and head home. The boat wouldn't crank! Fortunately for us, boaters are friendly people and a couple of guys towed us to the nearest ramp and drove Jeff across the lake to retrieve his truck/boat trailer. The rest of us hung out in the boat while it was tied up to the dock. Once Jeff got back, everyone quickly jumped off the boat when the plan to get the boat to the ramp was mentioned - turn the boat in the right direction, give it a good shove and let the wind & waves do the rest of the work. So, there I was standing at the front of the boat with a rope in my hand as everyone waved to me from the dock. I threw the rope to Jeff as I neared the trailer and he was able to pull the boat up on to the trailer. We dropped the boat of to be serviced before heading home for dinner.


Jeff & Carson

Molly & Granna

Gramps & Carson

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Sunday meant breakfast in bed for the mothers - Jeff helped the kids make flaky cinnamon twists and then Carson served me and Molly served Granna. Presents for all the mothers and the birthday boy. And then the boys headed out to play 9 holes of golf. While the girls, walked and rode (Molly) on the Greeneway. We all met up for a quick lunch at Zaxby's. Ann & Charlie headed back to AL to pick up Mulligan and we went shopping at Lowes and planted a few (more) flowers in the yard. A dinner of left-overs meant this mom managed to go a whole day without cooking or going to the grocery store
(a usual Sunday venture for me).


the birthday boy - almost 34 years old!!

beer and $$$ for a new TV - what more could a man ask for??

1st boat trip of the season...

We finally made it out to the lake! We were in town last weekend because Muv & Pops were visiting (read - sleeping at our house and playing golf with friends in Augusta). And the weather was great. And the boat cranked!!! We had a great time and were amazed how different the lake looks this year with so much more water. We are looking forward to many more trips to the lake...Molly - relaxing on the boat

snorkel boy on the boat

snorkel boy in the REALLY cold water

he finally got brave enough to try out his new snorkeling gear

this bird swooped down and caught this fish

not too far from where we were

Goodbye 2008

2008 was a busy, busy year but tons of fun!

Molly - turned 6
graduated from 5 year old kindergarten
loves roller coasters and tubing on the lake
swam on the swim team (and made it to the All-Star meet)
learned to ride a bike without training wheels
started 1st grade
loves to play with her American Girls

Carson - turned 5
graduated from 4 year old kindergarten
played lots of soccer and golf
loves riding in the boat and skipping rocks on the lake
started 5 year old kindergarten
loves to get dirty and play with cars

Amy & Jeff - turned 33
celebrated 10 wonderful years of marriage
spent a lot of time on the lake

we all -
traveled a lot - to AL, Greenville, Disney, beach, etc...
cheered on the Tigers
went to a practice round at the Masters
spent Thanksgiving in Greenville and Christmas in Anniston

(possibly) the last boat outing of the summer...

It is sort of sad to see the end of boating season. We have had so much fun on the

lake this summer and learned a lot in the process.

Jeff has learned ...

1. he can launch the boat without any help from us

2. he hasn't forgotten how to water ski (but he did forget how quickly you can get tired when you haven't water skied in years)

3. he's still just a kid at heart

The kids have learned...

1. how much fun tubing can be (Molly)

2. the water is a lot more fun when you wear goggles (Carson)

3. how to overcome your fears and try something new (Carson & the tube)

4. riding around in the boat is always better with a cold drink (Molly)

I have learned...

1. that I'm not very good at parking the truck/trailer in the parking lot (but got better as the summer went on)

2. that I don't really like to drive the boat but will do it so that my kids get to see their dad having so much fun

3. that a day on the lake always makes me too tired to go to the grocery store