Riechmann Family: Camping & Boating over the 4th of July

Every year for nearly the last 7 years we have gone camping and boating at Lake Shelbyville with my family. It gets more interesting each year as our family grows to include spouses and children. My parents used to be able to fit us in their camper, but we've outgrown that. Nathan and Kelsi borrowed a pop-up for themselves and Nicholas and Melissa. We slept in Mom and Dad's camper with our kids. Normally this isn't a problem, but since it rained most of the weekend, we had to spend the majority of our time in and around the camper. We made the most of it by chatting, snacking, playing cards, and chasing kids. In the end, we had a great time and always enjoy getting together for a little R & R with the family. Too bad we had to come home and unpack!

My mom wanted a Hawaiian theme this weekend, so she bought leis. Kendall was the only one who wanted to wear them...ALL of them!

Kendall getting ready to go on the boat. "We wear life jackets so we can be SAFE!" (anyone who watches Dora or Diego will get that)

Entertaining ourselves before the boat arrived.

The girls weren't too sure about the boat...Braden loved it!

Braden helping Papa drive the boat. He informed us last night that since he drove the boat with Papa he already knows how to drive a car. Yeah...that's how it works.

Me and my Kendall Grace.

Kendall also enjoyed helping Papa drive the boat. My dad's actual boat was broken, so they rented this pontoon. It seriously had a lawn-mower sized engine that went VERY slow. Needless to say, we were in no danger of crashing...even if no one was driving!

Kendall braved the cold water to sit in her frog. She kept kissing its mouth. She was probably delirious from hypothermia!

My water baby. He didn't care how cold it was. He was going swimming!

Aunt Lissa was nice enough to swim with the kids. She's way nicer than me!

Miss Addy liked the boat ride. Here she's sitting up while we were stopped to eat lunch.

Since it was rainy and cold most of the day on Saturday, we spent a lot of time in the camper. The kids are eating some snacks while they are waiting for breakfast to be served.

Braden was pretty grumpy, but the girls are having fun!

Dad decided to make the most of the rain and stand by the fire with his umbrella. To each his own!

The rain let up enough to drop the umbrellas and warm up by the fire. Dad, Nathan, and Dustin were having lots of fun...can't you tell?

Kendall entertained herself with cards. I think this game was called "Dump all the cards out and mess them up and leave." I didn't really like that one.

It was so cold we had to take a trip to the local Wal-Mart to buy warmer clothes. Kelsi and I decided that since we were buying clothes for the girls we should make them match. Perfect photo op!