July at the Lake - Part 2!

Gairod came up to the lake on July 13th. The weather cooled off a bit, and we had some rain the first couple of days that he was there, but we still managed to get out and get some fishing done. :)

As soon as we had a nicer day, we decided to see if we could get the kids to water ski! Hayden got in the water, but then got scared and didn't want to try. Cole got in, got the ski's on, and tried! He didn't get up at all, but we are very proud that he tried!! Neither Kadance or Jade wanted to try.

Cole getting ready to try water skiing!

Cole in the water, ready to go! :)

On July 18th, the triplets ALL learned how to ride their bikes without training wheels!! I figured Cole might be ready, so I took off his training wheels, and he just rode off - like he'd been doing it all his life! lol! Then Hayden asked me to take his off too. I figured he could probably do it, but I didn't think he would have the confidence. I was pleasantly surprised when he too, rode off with no problems! :) Seeing the boys riding with no training wheels, Kadance decided to jump on the band wagon, and she asked me to take off hers too. I did NOT think she was ready. She still very much rode on her training wheels, and she majorly lacked confidence. Kadance shocked me, when she too, hoped on her bike and rode!! She was a bit shaky, and it did take her a few days to build up her confidence, but she was ready. I still can't believe that all 3 of them can now ride their bikes with NO training wheels!! :)

July 18th started out like any ordinary day. Gairod fished in the morning, we went for a walk, and the kids learned how to ride their bikes without training wheels in the afternoon. We ate supper, and put the kids to bed, just as a storm was rolling in.

At first it started to rain, and then it started to hail. The hail got bigger and bigger - first they got up to golf ball sized, and then they got up to BASEBALL sized!!! It was the biggest and scariest hail I have ever seen in my life!! The huge hail, and tons of rain, just kept pouring down. The kids were all wide awake, (the sound of the hail pounding on the cabin was SO loud!) and we were trying to keep them away from the windows, as we were afraid they might smash!

At one point, early on, we looked out at my mom's car, and we were watching the hail dent her hood. Then, as the hail got bigger, we watched as it completely smashed out her back window, made several cracks on her front windshield, and smashed the front windshield of Gairod's truck. It was insane!! Huge hail just kept pounding down, covering our vehicles with dents, and filling my mom's poor car with water. Finally, after about 45 minutes, it stopped.

We headed outside to survey the damage. We weren't the only ones. Everyone up and down the street, was outside, checking out broken vehicle windows, broken cabin windows, broken siding, smashed patio tables - SO much was destroyed!!

We decided to take a little walk down the street, to see some of the damage. We were shocked. There was water EVERYWHERE!! Green spaces and pathways were all flooded out, with knee deep water! There was a river - complete with rapids - flowing into the lake!! It all seemed so surreal!

We later found out that there had been a tornado warning out for our area, and a tornado did touch down not far from us. So we were lucky - things could have been worse!

Mom's smashed out back window.

Gairod's smashed front window - it looked like a basketball hit it!!

SO much water everywhere!!

This was a nice smooth beach, until the water formed a river and cut right through it!

Golf ball sized hail - this was some of the smaller hail!

In the days following the storm, we had more storms. None were as bad as the first, but there was lots of wind, and lots more rain. The wind caused trees to fall down all over the place, which resulted in our power going out several times. One day it was out for about 9 hours, and another day it was out for 18 hours!

All of the rain caused the water levels to rise - significantly!! The lake was up at least a couple of feet!! Where there once was beaches, there was now just water. The break water, which you could walk out on, was completely covered. It was sad to see so much ruined.

The water is completely covering this boardwalk, and all the way up into the trees!

The water covered breakwater.

They closed this boardwalk due to "high water levels".

This used to be a beach. Now it is just a cliff into the water. :(

Gairod had to get his truck hauled into Prince Albert, to get the windshield replaced before he could drive it home. We are still waiting to see the insurance adjuster to find out how much more damage he has. We just had the Suburban seen, and there is about $6500 worth of damage. We lucked out with the Suburban, in that we didn't end up with any smashed windows. Only dents and a broken door handle!

Gairod's truck getting loaded up on a flat deck to haul it into P.A.!

The weather eventually got nicer, and we were able to enjoy the rest of our vacation, despite the crazy-high water levels! All in all it was a great month, and many summer memories were made! :)