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My mom and her husband rented a houseboat on Lake Shasta and allowed us to tag along. It was Miguel, Z, and Az's first time on a houseboat and Miguel is always fun to do things with when it's his first time. One of the things I like about him the most is that he is never too cool to show how excited he is to be doing something. Once Az had finally crashed out and caught up on sleep (the almost three hour ride to the cove my mom's husband wanted to go to did the trick) she had a blast, and of course any time Z is outdoors his mood is improved by at least five notches. It was still off season for boat rentals so my mom was able to get the boat for a little cheaper. This also meant both that the weather wasn't as stifling hot as it can sometimes get but also that the water was still pretty chilly. This didn't keep Z out of the water, but everyone else seemed to stay on either the houseboat or rented ski boat. Az did spend a good portion of the time throwing things into the water though, things like her dolls and garbage.

My brother and a friend of his also came, so it was a nice opportunity for Az to get to know her uncle a little better. When she was younger she was a bit wary of him but as she's spent more time at her grandmama's she's slowly warmed up to him and before the trip was often requesting she talk to him on the phone. The few days in close quarters with her uncle was nice for strengthening the relationship they are forming. I felt very fortunate to be out on the lake sleeping under the stars (once I pulled the blinds on the window by our bed up) but spending a few days on water with a toddler whom doesn't exactly love being in a life jacket and people whom aren't used to keeping doors that lead to open water closed was quite frazzling on the nerves. I hope Az takes to swim lessons better than her brother has, because we spend way too much time around water for neither of them to know how to swim.