Houseboat Vacation

Grannie and Papa had their 50th Anniversary back in February of this year, and instead of a big party, they wanted to have the whole family spend a week on a houseboat together. So, this past week, Grannie and Papa rented a houseboat on Lake Roosevelt, and everyone (except Uncle Dan) made the trip.

Mommy, Daddy and Jillian carpooled with Aunt Robin and Cousins Ainsley, Tierney and William in the van for the 6-hour ride on Monday. Jillian loved sitting in the back seat with Ainsley and Tierney. We made two stops for Starbucks and lunch, and arrived at the Keller Marina at 4:00 pm. After loading up, Papa piloted the houseboat to Jones Bay and parked it on the beach. Then, everyone jumped into the water, because it was a roasting 100+ F! The water was really deep, so all the cousins enjoyed diving and jumping off the houseboat into the lake. There was even a slide from the top deck. This little photo shows Jillian (being held by Grannie) yelling with excitement as she watches one of her cousins go down the slide. And, yes, that's some seriously crazy hair that Jillian has tied into ponytails.

Jillian even went into the water with her new life-vest on, though she wasn't in very long before she wanted to get back out. This photo shows one of those few moments, with Jillian hanging out with Daddy on a floatie in the lake. She would end up spending most of her water time on the beach, splashing her feet in the water or playing with a spoon and cup.

Jillian got a special treat, sleeping with Mommy and Daddy at night in a small stateroom. The bad thing about the hot weather was that the rooms were very hot throughout the night, and the little fan on the wall helped only so much. So, the sleeping was restless. When Jillian woke up in the morning, the first thing she said was "Brah" (meaning, her cousin Brock). So, she went right out and got into Brock's face to wake him up. She would end up doing this every morning.

The Jones Bay spot was so good, we stayed there all of Tuesday, too. Here's a photo of Jillian with Mommy when they went exploring on the beach ... Jillian is giving her wink-and-a-smile for this one. On Wednesday, we pushed off and headed for the Grand Coulee Dam. By evening, we found a nice beach next to a boat ramp and close to the main road, so we parked there. We later walked 2 miles to the Visitor Center, and since it was getting late (~8:30 pm), Jillian was delirious and ran wild throughout the building with cousin Tierney chasing her. At 9:30 pm, we watched the laser light show, and Jillian somehow stayed awake for it. But then we had to make the trek back to the houseboat, up a very steep hill. Jillian was one very tired little girl.

By Thursday, Jillian was getting worn out with all the playing and restless sleeping nights, so she took lots of long naps during the day. We ended up moving the houseboat to a little island, but a big thunderstorm moved in, so everyone ended up staying inside for the evening. We headed back to the Marina on Friday morning and made the long drive back home, during which Jillian slept almost the entire way back.

Probably Jillian's favorite thing about the trip was being with all her cousins. She kept saying their names when we got home, wondering where they went.