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Everything was very different at the pool this summer...lane sign-ups, temperature checks, masks walking in and out of prescribed doors, etc. But at the same time, it was the only opportunity for any semblance of normalcy.
Bubbles at practice, at JJ's request.
Matthew's 7-yr-old fly...
Why relays rock---boys + girls + 5 or 6 players per lane + multiple strokes...anything goes!
Matthew's flip----over-rotating, he's ready for a 1.5.
Margaret's "flip" attempt....just can't get her to jump UP instead of the natural out for a dive.
An odd summer. A slow summer. A bizarre summer. A summer more grateful than ever for Fairview. Sure did miss the fun and adrenaline rush of Champs at UVA, though.
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We are 12 hours into our drive home and we're still reveling in how amazing the past week at Glen Lake was. Uncle Bill and Donna make our visits to northern Michigan glorious. They are always such gracious hosts, effortlessly (seemingly) sharing their slice of heaven.
Our first trip together to Glen Lake was for Bill's 60th birthday in 2005. Then we returned with kids in 2013 (Matthew was only 6 months for those 26 hours in the car!) and 2015. Since then, swim team/Champs has dictated the summer. But "thanks" to COVID-19, our summer was wide-open and the Barkers graciously invited us up again.
While COVID has cancelled much, it has not cancelled work, so we couldn't leave C'ville until 4:00pm. We drove until 10:30pm before crashing somewhere west of Cleveland. We finished the remaining 7 hours on my birthday and were reunited with family for a typical gorgeous sunset.
Poor
Hannah (23) broke her thumb a few weeks ago, so only Matt (21), Emily and Jack
(15) could wake-surf. Piling up on the appropriate side of the boat for
each of them to create the biggest wake possible "requires" cuddling to get sufficient weight in just the right spot.
Evening paddle-boarding and lax by the firepit.
9:35pm sunset, with light for another 45 minutes....we're not in the south anymore!
Don't take your eyes off of the sunset, because the colors change constantly for a good hour.
Bill turned 75 on the 2nd, so Donna was sweet to get us a joint, delicious cake.
Afternoon water colors are just as stunning as the sunsets.
While Bill was keeping himself busy personally fixing the boat lift so the speed boat could be retrieved, Matthew fully occupied himself kayaking and all loved paddle-boarding.
"Happy 4th of July! Happy 4th of July. Want some cand-eh? Want some cand-eh?"
The party pontoon was this year's new addition...
...and what a wonderful addition it is! Bill leading us through the 4th of July parade through Glen and Little Glen lakes.
Not much social distancing going on in The Narrows?!?
Elvis! He even threw Margaret some beads in appreciation for her festive headband.
The Boat Parade!
Under the bridge
The happy couple, parked in the cove:-)
A Dad and his kids.
Yep, the water looks like the Caribbean...all.the.time.
Susan flew in from Baltimore via Detroit.
Donna teaching me how to use an Apple Watch to take hands-free selfies. Who knew?!?
Hours of hysterical Scattegories for sun breaks.
Margaret decided she is well suited for lake life:-)
We swam to that floating dock daily for good old fashioned play time, then paddleboarded by evening.
Our "karate kid" shot.
Back out on the party pontoon for the late fireworks, including one family's $20k show.
The ukuleles (plus a little Katy Perry and Journey) were classic additions to the fanfare.
"I'll Fly Away", fireworks style.
As if they could hear him, Matthew was determined to egg on various participants to compete harder, higher, louder, better!
The remainder of the sunset one direction...
...and the rising moon the other direction...
...and reflections of fireworks everywhere.
The reflections on the water were such a lovely bonus!
"Don't Stop Believin'" - Margaret's 4th of July headband.
The moon!
Journey's Finale
Matt, Matthew, and fireworks - what could go wrong?!?
Emily's Roman Candle
Ready, set....
Matt's tabletop creation.
Margaret's Roman Candle
One of several grand finales.
Lake Michigan - literally crystal clear
With the kids being so much younger our last two visits, we'd never done the Sand Dunes Climb...
...and didn't know we were going to today.
But man, it's addicting...
...once you get this far...
...and can see the Glen Lakes...
...it's hard to stop climbing...
Cannot believe Little Man made it!
The dunes are MUCH steeper than they look...
...and the sand is boiling hot! Not a good activity for crocs or flip flops, the sand is constantly spraying up and burning the tops and bottoms of your feet.
Our first boat ride out...
Matt and Emily are ridiculously talented on the wake board.
These two....what a week they had together. 21 and 7, but you'd never know it:-)
Margaret's first time on skis!
Ice cream...the best part of getting gas at the marina.
Matt plays lax at Ohio University, so Matthew was so very proud to playing all week "with a college kid".
"I'm in 2nd grade and HE plays in college!"
Lacrosse chest-bumping
Flash vs. no-flash
We missed Abby and Kate all week (darn work) and the one time we mobilize for a picture, Hannah wasn't there:-( Still a decent crew!
Gigi!
Emily, why the surprised look?? You can do anything!
Short 0.6 mile hike to Pyramid Point overlooking Lake Michigan. It's hard to wrap your head around just how very massive it is.
Donna graciously shared her Carlos Santana from her girls' trip to Sonoma and Mumm.
At the time, we thought this was a lot of people on the tube.
Margaret. Couldn't get enough.
So, yeah. This is exactly what it looks like. Emily gets up on the surfboard, retrieves the hockey ball from her lifejacket, someone hands her the stick, and she starts dribbling, and doing other various stick tricks.
The process...
And why she was on ESPN two years ago...
That's the tiny bit of air I was finally able to get! Wish I had more time to experiment and take instruction.
Michael gettin' it done...
And then there's Matt's version of getting air...
slightly different magnitude.
He just constantly flies back and forth from one side of the wake to the other.
Matt's 180:
Matthew made it to the top of the pyramid!
The Tubing Pyramid
The rise and fall of the pyramid
Margaret's group topple
What we didn't capture was Andrew, Margaret and Matthew's last tube ride. Donna managed to hit just the right wave to send the kids flying. Yard sale! Hannah said in 23 years she'd never seen people fly so high. The kids each reported, "I kept waiting to hit the water, but then realized I was still in the air!" Margaret got the wind knocked out of her she feel so hard and far, but all came up smiling!
Highlight of the trip---getting Margaret and Matthew up on skis for the first time.
Margaret got up her 4th or 5th try, then you couldn't wipe the grin off her face as she started to try turns and tricks.
Matthew---wait for it---got up his very first attempt.
Shocked?!? No.
Matt was a trooper and helped him in the water so he could more easily manipulate his ski tips, which was just the extra help he needed.
Andrew was the most amazingly supportive brother. Without skis for his size, he tried wake boarding and stuck with it to exhaustion. It's not easy to grasp, period, but especially when you've never skied and don't have a feel for the process or the water. But we'll get him there!
Giant Jenga ruled the last few nights.
Almost there...
That's air, right?!?
Matt, sky-high - oh, to be young, fearless AND capable:-)
