Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, we got up at the lakehouse. We had visited last August when we were up, and Holly told us we had a standing invitation to come out whenever we wanted. I will admit, I don't love a lot about Ohio (I know, totally shocking, right?) But, if I am going, the lake house is not a bad place to be. I mean, look at Asa just chilling on the porch with a dog, his book, and a view? That's not terrible.
It helped this time that Gwen gave us the better room upstairs with the bigger bed. I tried to soften the blow for her by giving her the air matress I brought, and she ended up putting it on top of the bed- and then being pretty cozy there.
After a quick breakfast Holly, Garrett, Calib, Asa and I went out on the kayaks to traverse the lake.
We even ran into some turtles and baby geese!
Back on shore at the house, Garrett got Luke and the Professor (Clint's new dog) to go chasing toys out into the water. I did enjoy all the pups at the lake house. Luke and Lily were there, as was the Professor. It was my first time meeting Clint's new dog, but he's pretty chill. And his look reminds me of a brownish colored Etta.
The lake house also has a really big lawn- perfect for a game or two of bucket ball.
Cort also got out the bocce ball and the croquete set.
Besides the porch, and the deck, there's a nice sitting area out on the dock. We gathered up some board games and snacks and spent the afternoon out there.
Plus when you're hanging out at the dock at any moment in time you can just take out the paddleboards or the kayaks and do a lap or two around.
Sadly, the boat wasn't in yet. It was still hanging in the garage, because it hadn't rained there very much and up by the docks the water was really very shallow. Garrett and I measured with the kayak ores, and while Cort thought he could get the boat up to the dock, he didn't think he could park it and leave it there.
That night, Clint and Jess cooked dinner- lots of tacos, mexican street corn, guacamole and salsas. It put my taco bars during football season to shame.
By now the Pekich's had showed up. My cousin Joanne, her husband Ray and their kids Max and Henry came over from Pittsburgh to spend the weekend with us too. It wasn't long before Max and Henry were joining in on bucket ball too. (And Max was surprisingly good at this imaginary game we just made up).
The parents/older crowd were actually pretty invested in the game from the upped deck as well.
At dinner, Gwen had out her giant Beaches and Cream goblet, and since she had bought all that ice cream, I suggested a 'Ice Cream Feast', which is really just scooping a bunch of ice cream into said goblet. (We didn't even have toppings- next visit I must remedy such things!)
Everyone was very excited about Ice Cream Feast, as if they'd never done such a thing before. It's just a giant bowl of ice cream you share. But, give it a fun container and name and ta da! It's a special event.
Later we played some games. Asa and I rounded up the 'kids' (ok, they're all teenagers now) for some Just One. Asa had the word fire- and I knew I'd help the group with Oakley (the fire rescue dog thats with our friend down the street)
These kids were oddly into any game with us, which is awesome. How often do you get 17 year olds on board to hang out with you? And apparently, Garrett doesn't play games... unless the Waterstrauts are involved.
And after some Just One, we got them in on So Clover. Both fun games actually gifted to us by Clint and Jess.
Speaking of Clint and Jess- the lakehouse is big, but not that big, so they took one for the team and slept out on the dock (Not really for the team, they were super into it). But the Professor hung out with us inside. I just love him. He's so cuddly and chill.
Holly then wrangled us all up for some smores. I was not particularily in for desserts, but one of my favorite thing about hanging with the Sattlers is their love for desserts. It's a love I share, but nobody else in my family does. So, when I was on the fence about smores after the ice cream feast Garrett was like 'Come on, how often do you get two desserts in one night?'
There was some talk over if my mom was going to show up at the lake house, as she was just getting over covid. But, she had tested negative and joined us all on Saturday- meaning Gwen was displaced out of her room. To soften the blow, I helped build her a blanket fort in the dining area. It was not at all my best work, but I was working without any PVC pipe or saftey pins.
Gwen seemed pleased, and the next morning she was still asleep in there, so success!
When we got up the next morning, the early crew was already awake on the porch.
And that crew included Jake! He had to bartend the night before, and the night he was there- but he showed up about 3 am and stayed till about 1pm. Everyone was like 'are you sure Jake's really coming since he can barely be here?' and I assured them all this was Jake's thing- if he has a couple of hours to come see us, he will. It's one of my favorite things about him. He goes out of his way for you, for sure.
Cort made us all breakfast on Sunday. I was hoping for dads eggs, but there was no cheese for them- and you can't make dads eggs without cheese. Sure, they're better for you. But, calories don't count at the lake house.
Usually Asa and I are the only coffee drinkers, but with Joanne and Ray around, we had some fellow coffee friends. Good thing we brought our french press with us. (Holly does have a coffee maker, but you know how Asa is a coffee snob).
