These cuties have lots of ideas to share with you, as well! We made them their own page on the blog so they have their own space to share experiences, thoughts, and whatever else comes into their smart little brains. You won’t get “new post” updates when they post, their page will just be updated, so be sure to check it regularly when you come to the blog. We hope to add videos in the near future–guaranteed entertainment to come soon!! Thank you for all of your encouragement!
So the back of our boat has a HUGE swim platform. That was one of the highlights of this particular boat that we loved right away. Cockpit and swim platform galore! The former owners had a jet ski on the back. The jet ski didn’t come with the sale, and that’s okay because we’re going to need something to hold all 5 of us and the jet ski would not cut it.
We imagine we’ll need a dinghy to buzz around here and there when we don’t want to (or can’t) take the big boat. So that led us to do some serious dinghy shopping over the last week. Just love checking out dinghies. (And I can’t resist making dinghy jokes!)
Here is our 2nd boat purchase within the last few days. She’s perfect!!
Mike brought her home tonight (BARELY!!) and it feels so good to have one of our boats in our possession! Looking forward to lots of adventures to come!! Our excitement is growing by the day!
Our search for a new boat took us back to the great white north (again) last weekend. And this time, I’m happy to report, there was a successful ending!! We planned to look at 4 boats over 2 days and we just knew that one of these babies was going to be THE ONE!
So let me start at the beginning… our trip started EARLY Saturday morning, the day after we got about 9″ of snow, 36 hours after Mike rolled his ankle so bad playing soccer he was sure it was broken (it wasn’t), and about 20 minutes after I realized I set my 5:30am alarm for the wrong day (apparently I don’t learn from my mistakes).
After a long, slippery, snowy drive, we pulled into an equally snowy boat yard where Boat #1 was waiting for us. There was a plowed path leading to the boat and giant snow hills everywhere. The kids loved playing in the snow while we explored the boat–it was a great diversion for them after 4 hours in the car!
We love this boat model (it was the 2nd one like it that we saw) but the long ladder down the back just doesn’t seem like the ideal set up for our family. After an hour of checking it out (and drooling over the big sundeck) we were frozen (some of our hats and mittens were literally covered in ice) and we headed toward boat #2. Anticipating another 2 hours in the car, we were treated to a beautiful snowfall that extended that drive to about 4 hours. Good thing the kids are pretty patient (usually…kind of…) in the car!!
Boat #2 was in HEATED storage, so that was awesome!! It was the first of 2 boats that we would see of this particular model. We knew ahead of time that it had a lot of great features, and we were right! We loved this boat!! There was just enough space inside and outside, as well as an open cockpit in the back (as modeled by Hay-lady) that would allow our kids to get on and off the boat safely. Not to mention it has a HUGE swim platform, as well!
After that, we saw one more boat–also a great contender and also extremely buried in the snow! I thought we might lose poor Toby looking for the boat, but he seemed to love the adventure. The drifts were definitely taller than him, but most of them were partially frozen underneath, so we didn’t quite fall all the way through!
We topped off the night at the Play Place at McDonald’s. These kids needed to burn off some energy and the adults needed some time to think! The night ended pretty quickly for the littles while the rest of us watched the Olympics and dreamed of floating off in a new boat!!
On Sunday we started our day with a delicious breakfast. The kids’ menu said SMARTY PANCAKES so we just had to get 2 orders of the smarty pancakes (and one of the standard–chocolate chip pancakes). INNTW!! The conclusion was that they are very good, but Smarties in Canada are actually like pastel colored M&Ms–not exactly what we were thinking, but still delicious!!
After that we saw one more boat, but it wasn’t quite as impressive as the others, so we were anxious to start our long drive through the snow to get home. Yes, I said snow. More snow! They predicted another 5-8 inches for that day, so it was a SLOW GO heading home and we were thankful for 4-wheel drive!! But again, it was so pretty!! The kids talked the whole way home about wanting to stop and go sledding, but Mike and I were pretty focused on wanting to make it home safely through all that snow. As soon as we crossed into the US we found a hot-and-ready pizza and a sled hill!!
After a lot of discussion, our decision was actually pretty easy. One boat just seemed made for our family and the plans we have in mind. We have done A LOT of boat searching since August…this was actually the 18th boat that we looked at!! After seeing 20 boats total, we feel confident that this is the right boat for us–a 43 Carver Cockpit Motor Yacht. The sale is pending until May when she will undergo a mechanical survey and a sea trial to complete the sale. We’re so excited!!
