Palm Lake Vacation

So, I was looking for a family reunion vacation rental for Jason’s family when I happened to find this little gem – Palm Lake Retreat.  Our dream home!  Jason and I would both absolutely love to live on a waterski lake – especially a private one.  So, when we found this place only 30 minutes from our house, we were so excited.  Our dream home - available for rent!  We immediately rallied the Davis family and booked a trip only two months following, in August, with high hopes.  It definitely met our expectations and more!

This 5 bedroom home is on a private lake with our own water ski course (we won’t be doing that again – see why here).   The retreat has a pool with waterslide and diving board, hot tub, fire pit, volleyball court, one mile paved course around the lake for running, a two story lake cabana, a race track for bikes and two play houses for the kids. 

We spent our days swimming, exploring, running, soaking up the sun, shooting our sling shot, riding scooters, playing games, napping, playing on the boat and eating some tasty food.  We had an absolute blast and I think this will be an annual Davis family vacation – next year’s vacation is already booked.

 

 

 

 

Dawson improved so much at wakeboarding.  He learned how to wakeboard a couple weeks before our trip.  By the end of the vacation, he was so comfortable, you would never know he just learned.  He could stay up for 20 minutes at a time, make the tight turns with ease, cross the wake on both sides and even started jumping and getting a couple feet of air!

 

Taya is so fun on the easy ski.  She loves to dance.  Dawson wanted to try slalom skiing, so we got him some new skis.  He was able to just barely get up, but he couldn’t stay up.  Maybe next year…

 

Everyone loved the kayaks, paddleboats and go cart track.  We raced around on our bikes and scooters.

 

 

We compared this vacation to house boating – but it is SO much safer for the kids.  They had a blast and we never worried about their safety.  Some stray cats set up camp while we were there and they were instant entertainment for the kids.  Taya cried when we had to leave them.

 

 

Making smores – yum!

 

Look at that – Perfect glass to ski on 100% of the time.  Love it!

 

 

I am Broken

I lasted 35 years without breaking a bone, but I guess all good things must come to an end.  How did I break my ankle you may ask?  Well, I blame it all on the buoys.

We were on vacation at a private waterski lake and I was waterskiing this course.    I realized that I was going to hit a buoy and instinct kicked in – I did not want to hit that buoy!  Would hitting the buoy have hurt me?  No.  Would I have even hit the buoy?  Probably not.  Most likely, it would have floated out of the way.   But, even though my rational self knew this, my instinct told me NOT to hit that buoy.  So, as I was cutting making a turn I quickly turned my ankle the opposite direction of my body.  That was it – snap – followed by tumbling head first into the water.  At least I broke it doing something I love!

Great picture right before the break and nasty fall.

I broke my ankle on the last ski run of the trip the night before we left.  I just muddled along until we got the the doctors and got some crutches and a boot the next day.  That meant a LOT of pain and the complete inability to walk or put any weight on my leg.  The only way I could get anywhere was “flying” down the hall by flapping my arms to take the weight off my leg.  It was hilarious and I wish I had a video :)  Jason and my brother, Joe, served as my escorts the next morning for family pictures.  I think I was quite the trooper, if I do say so myself.

Now, this is how I am rolling…  Painted toes are still a must!

 

It’s a long road to recovery and being non-weight bearing on crutches is a huge struggle, especially with a baby.  But, we are managing and I am grateful for so much help from Linda, my nanny, and my family.  Dawson and Taya have really stepped up and been a huge help to me.  Now I am just hoping it heals in time for snowboarding season.

Jen's Rooster

OK - per popular demand, I guess people want to see my tail - my rooster tail that is :)

Cock-a-doodle-doo

Check out those Rooster tails!

I love watching Jason ski. He is such a great skier and it is really beautiful to watch. He cuts back and forth laying it down and spraying that huge rooster tail as he goes. We got to the lake early yesterday and we had some great calm water. We all got a couple of great ski runs in before lunch. I finally felt like I got my "ski groove" back on. After taking last season off to have a baby, it has been rough getting the feel of it again. But, I finally felt comfortable cutting yesterday. Jason even said he felt me pulling against the boat - a very good sign. Now, if I could just get my rooster tail this big - mine is a mini in comparison.

Enjoying the boat. Taya has always been scared of going fast in the boat - so someone needed to hold her on their lap when we were pulling a skier. She finally got over it yesterday and had a really great day, even when we went fast!

Grandma, Taya and Holden

Holden's favorite part was "driving" the boat. He squealed with delight!

Holden testing out the EZSki

Grandma and Grandpa taking Holden and Taya on a little jungle cruise.

Taya was so brave and let us pull her on the EZSki behind the boat for a little bit. The first time we tried it was all tears, but after some practice sitting on it playing in the water, she was willing to let us pull her behind the boat. It didn't last long. But, I was so proud of her. Baby steps...

Dawson worked on going back and forth with one hand and balancing. I think he sees Jason and I cutting back and forth across the wake with one hand and wants to do it as well. So cute. He actually got over the wake a couple times. We also let some air out of his ski to make it a little harder. He still did great.

Our Newest Skier

The EZSki is really easy! We took Dawson skiing a couple weeks ago and we were expecting him to take some time to get used to this new ski. But, we were gravely mistaken. He was skiing with no hands, backwards, backwards with no hands and a little dancing thrown in - all on his first day on the ski. This boy has no fear. It is a blast to watch him. He could ride that ski all day if you let him. What a great boating toy. Money well spent :)

You start out sitting - so it is super easy!

There he goes - thumbs up!

Backwards

No Hands!

Backwards AND no hands - Show Off!

Skiing Buddies