Hello, August. I Wish You Weren't Here!

This hasn't been the best summer. We've had a string of bad luck, such as teetering on the brink of a full-on financial crisis, a car that's not running, my incessant bad moods and inability to accomplish anything unless at metaphorical gunpoint, etc. and so on. Read my last post for more gloom and doom if you wish, or keep reading for my usual sunshine and Splenda-rific posting about our not-so-exciting-but-could-be-much-much-worse-life.

We're back tonight from another weekend at the lake. We had been out Thursday night and Friday night having dinner and drinks with friends, and I was at a work-related "retreat" all day Friday, so we were a little late getting on the road, as usual. It was unfortunate timing, because my sister brought her brand-new boyfriend along for the weekend and to meet the family, and we missed out on most of the day. They spent the day on the water and were just pulling up at the dock as we made it down there after changing into our suits. We swam a bit with my sister and her boyfriend before heading up to the house for a sinfully good dinner of grilled chicken breasts, corn on the cob, watermelon, and fresh sliced cucumbers and tomatoes from our garden. Yum. After dinner, we kicked back with a few drinks on the patio and had an altogether pleasant evening. Edna had been feeling great-the best she's felt in a while, so spirits were light and jovial. On Sunday, after getting a not-so-early start due to a rainy morning, we gave up the planned trip over to the beach and instead went down to the dock for fishing, sunbathing, swimming, and Sea-Doo rides. The boyfriend left for home, and Dad and Edna came down for a late afternoon boat ride. The weather had cleared up considerably, so we decided to head all the way up to the marina at Mitchell's Point, which has an awesome little outdoor cafe on the waterfront. James was at the helm for most of the trip both up to the marina and back home to Waterfront Park, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Dad relishes the fact that this boat is so smooth and easy-to-handle that he's not stuck at the wheel the whole time. Edna enjoys the fact that she can lie down on super-luxurious seats and bundle up. She's supposed to stay out of the sun as much as possible, and she gets cold easily these days, so that's her, bundled up under the quilt in the right side of the picture. I wanted to get a picture of her all snuggled in there, but I'm too clumsy and chickensh*t to move while the boat is, and I forgot once we slowed down. Andrew even got to help his daddy drive the boat for a few minutes.

But most of the time, Andrew was sitting up in the bow with me, enjoying the ride and practicing his knot-tying skills and enjoying the spectacular view. Upon returning to our cove, Andrew decided he wanted to try jumping off the dock, so he and I stayed in the water while he practiced. Unfortunately, I couldn't catch him in the water and take pictures by myself, so there's no photographic evidence of the first attempts. He kept up the practice today, though, before and after some swimming.

That wasn't quite as painful for James as it appears. It was more about flinching to avoid being splashed, rather than the castration it appears to be.

All in all, a lovely weekend. We're home for a few days, then back to the lake later this week for another long weekend as we attempt to fit every moment of summer into the last week before I go back to work and Andrew starts preschool, which is why I hate to see August come.

I'm sure you've noticed the abnormally long and heavy-on-pics post. The other fantastic news in the household is that we've finally moved from dial-up to the speed-of-light wonder of cable internet. What used to take me hours and hours to upload can now be done in the snap of a finger, so be prepared for more fantastically picture-laden posts in the future. I do NOT know I survived so long without putting my fist through the computer screen. Anyway, my faithful readers have been deprived all summer, so...ENJOY! And look for more to come.