Vermont- Day 5: I'm not what you would call "outdoorsy"

Happy 4th of July!

We started out the day with a visit to the childhood home of Chester A. Arthur.

You totally believed that, didn't you? It's the American flag that really sold you, huh? Nah. This is just where Michael's Uncle Gary and Aunt Linda are living temporarily. They moved to AZ several years ago but work brought them back to VT for 15 months. They'll be back in the desert by the time snow starts falling on this house.

We took a family picture in the backyard. Michael and I look very very sleepy or very very nearsighted. We spent the rest of the day at this house. It's a lake house on Lake Eden. It belongs to the aunt and uncle of Jenn (who, reminder, is Michael's brother's wife. There will be a quiz at the end of all of this).Byant and Alyssa had never been baptized. They decided to do it on the 4th in the lake. It's kind of hard to be solemn when everyone is in swim suits.Bryant got a full body dip. You can see him anticipating it.

Alyssa just got a drip on the head.
After the baptism Spencer got to do some fishing with papa. They cast the line......
and waited until they felt a little nibble. Then they reeled it it.

A fish!

This fish, in fact! Spencer was capital D Delighted.

Spencer played with this bucket. A lot.

And then. All his wildest dreams came true. We went for a ride on the speed boat.

Safety first.

The kids were pretty excited.

Until the boat actually started. Then they were kind of freaked out.

It helped to sit up front so they could see where they were going.

When we first got to the lake there was a nice cloudy sky. It was hot, but at least the sun wasn't beating down on us. After the boat ride the clouds went away and the sun was unbearable. I almost joined this puppy under the picnic table. It was the only shade to be found.

This brings us to the part about my likes and interests. I don't like the outdoors. If someone asks me what I want to do on any given day, outdoor activities are close to the bottom. Standing around a lake, in the sun, drinking beer and chatting with other people who are standing around a lake in the sun drinking beer is my idea of the 5th circle of hell.

This is a list (not comprehensive) of everything I would have preferred to be doing rather than what I was on the 4th of July.

1) eating at the Olive Garden

2) going to the movies

3) shopping at Target

4) sitting on the couch watching TV

5) blogging

6) facebooking

7) getting shot in the foot

I'm sorry. I'm not outdoorsy. I understand why other people are, but in my humble opinion that lake would have been just as pretty if I was looking at it while sitting on a couch. Inside. Where the sun doesn't burn a hole into your soul.

Raymond and Jenn seem to be more outdoorsy that me. They took a dip in the lake. I would have worried about a fish touching me. Or worse, a lake monster eating me.

I did take some lake glamour shots specifically to share on the blog.

Day 5 was still a good day despite the fact that it upped my melanoma risk 10 fold. The memory of the look on Spencer's face when he caught that fish will get me through the surgeries, chemo and radiation.