Before we get to the answer, let me give you the rundown of our awesome weekend. We were fortunate enough to spend the Labor Day weekend camping on the beautiful Knight Island with our good friends, the Petersen's. Knight Island is a little island located in Northern Lake Champlain close to St. Albans. It is accessable only by private boat and it is GORGEOUS! Those of you who know me know that I am NOT a camper. I just don't see what all the fuss is about. Not my cup of tea - if you will. This, however, was amazing. I think it must have been a good combination of great company, beautiful weather, a perfectly picturesque campsite, and (mostly) well-behaved children. Whatever it was, it was very enjoyable (although I am still not a big camper - one two night excursion a year is more than sufficient for me).
This is the view from our campsite.
This is the view of our campsite from the Lake.
I can't remember the last time I was on a boat so I was a little nervous to board the Sea Goose and head out to our location. Not that I doubted Chase and Missy and their expert sailing skills - but I did have a little anxiety. Fortunately, the weather was cooperating perfectly and we were able to sail to the island with no problems whatsoever!
Justin and Josie. She is a BIG fan of boating. She loved all the rocking and sunshine. Plus, how cute is she in that big life vest - I mean really!?!
Clayton had been chomping at the bit to get on the boat. For a kid that usually gets pretty motion sick, I was impressed at how well he did.
Of course I couldn't get Noah to look at the camera.
Okay, I know I already put up one of Jo, but I just love how she looks in that vest. Cute and funny!
Enoch. Such a funny guy!
When we got to the island we had to anchor the boat and get all of our stuff to shore. There are no docks on Knight Island so you have to dock your boat and swim in. Chase was the first one off the boat because he had to tie it to a rock (as well as anchor it in back). Enoch just really wanted to go with him!
Clayton couldn't wait to get off the boat (ironic seeing as how an hour before he couldn't wait to get on it). So we told him that if he wanted to get off the boat he'd have to jump in the water and swim to shore. We didn't think he'd actually do it, but he did! He was so brave and mature on this trip. I'm really proud of him!
Showing us his muscles!
Here are a few other random pics from the trip:
This lean-to became a play area for the kids. It was also the stage where Clayton would sing to us (over and over) 'Eye of the Tiger'. I'm going to have to get a video of that one of these days - funny.
Skipping rocks. Justin actually got a pretty nasty cut on his finger from one of those rocks!
Noah did have a few tantrums while we were camping. This one was particularly funny because he was unexplainably angry at two things - that little blue camp chair that he's sitting by (he kept picking it up and throwing it around) and the camera (which is why I just had to take his picture with it). It probably didn't help his attitude that all the adults were just laughing at him.
We went sailing around the island on Sunday (or, at least, that was the plan). The weather was so beautiful - warm and sunny and still. Unfortunately, when you are going sailing you need the wind. We ended up only going down to the tip of the island and coming right back (using the motor). I still enjoyed it though. There's something about working on your tan on a boat that is very appealing!
She wins the award for best behaved! Poor girl, we thought we had this amazing air crib for her that turned out to be only a little mattress. She ended up sleeping in a blue plastic rubbermaid tub. She was so well behaved throughout the whole trip though - she is the BEST baby! Plus, she also wins the award for most fashionable while camping!
When I asked Clayton what his favorite part of camping was, he said, "The tent!"
S'mores. Yum!
On our last night, the wind started to blow pretty hard. It made all of us a little nervous because we had sailed into our spot so packing up and leaving in the strong wind posed an interesting set of problems. While the adults packed up, these kids sat in the lean-to and watched a movie (what did people do before portable DVD players?).
When I look back at these pictures now, it doesn't seem that bad, but getting out of our campsite was tricky. The waves were crashing pretty hard and the rocks under the water were covered in moss - which was tricky to navigate without the added difficulty of the waves. Fortunately, Justin, Chase, and Missy were able to load everything without getting anything wet (well, except Noah - Justin took him out to the boat on his shoulders and he slipped on the way out - Noah was only wet up to the knees though).
