Trip to MO - Week 2 at The Cabin

The second week of our trip to Missouri was spent on the lake, at my parent's cabin.  I grew up spending summers at this cabin for a lot of my childhood, and I was really excited that Mitchell would be old enough to enjoy the boat rides and swimming this year.  Well, he was almost excited about swimming... at first he was so nervous about it that he would hold onto me with a death grip when we were in the water.  But, after a few days of "playing" in the water he started to loosen up and enjoy it.  In fact, my niece brought a friend to the cabin, Nicole, who actually taught Mitchell how to swim a little (well, doggy-paddle anyway).  By the time we left, he was a little fish:)  I really enjoyed seeing him splash, play, and swim around with all his cousins.  And this trip was especially fun, because all of my siblings and their kids were there (including my sister, Nicole, and her kiddos who came to visit all the way from Australia).  Plus, we had a family reunion on my dad's side, so a lot of my aunts, uncles, and cousins were also at the lake this week.  It was a blast getting to see everyone and have them all meet Mitchell and Duncan:)  But, I will blog about our family reunion in another post.  For now, please enjoy seeing the boys discover their "love" for the lake:

Meemaw was kind enough to drive us from Springfield to the cabin.  And as an extra treat, she decided to hang out for a bit and join us for a boat ride:)

Duncan did not like the boat ride.  He hated the wind and his life jacket.  This is a rare shot of him not crying.  Poor kiddo:)

Mitchell, on the other hand, loved the boat ride!

Captain Mitchell!  Grandpa happily shared the driving responsibility:)

Looking for fish with Meemaw.

We did get a couple of smiles from him once the boat and wind stopped:)

Grandpa and Grandma just floating around.

Death grip on Meemaw.

Chillin' with Grandma.

Parking the boat with Grandpa.

Reaching for fish food to feed the fish.  They ate pretty well that day:)

Duncan liked the fish too!

Hello old friend!  Oh how we miss our Nora:(  It was so great seeing her again!

Grandpa knows how to relax and play with trucks at the same time, Lol!

Mitchell had a scare on his first day in the water; he walked to the edge of the boat and just jumped in!  We were all in shock that he did it.  Grandma jumped in and before she could turn around to help Mitchell into the water, he followed her example and just jumped in.  Well, he went under the water and wasn't holding his breath properly and scared himself pretty well.  He had his life jacket on, so he came right back up to the surface, but he was really startled.  So... that brings us to this picture.  For the next few days Mitchell wasn't a fan of swimming in the water, but he loved climbing up and down the boat's ladder.  So, that's what he did nonstop:)

He never lost his love for the boat rides though!

Whee!!  Going under the bridge.

And sometimes boat time and nap time clash:)

Uncle Richard has arrived!  Mitchell and Duncan really enjoyed seeing their uncle again.

Bring on the cousin love!  Mitchell wasted no time in hopping on David's back for a piggy-back ride.  He loved it when day after day, more and more family started to arrive.  He was in "give me attention" heaven, Lol!  And this will bring me to my next blog post....  Owens Family Reunion 2016.

So much concentration!  He takes his captain duties very serious, Lol!

He says he likes the water until you mention him getting back into it.  "Nooo!"  Lol!

"I'll never let go Jack Meemaw, I'll never let go."

Well, he tried fishing anyway:)  He "caught" three fish but then they got away.  Haha, and like any good grandpa, my dad covered for Mitchell saying the bait wasn't the best; and later he looked and saw that the hook was bent and the fish could easily slip off.  I dunno, I'll protect my son's ego and say those things were all against him and he never had a chance to catch a fish.  Haha!!  Better luck next time:) 

Too bad a fishing pole wasn't allowed off this dock, he could have made a killing!  Lol!  He gladly settled for just feeding these fish.

"Reunited and it feels so good!"  He literally couldn't let go of her.  Haha, and I'm sure she loved it:)

Grandpa kept offering to catch Mitchell if he jumped, but Mitchell was insistent on using his precious ladder, Lol!  In the end, he did "jump" a little ways to Grandma.  Baby steps:)

When the boat stopped and it wasn't super windy, we were able to get a few smiles out of Duncan.  But, poor kid hated his life jacket so the smiles didn't last long.  Mitchell, on the other hand, loved his life jacket; and thank goodness he had it for all those times he went up and down his cherished ladder:)