Fourth

We went to a friend's houseboat last weekend to watch the holiday fireworks. We arrived on Saturday and visited for a little while. Then we all got our suits on and jumped off the back of the houseboat.

Sydney had been reading her book, River Monsters (Jeremy Wade), and recently realized that episodes of the show of the same name is available OnDemand (and she watched every episode over and over). So she refused to get in the water for fear that she would be carried off by a river monster. However unlikely that would be on Lake Ouachita, she wouldn't budge off the back of the boat. Bless her heart.



Layne, on the other hand, jumped right in and enjoyed every minute of it - even though I made her wear her floaties. Swimming in a lake that is 50 feet deep has a tendency to do that to a Momma.



I had to use my fancy schmancy waterproof camera to take the underwater picture.



Jess and Tommie cool off on floaties of their own.



My little fishy.





Meanwhile, Sydney is sitting on the deck.



Jay wanted to take the girls on a short canoe ride.



Sydney was upset because I wouldn't let her row.



Tommie and Layne



That's a whole lotta poodle! Tommie & Jay's (Sophia, the black one, and Simon, the white one) and ours (Cali, the brown one).



Cali LOVED the water. She'd splash with her front paws and try to drink the splashing water. So funny, but she had a blast.



Wet dog!



After watching Jay swim from the shore back to the boat (all of 100 feet) and NOT being carried off by a river monster, Sydney decided it was okay to get in the water. But after jumping in a few times, Layne got a little mad at Syd for some reason. Here, Sydney is telling her "what the heck?"



Syd found it comforting to jump, not right in the water, but into a water chair (an inflatable ring with mesh in the middle).



So the girls took turns jumping in.







Syd actually let me take a pic of her underwater.



One last jump - together!



She liked to sit here - guess it made her feet feel safe.





Another canoe ride. This time with Mommy. And this time Sydney got to row.



After some dinner, it was time to get on the sail boat and secure our spot in the middle of the lake.



The girls sat right in front.



The sun was setting.

It was a little nerve-wracking because there were no railings to hold onto, just loose cable lines that came up to the knee. Layne fell asleep at the front of the boat - I had to carry her in one arm while I tried to navigate the very narrow walkway along the side of the boat and steady myself on flimsy rope or cable lines with the other hand. I thought, for sure, the two of us were going overboard. Needless to say, I felt much more safe when she was underneath, in the living quarters secure on her bed for the night. I needed a drink after that. But then I had to worry about Sydney. She insisted on walking up and down the side of the boat which made me so nervous.

And finally the fireworks. It was a great show - there was some that we'd never seen before. Fun!



Jay docked the sail boat and he and Tommie went back to their houseboat. We slept in the sailboat. It was a teeny tiny place, but it was just for sleeping, so it was just fine. We got up in the morning and it was already very hot. So we all went for another swim - Layne jumped right in and even Sydney got in, too.



We took the dogs to the shore so they could swim again. Sophie and Cali loved the water, swam all around. Simon, on the other hand, was perfectly happy sitting on the sand.

We stayed for a late lunch and then headed home because Jess was on call. We had a great time and the girl had a lot of fun swimming. Tommie and Jay are trying to convince us to buy a houseboat and dock it near them. Jess is all for it. And so am I - except not right now. We can't afford it right now. Maybe in several years.