The end of a nice day of boating with friends. Em is too tired to blog after hours of destroying people on the Great Big Mable (a monster tube), but not too tired to smile at her iPhone.

Emily is not blogging because she is cleaning toilets so this is Jim guest posting. It’s really just a test to see how blogging from the iPhone is. Sorry for the lack of wit or good writing. The iPhone keyboard (or lack thereof) saps all wit and good writing.

We didn’t have the greatest weather during the first half of our week at the lake, so we spent quite a bit of time indoors.  That worked out great for the girls, since the house we rented was fully stocked with children’s books and they had many family members and friends willing to read to them! 

Susie (on left): “Mom, you’ve been holding out on us.  Good thing Grammie lets us have milk with our cheerios!” 

Becky (on left): “Dad, that is one big bathtub.” 

Becky: “Are you paying close attention to my sliding skills?  Watch and be amazed.” 

Susie: “I think I’m getting choked, but this is still fun!”

Me: “Getting drenched in a sudden downpour is a small price to pay for the pleasure of boating to the ice cream parlor!” 

Susie: “I’m so glad Aunt Angie lets us borrow her colored pencils.  She’s so much more fun than Mom!” 

Becky (on left): “Grandpa’s story reading is so enthralling I’m considering sitting still until it’s over.” 

Susie: “Aunt Angie is a good story reader too.  Even my puppy is entertained.”   

Susie: “I hope one day I can grow up to read just like Aunt Angie.”

Me (taking the picture): “I just hope Susie sticks with her love of Strawberry Shortcake books instead of her aunt’s love of Stephen King!” 

My sister came to the lake house toting gifts for her nieces, much to their delight.  I had never heard of apparently-coveted Pillow Pets, but my girls are now proud owners of a duck and a turtle. 

Angie: “I now bequeath upon you, Miss Susanna Joy, your very own Pillow Pet.” 

Becky: “Am I dreaming?  Is it Christmas already?” 

Becky and Susie: “We’re never letting our Pillow Pets go.”

Becky: “I guess I’ll share my Duck with Dad, if I have to.”

Jim: “Hey, these things aren’t so dumb after all.  I think I need one, too.” 

Susie: “My turtle also makes a great reading table.  Who knew pillows were so versatile?”

Becky: “All this pillow talk has me tuckered out.  I’m just gonna chill with Dad for a while.” 

Susie: “Aunt Angie is the best aunt in the world!” 

Okay, I’m still pretty daunted by the thought of sorting through hundreds of vacation photos, so I think I’ll break it down by date.  Here are the pictures from our boating excursion to the Youghiogheny River in Pennsylvania with our friends on Saturday, before meeting up with my parents and sister. 

Susie: “I’ll just be happy if I can sit with the big girls all day.”

Becky: “I didn’t come here to sit and look pretty.  I came here for some speed!” 

Becky: “And for some monkey business.”

Jim: “Gavin, do you think you can ride this tube as fast as Becky can?”    

Susie: “Okay, maybe the water isn’t so bad.  Matt assures me I’ll be just fine.”

Susie: “Umm…the boat is a little far away for my taste.  I did what you asked and got on this silly raft.  Now let’s get back to socializing.” 

We just got back from a week-long vacation with my parents and sister at beautiful Deep Creek Lake in Maryland.  I will post lots of pictures once I sort through the 400-plus images that I just uploaded (and once I stop giggling at all the shots of a fuzzy caterpillar my sister took when she absconded with my camera for a morning).  I quickly scanned the pictures and tried to pick one that captured the mood of the week, so I could convey to you all what a wonderful, full-yet-relaxing time we had.  I eventually decided on one that shows my mom helping the girls swoosh down a slide together.  Becky, Susie and Mom are all grinning like they’ve never been happier…which just may be the case!       

Here’s a video to show you what a great time they’re all having:

I guess it’s a good thing that a friend recently found us a chalkboard at a garage sale.  I don’t think it would have been long before the girls decided that Jim’s car looked like a blank slate in need of decoration.

Even though we haven’t been doing a lot of pool swimming, that doesn’t mean our towels are sitting idly in the cupboard.  Nope, around this house, beach towels double as headdresses.  And as we all know, headdresses make everything better.  For instance…

They enhance games of leapfrog:

They make you a better artist:

They enhance your “what are YOU looking at?” expressions:

They improve your four-wheeling skills:

And they make you look Arabian princesses frolicking in a parched land (that happens to be populated by SUVs):

Not to mention they make your mom laugh chuckle and take lots of pictures! 

Lately, Becky’s greatest desire in life is to ride the merry-go-round at the mall.

If only all our desires in life could be utterly satisfied by a spinning musical horse!