Family Home Evening at the Lake

When we heard that Brilynn Ellsworth had never been to the lake (in her memory), we knew we had to correct the problem. Our niece, Clara, was also visiting from Utah, and we were trying to find a day to take her to the lake too. So when Dan turned up with a free day on Monday, we called the Ellsworths and Clara and made plans.

We took all the kids to Saguaro Lake, and JoLynn and Brian joined us after work. It didn't take long to get Brilynn out on the tube with the rest of the kids (except Adam - we are still trying to get him on the tubes). We put three tubes out and zipped around the lake for some neck-cracking rides.

Up and down the lake we went - losing one kid here, and when going back to pick them up, losing another kid there. They were having a blast.

Here is Bryce with his good buddy, Conner, waiting for the ride to start. Dan gives them the S-turns and figure 8's, and they keep asking for more.

Bryce and Blake battled it out on tubes. Blake was on his way off the tube moments after this picture was taken.

Clara has gotten quite proficient on the kneeboard with all her practice at Lake Powell last summer.

When Brian and JoLynn joined us, we pulled in the tubes and tried the kneeboard, wakesurf board and skis. We ran out of daylight before we got to the wakeboards, but we got Brian out for some skiing. He grew up going to the lake, so he showed us his skills.

Dan spends most of the time behind the wheel of the boat, but he took a turn skiing too.

Dan and Bryce went to the ski shop last week (it is dangerous to let those two shop together) and came home with a new toy for the lake - a wake surfboard. Bryce gave it a try and got right up. We never got him to the point of being able to drop the rope and stay on the wake, but we have the rest of the summer to work on it. It was amazing for the first try.

It was dark when we got to the dock. We took time before it got dark to have a picnic dinner on the boat, and have a family home evening moment. It is fun to have an FHE activity every once in a while, and even better when you can take cousins and friends with you.