Back from the lake

We got home this afternoon. What a great week! Jeff and I are pretty much exhausted because Riley had a very hard time sleeping (gas, overstimulated, teething, who knows!). Plus, we are learning that vacationing with kids is nowhere near as relaxing as vacationing as a couple. It was worth it, though, because Riley and Colter really got to bond with everyone. I was a little worried that Colter would be overwhelmed because he had been in a bit of a mommy phase, but he was as social and outgoing as Riley.

Here's a recap of some of our fun memories.

Uncle Greg got the baby pool filled with water.
Uh, we forgot water from the hose is pretty chilly! This is as far as we got that day.
So, the next day Uncle Greg and Bailey refilled the pool with buckets of warm water from the bathtub. (Now that's love!)
Riley went for it and had a great time.
Colter still had memories of the freezing water from the day before. Poor guy.
Good thing Aunt Jennifer was there to rescue him.
Aunt Laurie and Uncle Greg gave him some extra love, too.The bumbos were awesome to have at the lake. We could pull Riley and Colter right up to the table to hang out with us. Of course they're a tad bit lower...

but they don't seem to mind being the short ones.
We had a houseful of cousins and friends!
Papa Jim is famous for all his hats.

He was kind enough to let Colter try one on. He and Colter had some good bonding time as he worked really hard to teach Colter to open his arms widely when we ask him how big he is - "so big!"
You know your cousin loves you when you have a poop explosion on her and she's still smiling. Riley wasn't the only one with an explosion, just the only one who got her photo taken.
Colter's looking pretty cool in these shades (he's so cool he doesn't care that they're pink).
Riley's not so sure about this.
She prefers to wear hats.
Jeff and I got to go running together several times during the week thanks to some very sweet family members who were happy to hang out with Riley and Colter in the morning. While the hills were painful, I loved it! It's so much more fun to run together. Jennifer and I also took the babies on a couple very hilly walks. It was a major workout just pushing the double stroller up the driveway.

It was so steep that Jeff had to help each time we were ready to come home. Turns out we should have brought the jogging stroller because we could have used that break!
The ultimate lake picture: chilling out in the hammock!