Collin Kayaks by Himself

After the beach, Cas was ready for a family kayak adventure.  He suited up (in a kid's life jacket) -

But no amount of love and reassurance could get Collin excited about joining us in the kayak.  He just was not in the mood.

Instead, he wanted to go in the green one all by himself, thank you very much.

And so he did.  With a little help from Brownie.

Floating like a big guy in about 3 inches of water (with my dad and Alex and arm's length away) -

While Cas and I ventured into deeper waters -

This is a posing smile.  I like kayaking like this, in a lake when I can determine the length of time I'm paddling.  Alex and I shared a kayak in Hawaii 3 years ago where we kayaked to this snorkeling spot that you couldn't reach on the road.  We were glad we did it, but it was one of those experiences where I realized 15 minutes in that I didn't really LOVE kayaking, and we still had about a 30-minute one-way trek ahead of us!

Collin and Uncle Walter, basking in the beauty of the Pacific Northwest from the incredible lake house porch

Playing with Mommy before bedtime -

Some scenes from the "fishing cottage" to show how spoiled we were -

Looking from the front door through the living room to the back porch, overlooking Lake Quinault -

Dusk -

Alex and Coady relaxing on the downstairs porch

After dinner, we had s'mores in the outdoor fireplace - I was as happy as can be!  Then we watched the moon rise over the mountains, trying silly poses on the porch.  See Cas' Cars band-aid.  Photographer failure and success, though the failed attempt is a crisper photo.

The moon & lake reflections -

We ended the night with a moonlit kayak ride - an incredible day - though I'll admit the s'mores played a pretty big role in my total elation!