~ a 98 !!! ~

That was Kaitlyn's score on her driving test today. She is an official licensed driver as of about 2:00 this afternoon.

We had to drive to Centralia today for her test. All of the test locations in the Tacoma/Seattle area were booked into the middle of August. Since Kaitlyn is a working-girl now, she needs transportation to work and the bus was just unacceptable. Being the loving mother that I am, I took the day off and road with her to Centralia. Luckily it wasn't a wasted trip, since she passed her test. She did the best parallel parking job that I've seen. I personally suck at it! I couldn't see the rest of her test, but she was back in 10 minutes with a smile on her face and a passing grade in her hand.

She's driving herself to Target tomorrow morning at 8:00.

Boating 101

Boating lesson #1:
Do not drink beer when you are driving a boat right in front of the police vessel!!

As it turns out, that isn't what the nice police officers were pulling Tim over for last night. They saw we had expired tabs on the boat and didn't see our temporary tag in the window until they came up along side. Tim skates by again!

Last night we "entertained" our friends Lisa & Per Bakken and John & Celeste Morrison aboard the Instant Gratification 2. We boated through Lake Washington chatting, admiring all the beautiful houses, and enjoying some nice snacks and beverages. I had a really bad day at work and it was so nice to relax and kick back with friends out on the water. We hope to have them back out with us again soon and maybe this time with the kids for a little inner-tubing or wakeboarding.

After taking them back to the dock, Tim and I headed over to Anderson Bay near Seward Park where we anchored and spent our very first night on the boat. It was interesting for "land-lover Kris" to say the least. We are planning to spend a few days at the beginning of August up in the San Juan Islands. Now I have a better idea of what to expect and what to pack (like earplugs for that annoying water splashing sound all night!).
I am happy to report that our water issues seem to have been resolved. Tim is so handy! The bathroom worked really well and we didn't have any water in the galley. Yay!

All photos courtesy of Per Bakken. Thank you for bringing the camera!

Kaitlyn Got A Job!

Katie Sue got her very first job. She is a cashier at Target. This past weekend was her orientation and first day on the job. She was terrified, but made it through her shift without any serious issues, aside from the fact that she got a boo-boo on her finger from a hanger.

Good As New - Sorta

We got the boat back on Friday. Supposedly everything was fixed. It passed Tim's initial check of everything so back out in the water we went. Saturday we took all the kids out for the day on the water for their first excursion in the Instant Gratification 2. Rose's favorite part was the bathroom.
About 3/4 of the way through the day the carpet in the galley area was suspiciously wet again. Darn it! Once again, we soaked up the water with our towels. When we got home, Tim found the problem. The dealer fixed the cold water valve on the bathroom sink, but now the hot water valve was dripping. This time he is taking things into his own hands and going to fix it himself. That way he's confident it will be done the right way and we won't have any more water issues.
We are hoping to take friends out this weekend for a sunset cruise and we are headed to the San Juans on August 4th for a few days.

~ The Instant Gratification 2 ~

It's huge!
Tim is 6 feet tall and he is dwarfed by this boat!
Her maiden voyage was yesterday and it did not go as smoothly as hoped.
After picking her up at the dealer yesterday morning we headed straight to the lake. The launch include Kris making a graceful (not!) fall on the dock which included a scraped shin, splinters in her hands and bruises on her chest. Good thing no one had a camera!
Kris (yes, this says KRIS) drove her off the trailer and into the water while Tim parked the truck and trailer. I have never been so scared in all my life. This thing does not maneuver like the 20 foot Sea Ray! I managed to go back to the dock, pick up Tim without any issues and we were off. The first hour and a half went smoothly. Then I went down into the galley area and stepped into about an inch of water. Oops! This is not good. I panicked, of course jumping to the conclusion we were taking on water and going to sink. Tim called the dealer and they said it was probably just from when they pressure washed the boat. This made no logical sense to me because if this were the case the water would have been there the whole time and not just showed up. Tim bailed out the water using a water bottle he cut down to size and we mopped up the carpet with all the towels we had on board. Unfortunately, when I went to use the bathroom, the one main reason I said "yes" to this boat - no more peeing in the lake - we didn't have any water. Bummer. The guys at the dealer assured us they filled the water tank. We discovered the problem when we got home last night. There is a broken water line that leads to the sink in the bathroom. When we pressurized the water tank so we could use the water, it sprayed, all 20 gallons, out into some odd area of the hull of the boat. Nice! So, when the dealership opens again on Tuesday morning, they are getting the Instant Gratification 2 back for some much needed repairs. We are hoping we will have it back in the water next weekend with the kids.
Today we are cleaning it. I hate cleaning other people's dirt! But as all of you know, I am so nit-picky that unless I clean it myself, I won't be happy. Shortly we are off to the boating supply store to stock up.
As you may recall when we bought the SeaRay 3 years ago, I mentioned that all a boat is, is a hole in the water you throw money into. Well, our hole in the water just got bigger and there's a lot more money we have to throw into it now!

Goodbye Instant Gratification!

Tomorrow morning we are saying goodbye to the Instant Gratification.

So Sad!

She has been a wonderful recreational toy for the past 3 summers. All of the kids learned to wakeboard and even I was able to get up long enough to get it on video.

Tomorrow she gets traded in for the Instant Gratification 2!

Tim is a spoiled boy and finally got his wish to get a cabin cruiser that he can "boat camp" in. We bought a Monterey 250C. It's a 2006, but in really good condition. It sleeps 4 and has a "real" bathroom, kitchenette, and TV with DVD.

It will be truly interesting tomorrow afternoon when we put it in the water for the first time and I try to handle a 27 foot boat off the launch. Someone should truly have a camera to capture the hilarity!

Watch the blog for IG2 updates & photos after this weekend.

Sweet 16 !!!

It happened....my little baby girl turned 16!

Today was Kaitlyn's 16th Birthday. The morning started as all birthdays do, with her "beside the bed present". A tradition my mom started when my sister and I were little. There was always a small gift sitting beside our beds when we woke up on our birthday mornings.

She then opened her gifts from Tim and I. We then headed to get mother-daughter manicures. Then Kaitlyn had her hair cut at Gene Juarez and we did a little shopping (shocker!).

Her birthday celebration rounded out with dinner at Red Robin with 3 of her closest friends - the "new" fabulous foursome - M.A.R.K. - Mackenna, Amy, Rochelle & Kaitlyn. She opened some rather interesting presents too. Rochelle and Mackenna then came back to our house for ice cream sundaes and a sleepover. I highly doubt there will be much sleeping happening!