Our Trip: Uncle Scott's Boat

Well, Ethan did not fall out of the boat…which is probably the worse thing I feared. A major feat considering it feels like the kids spent every waking moment that wasn’t raining or at Allyson’s on that boat!

 

I don’t think I got on the boat until Saturday. For one, there was a couple of days of rain. And, too, with Ellyson needing a nap, I had a great excuse to postpone the inevitable. Let’s say what I witnessed was far beyond what I could have possibly imagined. It was like a whole community of people with boats and about a million friends. I feel like they practically live on their boats….every day….every hour….of every week. Honestly, I’m not sure what any of them do for a living. I mean, boats do cost money. But I guess that’s just beyond my little landlocked world.

 

The first time out was a little disconcerting. Thankfully the boating community is rather welcoming and it wasn’t hard to let Ethan and Emry wander off with the other kids since several moms were keeping eyes out. But having a one-year-old on a boat isn’t huge fun. She’s nowhere to really wander and being surrounded by strangers is not her thing. But she did really well, I’ll have to say, and ate her fill of watermelon and cheese!

 

Thanks to my brother-in-law being hardly shy, just about everything on the lake is for grabs. I think this is actually his:

How many kids can you pile up?

 

This is a friend’s, which both Emry and Ethan got to try:

 

Jet ski!!!! Something even I haven’t done.

 

And this was borrowed from complete strangers:

 

I’m not sure what you call a unicorn/Pegasus but the kids thought it was awesome!

 

On the Fourth there is a boat parade. Most of the boats are somewhat decked out (no pun intended) with flags or red, white and blue bunting. But one lady claims she is reigning champ of decorating her boat and she may be right (all out “mermaid” with hundreds of balloons and bling everywhere), but Katey gave her a run for her money. Sturms like to compete…and Katey likes to decorate…and I had a headache from blowing up balloons! But I would venture to say the “Dunkin’ Donuts Boatnuts” was the most popular boat on the lake and should have been paid for advertising:

 

….either that, or we are all nuts!

Jay was the “coolatta” on the boat, but Emry got her turn in the costume later.

 

And even Ellyson got in on it with munchkin’s and whatever drops of coffee were left.

 

So even though Emry informed me on the way home that we should get a boat, I assured her pretty readily that was never going to happen. We’ll leave boating adventures where they belong: back in New Hampshire.

 

Jay, Curtis and Emry.