A few weeks ago Nate spent the day with one of his best friends at a local lake.  When he came home he told me "I wish our family was more like Jesse's family".  When I asked him why he stated it was because Jesse's family has canoes. He also added that he had eaten three s'mores, 5 marshmallows adding to his fun as well.  Later Jesse's mom gave me pictures of the outing.  Nate wasn't just using a canoe he was also kayaking and there was pure joy radiating from his face.  Being afraid of water I simply wouldn't have allowed my son to be in a canoe with other children (by themselves) or kayak.  But Jesse's mom has more children than I do and she is much more relaxed.  Everyone was wearing life jackets and one of her older sons is lifeguard certified.  She assured me the water was shallow along the edge of the lake.  Yesterday we went to the lake to spend family night with Jesse's.

When Hailey got into a canoe with 2 other kids I was a little worried but I swallowed it and told her have a good time.  Eric and I got into a canoe with Nate and started our little tour of the lake.  This arrangement was not the best,  Nate sat up front and Eric in the back.  I had two bosses telling me what to do and often they didn't agree.  More often than not I just picked up my paddle and put it in my lap.  It was sure fun to see Nate's confidence.  It  felt like we were in a Natural Geographic setting.   Unfortunately my pictures are not the best.

The lily pads were beautiful.

  

 This pair of swans had a comfy looking  nest.

They also had cygnets following behind. 

There were several beaver lodges. 

Mr. Beaver (I think) slapped the water several times with his tail to let us know we were too close.  We also saw a very small beaver around the lodge.  We then headed back to shore.

After our tour, we cooked hot dogs over a fire, roasted marshmallows, and ate s'mores.   One of the girls read a story about friendship.  The boys made a underwater periscopes with jars and cans.  The girls collected shells and swan's feathers.  That look Nate had on his face in the pictures from his earlier outing was on his face again.  When we left at 10:00 PM he was disappointed we were leaving so early.   Hailey loved the evening as well.  We can't wait to go back again, and hopefully we can be as fun as Jesse's family.