a day at the lake

growing up, my grandparents lived on the lake and every summer they invited all of their grandchildren down to spend "A Day At the Lake."  i remember it, as do my sister and cousins, as being a highlight of the summer.  Grandma Peg always made egg salad sandwiches and wrapped them in wax paper, and for some reason, i always think of that and find myself craving egg salad sandwiches wrapped in wax paper!  when we visited NY back in July, we got most of the cousins together again and brought our own children to the lake for a very fun day. (Okay, 4 out of 8 isn't too bad, considering many of us have moved away from the area.) 

Mr. Bagubian was quite a hit with all of the older kids, some of whom he had never met before.  i remember being their age and loving toddlers and babies so that, and the fact that the Goob is pretty receptive to other kids, is probably why they had a lot of fun with him.  as his mommy, it was wonderful to see!  the above photo is him and my cousin Kerry's son Patrick.

and he made sure to keep the girls entertained, too!  that's him showing them how he smiles for the camera.  (left to right: Gooby, Gracie, Mallory, and Delaney)

he spent quite a bit of time in the water playing with his cousin Hazel.  i couldn't believe how well my sister's girls could swim!  i think they were in the water the entire afternoon and were fearless!  

and even the very youngest of the crew was there to enjoy a gorgeous day on Keuka Lake.  Baby Iris, all of 5 weeks old, didn't want to be left out!  Mr. Bagubian gradually became very intrigued by her during the three weeks we visited.  at first, he wanted nothing to do with her, but then he warmed up to her and even wanted to tickle her as often as possible!

though no one brought egg salad sandwiches wrapped in wax paper, our day at the lake was fantastic.  i have been away from home for 8 years now and after seeing my cousins' children--some of whom were toddlers when i left and some of whom hadn't even born yet--it really makes me homesick.  it's funny, and a little sad even, how wrapped up you can become in your own life and have no idea what's happening and who's growing up very fast on the other side of the country.  there's no easy fix to that, of course, but it helps to keep in touch with everyone.  luckily, my mom and my aunt (who joined us for a bit that day) keep us all up to date through the "family grapevine," as we call it.  oh yeah, and then there's Facebook.

have a great Tuesday, guys, and say hello to someone far away today...