**************
Our Stake held Trek this year in Virginia. Chayce went (Brandon couldn't because of football) and Chayce said it was a ton of work and he's not so sure he would like to do it again right away. The organizers really took it serious this year. They had to dress like pioneers, no cell phones or other electronics, wow that's impossible, how did they survive? Chayce had to pick a pioneer to represent on trek so we chose George Taylor. It was a great fit because he was born in a town very near our house and spent time in a town which is a big sport rival for Randolph so it made it even more interesting beyond being a relative. It is probably a good thing they don't do it every year and by the time they do the next one Chayce will be off to college or on a mission, because I'm not so sure he would want to do it again. It was funny to listen to the kids version of the trip vs. the leaders. The kids talked about how hard it was and how boring and the leaders all talked about how wonderful and what a growth experience it was. I'm sure the truth is some place in the middle, but at the end of the day I think all were happy to have participated.
Girls added for Grandpa and Grandma. This is from the point along the trail that the boys were forced to stand aside and let the girls push/pull all the carts up a hill with no help, evidently it was pretty hard to watch for the boys and yet inspiring because of the hard work and effort the girls put in.
***
Brandon finished his July Football practices and is in great shape. He has been running and lifting weights every day since school got out and it has paid off. After his break he is now ready to start daily doubles for the month of August.
***
Since Brandon had a couple of weeks off from football we took the chance to get away and have a vacation. We rented a house on Lake Keuka in up-state NY. It is one of the Finger Lakes, an absolutely beautiful part of the country. If you use the + - keys on the map below you can get a sense of the location.
View Larger Map
We rented a house right on the lake. It had a nice dock to tie our boat up to and came supplied with Kayaks, a canoe and a paddle boat. The boys did a ton of skiing, wakeboarding and tubing. I even did some skiing, but was quickly reminded how old and out of shape I am, and then spent the rest of the week sore. As you can see by the pictures below the boys are getting very good and improved a lot having a week of intense practice.
The water is cool enough to be refreshing, but warm enough to be pleasant to swim in. We took the boat out to the middle of the lake at mid-night and went swimming one night. The lake is 130'+ deep in the middle. It took a bit of convincing to get one of the boys (I won't say who), but once in we all had fun swimming around for 15-20 minutes. That is except Kim, she stayed in the boat and made sure it didn't float away :) - she hates dark water!
If you would like to see more pictures of the boys water skiing and our trip to Keuka Lake I put a bunch of pictures online at Lake Life
This would be a great place for a family reunion, we could get a couple of houses (we found two right next door to each other) or a really big one and the kids could swim/ski etc. until they can't stay awake anymore.
***
This picture cracked me up. Notice the guy on the tube telling the boat driver to slow down. This has become my life, always trying to get the speed right for those picky skiers.
Have a great August and enjoy what's left of your summer vacation.
6 comments:
Life looks like a lot of fun on the East Coast with the Ririe's. I want to come join all the fun!
I'm glad I came back for a second look at those pictures of Chayce. I'm not sure, but it looks like he's singing Come Come Ye Saints while he's pulling that handcart. - I'm touched.
You are welcome to come...We'll show you a good time
What a lot of fun. That boat is providing a lot of fun. You boys look pretty cool. Wish I was young again. Chayce is the gun loaded? You make a handsome pioneer.
Chayce, where are the girls? No pioneer women?
Your blog makes me wish we had a boat - it sure looks like you guys are putting it to good use and having a lot of fun with it. Tell Chayce that we had a lot of fun on our handcart trek and that Autumn walked the whole way. Of course, it was only 3 miles...
Post a Comment