Our last day on the boat for the year

It was a bitter sweet last day on the water, because after about an half an hour on the river, Nick started feeling bad, and felt hot. So Shan took Nick home and Parker went too. Missed them for sure, also it was the last time to board this year. Sweet, because we rode all day long, none stop, and killing it. We put in at our newest place we like to go,Newberg, Oregon on the Willamette river. We love it there, almost ten miles of river to find some butter and ride or just hang out. It is only half hour away. Robbie, Lukas, Cody, & Chris, and I have been riding better with every run the last 4 times we've been out. It was the same this day too. Chris landed his first 360, a sweet one. Robbie and Lukas were just killing it on the knee board. Cody strapped on the knee board too, for the first time, she layed it down. We shortened up the rope a lot on they're last run, with them hitting the wake harder, and catching air. Lukas' wake boarding is so much fun to watch, that little man can ride. As for me, I had a great last ride, doing my tricks, and yes, my Nemesis's trick- "cuffed"- that is the one I crashed so hard on at Koppert lake, squashing any dought about that trick, no crashes today. We video taped the action so we could show Shan, Nick and Parker. The boat is in the garage and the season is over, it was a great year and we don't want it to be over... bittersweet.

We got tunes!!! "Disclaimer."

OK, now that I know how to play music on our blog, here's the disclaimer."don't read into the words,or try to match it up with our camp." I'm only going to play music that we think is cool,sounds good, or jam with. I'm gonna let the boys pick out their favorites too. That's gonna be good. I'm hopeing you will enjoy. And thanks Amy for the help,really!

Koppert lake, novice open

OK, so Shanie,Lukas,& me,Rob, competed at the Don
Koppert Memorial Classic wake board contest. Boy, what an experience that was, and can hardly wait to do it again. I will get back to that in a sec. Lukas absolutely killed it. Everyone is so proud of him. All the riders, all the classes gathered around, while they announced the podium finishers. "In third place, Salem Oregon, Lukas Jensen"!!! We all screamed and yelled, as he got up on the podium and got the bronze - metal was placed around his neck. Shanie was next finishing second, and receiving the silver metal. Me, well.... got fourth. No podium for me. But I so want to do it again because I messed up. Had I not have, I probably would have metaled too. What happened was I planned out my run in my head a thousand times and knew what tricks I was going to do, and when in the run I'd preform them. I started out, felt great,got my first trick in, switch 180, and saw the judges in the boat score it, "I could see them write it down". That pumped me up even more. I was in front of the crowd and cuffed up (riding backwards, facing away from boat), I was going to hold that move past the announcer, then!/?^%#!:!!(crash). The boat rubbed the bottom of the lake witch made the rope jerk. Worst wreck ever for me. I think I blacked out for a sec, and swallowed most of the lake too. Getting pulled over backwards onto your head hurts. I remember the boat driver saying the "wedge", (a part in back of boat the sticks down the give bigger wakes) hit bottom. I told him to put it up. And resumed riding. don't remember much after that. my hole plan went out the window. So next time NO WEDGE. Had it happened on any other trick it probably wouldn't even mattered, just like taking a roller from another boat. So now you can see why I have to do it again. by the way ... it took me 2 weeks to recover and i think I'm an inch shorter.

Freeriders ball wakebord contest.

Shanie,Chris,and I,(rob), went to Koppert lake and took in the free riders ball wake board contest. First of all camping there is the best. Lots of grass and trees, with little dirt and dust you get at a traditional campsites. And not much in the way of rules. It is just fun for everybody. We brought our little camp fire pit, that was the happenin place at night, all weekend. Nick Cardosa stole our golf cart and went joy ridin, it was hijacked too buy a group of girls also. We got it back when the battery died. love everybody up there, Nick too, great people for sure. We can't wait to do it again.
So I got to ride in the boat for wake skate competition with the judges, it was so fun. learned a lot, and saw some killer riding. We made new friends, and Quinn flew back with some friends to compete, he and his friends rode great. Ryan his friend took not a face plant, but a head plant, on the wake. (great picture), Once we knew he was alright we all laughed hard. Nice guy is Ryan, great rider too.
looking back now, I never thought we'd ride in competition there. Until I saw that we were not that far from the podium. I did think I'd probably place fifth or sixth, in the "master" class, that's the old mans class. And Chris fourth in "novice". Shane third, and Lukas probably second, at the free riders ball. So history would be made with us at the next event Don Koppert lake classic, in just three weeks.

Summer at Detroit Lake

We moored the boat at Detroit, and had an awesome summer up on the lake. Many new tricks were learned wake boarding, wake skating, knee boarding, and surfing. Surfs up! We took surfing lessons at Koppert lake, and we all just have a ton of fun surfing.
Most afternoons it is windy at Detroit, so we head up an arm of the lake and hang out with friends, swimming, eating, relaxing, and having fun. And when it dies down were back at the water sports. Sometimes riding into the night.
We feel lucky, because we were up there on some of the hottest days with no wind. We would just ride our hearts out, on butter(flat water).
Chris nailed an Ollie 180 and is ridding solid popping some big air. Shanie and I are close behind Chris,were able to ride cuffed (riding with your hands behind you, as if your handcuffed), and hitting all our surface tricks, and some air. All the boys knee board. Lukas with his 360's and Robbie with killer side slides, Nick and Parker riding hard, we all just had a great summer on the lake.

Alaska take two!

So what a great trip. Roy also took us to a gondola trip to heaven, we were at ski resort and when we got to the top we had lunch and on the drive down we watched a pod of beluga whales. We went to the animal reserve, watched a bear eat a elk leg, and a helper hug a moose. The boys loved it.

So to make a kids trip to Alaska one to never forget... we found a petal boat. It was on the shore of Roy n Kathy's lake at a house where the people moved out and left it behind. It was very dirty and we had to clean it before we could take it for a test drive. All was good to go and they petaled that boat all over. They found a boogie board to pull behind it. Taking the boat for one last spin was there wish, on the last day.

Alaska, part #1

OK, we planed a trip to Roy n Kathy's a year ago, wanting to take the boys to Alaska to papa's. Roy n Kathy have a great house in Palmer, on a lake.so the boys were soooo excited to get on a plane and fly to Alaska. watching the boys walk from the parking lot to the airport was priceless.they had a great time on the plane.
At Roy n Kathy's the meals were awesome. inside, or on the deck, bbq, or cooked, it was great.swimming was first on the bucket list. we all got in the lake first day, and had a blast.the boys swam every day.
Roy's Alaska tours first took us to kink glacier. killer air boat ride to the face of the glacier. the boat sported a big block chev injected. ear protection was manatory. it had plenty of hp. we saw Icebergs floating by and some moose hangin out. all the boys grabed hand size ice chunks from the river, and licked them. crystal clear they were. the glacier is massive, 6 miles wide an 20 miles long. if you look close you can see how it wraps around the mountain. like from Salem to Albany.

4th of July,lake Billy Chinook 2009

We had a great 4Th on the lake,and campin.
Got lots of tubing, surfin, wakeboarding,and wakeskateing, in for sure.Our little monster "Jet" surfed too. turns out hes a great camper too! Can't wait to go back.