Not All Was Lost

So it stormed last night like I haven't heard it storm for a long time, and this morning we awoke to the leftovers of the storm. Tables, chairs, plastic bins and grill trays were all brimming with freshly poured water, and the mist hung around for a better part of the morning. Despite the early hours, there was already plenty of activity onboard:

that time the boat ran out of WATER... [in the tank]

And this...

old hot dog fishing.. 

It was barely drizzling when we collectively decided to go ahead move the boat to another cove, closer to 76 Falls. Rob and Kenny took off in their boats, while the rest of us enjoyed the view from the patio as Ryan captained us to the new destination.

boys running circles around us

From there, it was a late breakfast and then off again towards 76 Falls where we tied off to a couple of other Bajas and took in the experience of a full-blown boat party.

here we come! 

My Way, the catamaran that took the LOTO shootout title, came coasting through at one point too, which was a sight for all of us!

my way

boat party! :) 

The clouds started to gather again, so we decided to make it an early afternoon and head back to the houseboat for lunch and determining our next moves. With no hiccups in direction today, we all made it back at the same time, fixed up lunch and then spent the afternoon lounging and fishing. The guys and Esther took off on a mini fishing excursion around the cove, which ended just as they ushered in the sunset.

**Fishing pix - others **

I caught an IG capture of it that the Lake Cumberland page regrammed! Small things, I know, but I thought it was pretty cool ;)

thank you, lc!! ♥

The evening hours rolled in, and I found myself parked on top of the houseboat with my book in one chair, and Taryn in the adjacent seat. The gang was preparing to head out to a club for the night, but Taryn and I opted to hang back, a decision I still don't regret.

The stars were out in full force, with a perfectly clear viewing of the Venus & Jupiter Conjunction! It was GORGEOUS!

Taryn and I covered a lot of ground getting to know each other a little better tonight; I've always liked her and while we've spent a good amount of time together in casual outings, we've never really had the chance to dig in and get to know the other. It was refreshing, and I'm really thankful for that time. Thanks, Taryn! :)

The gang eventually came cruising back in, with some fun stories of other bar-goers and lake regulars from the stops they made. We all convened downstairs for a couple more hours of fun, including several hilarious rounds of Heads Up. My apologies in advanced for the video quality. Our double-wide-on-pontoons looks extra classy here too, I know ;).


With that being said, I think we've had enough action for one day.
Good night, beautiful Cumberland!

xo | cmd

Family. Boating. Roasting!

My parents arrived, as promised this morning. We exchanged our usual hello's, which mainly included Sydni saying, "Nana! Look at ________!" a few hundred times within about five minutes. I love it. We helped them get settled in, and then started packing up for our day trip out to the lake.

We toted everything out to East Fork, somehow got my aquaphobic mom on a speedboat, and took off for a day on the water.

Yeah, it was a picture kind of day :)


mom & syd

^^ Look at my mom in her wayfarers! Haha. Freebie from the credit union, she told me, and really the perfect accessory for a boat trip. Love my mom (:

It wasn't long before we found a nice spot in a cove, where we ate our picnic lunch and started really enjoying the day. Sydni strapped on her lifejacket and hit the water right behind me. Swim time!

look at her go!!

thumbs up!

We floated and cruised, cruised and floated, and then rode up on one of the narrow strips of shore in one of the coves for some more fun in the shallows.

syd, dad & rob working on syd's fishing pole

syd finding good rocks for skipping!

nana & syd playing in the sand ♥♥

The day really was all about Sydni. She's like a fish when she's in the water, just as I was when I was little. It was tough telling this girl that it was time to go. I mean look at her! She looks like a little grown-up in the water....

little summer babe!

When it finally was time to head back, we of course let Sydni show Nana & Pappy how well she could drive her boat. She's a champ!

vroom vroom!

Fast forward through the trip back to the house, during which Sydni zonked out almost immediately; she got a healthy little snooze in before we were back at home and gearing up for round two.

Round 2 = Bonfire!
The only problem was.. we didn't have a fire pit.
I wanted a fire pit.

The best solution I could think of at that moment, was to make ... a fire pit.

SO, I DID. (:

boom. back yard fire pit.

I turned into a little sod farmer for about an hour, peeling the lawn up in a circle to form a little pit. We used the brick pavers we got from Jay & Trey's house to build a small outline, and while it's a bit lop-sided, we weren't going for an aesthetic accolade as much as functionality. Oh, and we didn't have sand or gravel at our immediate disposal, so yes, that's cat litter.

Rob fired up the grill, Mom and I skewered some chicken, Becky and Mike showed up with firewood, dad set up the chairs and coolers, and Sydni ran around with a headlamp attached to her head to occupy the dogs. Talk about teamwork (:

The sun eventually began to fade, our dinner plates were all empty, and it was time to get the real evening started with fire.


not too bad!

dad, mom, the dogs & a couple of my little pony characters

becky & sydni..
.. sydni's that blur of a headlamp running by ;)

S'mores.
It's not a family bonfire with smores. It's also not a real kick-off to Summer nights without smores. Becky got us started, using a peanut butter cup instead of the traditional Hershey bar.

nommmm!

Soon, we had a production line of smores lined up around the fire, a system in place, and seven sets of sticky fingers.

it's time for smores.
it's time for summer!

I could do this every weekend ♥

xo | cmd

Weekend Prep

I know I could complete a solo [grocery] shopping trip in half the time it takes to do it when Syd's with me, but let's face it - it's way more fun when she's there. It's even better when we have multiple stops for a range of things, and she replaces the irritation of shopping in general with funny observations.

Our very first, and very crucial order of business?

princess. fishing pole.

Yes, that's right. We were on the hunt for a princess fishing pole, for the princess herself. We have at least 2 scheduled outings on the boat for this weekend, and I've promised Syd that she'll have her own pole for the excursion. That being said, we're starting here, with pink princesses. Haha. Gotta start somewhere, amiright?

We also stopped off at Jungle Jim's, which, despite it's massive innards and lengthy traversing time, was actually fun with Sydni. I asked her to tell me tales about every country aisle we passed. Some of them were pretty creative. On the way out, she wanted to take a picture with the gorilla and the rhino, so of course we did.

eat more bananas.. and give more hugs!
[this world would be darn near perfect, huh... haha]

rhino!

Nana & Pappy [aka, my parents] will be here first thing tomorrow, so we've decided tonight will be pretty low-key. Syd's been a huge help tidying up her room for Nana & Pappy, assisting me with laundry and even swept off the front porch with her broom. Now I see why people have lots of kids ;). Joking..... joking.... sorta... ;)

Anyway, the weekend's sure to be a fun-filled few days, so we'll leave it at that for now and relax here until Saturday sunshine meets us in the morning.

G'Nite!

xo | cmd