It was time for our yearly week at our lake house/tent campground, Palisade! The water was really, really low this year with seagrass skimming the surface throughout. We still swam! We gotta cool off! And the kids still jumped from the swim dock, but otherwise we did a lot of raft floating, canoeing, and paddle boarding. It was still tons of fun!

Sarah, Beth, Ben, and I packed up and left around 2:00pm on Monday. We met Nik and Hannah Grosland at the campground where we put our feet in the water and set up camp. We roasted hotdogs and s'mores over the fire for dinner and waited for the rest of our gang. Kevin, Savannah, Mariah, Cheyenne, and Calianne joined us around 10pm after doing a full day of work for some and athletic practices for others.

Tuesday we kept Kevin and Savannah all day and played in the lake. We missed Megan! That night after dinner Kevin and Savannah went back to Springville. Bye Kevin and Savannah! We're so glad you could come!

Not five minutes after they left, Nik and Hannah's mom pulled up! Surprise! Robin spent the night and morning with us. Fun times! We walked around the lake in the night AND the morning. When she left Wednesday morning, Nik and Hannah headed home, too. Bye, Grosland's! Thanks for coming!

As we ate lunch Wednesday, the Francom's pulled up! Wendy brought her five kids aged 16 to 4, a raft-boat, and two kid-sized kayaks. Ben, Beth, Cali, and Chey all have friends in her crew and they loved being able to play all day at the lake with them. The little kayaks were especially a hit. Beth, Siena, Ben, and Mia all had a great time. They left around dinner time. Bye Francom's! So glad you came!

Thursday morning as we were finishing breakfast, Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik pulled up! Yay! Grandma played games with the kids in the cool, morning shade and Grandpa told us stories. Grandma brought us chicken salad for lunch (which was a nice break from PB&J!) and black cherry soda and watermelon. Then we watched the kids play in the water and try to all ride the paddle board at the same time. When they left later in the afternoon, they returned about 30minutes later with milkshakes for everyone! Wow Grandma and Grandpa! You are awesome! Bye! We love you! Thanks for coming!

As Grandma and Grandpa left, Jen and Stuart Grigg arrived. Finally! We had been waiting and waiting for "Sister Gwigg." She is always the one reminding me in the winter that I need to reserve our site so "we will always have Palisades." (Ben told her that when we moved from Brookside!) She is also our minnow-catching expert and I think this is the third year she has brought us her famous pasta salad for dinner. Yum yum! Stuart took our picture all together before they left after sunset. Bye Griggs! Thanks for coming!

So that left just us Skinners (minus three) to pack up the next morning, heave a sigh, and wave goodbye to Palisades for another year. Bye Palisades! We're so glad we came!

P.S. We made some funny memories while there. Our first night, we learned that Cheyenne has an alarm on her phone . . . at 3:16 in the morning. The alarm says in a very cheerful voice, "It's 3:16 AM!" and then plays super cheerful music. Everyone woke up except Cheyenne. When Savannah found the phone and turned it off, she whispered into the darkness, "Why . . .?" So funny!

Also while there, whenever Beth would get weepy about spiders or sunburns or whatever, I would tell her, "Come on, Beth. Toughen up! You're a warrior. You're a warrior princess!" So, I'd been preaching this to her, but then when it was time for bed it backfired. She said, "It's too early for a warrior princess to go to bed!" So funny! I think it was sinking in.