Lake Austin

Lake Austin never disappoints. It's the place we go to unplug. No cell phones, TV or devices (for the most part) . We pack cards, books and board games and focus 100% on family time. Lambert actually wears us all OUT! Vacationing with him is action packed from sun up to sun down. He NEVER stops. However, I did manage to read an entire book this trip. I just absorbed every page in between the activities, on boat rides and late at night. We stayed right on the lake and had a canal on the south side of the property. This rental might as well have been made for me. Mid century, Americana, all things red white and blue! It was like the owner knew I was coming.  It reminded me so so much of my grandparents lake house in Indiana. Lake houses all have the same smell too... I don't know if its the well water, or the fresh air. It's very nostalgic to me. Libbie, our gadget girl, took over all the remotes, the binoculars, and the excitement of checking out a new place. She handed out room assignments and appointed herself chief operator of the boat lift, the ceiling fans, the air conditioning and made sure all the rules were followed at ALL times.  Lambert found a pair of water skis in the storage so Owen got ski lessons from the best and wouldn't you know it, he popped up on his first try. He skied in the choppiest water til his arms fell off. We pulled Libbie all over the lake on a tube and yes, I  was her tube partner which meant the tube was slightly off balance and I took the brunt of the waves... (and lots of Advil). This activity was also documented and omitted by me, for obvious reasons. The family thinks its quite hilarious. I may mention they are bullies and I am usually their target. My boys found a rope swing to give me a heart attack and they jumped until I said I can't take anymore. We ate at our favorite haunts, Ski Shores, County Line and also made time for Owen to grill hotdogs (his request).  Lambert packed a helicopter slingshot (a/k/a dollar store junk) for Libbie and she LOVED it... they spent one afternoon launching, and retrieving  and launching and retrieving, and.... so on. She never tired of it. NEVER... EVER... We had to bring it home with us she loved it so.  I was sitting outdoors in the red chair, speed reading because I knew momentarily I would be forced back into my swimsuit to head to the next activity and I could hear loud grunting coming from inside. I thought for sure the kids were wrestling and was about to get onto them when I saw from the window all three of them huddled up sneaking TV TIME.   Wimbledon proved too tempting to miss even for Dad.  The AMAZING house across the canal from us belonged to the cutest doodle ever. She chased the jet skiers from one side of her property to the next. We hoped she would swim across the canal to play with us but she stayed on her property and guarded it well. No jet skiers dared come close.  My favorite pass time while pulling riders behind the boat is photographing beautiful boathouses, quaint cottages, modern mansions, and everything in between.  I would give anything to tour the inside of some of those homes. My imagination runs wild. We were coming home late one evening from dinner and just as we came to the canal we noticed a young couple having engine problems. It was really dark, they had no lights and they were a long ways back to the public boat ramp. We've been out on the water before with problems and it's not fun. Lambert asked them if they needed a tow and they did... We had to idle about three miles back to the boat ramp and it was pure bliss to see all the homes from the shore at night. We were traveling slow enough, the houses were all lit up and I could see art work, libraries, grand pianos and families gathered around kitchen islands.  We got the love birds safely back to the boat ramp and they we're thankful for the help. I was just as thankful that we got to slow down enough so I could get a peek into how the other half live. I was hoping to make time to bake homemade cinnamon rolls on our mini retreat but the coffee house was so darn close to our cottage and it was fun to take an early morning slow boat ride with Lambert before the kids woke up. Mozarts has fantastic coffee, pastries, and breakfast tacos, I could not pass up. I'll work on cinnamon rolls later this week! Libbie's new favorite thing is for me to photograph her while she is (fake) sleeping. She thinks it's so funny.  Lambert has convinced the whole family to turn against me. They are determined to sell our little Whaler to buy a ski boat.... I can not part with the Whaler unless however, we trade up for my all time favorite Chris Craft which I photographed our last day on the lake before we packed it all up... I think this was a sign...  I'm certain we can find a vintage ski boat (made of wood) that will work just fine. Or else... we KEEP the Whaler. She's been good to us! I was reminded how fragile life is and how precious our family time is. While we were out on a busy lake with a lot of boat traffic we received news that a family friend lost his life in a boating accident while on vacation with his family on another Texas lake. Our prayers are with this family as they face this difficult chapter. Until next year Lake Austin.