Lake Mattoon with Mom and Dad

Mom and Dad came down to Mattoon for a little September skiing. 

Boat riding on a beautiful Saturday

Mom skiing on some nice smooth water

Dad barefooting on some great Saturday morning glass

Thomas fetching his own water again. Check out all the water on the carpet--thank goodness it's indoor-outdoor carpet! 

Family photo

Blowing water through the noodle

It's Official: Not Ready for Crayons

but maybe we should feed him more often.

Lake Skills

We had a quiet weekend at the lake recently--just Tucker and the three of us. A rainy Saturday morning was perfect for watching football. Then the water was beautiful Sunday morning, so we got some great barefooting and skiing in. 

Tucker practiced the swing out.

Ed tried to barefoot on one foot--you can't see it in this picture, but he maybe/probably did it.

Where are the pictures of me? There aren't any.  :( But I barefooted too! 

Thomas practiced using the water dispenser--and successfully filled his glass. And then equally successfully dumped it down his front!

Ed's massive brush pile--lots to burn!

TGIF! Here's our crazy kid

A little Friday amusement...this is what Thomas does for fun. 

Labor Day weekend

We spent Labor Day weekend at Pearl Lake, with a stop in Milwaukee first. The weather was cool, but we still had fun!

TJ in his new Aaron Rodgers jersey. He will occasionally say "touchdown!" with his hands raised, and also, "Go Pack!"

Head butting with Grandpa during the Packer game.

While we had lunch with Grandma Millie, Thomas showed his understanding of keys and ignitions. He knew Grandma's motorized scooter needed a key to go, so he dug in her basket, found her apartment key, and tried to insert it in the ignition to start the cart. So close...

Grandma painted Thomas a little nutcracker.

Tubing on Big Mable with Grammy and Grandpa

At Jenn's suggestion, Mom made "shawls" for Ed and Pat. It's basically a wrap with velcro that they can wear for lounging. They wore them all weekend.

The shawls look especially good over wetsuits!

The beam in the cottage was slightly bigger than the monkey bars but just as fun!

On Grandpa's shoulders

Our family with a tree we planted at the lake in honor of Grandpa.

Lake jumping stunts

I haven't had a chance to upload my pictures from Labor Day weekend yet, but I've got some videos! It was a cool weekend, hence the wetsuits you see, but I think the tight black suits set the mood for the stunt jumping performed by Ed, Pat, and Niki's boyfriend Eric. The first video is great, but my favorite is the guys' interpretation of the Dirty Dancing scene in the second video. Make sure your sound is turned on, as this clip comes with singing as well.

Pat's highlight reel

All 4 of us barefooted last weekend at Mattoon, and then Jenn and Pat tried the swing out start. Jenn nailed it on the first try. Pat needed a few more attempts--check out his highlight reel on his way to success! Oh, and most people don't have the strength, ability to take a pounding and determination to try so many times...Pat is truly one of a kind!

Lake jumping

Here's a short video of T "jumping" into the lake.

Jenn and Pat come to the lake

Jenn and Pat drove down for a weekend of barefooting, smoked meat, and Thomas time. Lots of fun!

Enjoying married life!

Pat barefooting--good form!

Jenn tried the swing out with the short rope and nailed it on the first try! Nice job!

We smoked a whole chicken, nine sausages, two pork shoulders, and a rack of ribs for dinner. Maybe a little too much food, but so good!

Driving the boat...he now knows where the throttle is and how it works. Uh oh...

Check out the new shades!

Great boat hair!

While we were packing on Sunday, T got very quiet. I came to the door with another load and saw why--he'd found and opened the tupperware holding brownies and cookies and helped himself. Twice! 

Playground fun

T loves playgrounds. He climbs up, slides down, and starts over again, round and round. And if there are other kids around, even better!

This is his new favorite. After seeing another little girl (probably 5 years old) on the monkey bars, he had to try. He's actually quite strong--he can hang for 5 or 6 seconds before letting go.

Down the slide!

Just hanging out

Di & Matt at the lake

Di and Matt came down from Chicago to, as they put it, "bask in T's cuteness," and of course, see me and Ed. We relaxed, boated, floated, ate, and Matt and Ed did some tree cutting. A great weekend with great friends!

Hanging out with the Chicago folks

Matt and Ed getting ready to cut some trees down

Di's ready for football season to start (see her shirt). Hard to believe it's been 10 years since we graduated...and that Michigan has been so bad that the last few years that they're easier to beat...

The humorous highlight of the weekend...enjoying some "nakey time" before bed, T ripped off his diaper and VERY proudly climbed up his slide. After clapping for himself, he promptly peed on the slide! Fortunately he flipped over the couch rather than going down the wet slide.