The Secret Lake

A couple weeks ago, someone from work told my husband about a lake in our town...only ten minutes from our house! Certain that no lake of significance could be so close to our home (let alone in town), we went to check it out for curiosity's sake.   We couldn't believe what a treasure we found.  And to think we've lived here for a year and half with no clue of its existence!

Princess - typically cautious and clinging at the pool - took it as her personal duty to explore the uncharted waters and sandy shores.  By herself.  We didn't exactly plan for our suddenly adventurous girl to submerge herself in the lake, so we were pretty unprepared for the sandy mess we had on our hands an hour later.  What fun for a three-year-old!

We discovered a bunch of tadpoles in a marshy area, and spent the next week learning about tadpoles and frogs in books....or "tadpole-ers," as our biggest little one likes to call them.  We tried twice the following week to find the tadpoles again on other lake visits, hoping to catch a glimpse of freshly sprouted arms and legs, but we were not successful in finding them again. 

We love these sandy shores.  They are so kid-friendly.  We also love the sound of the breeze rustling through the Cottonwood leaves high above us.

We also enjoy the encounters with critters - falcons, lizards, and (dead) crawdads.  One of these times, when we carve out a little more time for one of our lake visits - we'll bring our fishing gear.  Princess is aching to catch a fish and has yet to find success on the river.

Smooch loves the lake too.  We're working on convincing her that she is perfectly capable of playing in the shallow waters without Mommy or Daddy holding onto her.   (Sit in the water, silly girl!)

This lake has quickly become our go-to activity in these sweltering evenings that would otherwise beg us to stay inside. 

I hope your summer is full of hidden treasures as well!