Wipeout!

We went to the lake last night and spent some time on the boat with my father-in-law. I took my niece tubing, and she had fun at first until the water got too choppy. Then G joined me. He was a little apprehensive, but brave.

We started out and he didn't like how fast it was going. I started to slip, and I couldn't let go of the handle to signal my father-in-law to slow down or stop. G and I started yelling "stop!" and finally got stopped. I climbed more forward on the tube, but apparently a little [i]too far[/i] forward. The boat started up again, and within seconds, the tube tipped forward, and G and I fell off head-first into the water. Thank goodness for lifejackets! And that G had just finished two weeks of swim lessons and so was probably a little more prepared for going underwater than he would have been otherwise. He didn't stay unerwater long, in any case, according to Nick who could see it all better than I could.

He was not at all happy about it, though I did my best to be cheerful and humorous. He recovered all right, but I don't think we'll be able to convince him to ride the tube again anytime soon. After we got him back on the boat, I took another turn on the tube because I wanted to show him that it was still okay. I got thrown again. And then I took one more short ride. I hope at least that G can understand that, while getting thrown was not pleasant, he's still alive and okay, and that it won't deter him too much from taking those small risks in the future (though I by no means expect or want him to be a complete daredevil, haha).

Pictures from our Massachusetts Trip-- Third Installment

Taken from the deck of the ferry on the way to Martha's Vineyard:

 There were lots of seagulls; I had fun trying to capture them on film.

 G looking out over the water:

 And Z:

 Taking a ride on the Flying Horses Carousel:

 He looks like a regular equestrian...

 Gingerbread Houses, this pic and the rest following. A lot of these would make good puzzles :)

 All the men, in front of the Pink House:

 The Pink House:

 Just a really cool-looking tree we came across on our walk through the Gingerbread Houses:

 I think this one was my favorite...

Pictures from our Massachusetts Trip-- Second Installment

The boys and I met a lot of Nick's mother's family for the first time. G enjoyed spending a good deal of time with Nick's cousin, O.

 Lobster Night:

 Z kept leaning forward to take bites of his corn, rather than picking it up with his hands; I thought it was funny, so I got a pic:

 My Mother-in-Law watched the kids while the rest of us took a bike tour of Boston. It was fun. Our tour guide:

 My Father-in-Law, and Nick:

 Brother-in-Law and Wife:

 Sister-in-Law and Husband:

 And Me!

 If I'm remembering right, that tall structure is the supports for a new interstate bridge. Or something of the sort.

 Sailboats:

 A duck in the reflecting pool. The sign says "no swimming."

 Misty moorings...

 And seagulls!

Pictures from our Massachusetts Trip-- First Installment

Videos will have to come later, as they have to be uploaded to YouTube first so my parents can view them on their iMac.

The boys at the airport, watching the airplanes through the window:

 Here's G, ready to Fly! He really enjoyed looking out the window to "see the world."

 Z was happy enough starting out, until take-off time...poor kid was miserable every time we took off or landed, which happened a total of eight times the entire trip.

 Taking the shuttle to pick up our rental car (Nick's dad was also traveling with us). Z was so snuggly, I had to get a picture:

 The first night, the boys shared a Queen bed. In the morning, they looked like this:
Thankfully, the rest of the nights they each had their own beds.

 Our first day playing on the beach. It was raining a little and Z got cold, so he spent most of the time inside the beach hut:

 G spotted a "fish" out in the water. It turned out to be a horseshoe crab...

 Here's G, excited with his discovery:

 The underside of a horseshoe crab:

 The back, barnacles and all:

 That black spot in the middle is an eye...

 Here, my sons' hands touching the crab, shown here for scale. My mother-in-law said this was actually small for a horseshoe crab.

 Bye-bye horseshoe crab! Thanks for posing!