The summer lakehouse 2014

The summer lakehouse didn't exactly feel like the summer lakehouse this year. It was chilly (we went at the end of the summer, instead of our usual 4th of july weekend), and the summer was so whirlwind for our family that it really didn't feel much like relaxing. Instead it was a bit more like "one more trip on the rollercoaster ride that we call the summer of 2014". It landed plop between Dallas, camping, and Nathan's wedding, so we were home for a total of something like 12 days in the month of August.

Don't get me wrong. The lakehouse was fun, even with the chilly weather and we took the boys to Mackinac Island for the first time, which has such a soft spot in my heart. But, I'm totally looking forward to being back on track with relaxing, reading, laying in the sun with nothing to swallow up either weekend ahead or behind of the trip.

This year the lakehouse gets a pass given our crazy schedules. Next year, it gets my full undivided attention. But, not to treat 2014 as the year of the forgotten lakehouse- here are the photos of our fun.

Two wheels!

This summer Collin learned to ride his bike without the training wheels. It was a little bit difficult to get him to start at first, as he's a bit prevention-oriented. That is, Collin doesn't usually like to try new things for fear of hurting himself or not being able to do it successfully the first time, so it often takes a little bit of convincing to get him started in new adventures.

So early in the year (Easter) we got the two wheel bike and early in the summer we started to bring up the idea of taking off the training wheels. He wasn't exactly on board, but I knew he could do it since often when he was riding with training wheels he'd get going and both trainers would be off the ground.

So off they came. We tried it out  a few times on our road with limited success. Lots of "don't let go!", so Drew stayed right behind Collin and let him take his time.

In early June we took our first camping trip and brought the bikes. This trip was cold, damp, stormy and FULL of mosquitos so the faster you rode, the less likely you were to get bitten. There campground was really really empty, so we used the wide open space to our advantage and worked on riding the bike- covered in rain jackets, hoods and layers of sweatshirts to fend off the blood-thirsty insects.

Collin took to it after a few tries and then was off like lightning. Even though this trip was otherwise miserable, it still makes me smile to think of his success that weekend. We rode everywhere around the campground and it was so great to see him so proud of himself!

After this trip he had going straight down pat. On the next two trips he worked on stopping (Which is still difficult), turning and going down hills. While we were at governor dodge state park he rode with me for about 1.5 hours, Collin leading the way. There were many loops and declines here (although not too steep) that gave him great practice. I was so proud of him. By the end of the year, at the lakehouse he was riding around like a pro.

Way to go buddy! We're so proud of your skills!