Eight Point Weekend, Pt. III

 (contd.)

Nearly everybody at the lakehouse slept in the next day - we had all stayed up late - but someone (I think Alayna?) was able to get this candid pic of Jeff and Carissa out on the dock in the morning.

One or two of the bolts on the jet ski hoist needed to be replaced - it/they kept coming off - so Jeff helped Dad remove a couple so Dad knew what kind to pick up at the Ace Hardware in Clare.

Later that afternoon, with the weather a bit drizzly and not a whole heck of a lot going on, I decided to take the golf cart down the road over to my old high school buddy Matt's cottage.  While I was away for a couple hours having beers with him, the girls kinda just sat around and played various g ames in the living room.

En route down to Matt's down South Shore Drive, cooler ready to rock and roll.

Watson takes advantage of a vacant chair for some afternoon down time.

Kris decided that all the girls needed braids in their hair. . . for some reason. She's a big fan of braiding hair.

(Gonna be honest, I don't know what type of braids these are.)

When I got back to the lakehouse from Matt's, a couple hours later, the rain had letup so we all went down to the shore to hang out and get some fresh air.

Kris and Abby

So my folks this year - especially Dad - was obsessed with getting pics of all the grandkids sitting on the sea lake wall.  Kris obliged and took a pic of Alayna and Abby sitting on it, but Dad later informed us that this was the wrong sea wall, and that we'd have to try again later.  Oh well.

Dreary day on the lake.

Some treacherous looking skies, here.

Kris grabbed me a four-pack of this awesomeness for Father's Day.  Decided this cool, rainy day was perfect for it.

With the weather crappy once again, Dad and I watched an episode or two of a show called 'Daisy Jane & the Six,' which was pretty good.  The girls either hung out in the basement or else played Mancala in the living room.

Nana dishes out some brownies and ice cream after a dinner of leftovers - no sense in pulling out all the stops when there's so much leftover food from the previous two dinners jammed up in the fridge.

Soon-to-be-Sophomores and phones.

Decent sunset forming over Eight Point Lake.

The girls attempt an impromptu game of softball.  Not the easiest thing in the world to do with only four people.

It was a bit windy out, so we opted to pass the sunset cruise this evening and retire early - we had a lot of folks coming back up to the lake the following day to take advantage of the sunny weather that was in the forecast.

The girls took this group selfie at, like, 3am. I don't wanna know what they were up to down in the basement.

The next morning, I awoke to the thickest fog I have ever seen up at the lake in my twenty years up here.  You couldn't see twenty feet out from shore, it was insane.

Super creepy.

Later that morning, after a couple coffees and waiting for folks to start getting up and around, Dad and I took the four dogs out for a morning constitutional around the neighborhood.  You can imagine how often these idiots got tangled up in all the leashes.

Kris, like a true Millennial, enjoys some avocado toast for her breakfast.

After breakfast, Dad and I decided to take the pontoon out on the lake and open it up a bit, seeing how the water was still and there was barely anyone out there yet, and I wanted to log some more practice in with the hoist.

By late morning, folks began to roll back in.  Chris and his family - including the twins this time around - showed up and hit the beach, and Dad was finally able to check off another set of grandkids on the 'sea' wall.

Jeff and Carissa showed up as well, sans kids this time around (they were with the ex, Annie - hence the stressed out phone call two days ago.)

The original Hough girls get their obligatory picture on the wall.

After lunch, with the weather about as close to perfect as you could get, we decided to mount everyone up and head out to the Sandbar.  Unfortunately, everyone else on Eight Point Lake had the exact same idea that we did - it was slim pickings for 'parking' space, so we had to anchor the pontoon in nearly waist-deep water.

The Cannonball.

I had ferried the girls out to the Sandbar via jet ski an hour or so earlier - armed with towels, drinks, sunscreen, some balls, etc. - and they were pretty funned out with the water by the time we got there. There's a strooooong possibility they enjoy the prospect of running into teenage boys up there, as the Sandbar's basically the social mecca of the lake on weekends.

Chris and Nicole opted to pass on the Sandbar, as they didn't want their kids in the water, so Kris and I hung out with Jeff and Carissa off the edge of the pontoon and had a couple drinks.

Thug life.

Getting another posed picture in at the Sandbar.

Cindy stayed back with Chris' family, and managed to get this family pic while the kids were playing on the lily pad. 

Back at the lakehouse after an hour or so at the Sandbar.

Again - not sure what I think of this one.  The citrus is good, the IBUs from the hops, not so much.

The Borthers.

Chaos with Chris' kids.

Kris chose a bad time to bronze on the raft.

We decided to get a Borthers picture on the wall as well.  F*** the grandkids.

According to familial law, pics like this have to be taken in oldest-to-youngest order.

Mrs. Hough on Abby's donut.

After a bit, I somehow ended up babysitting Chris' kids on the raft. I kept the boys occupied with the ol' 'triangle pass' game. Never fails.

It's a miracle no one was injured.

Kris and Nicole.

After swimming for a few hours, everyone came back inside for some food. As Nora ate at the table, the vultures began to circle - they know the best chances they have at table scraps is right below the seat of a young child.

Back outside, Kris and I were still getting our fill of bronzing time.  Get it while she's good, folks.

Cindy made up some cheeseburgers for dinner this evening - another lakehouse staple.

After dinner, Chris and his family took off for Midland. The sun was still optimal, so most of us adults (and dogs) hung out down by the lake, while the teens retreated back into their basement lair.

Samson was not a fan of the neighbors' dogs.

A little while later, as we all killed time before the evening's sunset cruise, Kris got this pic of Alayna hanging on her phone. These dogs have no concept of 'personal space.'

Feeling antsy, she then took the four girls out for a quick golf cart ride around the lake.

Eventually, around the usual 8:45-9pm window, we departed for one final sunset cruise of the weekend. Jeff and Carissa - as well as the grandparents' dogs - came along for the ride.

Obligatory picture of a boat passing through the sun's reflection on the water?  Check. (Tubing at this time of the evening, by the way, is just plain moronic.)

Abby and Lily.

Dad requested I take a pic of this cloud with a weird hole in it.  So here you go, Internet.

Rounding the Sandbar. . .

Maddie is clearly not amused with Abby's collection of lame, pick-up lines. . .

Not sure if this is supposed to be a Titanic reference or what. . .

One of the better sunsets we had over the weekend - these are barely touched up at all.

When we got back to shore, the teens retired to the basement for the evening, and we remaining six adults all sat around the table on the back deck and talked for a bit. Folks around the lake continued to randomly shoot of fireworks here and there.

And so ends another action-packed weekend on the lake.  We've got a pretty busy summer this year, so I don't think we'll be returning to the lake until Labor Day in a month and half, thereabouts.  Until next time, folks.

- Brian