We can’t believe after all these months of searching and hours and hours of pouring over internet listings, we finally have a boat under contract! We’ve got big plans for where this boat will take us, but while we’re still figuring out some of the details, it is such a relief to know this boat is just waiting for us (and I guess for the snow and ice to melt, too)! INNTW!
I’m guilty and embarrassed. Guilty of falling into the trap of always wanting more, newer, better things and embarrassed to show you what is lurking in the areas of my house where company doesn’t usually look. I work hard to get what I want, and then soon after getting that NEW thing, I have my sights set on something else. Like I need more and more to make me happy. I am also a piler. And a procrastinator. And also very sentimental. That seems to be a recipe for disaster, as it is so hard for me to sort through my “things” and either throw away or put them away. I just don’t know what to do with all that STUFF. So I just keep it there, right where it is. Or shove a little more in.
This is one of my focus areas to go along with INNTW. I have too much. We have too much. We need to de-clutter in order to de-stress and focus on what is important. We don’t need all this stuff. Our cupboards and closets are overflowing. So, slowly, starting in the summer, I started to get rid of the things we no longer need or use. I realized that it is freeing and refreshing to move it out of the way and open up some space. I found that I can actually make some good money selling stuff on facebook. Who would have thought? Sell the junk to fund more adventures (and not buy more junk)! With kids, that last part is hard…they seem to be on a constant search for more and more as well.
I spent a good part of today clearing out some of these areas. A little at a time. Just the things I know I don’t need or haven’t used in forever. It was exhausting and gut-wrenching and difficult and easy, but ultimately, it feels good to know that some of that junk it outta there!!
So thanks for going easy on me. And hopefully not submitting my name to be on an episode of Hoarders. I’m working on it. Slowly, but surely… Am I the only one who does this?
s
Okay, so mama of 3, full-time teacher, wife, dreamer, procrastinator….blogger is just not something I’m used to being responsible for quite yet. If this is going to be a fun adventure to follow, you’re going to need a lot more excitement, I get it… I will try to keep up with blogging much more regularly–I promise!!
But let me tell you, we have been BUSY! Relaxing, traveling, exploring, and making moves. Big things are happening over here, so let me fill you in on WHERE we’ve been in the last 6 weeks.
Our Christmas present to the kids was a surprise trip to Florida! Who doesn’t love a surprise trip to Florida, right? Especially when you get to fly in an airplane, stay at Grandma’s place on the beach, and play play play, right!? Well…after the first day it was cold. Like really cold. Like “windchills in the 30s, wear every sweatshirt you brought, turn up the heat, why did we come to Florida for this kind” of cold. But hey…we weren’t at home! And we got to freeze sail the seas on a pirate ship! And we ended the trip with a rockin dance party on the beach! Not too shabby…
Toby says his nickname should be “muscles.”
Drum circle tradition!
New Year’s sunset on the beach.
Sailing on a pirate ship for Toby’s birthday!
Sunset dance party on the beach. Awesome!
After freezing on the beach we came home and got right back to school. (I call all kinds of work “school” even though Mike doesn’t actually work in a school. Cray cray, I know.) Before we knew it, we had to take a break from all that hard work to go on our next adventure! We braved a snow storm to travel 3 or 4 or 5 hours to Shanty Creek for a weekend of expected cold temps to go skiing. The kids loved ski school, Mike wished he had more time to snowboard, and I loved watching them all have fun! Another fun adventure for all. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Herbon!
Ready to get Toby used to the bunny-hill. Big brother and sister just humored him, but they were anxious to get on the chair lift!
Just last weekend we took a spur of the moment trip to Ontario, Canada to check out a few boats. We sold our old boat last fall and this winter stuff won’t last forever, so we figured it’s time to get a move on and get serious about finding a new boat. There’s a lot more that actually goes into this part, but the basic idea is that we got to see the Georgian Bay with lots of ice and lots of open water. What a beautiful area! We would definitely like to explore this area more, especially in warm weather! Big lakes are just amazing, no matter what season! Other highlights were a wolf sighting by both Mike and I as one ran across the road right in front of us. (Did we just see that?!) We also took a side trip to Niagara Falls because INNTW!? The bummer of the trip was that it ended with pink eye for Toby and Mike. Ah, ya can’t win em all… CANADA!!
Georgian Bay
Niagara Falls
