Kayla had a lot of fun on the boat. She clearly enjoys getting ready for the boat, but as you can see, she really enjoys steering the boat!
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| Getting ready for her first journey onto Lake Tahoe! |
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| Clearly likes to be in charge! And yes, she actually was steering the boat. |
The whole family was able to attend church together, so we have our family picture below. Actually, we are all getting pretty good at posing - except with Kayla, we need to take a few more shots than we used to take. Thank goodness for digital camera!
Monday, we tried paddle boarding. Tons of fun - and much more exercise than what it looks like. Of course, one needs to contemplate going into water that is run off from the snow in the mountains.
Speaking of paddle boarding, some folks were just glad to make it back to shore:
And because we are so tough, and 2010-2011 was such a long, wet, cold winter - the same day we played in the water in the morning, we played in the snow that afternoon!
Evening of July 4th is always fun. Here are Ashley and Kayla posing, and most of us in the back of the boat waiting for the fireworks. This picture is a tradition as we celebrate the 4th. Trick is to not have so many in the back that we start to take on water if the waves are big - which they weren't this year.
This summer, we found a new way to enjoy a day on the lake. Leave early, find a small, isolated beach, and position the boat so you have some privacy - then enjoy the day on your own private beach. This is probably one of the most relaxing days we had during the week.
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| Our private beach on the lake! |
We also went for hikes. With Kayla, they tend to be a bit more exercise than a normal stroll through the woods. If it was a rock, it was a launch pad. It was just very important that someone is around to moderate the takeoff and landing!
After an evening stroll, the next day requires another boat trip.. we looked for a private beach again, but alas, we were a bit too late, and the lake was a bit too high, so the beaches, what few remained, were all taken. This year, the lake is approaching record high water levels. After driving around much of the lake, Rudy needed to take a break.. so he turned the helm over to his trusted second in command. Just to prove how accomplished her steering skills are, she used a most unusual technique. Yes, the boat really was moving - but it is a big lake, with few boats, and no safety issues.
Because we had several days, we finally did have another day on the beach. We also have a favorite go anywhere camera - water, sand, drop proof, and apparently - kid proof. What it is not able to do is take a clear shot with a finger in front of the lens:
Seems like we still need some technology improvements before we can call it truly kid proof!
