lake travis

As a result of the Stake Young Men's canoe trip being cancelled,  Kevin had a free week open in June.  When Jerry caught wind of it, he started looking at rental houses on Lake Travis.  We had already spent our vacation budget (even though the trips were rescheduled for next year), so Jerry and Bev offered to sponsor the house for a "45th anniversary family trip".  The Peacocks decided not to come because of the virus and Emery being so little, but it gave the rest of us something fun to look forward to.

We left the morning after Brooke's birthday party, and made the 4 hour drive down to Austin.  The kids did great on the mini road trip, and were patient as we wandered an unfamiliar grocery store trying to get everything we needed for the week.  Once we were settled into the house, Kevin and I went down to launch the boat and get it secured at the dock.

I can't really remember what we cooked that night for dinner, but we were all ready for a good night's sleep!  Brooke and Colby shared a room and although the plan was to alternate who slept on the bed and who slept on an air mattress, they were both perfectly content with their selection and stayed that way all week.  I snuck in Monday morning to catch a picture of my sweet boy with all of his stuffies.

Brooke had crawled into our bed that morning and we were enjoying birthday girl snuggles when she fell back asleep.  That NEVER happens, and she looked like a little baby again with her hand on her face.  Kevin was rubbing her sweet head and she just continued sleeping. They grow SO quickly, it really feels like an eternity ago that she was a baby.

Brooke enjoyed some morning snuggles with Papa before Daddy and Grandma decided to wake up for the day :)

Then it was birthday donut time...

I brought one of the gifts my parents sent for her, and Grandma and Papa had another gift for her as well. This girl was spoiled and Kevin kept commenting that her birthday celebration was forever long!

We finally made it out for the day!!

Jerry has been telling us about the clear water for years, but it really was such a beautiful shade of turquoise. These kids were happy to play and jump together.

Our house wasn't on the main body of Lake Travis (it was on the Pernales River I think), but we decided to make the long boat ride to check it out. I was enjoying my snuggles with Colby when I realized that he had fallen asleep.

It was such a sweet Mama moment for me and I loved holding my big boy.  In that moment, I felt so much gratitude for his little spirit and the joy he brings into my heart. 

Once we stopped to go swimming, Brooke was out floating with the rope.  She was asking Kevin to pull her in quickly, so he totally took advantage of that opportunity and asked if he could help her get in the wakeboard boots.  She agreed, and I was pleasantly surprised.  Kevin floated out with her and she tried four or five times to get up and was SO close, but never fully stood up on the board.

Then Colby gave it a shot and he got up the second time, haha.  Brooke was a little miffed and said "show off".  I was quick to tell her that she didn't need to be mad about him doing a good job.  He was simply trying his best :)

Every time Jerry would pull back around to pick them up, Colby would give these two "okay" signs with his hands to show that everything was great.  He's such a funny boy.

My dear girl!  She loved her new hat and it gave the perfect amount of shade from the hot afternoon sun.

Foating with Grandma and Papa...

When we arrived back at the dock, the kids were eager to try kayaking for the first time. They picked it up quickly, and Brooke was seriously gliding across that water. It was such a peaceful night and the water was calm and smooth.  One perk of staying on a river is that you have some protection from the wind.

We ended the day with cheesecake for the birthday girl. I'm excited to see what year 7 holds for us!

Day two started off with some sparkle juice, haha.  My kids love these drinks, and it's become kind of a lake house tradition. They are definitely a special treat and something that Grandma brought for the littles.

Kevin geeked out with his go-pro camera to get some videos of Brooke and Colby on the wakeboard. We watched all the videos that night and it was super fun to hear their chatter as Kevin coached them before each trial.  I've said this many times, but he is such a patient and amazing teacher.

They moved from the wakeboard to the surfboard, and Colby had to be right out there with Kevin. 

Brooke was queen of the jumps and repeatedly asked us to watch her as she created different combinations of jumps and twirls.

Once again, Colby fell asleep with me as we made our way back to the house for dinner. These boat naps quickly became one of my favorite parts of each day. 

After dinner, we headed down to the dock to fish and kayak some more.

We didn't catch a thing, but they sure had fun trying.  Brooke was more interested in kayaking, but Colby stuck it out a bit with Kevin.

Colby eventually joined Brooke on the kayaks and kept asking us if he could jump off in the middle of the lake. I did't think he would be able to get back IN the kayak, so I repeatedly told him no.  Eventually, Kevin told him he could just to see what would happen, haha.  Colby stood up, thought for a moment, then jumped. To my surprise, he was able to get back in.  Sometimes he proves me wrong, haha. 

