gardner family vacation to lake ruth

We've been hearing about Lake Ruth for years. Jordan's sweet aunt spent summers up at the lake with her family from the time she was a little girl (with no TV or telephones, I might add), and went on to enjoy the beautiful lake and make lifelong memories with her own children throughout the years.

Lucky for us, we got to visit this past week, to see for ourselves the magic that is Lake Ruth, and to make some incredible memories of our own. We crammed 8 adults, 4 kids and 3 dogs into a relatively small cabin... and although that might sound loud and chaotic (at times it was), it was also so special to enjoy our first summer vacation with Ava, with so much family, all the cousins, and a whole lotta love.

Days were spent out on the lake... one of the rare bodies of water in California that is NOT over-populated with people and waterfront real estate. I think one of the things that makes this area so special, is that the shore is lined with GIANT trees all the way down to the water, and you can truly kayak all morning without seeing a single boat.

The adults wake surfed and swung on the rope swing while the older kids went tubing. Meanwhile, the babies tried everything to avoid the miserable constraints of the dreaded life vest. The evenings were spent sipping wine spritzers out of mason jars, eating fall-off-the-bone BBQ ribs followed by homemade ice-cream. At night the men went out to fish, while us ladies enjoyed some peace and quiet with (almost) all the babies asleep, and thousands of stars above. It really was the type of vacation you dream about sharing with your children. The kind that lifelong memories are made of.

To my aunt and uncle-in-law Marita and Mark: I didn't get a chance to write more than a couple of sentences in your guest book, but thank you thank you thank you... for opening up your home and sharing this special part of your lives with us. I know we were A LOT... with all the kids and the baby things, but you two were gracious hosts as always -- cooking up amazing meals, and showing us the best time on YOUR lake.