One last trip

On Sunday we took the boat out for one last river trip. We didn't make as many trips this year as we have in summers past but with the exception of the first trip, which was unmitigated disaster, all of our other trips were filled with full fun days on the water.

I have to admit, it felt a little odd. We missed all the 10th anniversary 9/11 tributes and opening day of NFL games BUT it really was our last chance to go and since Joe had to work over Labor Day weekend, we had to take advantage when we could. Also, we had been unable to bring along our friend Cruz all summer and we all wanted to make at least one trip with him as well.

And we couldn't have asked for a better day. A little more cloudy and cooler than other trips but still plenty warm. The water wasn't too cold yet and their was hardly anyone else on the water, which was low enough that we had our sandbar and stayed there all day as the water slowly rose and eventually, the beach disappeared.

The kids and I at the end of our boat ride to the sandbar:

This was Kuma's 4th trip to the river and he seems to get more adventurous every time. He ran up and down the strip of beach, splashing into the water with wild abandon and then swimming when it got too deep. He played fetch with sticks, rolled around in the sand and explored a "cave" among the tall reeds finally becoming tired out and deciding to sunbath on the bow of the boat. Does this look like one happy dog or what?:

The kids searched for unique rocks and shells (or as Jadyn calls them, shelves) in the water and along the beach, practiced their swimming skills and followed Kuma into his "cave", laughing at his antics. I think the only time they were not in the water was when they stopped to eat lunch.

Playing with Kuma:

A hug pose for the camera:

Jadyn giving her "baby rock egg" a sand bath:

My goal for the trip, other than to have a nice relaxing time (which I did) was to get a decent family picture of us. I told Joe if we got a good enough one, I would even use it on our holiday card (because we all know how much Joe LOVES family photo shoots). I am pretty darn satisfied with one in particular so I am not going to share it since I am 99.999% sure I am going to use it for our holiday card this year, but here is the other one I liked (thanks Cruz!):

Oh, and how can I thank Cruz for taking THE picture? By sharing this one of him looking like an old man trying to navigate the rocky bottom of this portion of the shore. Nevermind that he has a brace on his knee and has "sensitive" feet. Ignore the fact that he swam with the kids all day and put up with Kuma jumping on his back in the water on several occasions.We still enjoyed giving him a hard time for it:

Although Fall doesn't officially start until September 23rd, with school and soccer in full swing, this last trip to the river marked the end of summer for us. And what a fun summer it was.