Ahhh... The Lake

Sooo... A little more laundry, a bit more grocery shopping, not much cleaning and a whole lot of packing and we were off to our next exciting adventure.


This time it was a camping/ boating trip with our friends Joe & Jackie. They got a new boat this year and another friend of ours owns a campground and has been inviting us to come and stay so we decided to make it a weekend. It couldn't have been a better combination.


The town we visited is a quaint little town on the west coast of Michigan called Pentwater. It is so great. I have found that the more north you go, the more coarse the sand is but the water is more clear. Right in the middle of Lake Michigan's west coast are the beaches of Oceana county. They have the best of both worlds. The sand is the finest I have ever felt and the water is the most beautiful clear aqua blue. You can see straight down to the sandy bottom of the lake. It is breathtaking. This picture doesn't do it any justice, you just have to see it yourself.

As soon as we set up camp (for them it meant parking the RV, for us it meant SETTING UP camp) we hit the lake. I didn't think we were going to be doing much but before long, they had the tube blown up and Nathan and the kids were in the water!

Even Jaleigh got in on the fun. She was so brave. All I could think about was all 30 lbs of her bouncing across the water. I felt better that Nathan was there and held on tight. She was not going to let her siblings get away doing something that she couldn't do.

Joe & I rode on the tube together until Nathan (who happened to be driving at the time) catapulted me across the lake. Everyone said that I had rolled skimming the lake several times before coming to a rest. Apparently he didn't realize you weren't supposed to speed up at every corner when your wife is always on the outside if the curve...Let's just say that he was very nice to me for the rest of the night.


The next morning after a fantastic breakfast (one of my favorite things about camping... Remember? Nathan loves to make a great breakfast...especially when we are camping.) the kids put their suits right on. It wasn't long before we were in the lake again.

We all tried the smaller tube this time and I remembered how fast your arms get tired in that position. We all came out of the lake with wobbly arms. I was really surprised when Saroya said she wanted to do it. We started really slow and she kept wanting to go faster and faster!

Of course Ethan didn't want his little sister to show him up so he did it too. Neither of them ever fell off. I was surprised.

But then Ethan had to kick it up a notch...






Nathan & Joe kept egging each other on. "How slow were you going?? I thought at least you would TRY to knock me off..." I didn't get a picture of it, but at one time it looked like Nathan was on a kite off the back of the boat. After he would wreck he would say, " How many times did I flip that time??" Joe constantly had the tube up on one end like it was a tire. I don't know HOW he stayed on. Jackie & I just laughed. They were so funny to watch. About 3pm we headed back for lunch.

Later in the day Jackie and I headed into town to do a little window shopping at the fun little stores they have there. I'm not going to tell you the real name of this cool store, we'll just call it the "Cool Kitchen" store. Don't ya just want to go??

Of course when we got back we weren't a bit surprised that the Joe, Nathan, the kids and the boat were gone. Nathan said they just anchored the boat and let the kids jump off the boat and swim around. They said it was so relaxing to just sit, feel the rocking of the boat, hear the kids giggling and feel the warm sun as it set. When they came back we ate dinner and called it a night.

It was nice to be camping. One of my favorite things to do. It was so relaxing and the kids were always discovering new pathways or different bugs. Ethan was always helping Joe wipe down the boat, hang the towels to dry or anything else that was needed.

On Saturday, we knew it was our last day so we got up early and hit the lake. It was more busy with weekend boaters so we went out to Lake Michigan (we had mostly been tubing on Pentwater Lake) and just took in the amazing beauty. As you got closer to Lake Michigan, the water just kept becoming more clear. Once we put the anchor down and took in the whole scene it was almost too much to take in. I just kept feeling like I really wanted to remember how beautiful it was and I knew my camera wouldn't do it justice. Here is a picture of Nathan and Jaleigh in Lake Michigan. You can see how deep the water is by where it comes up to Nathan and you can see his feet so clearly! It didn't matter how deep it was.

We played around a little in the water. Even Miss J decided to have a run on the laying down tube with Joe. She did so GOOD!!

While we were out there messing around a older lady with white hair came down the stairs from her house on Lake Michigan. She was joined by two young adults. I don't know why but I was immediately intrigued by her. She and the other two playfully ran straight into the water. They were eagerly talking to one another and before long all three were having hand standing competitions in the water. She was back and forth to the shore to float on a inner tube, or to take the kayak out. Once she took what looked like her husband out on the Sunfish sailboat, went back dropped him off, and went out again on her own. She just seemed a woman so full of life, out to have fun, and not letting age be an excuse. She had an enthusiasm most 30 year olds lack. It just made me want to be more like what I observed in her for that short time. To grasp life and live it to the fullest. To be the happiest I can be with whatever circumstance I am in. To not say, "the water is too cold" and hang out on the shore. It was just good to see a different option to growing older... and I liked it a lot.

We stayed the rest of the day in Pentwater shopping and eating until dusk when we sat with our legs over the breakwater and watched the fireworks. It was nice end to a really great weekend with our friends. When we got home, I was most thankful for flush toilets, anti itch cream, and aloe vera gel.... Ahhhhh!