Happy 4th of July

So I was getting kinda nervous about this whole America's birthday thing. I mean last year all I remember is it being really hot and after dark, really loud! Not to mention the close encounter with a sparkler I had. Anyway, this year Melanie and I were invited to her aunt and uncle's lake house near Austin. This actually scared me even more....I mean lake equals water and water equals swimming of which I am not a fan. But anyway, we woke up early and headed over for some fun. To my pleasant surprise, all the rain we had the past few weeks meant that the lake had developed some kind of quality problem. Thus the lake was CLOSED for business on the one single holiday where millions of Americans enjoy BBQ, water activities and fireworks. While I rejoiced and celebrated by chasing my friend Marley around the yard, Melanie contemplated that the whole thing was a conspiracy perpetuated by the lake patrol so that they would have less work to do. The whole day was loads of fun, except for when I accidentally tried to pee on a cactus. It proceeded to poke me and thus ended my desire to mark every thing in the yard. Towards the end of the afternoon, we went down all the steps leading off the cliff to check out the boat ramp and dock.

As you can see, the park of the ramp that connects the stairs to the boat dock was completely under water by at least 25 feet or so. The lake came up so fast that the dock wasn't raised quick enough and thus, the only access until it goes down is via a swim. While Melanie's cousin floated over to the dock on a tube to lift up an electric cable out of the water, I proceeded to sit on the first step submerged under water. It was quite cooling. Melanie stepped down onto those steps as well and held my belly as I swam around a little. Eventually as Moriah was coming back towards us, she pushed me out towards her and I proceeded to swim back with her. Now before you get worried, I am still alive and kicking and no severe problems developed from swimming in the "bad" water. This further solidified Melanie's position that it was all a conspiracy anyway. Overall it was a GREAT day and I am actually looking forward to going back another day when we can all swim safely. Melanie even promised to go in with me which should be fun.