The lake...

The cutesie cheeks shot.

The kids' awesome sand volcano, with aide from Aunt Amie.

The missed shot.

Poor Neil. I gave him a run for his money.
Eventually, I turned to start throwing to Cory to let Neil catch his breath.

We are blessed to live so close to Lake Michigan (or Michigan Lake, as Calla calls it). Yet, we never seem to make the 10 mile journey to the lakefront. This Labor Day, we took the family out to the lake for dinner. We met Cory's brothers and their families for an evening by the water. I will preface the next few statements with the fact that I did thoroughly enjoy myself. However, I do know why we don't frequent the beach. I hate eating outside. Especially if there is sand involved. I also loathe wearing a swimsuit, especially around people plan to ever see me again. Lastly, I have a strong fear of deep water. There are stories to be told about this fear, but I'll leave those to Cory. He so delights in my weaknesses. But, my fear is magnified when it comes to my kids. The thought of them near the water...anyway.
The kids played with the dads in the water, so that fear was squelched.
I didn't go swimming, and the swimsuit remained tucked neatly in my dresser drawer. Dislike #2 was pacified.
There was a decent amount of sand in my food during dinner, but two out of three ain't bad.