Once we were all safely on board, Chase decided that the best way to get out was going to be to use the motor. The motor, however, never started. So, new plan. Unhook the anchor and sail around in a semi-circle - come back for the anchor and then head to the dock. Yeah, that didn't happen. The boat was rocking so hard and the wind was blowing so much that the boat almost crashed into the shore! So Chase jumped ship and was pushing it back to shore while Missy tried not to let the rudder fall off the back of the boat and Justin tried desperately to get the sails up (and I tried not to let the kids throw up). I'm not going to lie - I was pretty freaked out. Missy kept saying, "We're fine. We're fine." I'm not sure whether she was saying it for my benefit or hers, but I really appreciated her optimism! Once we got the boat pushed away from the rocks and everyone was back on board, Chase decided that we were going to abandon the anchor. So we did. We left the anchor by Knight Island (although we are hopeful that someone will be able to get it back for the Petersen's).
After the initial terror of getting away from the island and out in to the water, things got significantly better. The boat was still rocking pretty hard, but we were making good time with the wind. We don't think we could have made it back any faster with the motor! About halfway back Chase admitted that he had never sailed in water this rough before (he'd actually told Justin that earlier but thankfully neither of them told me this). I think he did a dang good job! Once we were away from the rocks I felt pretty safe and confident that we were going to make it to shore in one piece! Well done Captain!
It was a relief to get to the dock and get off the boat. It was a great weekend and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but those last few hours were kind of stressful. (Truthfully, it's been two days and things are still rocking for me a little.) So thanks Petersen's for making us a more adventurous group! It was a great use of a three day weekend!
**No, I didn't forget. The answer to the riddle is 3 out of 5. Me, Noah, and Justin lost it (in that order). I lost it before we actually released the boat from the anchor, Noah lost it in the cabin shortly after I did, and Justin lost it about halfway back to shore. The surprising thing is that Clayton, who can throw up a with minimal motion, and Josie, who (let's face it) barfs all the time were the only two who were in control of their breakfasts! And the biggest kudo's to Enoch - who not only didn't throw up but sat in the cabin watching a movie and snacking while all around him people were turning green! Amazing!!!**
Josie got a Bumbo! Well, we're borrowing one. She looks so cute sitting in it. This is the first day we got it so she's gotten better at sitting in it since this picture, but she looks so big and cute!
Clayton has started soccer. They don't do league soccer out here for kids Clayton's age - which makes me sad - but they do something called Kinderpro soccer. Basically it's a bunch of kindergarteners who spend 20 minutes every Saturday learning basic soccer skills and then spend 40 minutes scrimmaging other kindergarten teams. Clayton is on the blue team. He loves going to soccer. The first game was a little rough for him (he's a perfectionist so it was rough when he wasn't doing as well as he thought he should be) but his second game was great! He got right in there and did what he'd been taught. I'm so proud of how hard he tries and how well he's doing!
The second "game". Clayton was much more aggressive. He's one of the smallest kids on the team but he works so hard. I'm so proud of him!
I don't know what face he's pulling here, but I love it - he's seriously so funny!
Clayton's good friend Vihit is on his team. He actually knows quite a few of the boys from school.
In true kid style, it's more like 'clump' ball then soccer, but still fun to watch.
Finally, Noah! Potty training has been a big success! Hooray! We are currently 3 days accident free and (my favorite thing) he's started taking care of business all by himself! I'm hoping that in a few more weeks we'll be completely done with the potty 'training'! We had a rough couple of days at the beginning but things have been getting better and so I'm a happy camper right now! We are also night training him as well - that's a completely different frustration but he's even doing well with that. He has accidents every once in a while at night but he wakes up dry more often than not. I'm really proud of my Noah Boah Man!
So that's what we've been up to lately around the Smith house. I realize it's not the most exciting stuff, but we're just loving our life right now and enjoying the beginnings of our beautiful (and last) Vermont fall!
