BatchRidge Retreat at Lake Norman

Last week we went to Lake Norman for the first annual "BatchRidge Retreat" (Batchelor family plus Eskridge family).  Owen got to suit up and take a plunge in the lake with the help from his grandparents.  

We spent most of our time either on the dock or in the water.  Two things I love about this picture... One: how much Kyle loves his baby boy and Two: you can see the little chin dimple I prayed so hard for! Here's Chan and me with our babies!  (An aside: I just realized that it might seem strange to see us floating around in inner tubes.  These are the linings of big tires and they make the perfect floats.  We grew up using them so I don't know much different. I guess originally they were cheaper than actual floats and they hold up much better so that's why we used them.  We Batchelors are always in to saving a buck! Another aside: I think my dad invented the water noodles before they became popular.  Back when he worked on the job site more he would bring home leftover foam insulation that is usually wrapped around pipes under houses.  We still float on it at the lake.  Dang, we could have made millions!)

Scotty was such a trooper!  Two days before we were all meeting at the lake he had to have an emergency appendectomy.  Before he went into surgery he said "I WILL be at the lake!" and he was!  A little more full of holes and a little less hairy, but he was there!

Here's Owen with his first cousin once removed, Katie.  And yes, it took us a while to figure out that's what her official title was!

This is the perfect summer on the dock picture... watermelon in a five-gallon bucket!  I'm pretty sure there are hundreds of pictures of Scott and me doing the exact same thing when we were O-man's age!

Here's Owen hanging out with his favorite Daddy and getting ready for bed.

He picked out this shirt to wear especially for Anne.  What I didn't know was that Anne was wearing the same shirt at the time... showing that Mountaineer Pride!

Owen learned how to do a couple of new things while at the lake this time: ring the dinner bell, wave bye-bye, and fake smile like he's doing here!