Judging by the pictures, I think we went on an evening boat ride. It's a good thing I take so many pictures so I can remember the events of the day, haha.

Look at that water!!  As we were cruising along, Bev commented to Kevin that she was surprised he didn't want to go skiing.  He thought for a moment, then decided he WOULD  take advantage of the perfect water. The kids had never seen him ski, so they were pretty excited about it.

I love this picture of our little ones watching their Daddy do something he loves!

Colby adores Kevin so much and I cherish moments like this.

Before we knew it, it was Wednesday!  We were all doing really good in the sun and having a blast.  Brooke moved on to diving...

Colby was into tricks with Daddy...

And Grandma and Papa were into floating...

This picture of Jerry is just TOO funny.  His hat was dried up and falling apart, but he decided to still wear it in the water.  Bev and I were cracking up about the whole thing, so he eventually ripped off the border and broken section, but it was still just as hilarious to us.

As we passed my favorite section of the river, we decided to stop for a few pictures.  Somehow the boat turned so I didn't get the large rock formations behind us, but you can still see the lake's beauty.

The hat crew, even if Papa's is a little smaller than it originally started, haha. I think this photo is gonna make it to the garage wall of fame.

On the ride back that afternoon, Colby wanted driving lessons from Daddy. I enjoyed watching his little face as he peered up over the steering wheel.

Three generations of boat loving guys...

Papa gave Brookie some instruction...

We definitely made the most of our last day, even if I did have to bribe my kids for this picture.  I loved the hanging peacock chair and I didn't have a single picture of just the two of them together.

They wanted to start off the day with a little fishing, so that's what we did;  Again, no luck, but they had fun trying.

When we finally gave up, we headed out of the cove just in time for Colby to tell us that he had to go #2.  So, we headed back to the dock, haha.  It all worked out in the end because Jerry wanted a picture of them floating on the lake anyway.

At one point, I was driving and Kevin and Colby were up front relaxing. I yelled for Kevin to check on Colby because I thought he was asleep, and sure enough, he was! His little head was bobbing back and forth, so Kevin made sure he didn't fall over. 

When we stopped to swim, Kevin made a little canopy so Colby didn't get fried.  He was just sitting there with him, when all of a sudden, Colby woke up, realized that everyone was swimming, and said, "Why didn't anyone tell me we were swimming?"  Thirty seconds later, he was in the water with Sissy. He never wants to miss a beat, but I was so glad he was able to catch a daily boat nap :)

Again, with the jumps...

I think we went in again for dinner on our last night, then headed out for one last ride. Kevin and I took a moment to just look up at the house and down at the dock, and feel gratitude for a special trip. The kids were driving down to the dock with Grandma and Papa (which was a saving grace since I don't know how Papa would have handled the steep rock stairs), and it was nice to have a moment together.

Th weather was perfect, the lake was glass, Brooke was driving like a pro, and I got to watch my boys do their thing.

Colby had probably his longest ride, and when he got back in the boat, Brooke was making a big deal about how awesome he was and wanted a picture with him.  This is how she posed, and I will always cherish this photo.  Brooke gave wake boarding a good effort the first two days, but was a little frustrated that Colby was picking it up more quickly than her, so to see her so excited for him was really sweet.

Kevin had one final ride, and Brooke just wanted to snuggle Papa, which he was really happy about.

Last picture of my crazy haired boy...

As we packed up that night in preparation for leaving the next morning, I wrote in their little guest book. We really enjoyed out stay and were grateful for all the memories made.  I didn't draw that picture, but it sure made my entry look good :)

Our view the morning we left...

All loaded and ready to head out...

We stopped for lunch at Storms, which has been around since 1950.  The food was pretty good, but you would have thought the hamburger was the best thing ever.  It's not something that Colby normally orders, but he devoured that thing and kept telling Brooke how delicious it was.

We made it home early afternoon and did a quick wipe-down of the boat.  As we shuffled cars and headed to the marina, Jerry accidentally ran over the boat cover and smashed one of the buckles.  He offered to come pick it up the next day, but I was able to find a buckle (that I took off something else) and headed too the driveway with my sewing machine.  I was already laughing at myself when Kevin took a picture and made a comment about "Katie's Mobile Sewing Service."  Haha, I really was cracking up.  The cover is huge which is why I did''t take it inside in the first place, but hunching over on the driveway with my leg up for the foot pedal was probably quite the sight :)

And that was our trip in a nutshell!  Thanks, Grandma and Papa, for such a fun vacation!