On the Lake (IN MARCH!!!!)

We haven't done a lot of advertising about it, but we ended up with a new boat purchased in January.  However, there were a lot of hang ups with the poor thing that was transported to us from North Carolina.  In transit, the tower slammed into the dash and forward seats, needing repair.  And, then, while it was being repaired, the folks at the repair shop had another mishap and some of the same stuff ended up needing repaired again.  (All cosmetic stuff).  As bad as it all sounds, the second round of issues were actually a blessing as it kept us from having to find storage for it in February and actually reduced the repair costs from our pocket as the company had to repair its own damage.  I wonder how many boats have seen so much repair work before they've ever come in contact with water!  

Needless to say, by the time we got it in our possession, John was just giddy and could hardly wait to test it out.  So, when the weather looked like it might be "not freezing" on the second weekend of spring break, we encouraged the Whites and Schillings to join us out on the lake. 

And John was very happy.  

The outside air temp was literally about as cold as the water temp.  And, that is FREEZING when it comes to water temp.  (A hot tub usually hovers around 102 degrees for the sake of comparison).  If you go back to the top pic, in the distance you'll see the ramp that is totally dry docked (for lack of rain, but mostly just because this reservoir is kept lower in the winter), and then you'll see a person in the water.  Poor Travis was the man to wade through the water to get the boat on and off the trailer.  Hero status, dude.  

While we were waiting, Brayden thought he'd soak us some rays.

And send out this "Snapchat".

The girls were pretty happy too.

Whitley LOVED the boat - and all of the things to play with and get into.... 

Lots of waiting around while new things were being figured out.  Brayden thought he'd pose with me and his PB&J.

This guy was happy too, despite the fact that his extra sensitive hearing was picking up some high pitch static from the speakers and he had to position himself in the best place to avoid that.  Another thing on the list to fix.

There may have been streams of sunshine, but it took a lot of effort to try to keep warm.  

Gonna be honest - I struggle a lot in the physical comparison game with Michele (we're twins...it's expected) and this shot of those arms....ugh.  ;)

This was the time I was SO THANKFUL for the previous purchase of a full body wetsuit.  Seriously, besides my hands and feet, it wasn't so bad.  I was determined to be the first one to give our "Boat Surfing" option a try.  

 

And, I did it!  But, neither Travis or myself were ever able to drop the rope without sinking.  We now know there needs to be a lot more weight in the "fat sacs" to create the wake to surf on.  Next time, we'll get it figured out!

 

There was no need to figure out the boarding though....Travis has it down.  And, how awesome for Whitley to get to watch her daddy do all of his tricks!

Both of our boys jumped in the water (independently) expecting to take their turn to surf or board, and within seconds were back in the boat freezing.  It was brutal - I don't know how Travis did it - especially as lean as he is.  Michele took a turn skiing - and was in her blissful state too (though she had a short wetsuit on).  But, the kids did manage to enjoy some time on the tube - and again, Whitley loved watching. 

 
 

Cool closing pic by Traig.  I have a feeling there will be many a story said in the future that begins with, "Remember that time we took the boat out in MARCH?!!!!!".  Perhaps not an ideal run, but certainly memorable and special!