Some folks go for a Sunday afternoon drive...this is how we go for a Sunday afternoon drive...
...life jackets, snacks, and plenty of towels to keep warm!
...and don't forget the lifeboat!
...because we just might need to be rescued...
...from little giggling girls! Here Alisa is floating/swimming...if she put her feet down...the water would be to her thighs! Yes, the water levels have gone down quite a bit!
Teddy got to play BoxMania at VBS because he brought two friends from our neighborhood with him. He played a hard bargain and went for the box...a monkey that makes noise, a zucchini (ha ha), 3 Liter of pop, a dinosaur 3-D puzzle, and a squirt gun!
It is amazing to me what a little boy will do with a squirt gun...he found all kinds of things to shoot...here, it was bugs caught in spider webs. He amused himself for quite awhile. He is good like that...as long as no sisters are around to tell him what to do...or shoot at!
Last night (Friday) was the fun fair where kids can spend the tickets they earned...they played games, ate, and shopped for some neat things! Teddy will be launching his rocket, playing mini-basketball, playing crouquet, and balloon-sword fighting till it pops!
The girls...well, they have enough to keep them busy too while they try the 2 liter of Squirt for the first time! The girls brought visitors (one of the girls comes from an unsaved home and we are excited she wanted to come!)...but their names weren't drawn weren't drawn for the BoxMania game. As you can tell, they aren't suffering in the least and there is always next year! There were lots of visitors! We had a good turn out for VBS this year...and the kids all had fun! And the adults are tired to be sure!
This little dinosaur detective models his craft project for his mother...but not with a willing heart! He had so much fun last night that he got sick in the bowl before falling asleep...I wonder how much fun we'll have tonight!?
Third lost tooth...Alisa let her sister "pop it out" for her during lunch as it was causing her distress when trying to eat. I had her rinse her mouth with her water bottle...but...well...to put it in Teddy's words..."oooo, gross...it's blood water!" Lunch appetites were suddenly gone...there was lots of snacking at the pool later and lots of plans for how to spend the money that the tooth fairy would bring...and instructions that the fairy's wings would be blue!
How do you eat corn-on-the-cob with one tooth...corn will be all over the side of your face and hair! How do you eat corn-on-the-cob with two loose teeth...you don't...have Mom cut it off the cob for you!
Swimming fun...jumping, "diving" (it is all in how you hold your hands when you jump!), going under, floating, racing, whapping (what else are noodles for?), and roasting (baste often, turn every 20-30 min. till you...the Mommy and Grammy...are a nice golden brown!)
Taking a break under the porch while the thunderstorms rolled through...all we got was a sprinkle...while everywhere around us got the rain and wind and thunder! $1.05 of fun from the thrift store...a chalkboard and 1/2 box of chalk! 
One got the roll of TP for the other to put on the holder...without being told!!! I really think this is an in-born trait in females! And my girls worked as a team! Without fighting about it!
Teddy is getting braver all the time! He had all the accessories in place!
We can enjoy the lake again! The road is open and the lake/river are safe to play in again! Over 5 weeks were "lost" this summer for many of us at the lakehouse...and for others...the whole summer and possibly many more! Can I say...it was soooo nice to enjoy it again...as a family! We had a wonderful day with Daddy...on a trip to town, at the pool, at the lake, on the golfcart, on the deck, in the general store for an ice cream, and finally...on the couch for a movie! The lawn is dried out for the most part...some green grass...some dead grass! The piles of the clean-up process dot the landscape...we were able to drive back into the hardest hit areas...total destruction with minimal salvage to be sure. I "saved six pieces of our dock by chaining them to the tree" when the water started to come up...and Ted found two more of our sections. We were able to drag the two pieces and load them on the golfcart and "bring them home". As the water continues to recede, we could tramp around and find the last two sections. I think we would need to be armed with waders, lots of bug spray, and possibly a tetnus shot!Maybe by the weekend the water will have gone down enough to put the dock and boat in...it all depends on how much it rains up north!
Last night, we took Mom and Dad with us on an adventure! We drove into the Chicago suburbs (which was an adventure when Ted is at the wheel!) and went to a Greater Vision Concert. Oh what a wonderful time!
The man who has been their tenor for the last 13 years is moving on to start training for the ministry. The man who is taking his place was with them last night...and what a voice God has blessed him with! We cried through the songs Faces and God Wants To Hear You Sing.
and you will see...ONE...
TWO...
...all...THREE! Yes...they can all blow up their own balloons...all mommy has to do is tie up the slobbery ends! They are very good about wiping the ends off on their shirts...thank you, my darlings!
