4th at the Lake

Our baby girl remains nameless (though by now our name post has covered every single name I've ever had on any girl name list and added a few more; excellent work my friends, excellent work), but she does have bedding, curtains, bird cages, a rug, and her first Christmas present! Priorities.

 

On the non-gestating family front, the kids and I took a car ride down to Lake Livingston to spend some time with the PapaGigi and their new digs! As I mentioned in the last post in regard to our pretty new table and my mom's rooster placement, my parents sold their old lake house with its beautiful 1 acre lot and too-small house and bought a 4-bedroom, 4-bath house with a still-beautiful but much smaller lot a little ways over on the same lake. The new house is going to be SO much better for visiting, especially around the holidays when we all converge with our dogs and children and partners, and has the added benefit of being in a gated community with a golf course, pool, park, tennis courts, and more. All the amenities are old and pretty bare bones, but full of trees and so reminiscent of my grandparents little golf course community in Florida that we used to visit growing up that I was filled with nostalgia as we went for a walk around the new 'hood.

 

My favorite part, besides the fact that the kids and I have officially separate rooms, is all the windows.

 

Specifically the window on the right that spans the kitchen counter. This picture really doesn't do it justice. My parents only moved in 2 weeks ago, I think it's looking great, though I can't believe I failed to get a picture of the right amount of roosters on top of the kitchen cabinets.

 

Another plus of the move is this little lake beach two lots down from my parents'. So great for the kids, though Claire was, of course, initially skeptical.

 

Landon dove right in (he's off on the left side of the picture) while my dad, mom, and brother spent a while coaxing Claire into the sandy shores.

 

Later we moved over to the dock, where Landon continued his general fishy-ness (seriously, it is so much fun to watch him be able to really USE the lake now that he's a little older) and Claire continued her skepticism.

 

She decided to be chief lifeguard.

 

The dogs were lifeguards too. Landon was very protected.

 

Later, she abandoned her post in lieu of cuddling with her PapaGigi (she refers to them collectively with one word).

 

Landon, being Landon, immediately found 2 best friends his age at a nearby lot and invited them over to play. The kid is never alone and has never met a stranger. He swam and jumped and swam until I could barely believe he still had the strength to climb out of the water. We ate a delicious meal, as always, and took the kids out on the boat to find fireworks (fireworks are banned in my parents' new community, which is probably for the best given JP's pyromania that made me nervous (and poorer) every year).

 

This picture is blurry, but it's my only evidence of all the lovies Claire needed to prepare for a boat ride, after dark, surrounded by loud booming noises and fire in the sky: 2 blankies, 1 baby, and 1 Gigi. She actually did great, and got pretty into the "sparkles in the sky" by the end.

 

The rest of the weekend passed with more swimming and rope swinging and eating and playing. The kids got very little sleep, but they had a fantastic time and I loved hanging out with my fam and watching them.

(the amount of awe with which Landon is watching his Uncle Eric will probably not be good for us later)

My cousin Cara was also there. We don't get to see her or sister that often, since they're the only branch of my mom's family tree that isn't in Houston. She goes to UGA but is in Houston this summer for an internship. She is maybe the only person in our family (and maybe the world) who loves fishing as much as my brother, so they had a great time together, and Claire always enjoys a new family member to love.

Cousins!

All in all it was a most excellent weekend.

Me and my girl (and my 21-week girl in progress!)

We drove back last night because JP missed us so much (he had to stay behind and coach/pool direct) and both of my parents' neighbors were throwing big parties guaranteed to make my already overtired children even more overtired. We all slept in to nearly 9 a.m. this morning (unheard of in this house) and are enjoying a day of resting, napping, and watching Independence Day on TV. Happy Belated 4th of July everyone!