Fab 4 continues.....

The vacation adventures continued for us!

The kiddos loved the lake so much that by the 3rd day they were literally tearing off down the back yard and making it to the beach with lightening speed, moving so fast that I couldn't keep up! 

 (and an aside here...the kids have, ohhhhh um, maybe 6 bathing suits each, but insisted in wearing the same one each day....go figure!)

We had such a great time renting that canoe for an hour the other day that we figured we'd pack a lunch and try a 1/2 day of it, paddling down the lake to explore the other end..  Sounded like a great idea for us.  Right?

Simone and I, all ready to paddle off on the lake.

 Stopping in a little cove to eat our yummy lunch.  So relaxing and such fun!

 

 

 Well you ever hear of the saying "the best laid plans"?  Yep, we fully understand that phrase now.  We set back out towards the end of the lake after our stop for lunch.  It seemed the current was a bit stronger, the winds a bit heavier than when we stopped.  Yet we paddled on, because we planned to paddle to the end of the lake and by golly, the end of the lake we were determined to see.

Yep,  no matter how rough the waves were starting to get, the white caps that appeared seemingly out of nowhere, we pushed on.  In hindsight we can say we should have turned around then and cut our losses but we didn't realize how rough it could get so fast on a lake.  As we pushed on we couldn't get the canoe to go in a straight line as the wind or waters, whatever it was, kept pushing us in circles.  At first we tried to let the flow take us where it wanted but soon realized that at that other end of the lake there was nothing but woods.  So no way to get help, just in case we needed it.  We decided to try to paddle across the lake as it seemed our only option at the time. As we crossed the seemingly endless lake the waves were crashing into us - often soaking the inside of the canoe, making me certain we were going to tip at any moment.  Adam and I exchanged weary glances and both calculated our own plan to swim to safety id need be, and then continued to paddle like crazy.

The good news, we did not tip - but we were so darn close with each huge wave that it was terrifying!   The better news is that a State Trooper just happened to be patrolling that end of the lake.  He pulled up aside our bobbing vessel so we could climb aboard to safety and tow the canoe back to the other, calmer, side of the lake!  Yes, it was all a bit embarrassing, having to be rescued on a 3 mile lake but such a huge relief to have the kids safe.  And now we can only refer to it as "the canoe incident" and hang our heads.  Hey, at least the kids got to go on a motor boat ride....right?

Thanks Officer, not sure what we would've done if you hadn't come along!

After "the incident" we thought it best to stay closer to the inlet where the water was calm.  (Besides, the Trooper told us he would not rescue us again, so we weren't going to press our luck!)

And the kids could swim and play in relative calm waters!

Then our days in Vermont had to come to an end  :(

But our adventures continued still!  We headed to Boston for a family gathering for the 4th of July.  It was great to see so many of my Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Cousins children!  The kids enjoyed it as well.  This celebration is held every year at the house my Dad and his 8 brothers and sisters grew up, a house I spent so much of my childhood in!

Here's a group photo with my parents

On the seawall....

The Boston skyline from Squantum, a view I grew up loving!  And still do!

Catching and blowing bubbles in the yard

It was a fun day in the suburbs of Boston and a wonderful way to end our Vermont part of vacation! 
Next....it's on to New Hampshire for more adventurous fun!
J

The Adventures of The Fab 4.....

So anyone recall those words  "Road Trip"  once uttered back in Spring of 2010?

Well "The Fab 4" (that's the new name I've given us...) decided to give that road trip thing another try.  This time we decided to drive our family to New England for vacation.  What? It's only a 17+ hour drive with two young kids (but no dogs this time....phew!) so why not.....we're crazy enough to give it another try.  It was a looong drive that consisted of approximately 325 x's  "are we there yet?",  "I' m hungry" and "I need to go pee pee.  Again", about the same amount of potty breaks and more junk food consumed than I care to elaborate on!

And now that we're home, safe and sound,  I am pleased to say it all went pretty well.  We did have our share of adventures and excitement, which is all part of a really fun family trip with lots of wonderful memories.  Now when I say adventures, well I mean we certainly had a few of them.  Or misadventures....could be called either.

