BOAT - First Time Out!

May 25, 2012

Or second, depending on who you're talking to.

While Luke and I were in California, Jeff took the boat out for the first time. He brought Kyle, Greg, Renita, Bethany and Becca along (the girls were staying with Greg and Renita while Ben and Caitlin were in San Antonio for a couple of days) and they all had a blast swimming and tubing, but of course, without me there, not a single picture was taken. 

These pictures were taken on Luke's and my first day out on the boat, at Lake Somerville, which is only about an hour northwest or our house. It was just the three of us - Jeff, Luke, and I. It was a wonderful day, albeit, a little tricky wrangling a toddler with just two adults, one of which, of course, was always the driver.

At the lake bright and early!

For whatever reason, when I saw this picture, I was immediately reminded of this movie scene: "Who taught you how to fly lieutenant?" "He did." [dramatic rise from the cockpit of his plane with clouds of smoke billowing in the background]. If you were once a silly Josh-Hartnett-obsessed 13-year-old like I was, you might know what I'm talking about. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I watched that movie recently (for the first time in years), and I still like it, but I am a little ashamed of the fact that I used to claim it as my favorite movie and after seeing it 6 times in the theater and countless times at home, I probably still have it memorized word for word. Sigh.

Luke was SO excited!

His main objective from the beginning was to drive the boat as much as possible!

It was so beautiful and peaceful out there!

Luke's new life jacket was just a little big.

I was super nervous about driving a boat for my very first time! Because, you know, those things tip over really easy and I was always capsizing my canoe in my days playing Amazon Trail on my grandma's computer.

It was pretty cold out there before the sun came up, but I'm happy for any excuse for Luke cuddles.

Jeff let Luke drive...

 

..but apparently Luke didn't think we were going fast enough (note his right hand pushing that throttle all the way forward)...

...Jeff: WHOA! Luke: What?

Thanks to the wind, my hair is in knots at the end of a great day of boating, but it's totally worth it!

Love these two.

Jump!

Swimming: Luke's favorite part of boating.

He was thirsty...?

Too. Much. Happiness. Can't contain it!

This boy loved the tube! He laughed the hardest when he was bouncing all over the place!

Luke couldn't get enough of swimming and playing in the water with his daddy.

I don't remember the reason behind this little fit. I just know it was a silly one and I'm a mean mom who mocks her poor toddler without his knowledge.

Apparently, Jeff mocks Luke too: Hey, is that supposed to look like my belly? This poor, poor child with his mean parents!

Peanut butter sandwich! Yes!

Jeff and I took turns wakeboarding (or trying in my case) and trying to throw each other off of the tube. It was so much fun and Jeff did amazingly well on the wakeboard, considering I was just learning to drive the boat as we went and I didn't take him for the smoothest ride!

Giving our brand new wakeboard a try. When Jeff was explaining the technique I should use to stand up out of the water, he unintentionally changed just one detail, which resulted in about 30 attempts and only 3 successes (followed quickly by crashes) and my shoulders, arms, and back were more sore than they EVER have been the following day. So if you ever try wakeboarding, DO NOT try and hold your arms as tight to your chest as you can as the boat pulls you up out of the water. DO bring your knees up and wrap your arms around your legs so that your hands are out in front of your knees. Small detail, but it makes a world of difference! Apparently, Jeff likes to use brute strength to muscle his way up out of the water. I do not.

Luke dozed off while he was waiting patiently through all 30 of my wakeboarding attempts.

Heading back to the dock. Adorable.

Our little jeep has to work real hard pulling that massive boat behind it! Good thing we found storage only 20 minutes from the lake, so we don't have to tow it the whole hour every time we go!

Looking forward to lots more perfect days on the lake! It was a little scary making a purchase as big as a boat, but I think it's safe to say it's one we'll never regret!