Boating

The sweetest and most characteristic shot of our lake trip this time, . . . right here! : ) Annie sitting on her special "seat" in the front of the boat facing backwards, where she would automatically go when we set off on every single excursion. Arms raised in the air . . .
. . . as an obvious reaction to THIS, which always made everyone laugh. : )
Ah, and another familiar sight: Leia Rose in HER special spot singing her boating song of the this particular trip. (She makes a new one up each time.) This trip the song was twofold and sung to the theme of Blues Clues: "Jump with me little dolphins. Jump with me little dolphins. Jump with me little dolphins because we like to jump." & "Swim with me little fishes. Swim with me little fishes. Swim with me little fishes because we like to swim." Leia was happy to share her mantra with me this time, but she got really upset if I got any part of it wrong saying, "Mamma, that's not the right TUNE!" and "Mamma, it's not 'Swim with me little dolphins' it's 'Swim with me little FISHES'!" Ha!

Here is one of my all-time favorite pictures of Annie, . . . not because she looks like a cherub or anything. She doesn't. Her hair is wind-blown, her face is turned a bit upward, and the camera angle makes her teeth look a bit scraggly. BUT this picture REALLY has Annie's personality down pat: rosy cheeks, sparkling blue eyes, and a laugh that can melt your heart. : )

Each year as we go boating around this expansive lake (which is shaped kind of like a giant oak leaf with hundreds of coves to explore, some inhabited and some uninhabited) we always pass by this old farm. Until this time, we never really saw any animals until TODAY! Look at the horses out to pasture, . . . as well as the geese at the waters edge! : )