Show Boatin’

Spending Memorial Day weekend in the Poconos proved to be a fantastic decision on our parts because… we had an extra day! We’ve always arrived on Thursday night and left on Sunday late morning/early afternoon, but this time around, we planned it so that we could stay until Monday. It made a big difference since we didn’t feel like we had to turn around and go back home as soon as we got there.

So instead of waking up and getting ready to go home on Sunday morning, we all got up and got ready to head out to breakfast together. By the time we got everybody loaded into the cars, it was after 8:30 a.m. and Nora was NOT a happy camper.

Girlfriend was HUNGRY. She cried nearly the whole ride into town. The restaurant we normally go to was very crowded and had a 25-minute wait. Not normally a big deal, but when you have little kids waiting with you–HUNGRY little kids–nuh uh. We ended up driving down a little further to try out another place, where we were seated pretty much right away. In the meantime, though, I gave Hunter and Nora each a banana. Nora gobbled hers right down, but Hunter only ate about 1/4 of his before he handed it to me saying, “Here.” So Nora ended up eating the rest of his banana, too. Thankfully, it was enough to curb her hunger while we got into the restaurant and waited to be served.

It should be noted that Nora went on to eat approximately two pancakes, as well as 1/2 piece of my mom’s toast. That’s all in addition to the 1 & 3/4 bananas she had. Sometimes, I swear she has a hollow leg.

With full bellies, we went back to the house to enjoy what was another beautiful day.

The kid on the right is Kenny, he stopped by for a little while to visit with his dad. He was obsessed with Angry Birds, which was hilarious because he ended up overtaking the iPad to play it. Nora and Hunter watched him play intently. Also, you guys would be shocked at how well Nora can use an iPhone and/or iPad. It’s almost scary. Let’s just say that the “lock screen” has nothing on her.

Once the kids were down for a nap, it was time to do some relaxing in the sun on the patio.

Just another quiet day in the country…

Once everyone was awake again, we set out do something we haven’t done in the Poconos in a very, very long time. That morning, Vinny came out of the house and asked if anyone was interested in going to the lake to go out on his brother’s boat. All of us had jumped at the opportunity, so we got going as soon as possible.

I have very fond memories of Lake Wallenpaupack from when I was growing up. We’d take day trips to Vinny’s brother’s house to go out in the boat. The moms would pack a picnic lunch for all of us kids and we’d ride the boat over to a small island in the middle of the lake to spend an hour or two eating and playing.

When we got to Vinny’s brother’s house, Nora headed straight for the water–which means that I did, too!

She was having a ball wading into it, even when semi-rough waves came crashing around her waist. What a little weirdo. :)

Once the boat was ready, we strapped Nora into a life jacket, not knowing what to expect of her. First, I was shocked that she let me put the life jacket on her without a fight. Secondly, I didn’t know if she would be freaked out on the boat, or actually enjoy it. But all we could do was try!

It was Hunter’s first boat ride, too!

I’m happy to report that Nora absolutely loved it. She had the wind in her face, and the water was a bit choppy, but she just sat there, content in my lap, with little hints of smiles crossing her face every once in a while. Not a single complaint from her, not even when we were briefly waiting in line for gas at the marina.

We went back to Vinny’s brother’s house and after a short break, planned to go back out again. So we all piled back into the boat. Nora was going to ride with her daddy this time.

But then the boat wouldn’t start. Booooo!

So we piled back out of the boat and let Nora and Hunter romp around in the water some more instead.

Hunter had a ball “jumping” off of the dock.

Before we knew it, it was after 5:00 p.m. and it was time to head back to the house for dinner.

We made homemade pizzas–another first for us in the Poconos. :)

Nora loves coloring now, ever since Hunter’s birthday party. It’s so cute!

As we sat down for dinner, a huge thunderstorm came rolling in and it poured and poured and poured. We all curled up in the living room for the night and watched a movie. Another full and fun day!