Summer Holidays

Marlin and I spent last week at Idabel Lake Resort with my family.  We had a great week.  It was fun, relaxing and filled with lots of naps as well as lots of laughter.  It was the perfect combination.

This was the first photo I took.... We had all just arrived and were relaxing with a beverage.  Mom seemed to have no problem, settling in to vacation mode.  But you can tell she isn't quite there yet, as she still has her purse.  :)

We jumped right in that evening playing games with the kids.  I'm not sure who had more fun playing Operation.

The two men were not left out of the games.  They had staring roles in the game of dress-up.

The resort had boats that you could use.  Mom and I took a few canoe trips around the lake...

Deb and her family conquered an island from a row boat...

And Mom almost managed to sink a canoe when she decided to go for a trip by herself one morning.  Water starting coming on board as she was still getting in and ended up falling into the lake.  She used the dock to help get her to shore and we ended up playing the "helpless" females routine to get a nice guest to use his electric motor to go rescue the canoe from the middle of the lake.  Mom had a few nasty bruises from her adventure but other than that, was unharmed.  I doubt she'll be trying that again soon though!

We went on lots of little hikes.  We made a trip to the Kettle Valley Railway route.  They've since turned the rail line into a hiking and biking trail and there was a section near where we were staying that had lots of trestle bridges to see.

Many of these trestle bridges burned up in the 2003 Kelowna Fire, but thanks to some provincial funding and a huge group of volunteers they have since been rebuilt.

The boys went fishing every chance they got.  The fish weren't biting as much as usual though... probably due to the incredible amount of bugs around this year.

And just some more random family pictures from the week...

Sarah, taking a break.

Marlin, smiling for the camera.  

The early morning mist on the lake.

Deb, Steve, Sarah and Alison.

The girls having fun on the swings.

Mom and Stephanie, laughing it up.

Sarah and Alison running across one of the damns at a nearby lake.

Three generations of girls.

Mom, being mom.  This picture is just so her....

Proof that I was there, awkward stance and all.  :)