writers workshop: on a boat

Our last family vacation was in July.  My whole family went.  We are small, so it worked out okay.  Myself and my three children, my sister, her husband and two children and my mom all loaded on to a plane and traveled to the Sea-Tac airport.

After recovering from the shock on the non-humid weather, we headed to Lake Sammamish.  My cousins live on Lake Sammamish and I love it.

This was my view from the dock.  It's pretty horrible seeing Mount Rainier in the background.

Peyton enjoyed some dock time with me. 

This is my niece, Violett.  She looked so funny running up the dock in his life jacket/wet suit thingy.  It cracked me up to no end.

During this week, we did a lot of lake things and non lake things.  We enjoyed Paddle boarding (my sis in the background) and Kayaking (Peyton hanging out in the kayak), boat riding and jet skiing.  I loved kayaking.  My daughter and I went all the way to the north side of the lake, where the water was filled with lily pads and the white flowers were just starting to come up.  It was a little jaunt in a kayak.  One time when we were out, Alli was on the paddle board and Peyton was kayaking.  They traded places in the middle of the lake.

The kids all did some tubing while being pulled behind the boat.

Alli wanted to get up on the wake board so bad.  She kept at it for two days and then this happened.  She was becoming quite an expert.  Waving to everyone as we passed by the dock.  I am super proud of her.  I couldn't ski when I was her age.  I just remember being dragged and falling face first into the water.

The boat was great fun.  I had an awesome time just sitting in it, watching the fam wakeboard.  One time, someone did completely soak me by hitting a wave, just perfectly, on purpose.  I was in my swimsuit, so not really a big deal.  It was just cold.

After a day of swimming, tubing and kayaking.

Tanner and Peyton out on the jet ski.

I have a story about jet skis.

I used to be deathly afraid of them when I was little and the fear lasted until the week we were at the lake.  I went with my dad to a lake house in Missouri.  I am not sure who we were visiting and I don't remember much about it, except for the jet ski part.  My dad and stepmom forced me to go on the jet ski.  I was so afraid of it.  Even at six or seven, I thought I would fall off and the jet ski would cut me to pieces.  I had that lingering fear of jet skis because I have avoided them since.

When we were at the lake, I spent so much time on the jet ski.  Seriously, I went from the north end of the lake to the south end.  I went 60 mph on the thing.  I actually liked the cruise around at about 40 mph.  I was totally okay with it.  My fear vanished as soon as I had control over it.  My childhood fear was silly.  I know that.  I've always know that.  Growing up, you think the fear you have is so profound and you will never get over it, once you do, you realize how silly it actually was.  I know as soon as I fall off the machine, it stops immediately.  I know there is a ladder on the back of it that I could have used to get back on it.  Don't let fear eat at you.