Our trip started out pretty well even though I almost botched it by claiming how well it was going within the 1st  hour.  (But no, I learned that lesson already - see Spring break 2010 again....)  The kids fell asleep somewhere around the 2nd hour of the drive, all was peaceful in the car as we were drove along making darn good time.  And then....then the winds picked up, the leaves on the ground were swirling about, rain pounded off and on and tree branches were flying around.  Some lanes had big branches down which we had to swerve to miss.  I drove on, white knuckled, through winds so hard I thought we may take flight if we got hit at the right angle.  Onward we pressed at about 1/2 the normal speed wondering where this crazy storm came from.

We finally pulled off an exit to rest and stretch but once we got off there was just this quite darkness all around.  The stores were pitch black, the streetlights all out.... it was just eerily dark and quiet. So we moved on a few more exists and found an open gas station.  Turns out we drove through 3 tornado's that knocked power out and dropped trees onto the other side of the interstate. 
And so began our vacation.....

17+ hours later we arrived at my parents house in Vermont. were all a bit rumpled and a lot tired but very ready for our next adventures!  The weather was wonderful and the kiddos immediately wanted to head to the lake - before we could even get the suitcases out of the car! 

We played for a few hours, then briefly returned to the house for dinner and went back to the lake for some night time swimming and rock skipping!

Where do you suppose we could be found early the next day?  Yep, the lake.

We took a break from sandcastles and swimming to go for a canoe ride!

It was a fun adventure, the 1st time Sammy had been on a canoe and 2nd for Simone!  Both the kids loved it and it was a fun time seeing the lake from a different perspective!

The next day we decided to try to pick some strawberries at a local farm. But the berries weren't ready so we went for ice cream instead!

Back at the house we visited Grammie at her store.    And yep- her antique shop sure is named after yours truly.  If you are ever in the NorthEast Kingdom please stop on by and say hi!

Right next to her antique shop is a cool new "little library".  My parents decided to try this out and it's been a big success!  The box is left unlocked and people can borrow and/or donate a book whenever they choose.  There are children and adult books alike and it's been a big hit in their little village!

Pappa Bob and the kids!

One morning we ventured to a playground for a bit of climbing and swinging.

 And going around in circles.......

 Which Sammy took to the next level.....

 They drove a fire truck,

 

Climbed giant sand piles....

  And took a walk with Dad.....

 Which of course led to the need for some quiet play for a bit back at the house.  

Of course the quiet only lasted for a very short time and then we were back at the lake for some more swimming and sand play!

 There's much more to share in another post, like our canoeing incident adventure and our day spent in Boston.   Oh and a whole other trip to New Hampshire where we swam, boated and ran a 5K!

Until the next chapter....
J

My Baby turned 8!

My sweet Simone turned eight years old this month!  I cannot believe she can be that old already, time sure has flown.  She had a wonderful birthday week that included a fun day at camp with surprises hidden in her backpack, a visit from her grandparents, an amazing dinner at her favorite restaurant and a great pool party with her closest pals!  At one point she told me this had been the best birthday so far!

She got a lot of cool gifts and was thrilled with all her very big girl gadgets and clothes.

 She got her favorite foods-Dim Sum and bubble tea- and had her favorite cake-chocolate icebox.  My camera was all smeared up with somebody's fingerprints so I didn't get any of her blowing out candles  :( but I got Sammy-Wei's reaction to not having candles to blow out.  Absolute tears....it was so sad that the birthday gal allowed it to be re-lit for him to blow out!

 And then the pool party!  We had perfect weather and great friends for a few hours of swimming and food!  Simone was in her glory with all her pals running and splashing with her!

  Sammy had a blast as well and acted as the official party greeter!

 The boys filling up their water squirters. 

 Swim time!

 Cookie cake and popsicles for dessert.  (see where Sammy is, right in the action....JieJie was so patient)

It was a super fun week celebrating my darling dumpling's 8th Birthday!  And for the really big girl stuff...after her party she went with her grandparents for a week to D.C. to visit her cousins.  Boy oh boy did we miss her - but she had an amazing time getting really spoiled and having some important "alone" time with family.

Time sure flies and now I officially have an eight year old little lady!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY my sweet QingLu!  I love you!

J