One Crowded Houseboat!

Day 1

On August 10th we headed down to Shasta to meet up with my family for a seven day, 15 people on a houseboat (basically an RV on water) adventure. We packed pretty light; a backpack for every 2 people, but with towels, life jackets, food and Dada toys, it still ends up being a lot of stuff. Once we loaded up the floating RV with all our gear we headed out in search of a cove!

It was so hot, that we had to take Berg and Pella into the water just to cool them off every now and then. They didn't love it at first, but once they got used to the water, they had a great time. Look at those cutie cheeks and little painted toes!

Day 2 

While everyone was off skiing and wakeboarding I usually hung out with the kiddos. Berg and Opal were more excited to play legos or Polly Pockets on the houseboat and Eben, Kivi and Jasper were hard at work discovering metal treasures on the shore. They made a huge collection and kept walking around the steep banks with handfuls of rusty nails and wire and crazy, dangerous debris but they sure had fun.

Mamacita bought the guys (Pops, Mr. Steve [Shmee's man], Dada and Kirk [Buggy's fiancé]) super hero boxers, with capes! She made sure they all wore them while wake boarding.

My favorite thing about Shasta is the MUD! My cousin, Fifi, and I would put it all over our bodies almost every day. Eben, Kivi and Jasper were great at finding the best, soft mud for us and even ferried us around on the kayaks while the mud baked.

Dada's got this air chair mastered! He can even jump now!

Day 3 

Mama's got the air chair mastered too! Ha! Just kidding. I did get fully out of the water and actually ride it though on only my third try, which was really all I wanted to do. Peter verified my accomplishment and said that I could indeed say I air chaired successfully, but it's only because he figured out the strange thing first and told me exactly what to do.

The jet ski died. Sad day for Dada. Really, he did very well with it. It's just a good thing it didn't break down while he was riding it, that would've been worse for him.

Eben, Kivi and Dodie jumping off the houseboat!  (Jasper did it too, but not till day 5 and I missed that picture.)

Day 4

On the second day, the kids and I found a cool abandoned resort (well, it was really just and empty cabin but the sign said "resort"). We took everyone up the long stairs to show them and then every day the kids wanted to go back up there and look around some more.  One of the days, they talked Mr. Steve into taking them up and they found even more cabins so of course they had to show us. It was a fun to be able to go hiking, let the kids run around and ponder what happened to the run down, crumbling little abandoned resort.

There's the long stairway that leads to the cabins. Pops was super worried that we've fill the water waste tank, so cute Fifi did the dishes out in the lake. We should've been worried about our fresh water more, because we had to take the whole big boat in three times to fill it up! We couldn't figure out how we were using so much water, no one had even showered. There ended up being a leak in the tank.

Kivi and Dada wake boarded together, but I couldn't get my camera to work to I had them go again, because I missed their cute hand holding trick! Peter kept spraying Kivi every time he turned, so she could barely see, poor girl! She still loved it.

Day 5

Mama and Eben were ready for a change of scenery. We thought it would be fun if we could find another good hiking cove where we could see something different, so we went in search of a waterfall and we found one! Peter dropped the kids and I off at the shore and went back to get the houseboat because the people who had been parked there left just as we arrived! The kids were very excited to show off the water fall and take everyone for a hike up the mountain to follow it. It didn't end up being a very long hike because we found poison oak. 

So we came back to pose for a group shot and then Dada talked the kids into building a dam out the waterfall and we all took turns helping them work on that for the rest of the day.

Day 6

Peter couldn't get enough. He loves it. 

He's getting really good too!

I enjoyed the playing games part and teaching Eben San Juan. 

Eben and I found and iron mine on the Shasta map and tried to talk everyone into taking the houseboat there. They were not so on board with the idea, but we ran out of water again and had to fill it anyway. So we got to go and all the kids took turns driving.

This place had the best mud ever! 

I was so excited about the mud I complete covered myself in it and while I was laying in mud, Poppie and Dada took Eben and Jasper on the hike to the mine and I completely missed it.

Day 7

The kids got to watch some fun shows on the ipad! It's feeling like the end of vacation.

Smiley Pella with Fifi on the couch. She slept in the closet, poor, hot baby and did really well considering her nap schedule was a complete wreck the whole week.

Kivi, Eben and Nonnie tried a 3 person ski attempt. They did it for a tiny while too!

This was the first day that Eben skiied, well, on this vacation. He's done it before, but had no interest until we told him this was the last day. We even had to push him into the water every time to swim. He'd just sit on the steps on the ladder forever and not go in because of the temperature change. He's so much like his mama! 

I didn't go skiing until the last day either. Actually, I don't think I'd been skiing since before Eben was born. I did it for my baby...and for a picture of me skiing with him.

It was a fun, memorable trip! Dada and Kivi got lots of wake boarding in, we were able to be with family, and no one drowned! (Only 2 of the 6 know how to swim.) Thanks, Poppie and Nonnie!