loving the lake

Hooray! After a cold, wet spring, our weather has warmed up enough so that it's fun to go to the lake! We have been waiting so [im]patiently--especially Jed. Saturday afternoon, after we got all our chores done and after I'd been to a bridal shower, we headed over to see if the water was warm enough for swimming.

Our beloved beach at Lake Huron. If it looks a little hazy, that's because it was so incredibly humid--you could actually see the mist evaporating from the small pools that have developed over the winter and floating inland. It was crazy.

Jed was SO excited! He loves the lake so much. We all ran up and dipped our toes in. It wasn't as cold as it has been (we started testing the water back in May) but it wasn't warm enough for swimming in my opinion.

Jed was determined to swim, though. He is pretty tough and has waited for so long that I figured he deserved to make up his own mind. He ran in and out for a while, then...

built up his courage and JUMPED!

Big splash! He came up sputtering and totally thrilled with himself. The rest of the day he was busy floating, practicing his kicks, and trying to coerce Dave and I into ever deeper water with him.

Hank was so excited to stand on the sand!

 The first few times the waves hit his toes he wasn't quite sure about things, but eventually...

 he decided he loved it.

 I managed to convince Jed to come out of the water long enough for a little picture. I love the boys' faces here--Jed can't wait to get back in the water and Hank keeps watching the waves to see if they're going to get his feet.

 After a while, Hank and I went to sit on the blanket for a little break. At least, Hank started out on the blanket, but he was so enthralled with the sand that I just gave up and let him play there. He ate a big mouthful of it that contained a seashell when I took my eyes off him for a second. It was so disgusting--I still have the willies thinking about fishing out all those pieces of shell from his mouth. Hopefully it won't take too many more handfuls before he decides sand isn't food.

 Dave and Jed had a great time playing in the water, and after a few minutes, Hank and I went back to join them. We stayed and played until Jed was shivering hard, then got ready to go.

We had such a fun first official day at the lake! Although I loathe the humidity that accompanies the warm weather, I am glad that it has finally gotten warm enough to play in the water, especially for Jed's sake. We are looking forward to a grand summer of fun at the lake!