The Gentry World: Our Return to Lake Tippy!!

Great Nana telling a story!

We got wind that Great Nana had some cabins rented up at Lake Tippecanoe for the last week of June and we jumped at the chance!! We used to go the the lake every summer for weeks on end, and I hadn't been since Maggie was pregnant with Sophie!!! I decided to take the girls for the week and introduce them to a little bit of my childhood.
BUT first things first........we had to make the 8hr road trip up to Great Nana's for a night and then another 3hr road trip the next day! I am pleased to say that (once again) the girls were great troopers and did FANTASTIC!! I honestly cannot ask for better travelers! We arrived at Great Nana's in time to take a couple rides on the gator before it was bedtime!
The next morning, we headed out as early as we could to head north. The memories came flooding back as soon as I rolled down my window and smelled that lake air! AHHHHHHH! There was no time for naps on the first day so off we went for the boat!!! Grace LOVED it and said "FASTER" at least a few million times within the first five minutes! Then the question was asked, "Who wants to go tubing?" Can you guess who was the first to say, "MEEEEE!" Yep, Grace practically jumped off the boat to get to the tube! We instantly started getting the thumbs up sign which means FASTER as she was tubing. The only problem she had was the occasional splash in the face from the rope......this girl DOES NOT like to be splashed in the face! Anna WAS NOT a big fan of her lifejacket but did LOVE the beach! She is so dang quick and got a couple handfuls of sand in her mouth before the week was up!
Unfortunately, Anna started getting up around 5:45am (YES, I said 5:45AM!!!) almost every day that week, BUT Aunt Cindy was there to save the day!!! She and Emilie helped out with the kids so much throughout the week and I am SO VERY thankful they were there!!! Between them and Great Nana, Aunt Pat, and Don, we were spoiled rotten! Our cabins were stocked with ALL the necessities. We had lunch or dinner waiting on us when we got off the boat. AND they took the kids when the mommies needed a little break! :)
We all had a blast during the day: boating, tubing, hitting the beach, building sand castles, eating ice cream and s'mores, finding "she-shelfs," etc!! Annnnnndd at night after the kiddos went to bed, the "big kids" sat around the campfire, had a beverage (or two!), and caught up on anything and everything! I can't remember the last time we were all in the same place at the same time!
We had such a great time and can't wait to do it again next year!! Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who helped out with the girls and catered to our every need!!!
Our fun wasn't over yet because the girls and I left the lake and headed to Bloomfield so we could spend two nights with Grandma! We got to see MORE family that I hadn't seen in years and the girls have never met! We did a little swimming, ate some MORE s'mores, and got in lots of "GGGRRRRRAAAANNNNNDDDMMMMMAAAAAAA!!!!" time before we had to head back to Knoxville to celebrate the 4th!!!
Here are a some pics from the week!! ENJOY!