The Great Lakes...

...well, maybe not "THE" Great Lakes, but we visited some pretty awesome lakes this past weekend!  Our neighbors have a lovely house in Salem, SC, which is on Lake Keowee.  20 minutes from there is another gorgeous lake, Lake Jocassee.  We spent Saturday on Lake Jocassee.  The water was down about 20 feet.  To put this in perspective, if Lake Wylie was down 20 feet, we pretty much couldn't go out on the lake at all.  The terrain around the lake was rocky cliffs, sandy beaches, and a variety of pretty waterfalls.  There are only a handful of houses on the entire lake, and those LOTS start around a half million dollars.  It's a "destination camping" lake. It is generally 200-300 feet deep, whereas Lake Wylie, in the main channel, is mostly around 30-40 feet.  The water at Jocassee was clear and greenish.  It was clean feeling, something we aren't accustomed to!  We went on a great tour of the lake, sipped our cold beverages, did some swimming, and let the kids play in the water.  The following day was spent on Lake Keowee.  I really enjoyed this lake.  There are many, many, many mansions on the lake, which are always great to talk about, gawk over, and dream about what it must be like to live there.  The water was deep, cooler, and blueish.  This lake is surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains...gorgeous landscapes and views.

To back up a little, and talk about the kids...my neighbor, her dog, the kids, and I arrived on Thursday late afternoon, and Brian and the dogs arrived Friday evening.  Griffin has been trying really hard, and for a long time, to get his top 2 teeth through the gums.  One is finally through all the way, and the second one is JUST under the surface.  Friday was a rough day for him, and incidentally me as well.  He was super fussy, clingy, restless, felt hot, had diarrhea, and puked a couple times.   Luckily it was rainy and yucky outside, so we didn't miss anything.  When the rain took a break, we took a walk (Payton walked about a half mile up and down some pretty big hills by herself), and played on their screened porch.  Saturday was a MUCH better day. Both kids rallied, with only a 20 minute nap on the boat for each of them.  Also, we've noticed that Payton's vocabulary has really exploded this weekend.  It's so neat that she can tell us her opinion (yeah, I may not be saying this is "neat" for long!), and express what she feels.  She's doing better on the pottying, and with her listening and following directions, and controlling her tantrums. Griffin is SO close to standing up on his own, and maybe taking those first steps. He even ate HALF of a peanut butter sandwich on Sunday.  It's hard to believe I'm already planning his first birthday party.  Bittersweet...here are some highlights of our weekend:

This was just the basement...awesome house!  They finished this basement, adding 2 additional bedrooms, full kitchen, and bath.

The girls had fun running through their acres and acres of woods

If it can be driven, Sweet P wants to drive it.  We didn't get a chance to take this out.  Next time!

And whatever sissy does, Bubs wants to do also!

You can usually pull your boat right up to the falls...past where those girls are standing!!  That's how low the water is!

If you look closely, you'll see a sign...this is part of the Appalachian Trail!

Payton and Daddy "hiked" this rock to the waterfall...usually you can pull a boat up over that rock!

Naptime!

Napping on the beach might be the only thing better than napping on a boat!

Busted...using nature's potty :)

Cold waterfall!

Another view of how low the water is...you can usually drive the boat up to the point I'm taking the picture...unbelievable!  Duke/Crescent has lowered the levels to maintain Lake Keowee's levels, as they use that lake for power

My mini-me...dressed & accessorized by herself

Ready to go on Lake Keoweeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Beautiful mountain views from Lake Keowee, SC, which is a little over an hour drive to Asheville, NC

Probably my favorite place we stopped all weekend...great sandy beach, lots of kids and people playing games, climbing the falls, and having fun!

Lake Keowee Golf Course...wonder how many balls are in the water?  Look at those views!

Concentrating hard not to spill her Dairy Queen Blizzard...with M & M's, which was a special treat to end a great weekend!

Payton was taught, at a young age, how to sign "more" by her Mother's Morning Out teachers.  I have been showing Griffin how to do it every once in a while, and he finally got it, his version anyway, this weekend! (as seen in video above)

It's going to be hard to get back in Lake Wylie, after playing in such clean, refreshing, and clear lakes.  Because we both have to live in Charlotte, for now, Brian and I live at the lake...the closest thing I can find to the ocean, and still be near work and family.  One day maybe I'll get to live my dream, at the beach.  Until then, Lake Wylie, here we come :)  Thank you to our neighbors for such a great weekend!