And Now We Are Thirteen

5:30

6:15

7:00

7:30

Henry

Another calm, quiet morning on the lake, 61º out, a bit of pink over Long Point, where the sun should rise shortly.  The birds have quieted down, as summer progresses, no longer the cheerful sounds of spring and nest making.  Now it's mostly seagulls and crows, with an occasional screech by a great blue heron.  It's 6:30 now as I finish writing and the sun is bright enough to send me inside and consider getting ready to kayak before the gang starts getting up.  It's 7:30, Beth and Rami are the first up and I just got back from a paddle in the fog, kind of fun since there was little boat traffic.

Cousins Gabbing And Coloring

Yesterday was another partly cloudy day, with thunderstorms predicted, that turned out to be a sunny and warm day on the dock.  It started with an early paddle, finishing the blog, then waiting for Jill and her daughters to wake up. They flew into Buffalo Tuesday night late, arriving here at the house about 1:30 in the morning.  So they were sleeping in.  Halle was up first, then Jill, then Hayden around 11:00, followed by Marlena who must have been very tired.  I was a busy boy, driving to Hogan's, picking up ice, filling the cooler with beer and pop.  I then anchored a couple of buoys in the lake.  The one was heavy enough that I had to crouch underwater, grab the anchor and drag it out in seven or eight feet of water.  Once it was in place, Tommy carried our huge floating lounge downstairs and I then used an electric pump to inflate it.  It took a good half an hour.  The girls then helped pick it up, carried it to the water's edge, where I then floated it out to the buoy, about 20 feet beyond our dock.  We are now ready for summer fun.

Floating Dock About To Launch

Tres Chic Chickies

Ready To Jump

Leaping Gals

Thumbs Up

Around 12:30, after breakfast and lots of hugs, Tom and Mary went to work out at the Fitness Bunker in Lakewood, the did some shopping at Wegman's, stocking up on beer and other necessities.  The rest of us then did our own thing, the girls and Evie out on the dock, swimming sunbathing, jumping in the water.  Beth did lots of water coloring, both on the porch and on the dock.  Mary joined the girls on the dock as well. 

Evie And Halle With Our 8th Grader and Marlena Our High School Sophomore

Mary's In

Hayden. Our High School Senior

Sun Bathing

Marisa, Our Sophomore In High School

Jill, still exhausted from her late arrival, took a long nap.  I took a short one.  Whenever anyone was tired of the sun and swimming, they came in, got something to drink or made a sandwich, and sat down at the dining room table to color the tablecloth for a few minutes.  It was a great way to spend the afternoon, free to do whatever we felt like, inside or out.

Around 5:30, much of dinner was prepped with the help the girls, we gathered libations, pretzels and chips and took a cruise over to Bemus and back, a lovely late afternoon to be on the lake.  We were back around 6:45 and I quickly heated up the grill and threw a butterflied and marinated leg of lamb on it.

Father and Son, 75 and 50 This September

 While it was grilling, Beth was in the kitchen getting corn and potatoes ready and Evie and gang were upstairs, getting the bedrooms set for the arrival of the three guys, Ramiro, Nick, and Tyler who were coming in from Buffalo around 1:30 AM, Thursday morning.  Once the lamb was done, I put the corn on the grill for about 15 minutes, letting the lamb rest before carving it.

Dinner Al Fresco

We ate outside because it was such a nice night and sat there finishing up the lamb and drinking red wine until it became dark.

Ice Cream Girls

We were going to watch a film but it was 9:30 before we were done cleaning up, so the girls went into the TV room and watched a couple of episodes of THE OFFICE, a series all four of them love.  The rest of us hung out until we were too tired to stay up and left the girls downstairs to giggle, talk, and use their devices.  I am not sure what time they came up to our bedroom to sleep on the floor but it seemed late.  At least they were quiet, like good girls.