ten smile tuesday...

...with way too many pictures for one post...but what can i say, we had lots of fun at the lake...and captured it all in photos!

1. celebrating five years of marriage to my dearest husband....we were able to enjoy a fabulous evening out thanks to my parents, who lovingly took care of the girls. mike and i had dinner at a lakeside restaurant...and were even able to enjoy a gorgeous evening, sitting on the patio of the restaurant...and then wandered through the little village, finding a bench next to a fountain and chatting for a long time...and then, a bit more wandering and some tasty ice cream. it was a lovely evening...how wonderful to reflect on God's faithfulness over the course of the past five years...and to dream about all that is in store for the next many years! and we were delighted to discover this relaxing little destination for future dates when we're visiting my parents...as it was just a half an hour away! :)

2. swinging...

is it my turn now?!

fearless kate takes a turn on the big girl swing!

(and big wheeling!)

3. fishing...it was actually the weekend of the "fishing derby" at the lake...so elizabeth and kate got to sign up and catch as many fishies as they could (with poppy and daddy's help, of course!)...they didn't win, but they definitely had fun in the process...and elizabeth won a barbie fishing pole set as a door prize...and, quite frankly, that made her weekend (and made her MUCH more interested in fishing....for the rest of the weekend she had a blast practicing casting). kate was quite into touching the fish...something elizabeth never would have tried at that age...or now, for that matter! :)

libs tries her hand with the big pole!

doesn't she look like an official "fisherlady"--maybe she could catch something if she had the attention span to watch the bobber for more than 5 seconds at a time. :)

and here she is with her barbie pole...and i bet you didn't know that you simply cannot fish without your "fishing hat" on...

4. swimming....

i should qualify this pic with the fact that the floating only lasted a few minutes before elizabeth got a bit freaked out by the chilliness of the water...i'll admit, it was a bit cool, but it felt quite refreshing to me since i'm always a bit overheated these days!

kate, on the other hand, could have stayed in the water all day long...regardless of how cold it might have been!

kate is still our fearless water-bug...plunging out to mommy off the edge of the boat!

5. building sand castles with daddy...and then the priceless moments of watching elizabeth proceed to teach kate just how to build the perfect castle! love it!

6. goggles...i mean, really, who can live without a good pair of googles...but really, i just can't get enough of the goggle model...dontcha think i should send her picture to speedo for promo!

7. the simple joys in life...like a bucket and shovel...

i couldn't decide which pic i liked better, so you get them both! :)

8. ...or the delight of a girl and her dog...or should i say of girls and their dog...elizabeth and kate spent at least an hour entertaining themselves by taking mugho for walks between the living room and the kitchen on monday morning...and bless mugho's heart...he is so patient and good with the girls!

again...can't decide on my fav...just love them both!

9. visiting with great grandmas...we were able to see GG (my mom's mom) all day saturday...and then my dad picked up great grandma (my dad's mom) and brought her up to the lake sunday afternoon. i love that the girls can spend time with their great grandmas....even if it doesn't happen nearly as often as i wish it could. i still have vivid memories of time with my great grandmother (who we called GG), and those are such treasured memories!

10. i could mention the carrot cake we made to celebrate poppy's birthday...or the big batch of carmel corn...or BBQ chicken and burgers on the grill...and on and on...yum!

11. and i simply would be remiss if i didn't mention another incredible, fabulous highlight of the "weekend"...we stuck around the lake an extra day so that on monday i could go into fort wayne and meet up with two beautiful, amazing, delightful friends from blog-land...wendi and jackie...we met at panera and enjoyed a tasty lunch and even better conversation. it was beyond amazing to actually meet, and truly, while i felt a bond just from knowing one another through blogs...it is even stronger after sitting with them face to face...hearing their voices...sharing...laughing... simply being together in real life! i was incredible to sit down with two women who i feel i "know" so well...and who "know" me...amazing!

12. and then, just a last picture...cause these are the people who make me smile the most...and we so rarely are all four in a pic together...if you click on the picture to enlarge it you just might be able to see my baby belly...which is ever growing more and more quickly! :)