We may not have oceans in the mid-west, but we have lakes!

For four years now we’ve been blessed with access to a private lake owned by friends…calling it “access” is actually a pretty laughable understatement…our friends insist on us using their beautiful property for birthday parties, etc, and treat us as if our kids were family. This private lake is flanked by a cabin with a fully-screened front porch, perfect for large gatherings, a lush green lawn watered by an underground sprinkler system, a huge pile of sand for playing at the lake’s edge…and when the hostess is around, the jet ski is purring and the tubes are flying! It all makes for a magically, grand time…

This past Saturday we had our fourth annual birthday bash out there. We always invite both sides of the family, and allow the “birthday girl” to invite one special guest of her own choosing, and their family, of course! We had thirty guests invited, and around 24 were able to come celebrate with us. This is the first year we’ve veered from a “Luau” theme, going with a cowboy/cowgirl theme instead.

This picture captures several poignant things about our lake times…first, notice that the guys are enjoying some umbrella shade while watching kiddos bobbing waves in the tube. Next, notice the yellow lab, ever-present tennis ball in her mouth, perched with the canine satisfaction of knowing that she’s surrounded by willing arms, ready to racket that ball out to “sea” for her to retrieve–all she has to do is drop the ball at their feet… Then you have to take in the background…the huge pile of freshly delivered sand at the water’s edge…can you see the blue wading pool between the colorful umbrellas? It’s for doggie and toddler enjoyment alike. What you can’t see are all the sprinklers going full bore in the yard, but the people in the cabin are surely enjoying the cold mist that the breeze carries in as it passes through them…

We had guests arrive at one o’clock…breaked at 3 P.M. for Snickerdoodle Cake, birthday cake flavored ice cream and home-made Cinnabuns with vanilla ice cream. The brand new eight year old opened her birthday gifts and handed out goody bags and then it was outside for more swimming! At five o’clock we started grilling burgers and hot dogs, and setting out shredded potato casseroles, candybar apple salad, cukes ‘n onions, burger fixings, chips galore, watermelon, grapes…and Caramel Apple Crisp with vanilla ice cream for dessert! We ended the fun with a horse pinata around 7:30-8 o’clock and finally, the evening air cooled down–just in time to clean everything up!

Here’s the cabin at dusk…and the sunset on the lake as we were cleaning everything up…and the last picture is of me and mine on a 105 degree mid-west day! (See the cowboy/cowgirl decorations in the background? Good old Oriental Trading Company!)