life at the lake.

We were just at Cultus Lake a few weeks ago camping with friends and this weekend we were back but glamming it up at the lake house that my parents have now been renting every year. This is our third year kicking off summer at the lake...

We didn't plan this but we ended up being there the weekend of the annual "Cultus day" and we were delighted to find out this entails a parade, a market, bouncy castles and fireworks.

Last time I was at a parade, Big Sis was ten months old (little brother was non-existent) and she was watching the parade in her stroller and getting really excited so I unbuckled her and let her stand in her stroller to watch. Parent Fail. She leaned forward and fell headfirst on the pavement and the immense  mama guilt has banned me from parades ever since. But the parade was marching down literally outside the front steps of the lake house so we couldn't not watch it. Parade enjoyment redeemed.  The kids loved waving to the firetrucks and floats and hauled more candy in 20 minutes than they have ever got trick-or-treating for hours.

There is also an amusement park and I don't mind roller coasters but in my old age, watching anything that spins makes me want to puke. Last year when my sister and I took the kids to Playland, both of us had to take Gravol before going on the little carousel. But it was God's blessing to us that   my sister's friend, Auntie Driz, (who was with us) loves pukey rides so we designated her to be the 'fun auntie' and she graciously went on all the rides instead of us. It was the best thing ever, the kids spent from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm running from one thing to another.

The lake house was walking distance from the amusement park so we did take breaks for lunch and dinner. It was a lot of fun just watching the kids and we were also rejoicing we didn't have to go on with them. Later, my sister and I did go on some fun things like the bumper boats and the roller coaster but I am so glad I didn't have to do the Cloud Buster. It was a 150 feet tall ride that free falls at speeds of 75 km/hour. I think Simon was the most anxious with white knuckles watching our petite 6 year old get strapped into the ride and carried up. She was still smiling at the bottom...Auntie Driz looked shell-shocked...

Best part of the day was taking our kids out on the paddle boards at 10:00 pm towards the main beach for a pretty impressive fireworks show. After the show, we paddled back to the lake house within a few minutes and got the kids to bed by 10:25 pm. So much easier than trying to watch the fireworks at English Bay in the summer!

The next day Big Sis got to try out the new kayak that Daddy "just happened" to pick up while he was suppose to get cheese at Costco. She was a natural and figured out how to paddle like a pro. My dad was a lot better at the SUP this year than last, he did fall in  half a dozen times but he always got back up! Not too shabby for a semi-retired grandpa!

We soon got bored of just paddling on our SUPs and decided we needed to step it up and try things like..
Jumping off the dock and landing on the SUP ( * SO close right?*)

Trying to see how far to one end you can stand before you fall in...

Trying to walk on water with two SUPs

Trying to stand up on a child-sized kayak...

Cruising with the dead calm waters with a sail...

Seeing how many people can stand on a SUP before everyone falls in...

And working on different hilarious SUP bails...

I love that life at the lake just brings us all together (like literally together on a SUP) but in other ways too... We cook for each other...

We eat together...

We make each other laugh...

 Summer gets so busy and we all have different things planned. My sister will likely be doing lots of outdoorsy things and this year my parents are away for most of the summer exploring Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, & Russia. It was really nice to be together before we all set off on our summer travels. And now more adventure awaits us all...