Chicago Trip - Wednesday, July 16th

Finally, the "no wake" was lifted and we were out on the boat. I don't think I've ever played that hard on the water in one day. I think we were taking advantage of the opportunity since we'd been deprived for 2 days. ;)

Here is Aunt Deanna skiing up a storm and making me dread that I'm next in line to go. ;) Look at her spray!
So, lets be honest here... I slalom ski... but I'm embarrassed to say that I even do that because at this point, I still had never gone outside the wake. I know! What's the point, right?? Anyway... but you have to admit that I have the best faces and the most graceful falls. Check out these beauties that Steve captured...

Really concentrating... I mean business.
And the ride begins...


Yep, it's entertaining at least! Don't worry, I got more adventurous later in the day. ;)
Now on to the funniest part of the day... Steve's cousin, Jeff, got this grand idea to convince James to do some tandem wakeboarding. It was hilarious!! Here are just a couple...

Struggling to get up.
Yeah, he's up!
hahahaha!!
It wasn't a long ride, but my face hurt that night after going through the pics I got with the guys.
More of the boat...
Uncle Scott with Allie and Kanyon on the waverunner.
I know, this is major picture overload... but Steve couldn't narrow down his skiing pics to any less than these 4. ;) He was doing really well though!




Scott and Lisa lounging on the boat... It was great to have other adults around to watch kids while we went for a run on the boat. We took advantage of it since it was our last night there.
Steve's Dad, Jim. It was great to have him hang with us on the boat that evening.
Scott jumping the wake!
And, me again... outside of the wake for once! Although, my spray is almost nonexistant. ;) I'm determined to get better now!

Lisa even got out there on the wakeboard and she underestimated herself, she was great! :) She got up on the first try even though she warned us she wouldn't.
I caught a good fall, too! :)
While we were out, Steve's Uncle Scott was fishing with the kids on the end of the pier. Kanyon had caught this fish and was so proud!
Ella was his fishing buddy and she caught a good one too! :)

Ewww, worms!
They even had a net and caught a bunch of guppies near the shore of the beach. Kanyon was excited, but a little nervous at how quickly they moved and jumped all over on the sand as he was trying to pick them up. Here he is with Ella, Nathan (Deanna's son who Kanyon was loving playing with!) and Uncle Scott.
Later, just before bed, Kanyon caught a 12in. walleye with the help of Uncle Scott reeling him in after he realized how big he was. The best part? It was with a Barbie fishing pole! haha! I guess they have sharp teeth and feed on fish... yikes! The hook went in a little deep and it was bleeding out one of the gills and Kanyon told me that the fish had a bloody nose on his cheek. Ha! Can you tell this kid gets bloody noses like none other?? I guess fish get them too. ;)

Whew... okay, just one more day left to document from the trip. Sorry you all have to see these many many pictures that are mostly for my blog book I'll print at the end of the year!

Out on the Lake

(day 187)

We took the boat out Saturday morning with Mical's family. It was fun because they don't get to do this often and most of their kids had never been on a boat before. I think we'll have to plan this every summer when they're up this way! :)

Kanyon has his Daddy's sensitive eyes... he's been wearing his sunglasses all week but I'll save that for another post. ;) Here he is telling me it's too bright along with his cousin, Maddi.
Caden was a FISH! He just jumped right off the boat and in... no fears from him!
Kanyon and his Uncle Ryan just chillin' off the back of the boat.
Mical greasin' up the kids. Coley was such a good boy even if the life jacket wasn't so fun.
Callie was pretty terrified on the boat... she didn't want to go, and you can see her clenching her mom's skirt. She had a near drowning incident not long ago and is not quite over it. Click here to read about it on my sister's blog. So scary. :(
Kanyon was a brave boy this time around and even went on the tube all by his big boy self. (I'm sure it had something to do with the enormous tube!) Scarlett wanted to get on the tube, but quickly changed her mind. ;)
Here's Callie getting braver and sitting on the tube by the boat... we were all so encouraging and I was excited that she was letting her guard down a little.
Pretty soon, she was lovin' the joy rides with the other kids! She and Kanyon are just beaming at each other on the way back to the marina. I thought that was so cute!
Scarlett on the other hand was tired and cranky (teething... again.) and didn't want Mom to leave her for a second to snap a few pictures.

My sister and I took a tube ride (thanks to steve's awesome driving) that resulted in 2 of the kids getting off crying... it was pretty wild. I was screaming like a little girl and getting tube burns. It was fun! ;)

Goin' Boatin' ...

(day 180)

That's what Kanyon was talking about all morning long as I was busy cleaning the boat up yesterday. He was so excited to go that he almost wasn't himself with some major tantrums and other typical 2 (almost 3) year old behavior. It was pure torture for him having to wait until after his nap to go, but he survived and had a ball.

We invited my parents and 2 of my brothers to come along. My youngest bro, Trent, had never been on a boat in his life... can you believe it?? I was shocked! Here he is on the tube for the first time.
Steve and I took turns on the ski, which doesn't happen unless we go with other people because of the 2 kids, so that was fun but we're both really sore today. Everyone took a turn on the tube, and Kanyon even thought he was brave enough to go alone... and then changed his mind quickly after. ;)
Scarlett wanted to go on the tube with me, but when we got clear out there behind the boat she was just whimpering the whole time, so we cut it short. I was shocked, but we even got my mom and dad out there on the tube for a turn!
Scarlett hung with Grandma a lot of the time... and she did fabulous in her life jacket this time which was SO nice.

Kanyon hanging out at the back of the boat while Uncle Troy went for a spin. He felt so important getting to pull those that went on the tube back in after they were done. I think he'd live on this boat if we'd let him.
Scarlett spend some QT with Uncle Troy and even dozed a little in the sun while I got a turn on the slolem ski. She's my little sun baby.
It was a good time and the kids slept like rocks after a fun filled afternoon.

First Boating Day of the Season

We did end up taking the boat out yesterday evening and had a great time. We weren't sure what to expect with Scarlett and the life jacket because she is at that age where a fit is usually thrown. But, she did pretty good and we just have to make her always wear it and eventually she won't even fuss about it (at least that's what I keep telling myself!!). ;) Kanyon had a ball, but was a little unsure about a few things at first. In no time I think we'll get him back on the tube rides and all. Scarlett had no fear, as usual... she just wanted to stand in the front of the boat the entire time and point at everything of interest.

Scarlett loved dipping her toes in the water... I think she would have done it all day if Dad were willing. :)

It was pretty darn cold in the water, but Steve decided to jump in anyway!


Then he saw something we hadn't seen before and immediately wanted to know what it was or get one. I googled it when we got home and there is NO way we'll get one. Everything I read was how dangerous they are and how many terrible accidents have happened with them. Apparently they are called Wego Kites. You know what happens to a kite when it catches the wind wrong... it spirals straight to the ground. Enough said.

As close of a crop on that above picture as I could get so you can see it better.



A family picture! The self timer is how I get these pics these days! :)
It was fun! I think we'll be taking it out a lot more this summer... the kids are at much easier ages than last year. :)