"Grandpa's Big House"

"I want to go back to Grandpa's BIG house."  ~Nigel Canfield, 04/25/14

For Kevin and Karoline's wedding Grandpa (Arden) Ashton rented out an extremely nice waterfront house on the shores of Lake Washington. The entire family with the exception of Amy and Mark's family was able to stay in one place. I imagine that there are not many in the Ashton clan who would disagree with Nigel's desire. 

Open, close, open, close....

Andrew, for one, loved the house. It catered to his every need and want. He had a plentitude of willing cousins to run around with - he even woke up at 3am looking for the party(!). He loved the stairs to go up and down. (Our little one in the space of the weekend went from being able to kind of walk upright on stairs to being pro.) There were fun chairs and swings in the balconies. Doors to go in and out. Basically, Andrew had so much fun that when he woke up in middle of the night he made us go downstairs to make sure nothing was going on.

Up, down, up, down.....

The house appealed to me also. The house was on the lakefront of Lake Washington. I have a slight fascination with water. The lap of waves, the slight wind, the rippling water, and the tree blossoms. I basked in the comforting sounds and sights every morning. 

Family picture in front of the lake

This is what I woke up to every morning!

Andrew with Aunt Dejah

 I've found that looking out on the lake promoted philosophical thoughts. Several members of the family appear to have the same feeling.

Lots to think about the day before his wedding - (Judging from his demeanor, "I'd like to see Karoline. Maybe we should get married...tomorrow!)

Nigel in one of his "thoughtful" moments

Teaching the love of water young

We don't always let Andrew drink Fresca,

especially when it's a communal Fresca!!!!!!!!

Ian took steps to make sure his was not communal.

Waiting for everyone to arrive

 It was fairly cool in the morning. So some people warmed up by drinking herbal teas. If we weren't LDS I think these would be great "coffee" advertisement pictures.

There's nothing like a vacation for some fun reading.

Or sitting around catching up with each other.

The cousins put on a short play. There were damsels in distress, pirates, sword fights, and tragedies.

Elliot rescues Miriam

Miriam didn't need rescuing as she slays her captor

 Then there was the usual rough housing.

This chasing was followed by wrestling

Ed, always a favorite uncle to play with, gives an airplane ride

To sum up, the house was amazing. We loved it. Thank you Grandpa!