Windsurfing.

We finally had a weekend to at home and we decided we wanted to do something fun and soak up the last few weekends of good weather. Sailing would have been a great option, but the water levels on the river are VERY low right now. In fact, they're so low we were really worried about our boat at the marina so we went to check it out...

The dock is now resting on LAND instead of water... 

This isn't our boat, but it's maybe 20 feet from where our boat is docked... Completely tipped on its side because the keel is touching the ground...

As we walked down the dock to our boat we were really nervous that our boat would be tipped on its side too. It's definitely not good to have so much pressure on the keel/rudder. Remember sailboats are a LOT bigger underneath than they seem... Everything below the white of our boat is below the water.

When we got to our boat we were happy to see it wasn't tipped on its side. Phew! Landon decided to put on his wetsuit, googles, and fins to see how much depth we had. I was nervous because technically you aren't supposed to swim in the marina because you could be electrocuted... Landon wasn't as worried as I was I guess.

Isn't he cute?! :)

He swam under our boat and said we had a few inches between our keel and the mud. Not a very comforting thought... Basically sailing isn't an option right now because we are literally STUCK in our marina until we get some rain. I'm going to start doing rain dances over here!

So there we were...a weekend at home with no plans and feeling a little stir crazy. I suggested things like hiking, camping, going to the drive-in movies, going to the science museum, etc. Landon suggested windsurfing lessons.

image via

Just what we needed... a new hobby! ;) I was pretty hesitant about it at first but then I decided that I would never know if I liked it or not unless I tried. We've watched windsurfers before and it looks dang fun! We talked it over for a few nights and I kept telling Landon that windsurfing wasn't exactly a "family friendly" activity... especially when we have young kids. Landon suggested the idea of baby wearing while windsurfing. Obviously he was being silly... but I guess it's a real thing... HA can you even imagine?! Crazy person!! :)

image via (25 things NOT to do with your baby... HA!)

So, we decided that if windsurfing was something we both wanted to do, we would just have to take turns and one of us would stay on the shore with the baby watching the other one surf. See, just because you have a baby doesn't mean your life is over, right?! (Please tell me I'm right!) Plus, how cute would it be to have our kids windsurf when they're a little older? (I talk about them like we have them already... I'm just such a PLANNER!)

You should read this! This little guy was only TWO when his dad taught him how to windsurf. Pretty dang cute!

Anyway, after some talking we decided that it would be kind of fun to take up a hobby that would be easy for us to do anywhere. We would be able to bring our boards camping or to the beach or wherever. It's nice to have variety because sometimes it doesn't make sense to take the big boat out (like when the Columbia River is one big sand bar!) 

So we signed up for a class in Hood River, the cutest little town in the Columbia Gorge that is known for amazing wind surfing/kite boarding. There were 6 other people in our class and we had two instructors. There really wasn't that much instruction before they gave us each a board and let us figure it out.

I was SO nervous!!

Landon, of course, picked it up right away. The wind wasn't very strong at first, but he was able to control his board and he figured it out quickly!

Landon getting up for his first time, like it was no big deal. I had to have an instructor hold my board as I got up! Haha!

I, of course, spent the first hour stuck in the bushes and rocks. It was SO frustrating and all I could think was, "I am NEVER doing this again!" There were a few other people stuck in the same place as me, so an instructor had to come out with a paddle board and tow us back towards the middle of the inlet. It was pretty embarrassing! But once I got back to the right place, I really got the hang of it and it was SOOO much fun! The wind picked up too which definitely helped :)

I'm so glad I married someone that is so adventurous and who pushes me outside of my comfort zone! Originally I told Landon I would kayak while he windsurfed... It looked a little too extreme for me. But now I'm SO glad I did it too! We both decided that wind surfing is definitely something we want to do more often. We'll see if we get as obsessed as we are with sailing, but I think it's definitely a possibility!

I sure love this boy and love our adventures together :)