Clint was also awake, talking about how great they slept on the dock- sans someone blasting Jimmy Buffett in the middle of the night. Still, there was some morning games of catch with Calib and Clint.
Gwen really, really wanted Cort to get the boat out, and since the lake was too low it would have to go in (and out!) at the marina. Cort was willing to do it for us though, so we went out and watched him hook up the boat to the van. Fun note: there were lots of different license plates out there: Ohio, Tennessee, Florida, Pennsylvania.
And they got the boat in! Now, the boat only seats up to 8- and there is a weight limit, so while a bunch of the 'kids' went on the boat, Asa, Joanne, Jake, Ray and me went out on the kayaks to meet them out there.
I was special enough that Lily wanted to come with me, so it was just me and Captain Lily in our kayaks. Kayaking with a pup? That's heaven!
Everyone on the boat at this point, decided they wanted the tube to go on, so the kayakers paddled back, got Holly and grandma to inflate the tube, and we took it back out to the boaters.
But then the boaters decided they didn't want 'Big Mabel' (aka the red tube) and instead they wanted the smaller tube. So, we paddled back in, got Holly to inflate the next one, and Asa towed it back out.
Once we swapped the tubed yet again, Cort was talking about trying to bring the boat in just to the end of the dock, and saying he should lighten his load on the boat to do that. My idea was someone could sit on the Big Mabel tube as Asa pulled it in, but then the whole thing ended up with Jake towing my empty kayak and me sitting on Big Mabel.
We did just sit out there and float for awhile, which was super fun. I even grabbed my Little Debbie snack out of my dry bag for a snack. It was probably my favorite part of the trip. And then Asa towed me back, with a little help from Ray pushing me on the backend. I eventually also took a paddle to help with the cause.
And when we got back, Lily came to hang out with me.
And then the boat came in. There were some disagreements whether this was a good idea or not (the water was SO shallow), but Cort put everyone on the front of the boat to make sure he didn't hit the motor and parked it at the end of the dock to use later. It did not, in fact, run aground.
Everyone was heading back because Jake had to get back to Columbus for work.
And before he left, we had to get the group picture.
After we said our goodbyes (and thank yous for coming) to Jake, I noticed all kinds of baby geese on the other side of the inlet. So, I grabbed some greens to try and feed them. I did get Asa, Gwen and Max on board. Ultimately though, the geese were uninterested in our shennangians.
By now everyone was pretty cold and tired, and we had just had lunch, so it was just lay around the dock time. That's Asa's favorite lake time. He always manages to fall asleep on the dock couch.
At this point, Clint was three margaritas in- so his bright idea was to switch off the paddleboard with Garrett straight up off the dock. It did not turn out well.
Cort paddled around for a bit and decided there was no way to bring the boat into the slip. It might have worked for that day- but if the lake lost anymore water, it would be a no go.
Calib and Asa still hadn't been tubing at this point (Pretty sure that's Calib's favorite part of being at the lake), so we went out on the boat with Cort, Joanne, Holly and Lily.
Calib was up first and did a pretty good job holding on to the tube.
And then Asa was up, and despite Cort's best efforts, Asa really hung on.
Despite the cloudy day, and the chilly temperatures, it was a fun trip out on the boat.
Back at the dock, Holly did some paddleboarding. Her pups REALLY love her. Note Lily on the top of her board, and Luke swimming near her. That Luke is a good swimmer, he just paddled right along with Holly. It makes sense though, after all, he is a canoe lab.
We were still out at the dock at this point, so Joanne and Calib went up to get us provisions. Basically, if you went up to the house for any reason, we'd all shout back to bring us something.
And then we played some games. We had a lot of people in for So Clover, and were basically working in teams. Asa and I, however, make a terrible team for that game. We can guess each other's cards correctly, but our brains work totally different.
Dinner that night was a cookout. I helped Holly round some things up and do the stove top stuff while Cort manned the grill.
And a delicious dinner was had by all.
Clint, however, was not feeling great. (I think it was the three margaritas by lunch time), but he did perk up so we could take a kids and their spouses picture with my mom. We're not often all together at the same time, so she has to document it while we are.
And then we headed back to take the boat out. Calib and I wanted to be helpful, so we tagged along with Cort and Holly. Holly hadn't done the driving to get the boat out in awhile, so we cheered her on and she did great. (Also, I think this may have been the last time they took this boat out of the water- because a few days later they'd bought a new boat!)
I'm not sure what transpired while we were gone, but when we returned it was a free for all pillow fight.
And somehow that was my last picture of the lake house. We did end up having another ice cream feast (though nobody must have taken a picture), and playing some more games, but then we packed up as much as we could because we were leaving so early the next morning.
Next up: A very, very long day- but also Olivia arrived home!
