Canyon Lake

10 adults + 9 kids (7 years old to 1 year old) + a cool lake house = great fun!!!

This was our 4th Annual Friends River/Lake trip, and once again, it was full of laughter, silliness, and overall fun! Every year, the biggest issue of our trip is where we will stay. We all look and search on the Internet forever looking for "the house". Every house we have had so far have worked, but none have been perfect. We would love to find a house that will work every time, every year! Carl and Sonja found our house this year on Canyon Lake, and it was as close to perfect as we have found so far. The best part about it was that every family had their own bedroom, and there were plenty of bathrooms. Another great part was that there was a huge eating area! We could actually all eat at the same time this year. Last year we had to eat in shifts or on the floor. The bad parts were that it was a little dirty, and the stairs leading down to the pool were pretty rickety. Other than that, it was great!

We got there on Thursday, and we were greeted by a sweaty little guy who apparently lived there and "cleaned" the place when nobody was renting. He was really proud of the place, and he gave Kacy and I the grand tour. We hung around the house and waited for everyone else to get there. Once the Hrobars got there, we decided to take our first dip in the pool. The pool was great! There was a really shallow area that Adilyn could stand up in, so it made swimming a lot easier for her. Everyone made it by dinner time, and we all had a good night's sleep. Unfortunately, a man drowned in the lake right in front of our house that night, so that was really sad. We all watched the boats and divers look for him; it was strange and heartbreaking to witness. We were going to take the kids down to the lake to explore right before all that happened, but we decided to just wait until Friday. Thank goodness we didn't go down there

because we might have actually seen it all happen! That would have been a memory that I wouldn't have wanted any of us to have to experience.

Because of the situation in the lake, we decided not to swim in the lake on Friday. We went down to the Guadalupe to swim and play around. We were not expecting the water to be so ridiculously cold! The Guadalupe River is always chilly, but this was almost unbearable. We had a couple tubes, so we just floated around and played in the water. Adilyn had the most fun playing the the mud with a bottle cap and a stick. Kacy's favorite part was riding around in the tube with Cory. Adilyn had her first turkey and peanut butter sandwich (she created it and said it was delicious)! That night we swam in the pool some more, cooked Cory's "famous" chicken, watched a movie, and hung out around the house.

Saturday, we decided to swim in the lake, and it really wasn't too bad. A couple of our floats got away, so I volunteered to go after them. I was a little nervous, so I took a noodle just in case. I will say that when I got to the spot where we saw the divers, I got a little nervous, but I retrieved them safely! We had another fun day playing with playdoh, coloring, watching more movies, swimming, playing some outdoor sports, and just hanging out.

On Sunday, it was time to head out. It's always a challenge getting everyone packed, cleaning up the house, and just loading everyone up; but once again, we succeeded!

Some of my favorite moments:

*Kacy loved Luke. She always wanted to know where he was, who he was with, and what he was doing.

*It was hilarious watching Isaac with the girls. Each day, he choose another girl to hang around. He would play with them, tickle them, and just be super cute with them.

*Adilyn sat at the piano with Mike for a while listening to him play and "helping" him play.

*The Hrobar boys were very interested in Emily's princess castle. Every now and then, you would catch them dressing up princesses or playing with the Barbies.

*I love watching Adilyn swim. She is so proud of herself, and that makes me proud of her!

*When we were walking up from the lake, I looked up ahead. Adilyn and Isaac were running and holding hands. Love that these kids get to grow up together.

*Kacy really thought she could hit the baseball all by herself, and she would not let anyone help her! My little stubborn one :)

*Adilyn was so careful and nervous about Luke (only 1 year old) getting small pieces of her toys.

*All the older kids were in one room watching "Pocahantas". I don't know why, but it was really sweet to walk in that room with all of them quietly watching a movie in the dark.

*Talking with the girls about all our pregnancies/deliveries, etc. I love sharing those moments with other women who have been through it. It makes me feel like we all have this special bond or something.

*Having adult conversations when the kids go to bed...we don't get to hang out and chat with adults very often, so it's nice to be able to actually talk without being interrupted.

We are so lucky to have such good friends to hang out with! It's so nice to be comfortable being yourself around people. Can't wait for next year!