Lesson Learned

After dropping the girls off at Harlow yesterday (their two counselors are AMAZING...I'm so excited for the phenomenal time those girls will have this week!), we took the boys out to the lake.

At Hills Creek, the huge hit of the vacation was Mom and Dad towing the kids with the Meyers' tube, which held three people. The kids couldn't get enough of that thing, which prompted us to purchase one just like it knowing it could hold more people and that our other one seems to be leaking.

On Saturday, when we went out with Sydney, we tested it and I realized that without having the seat sunk in (thus creating a place to anchor your feet), it really was quite a ride - as well as quite a bicep workout - to try and stay on. I was impressed that the kids had enjoyed it so much with Mom and Dad.

We were all a little surprised after John did his first pull when Andrew, Traig, and Brayden asked him to do less turns and slow down, making us wonder what Andrew's family did with the tube (not to mention Mom and Dad) when it felt like we were barely pulling them and they were still catching major air and struggling to stay on. After one particular "Sneaker Wave" all three boys were thrown from the tube; Andrew hurt his thigh, Traig's wrist made contact with Brayden's lip cutting it pretty good on the inside, and Traig obviously took a hit on his arm. So much of a hit, that just now, after getting off the phone with Michele who took Traig into Mark's office (he's a family-practice doctor) it turns out that Traig's ulna bone is fractured!!!

After that, the boys were still in good spirits though - and continued to ride, albeit at a much slower pace.

It wasn't until the end of the trip that we realized what made our tube so much more "dangerous" of a thrill ride than other boats - we had attached the rope to the tower vs. where a skier would be attached. As a result, that big ol' tube was catching air right from the start. Oh.....well, we won't be doing that again.

(On top of everything else, the tube is a bear to blow up - John had to practically climb inside to get the parts where they needed to go)

(And I was NO HELP. This was my position through the entire trip. In fact, proving how lousy I felt, as soon as we got to the lake, I walked down to the dock and jumped in - no wetsuit, lifevest or anything - just needing to cool off in a nauseated hurry. The rocking of the boat and ability to lay down made the experience not as bad it sounds...but, yes, I was definitely pouting about losing out of more memories due to headaches. At least I didn't break my arm, though!)