twin lakes

since september is winding down, i figure i better marathon it and get all our summer fun up here on the blog. we'll start nearly where we left off...twin lakes. we took a lot of 'cluster' trips this summer. meaning, if we're going to travel and make it a big deal (which driving anywhere with kids over an hour is a big deal), we should really travel and lump some vacations into one. this particular vacation started at twin lakes, idaho for the smith family reunion. we almost didn't go, but i'm really glad we were able to make it. it's just a little reservoir, but alma's family has gone for years and they come from all over. there was close to 100 of us this year! so it was lots of fun to see family, eat crazy good food in large quantities, and enjoy some sun and relaxation. the kids loved the sand, water, and jagger especially loved playing with cousins.

we brought along the 'trainer', which is pretty much a very buoyant piece of carved wood with a handle and footholds. it is used to help little kids waterski...er, ride on the water :) my grandpa made it and my sisters and i used it all growing up. you can shore start from it and pretty much not ever get very wet. even really little kids can go and the parent can stand on the back with them. it's the best! and we knew all the kids would just love it...if we could find someone brave enough to try it first. jagger was out of the picture, he's not too adventurous. nobody wanted to do it, but finally we convinced one of our nieces to do it and once all the kids saw how fun and easy it was, there was a line for about half the day. 

once jagger saw brady ride on it with aaron, we thought he might go with me. i asked him and he told me he wanted to go...by himself. (remember that part in the previous paragraph about him not being very adventurous??) BLEW me away. so alma stayed in the water with him while he took off, and i ran to jump in the boat. he did fantastic, until some waves hit him and he fell...and didn't let go of the handle :) but don't worry, he was ok. the funniest part of it, i guess he changed his mind as the boat started to go and told alma, "i don't want to go anymore!". uh, too late! not sure if you can see, but he just cried and shook his head the whole time, haha. i was so proud of him for doing it, and he was happy he did it in the end too. here's the pics, and the movie i took. (it was hard for me to keep it steady, and i missed the fall b/c i was looking with my real eyes!)