More blizzard...

Mommy making a run for more "overnights" diapers for Sarah...

Daddy was having fun breaking up the ice around the boat! We had ice that was about 2 inches thick... And we already had 2 icebreakers running. Now we have 4...

Living on the boat in the winter...

I love the excitement that snow brings! Today, we got all bundled up to get outside to "play in the snow". Of course, this weather episode brought only a few millimeters that laid on a few leaves...

The kids still enjoyed catching the snow on their tongues, though.

We have been spoiled with very mild winters the past few years. I am afraid we may have a regular one this year. The past few years I haven't been too concerned about walking down a 250 foot icy dock with 2 kids and a geriatric dog. This year may be different!

One of the exciting things I have learned about living on a boat in the winter is how to be as prepared as possible. This involves having all the laundry and dishes done every night. If the outside water line freezes, we will have to rely on our 300 gallon tank of water reserve. We like to save as much of that for our showers.

I also have to think about having some meals in the freezer. This reduces the amount of dishes to wash when the water is frozen.

Now, if the weather looks warm (~42 deg. F or more) for the rest of the week, we can expect our water to thaw. If, however, a 2 week freeze is in store, we (i.e. Bruce) will have to run another hose out to our water source.

The most important thing to remember while living on the boat in the winter is to keep a sense of humor. I often fail on this one. I get grumpy... But, if I look at this picture of John's "hat head", I may do better...

Fishing with Daddy

Daddy likes to fish with the kiddos while I work. You gotta listen to the 2nd video -- so cute.

River hunting

Daddy took a break from painting our boat and decided to head up the river in his workboat with John, Sarah, and Dusty. Dusty loves to go hunting via boat!

Momma does cry...

Good old Dusty... I 'rescued' him from the SPCA in 1996, when he was 10 months old. He was my best buddy in my single days...He ran 20 miles with me when I trained for a marathon in 1998...He was a great step-brother to my husband's furry child...He protected our boat from crazy jet skis by chasing them in the water...He helped raise John, often allowing the then toddler to poke at his eyes...
Then, Sarah was born and we were no longer docked at a private residence with a large yard. Getting my senior pup down the 300 foot dock...with an infant and 3 year old...in the winter...several, several times per day while daddy was at work... was a bit much for this momma.
Off to Grandpa's house he went, and has been for almost 2 years. But now, Grandpa is retiring south soon, and hopes to sell his home (without worrying about a dog...)
What a trying time! We tried to find friends who may be able to take Dusty, we called rescue operations...no such luck for a senior dog. I called the SPCA. The nice woman on the phone assured me that they are a "no kill" shelter, euthanizing only the aggressive animals.
Off to SPCA I went on Sunday night. I was using my logical side. How was I going to do it with nearly the same issues, and an even older dog...?
I am not sure if it was the look on Dusty's face when I left, or the volunteer saying that he would be a hard placement...or that I was abandoning my loyal family member...but I was heartbroken, and I could barely contain myself. I nearly cried the whole way home. John kept asking what that noise was..."mommy has the sniffles".
I ended up calling the SPCA on Monday morning, but they were closed.
I left a message for the foster home coordinator, indicating that I would happily keep Dusty with me while he was advertised on their website. She called me back on Tuesday. No go as a foster home. In fact, she made it pretty clear that Dusty would certainly be euthanized because of his age! She added that he "wasn't doing well".
I plopped the kiddos in the car and was back to the SPCA in less than an hour. Thankfully they didn't charge me the adoption fee ($110) to get him back.
Dusty is home. I am relieved...

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

What a beautiful day! What a wonderful breeze, too! The gentle, Chesapeake Bay scent, the lapping waves, an occasional cheep from a lost chick..... ahhhh!

"MINE!!!" Oh... reality check... I am not relaxing on our sparkling clean deck with sweet tea in hand...

Today was a lovely day... and daddy's birthday! I admire daddy for his determination to restore our boat to her beautiful potential!

We celebrated by going out to the movies to see "Ratatouille" as a family. What a cute movie!

A Reminder of the 4th of July...

This evening we saw our neighborhood gaggle swim toward the mouth of our river for the evening (?), and remembered how confused they were on the 4th. Most of the homes along the river had some pretty loud fireworks, often sounding like gunshots. The ducks and geese, not sure where to go, swam back and forth.

Some milestones occurred on the 4th, also. John doggie paddled for about a minute independently. Yahoo! It's a step.

Also, John learned how to play kickball from some of his neighborhood buddies. What fun!

Daddy's Clever Work Space

I mentioned that we live under tarps. Well, they are really sails. Daddy created an awning (which he calls his 'bump-out') to protect the area he is painting. Can you believe that is wood?

My how our gaggle has grown in a matter of days!

John, after a playdate, insisted that he was not tired. He was only going to hold his kitty cat because she was lonely.

Time with Friends

Our neighborhood gaggle.



Our buddies Gabe and Ella played with us today while their momma went shopping (for me too!). I would much rather play with kids than shop! Sarah was "mothering" Gabe a bit. Above, she is handing him his "uce". John and Ella put a puzzle together.

Watching the sun set...

What a beautiful day! This photo was taken from our family room in the bow of the boat. We were watching the sun set. Unfortunately, Sarah wanted to climb out the open window... so the photo was a bit hurried.