Ram Runner is Up and Running

Every year, we hold our breath and hope the kids both still enjoy being on the boat. We have seen friends of ours whose children decided one year, they were not happy on the boat. This year we had an added challenge ... Kasey sprouted up over the winter and reached 30.5 lbs; which meant a new life vest. We tried to make it as exciting as possible, but Kasey was not having it. He was unwilling to put the new life vest on. After we threatened to leave him in the truck while Mommy and Karsten went boating, he decided the life vest wasn't so bad after all. Karsten is still under 30 lbs (26 lbs to be exact) so his life vest from last year still fits.

The kids both were on the boat with Mommy while Daddy pulled the trailer back to the parking lot. While we were waiting for Dad, Kasey looked at Mommy and said "Where Jim? I want Jim"... Guess we must boat A LOT with Uncle Jim! He was definitely missed on our first trip out!

Kris and Karsten having a drink together.

Kasey hanging out with Mommy in his new Big Kid life jacket.

Peek-a-boo.

It looks to be deep enough, lets keep going.

The kids also had fun with their new fishing rod. Amy is a little jumpy about losing the fishing rod due to a "Snoopy Rod Incident" when she was little where rumor has it she fell asleep while fishing and let go of the rod. Now, I can neither confirm nor deny the story, but it sounds legit since Amy can sleep ANYWHERE. We had to keep letting them know that if they dropped it over the edge it would be gone and as of yet... we still have their fishing rod. Wish us luck throughout the summer. We did have one hat go overboard, but thankfully those float for a couple of seconds.

Let me show you how to do it, Karsten.

I think I have the hang of it now.

Our second day out was a special treat for us. Amy got out of work early, so Kris met her on the water for a date on the boat while the kids were still in daycare. We enjoyed some peaceful time on the water and even took a quick nap (see... she sleeps Anywhere!). It was fun catching up with each other, but we had to laugh as airplanes or geese went over our heads as it made us think of our kids. Karsten loves pointing at the planes and shouting 'Aye-Pane!' and Kasey loves pointing at the birds and shouting "Pa-Pow". Guess we have a future pilot and a future hunter in our family!

Not the same without the kids driving, but definitely more relaxing.

Time to enjoy some summer sausage, cheese and crackers.

We don't normally go out on the water on Memorial day due to high traffic, but thought it was too nice out not to go. We invited some good friends of ours, Scott and Elizabeth Freas and their son Mason. We told Kasey the night before that Mason was going to join us and the next morning, we asked him who should come out on the boat with us. He excitedly shouted "Mason!". I asked if Daddy could come too and luckily he said 'Yuuup' (yes, we watch too much 'Storage Wars'). Mason and Karsten are in the same class at daycare together. It has been a blast watching them grow to love each other. Each time they see each other, Karsten shouts out "MACEY" with so much excitement! Mason did a good job on his first boat experience. he clutched tightly to his dad while we were in motion, but with a smile on his face. All the kids ended up napping on the boat together, which gave us time to catch up with friends. It was a perfect day on the boat!

Hard to get all of the kids looking,
especially with Elizabeth handing out snacks.

Amy and Elizabeth enjoying some "girl talk".

Karsten and Mason driving the boat.

One child down...

Two down (Kasey is under the towel) and one to go.

It was official - the Ram Runner was up and Running, but Uncle Jim still didn't have his boat on the water.  So; the next weekend we decided to get his on the water.  with a little luck, some good friends and an extra boat battery... we had Jim up and Running too!  It was also a learning day for Amy and Sarah.  Kris taught Sarah how to take the boat off the trailer and Jim taught Amy how to back the trailer down the ramp into the water.  Sarah and Amy both decided it was easier to learn from someone Other than their Significant Other. :-)

A quick nap before the day begins.

Sarah, Amy and Lindsay (hanging out on the tube).

The First Dip in the Water!
As you can see Kasey "hated" the water

Have you looked at the weather behind you, Uncle Jim?

What is missing from this picture besides Lindsay and Jon...The sun.

We tried waiting out the storm, but it didn't look like it wanted to let up.  Instead, we decided there were plenty of more summer days to enjoy and headed in.  Since we got to enjoy the weather for the first part of the day; we decided it was a successful boat day. Jon might disagree with us, but that is most likely because he showed up along with the clouds and rain that rolled in.

Everyone looking warm while they wait out the storm.

As you can see; we have enjoyed the summer Already!  We are so excited Summer is here and so are our Boys!  Kasey asks every other day to go on the boat!  We are glad we are looking forward to another Amazing year on the Ram Runner!