The "Official" Start to a Sluiter Nation Summer

...when we get out to the marina for the first time!  That's right, we are lucky enough to have some VERY good friends (and when I say "good", I mean so good that Eddie refers to them as Grammy Leone and Papa C) who have a boat and who are kind enough to take our little family into their "clan".

This wasn't Eddie's first boat ride ever.  That was last year.  (there is more there about how we know this super family, if you need the background) Seriously...I can hardly remember how little he was then!  Well, it's been nine months since then, and we find ourselves right back on the Crystal Lee.  This time Eddie is big enough for a life jacket.

Which he is not so sure of.  Yes, you are seeing right, we had to prop the poor boy between two pillows because he kept falling off to a side.  He wasn't so mobile in that thing, but it kept him safe...and legal!

He calmed down a bit once we got going.  We putzed nice and slow through Lake Macatawa to the channel that would take us to the Big Lake.

While we were going nice and slow, we decided to get a quick family picture in.  Always fun to have a nice summer picture on the boat!

As we floated through the channel, we waved at all the onlookers having their cookouts and their Memorial Day parties.  Holland State Park seemed to be THE place to be yesterday!

As we passed Big Red, we knew it was time to secure all loose items because Captain Papa C was going to put the hammer down as we headed south for a trip to Saugatuck!

Cort took the "max and relax" attitude about the trip.  Wait...so did the rest of us.  Seriously?  The lake was like glass!  It was such a smooth, soothing ride!

Even Eddie spread out and enjoyed the ride!  He was all about watching everyone in the river at Saugatuck.

 I'm not sure what this means, but I am guessing it's good thing.  Definitely approving of the trip!

Eddie just watched while I pointed out all there was to see.  He would point and coo.  It was so cute!  Much more fun than the nap he took last year through the whole thing!

On our way back from Saugatuck, we anchored near a beach area that can only be accessed by boat and is about half way between Saugatuck and Holland.  This is also the area where we spread Cort's dad's ashes almost five years ago, so it's a pretty special place to us.

We loaded up the dingy and in about five hundred trips, all of us (9 adults and 3 kids and 2 dogs) were hauled up to the beach.

I am kicking myself right now for not bringing my little "point and shoot" camera along, and I wasn't about to take my zillion dollar camera on the beach with all the sand and water, so I missed out on taking pics of Eddie's first beach day.  He was SOOO cute!  Loved the sand (ate his fair share of it) and didn't mind the water (although it was pretty chilly).  He crawled and played like he OWNED that beach!  And man did he woo the ladies!

After the beach, the mommies got our little boys stripped down, sprayed off, and re-clothed before everyone else and our stuff even made it back to the boat.  I'm telling you, we were efficient!  And big thanks to Jordan for helping wrangle all those nude little guys back into dry clothes!  And, as you can see, give my little guy his "senator" hair comb.

And about two seconds after the motors fired back up, this little guy was out like a light!  BIG day of sun and fun for this one!

Seriously...he was O U T out.

When we got back to dock it was time to eat!  Jason fired up the grill and we had burgers and whole spread.

We all had such an awesome day! 

I don't think we can express enough how much we love days like this.  We are so graciously taken in by people we love for a beautiful day on the lake--a place we love.  A place where we come to be with family.  And boy howdy, did we feel the family love this weekend!

And it's just the start of summer!