First Day at the Lake

One of my favorite things to do is go to the lake, so I was super excited when we got the invite to go. Sadly enough Matt had to work but that didn't keep Ollie and I from joining Lance, Marcee and gang (if that sounds cruel I can't even tell you how many times Matt has gone during the week while I had to work so I really didn't feel all that guilty even though I was sad that he wasn't with us). Even sadder is the fact that most all of the pictures of the day were taken on Marcee's phone that was recently stolen when they were in Paris :( But I still have a few.

We had to get up at 4am so we all spent the night at Marcee & Lance's. As I was going to bed I realized I hadn't thought out very well how we were going to get to the lake because now we don't all fit in the Denali, so all night long I had these strange dreams about how we were going to get to the lake. I remember in one of them Ollie was walking- that made me excited! We all made due by just cramming in, but I'll never put the kids through that again. Poor Allee wasn't very comfortable all tied up in a seat belt with Lillee, I felt bad about it. (Remember when you look at this picture that I have been up since 4am!)

We got the lake nice and early, it has been way too long since I've been. We started out wake surfing. Lillee was the first to jump in- she might be the second youngest but she is always the little dare devil happy to show her other siblings up! Each of them got their turn. And then the question came to me if I wanted to get in. I have to admit that I was perfectly comfortable and it wasn't really hot enough yet to inspire me to get all wet, and while I like wake surfing I still prefer wake boarding so I simply asked if we were going to wake board later, and when they said yes I decided to stay in my comfortable dry state and declined. Lance didn't like that answer but to his credit he didn't give me that hard of a time, just a stare that I knew meant he was in shock and disbelief. But it didn't take long before he asked again and then proceeded to tell me that I needed to get over it because this family surfs! I got a break for a little longer while Nathanael took his turn and then Lance tricked me by asking if I wanted to go wake boarding, when I said yes he knew he had me cornered and told me that I could go but I had to wake surf first, that was motivation enough to get me in. Once in I of course did enjoy it. However the water was no longer the serene lake that we had started on and I hit the biggest wave ever, not the wave behind that boat that you want to ride, but another wave on the water that the boat hit and that launched me into the air- it was like riding up the side of a skateboard ramp, I flew off of it and of course I didn't land it and went down, but it didn't hurt so in the end we all laughed over it. Lance kept me out there giving me instruction along the way and I dinked around on the wave riding it up and down, catching a few nose dives but getting back up each time and listening to what I could do better- it was a fun ride and earned my time on the wake board. I thought I was glad to put it on, but by then we were in the worst water we had seen all day. It was brutal I barely had a desire to go outside of the wake because I was fighting the water every time instead of sailing back and forth across the wake. But when it became apparent that it wasn't going to get any better I just sucked it up and went for a few jumps, got a little air, and then when I was satisfied that it was the best I was going to get I let my tired legs dictate that it was time to turn it in so I let go and sank into the water.

The rest of the day I hung out in the boat. The kids always love having Ollie around and with his little sunglasses on he makes all of us laugh. I felt so bad for him all squished up, unable to move in his life jacket, but he took it surprisingly well and was pretty mellow all day, except of course to let me know when he was ready to eat. Maybe he was calm because he couldn't move? He even took his naps just fine.

I did take him for dips in the water to cool him off, and even though he didn't go surfing I laid him on the surfboard to get some shots that we will never see :( I love watching the kids ride with Lance, I can't help but be excited for the day that Ollie gets to ride with Matt. I'll let him take him surfing and I will get to take him wake boarding. I did get a few shots on my camera of Lance and Joshua:

Joshua really was fun to watch, he was loving life! Here is a super short clip but you can see how much fun he was having, he kept wanting to go again and again. Lance did drop the rope and just ride it with him too. I have to say the most amazing accomplishment of the day was when Lance got his actual long board out (the one he surfs with in the ocean) and while riding on the wave Nathanael stepped from the boat to the long board and joined him on it! Those were some other pictures we will all miss, but we won't forget the moment!

 

After a fun filled day we packed up, cleaned the boat in the scorching heat, and headed to the dealership so Lance could get some things worked on before his lake powell trip. It always takes a long time at the dealership, we had to get the surfboards out of the boat and into the car. Luckily most of the kids were asleep so they didn't notice that we had to put a 10 ft. board above their heads. Ollie was wide awake and happy to be free of his life jacket but tired of being confined by the car seat, so while we waited I let him get out and since there was no where to put him I let him hang out up top of the surfboard. It was super cute, he loved it and we got some good pictures to send Matt, we really did miss him.

After stopping for a delicious lunch, we headed home. On the way we witnessed the most bizarre and frankly scary traffic- all of the sudden this car ahead of us when speeding across the lanes towards the curb and the passenger door flung open while they were driving and then it swerved back and forth while the door was open. When the door finally shut it was only moments later that the car swerved and the door flung open again. We were all freaking out and about to call the police, when the car pulled to a complete stop, we passed it on the left side and looked inside to see a girl in the passenger side yelling at the top of her lungs at the guy driving. It looked like they were in some big fight- we only got a quick glance and we were gone. I'm assuming she was telling him to let her out of the car, by the look on her face she wasn't letting him get away with crap! So glad not to live in that part of town or to be with a guy that I would ever have to yell at like that. On our way home Marcee, Lance and I had a conversation about what Matt would do if Lance had taken Ollie surfing, so later on when I was getting ready for bed and just before I put the toothbrush in my mouth I asked Matt if he would be mad if Lance took Ollie surfing. The funny thing was he didn't take it like it was a question, there are only a few things that can get Matt worked up and this was definitely one of them, he immediately responded by saying "You did not let him take him surfing!" and with a toothbrush in my mouth I started laughing, which only made Matt get even more worked up and he got louder as he was in complete disbelief and started saying things like "I can't believe you would do that!" I guess he was still a little sad that he had worked all day while we were at the lake so he wasn't in a mood for joking around. The more he went on the funnier it all seemed because his reaction was just as we had all thought it would be, when I could finally talk I set his mind at ease and reminded him that we all love him enough that we would NEVER take that moment away from him or Ollie. His dreams are all safe and sound and we all look forward to the day he gets to take him surfing because we all know what that moment will mean to him after waiting so long for his perfect little son:)