Luna's Baublebilities

We went for a paddle last night for Family Home Evening. 

Getting ready was grueling - go borrow the truck from Mom and Dad, feed the kids FAST, load the canoe, realize that the life jackets are 12 MILES AWAY back at the new house where we just were to borrow the truck, hurry to get the life vests, take two vehicles (because we no longer have an extended cab truck) down to Norwood Pond, keep Maxx from drowning himself or getting run over by other boaters trying to put their bigger boats in or out of the water while we unload the canoe, convince Maxx to put on his life vest and take a pee break BEFORE we get in the boat, haggle over who gets to sit where in the canoe - sheesh.

I was very worried that  it was going to be an entirely unpleasant experience. Last time we took Maxx out in a canoe, he cried the whole time;

"Waaah!  I'm going to get wet!     Waaah!  We're going to tip over!      Waaah!  I don't like that rock/tree/duck/other boat that is half a mile away!  I think we're too far away from the truck, maybe we should go back!      Waah!  I'm scared of everything!"

Not this time.  Look at that grin!

It is wonderful that as Maxx matures and gains more confidence he is less terrified of new things.  It is also nice to know that even though he was terrified of his short first trip on the water last summer (he thrashed all night after that first trip, processing the experience) he was ready and eager to try it again this spring and was NOT afraid.  He's making so much progress!  They are giving him an award at school today for his progress in the Second Step character development program his teacher has been using in her classroom.  I am so happy that the school is starting early to help the kids, especially Maxx, learn how to interact appropriately as that is one of the biggest challenges for FAS kids.



 
Back to the paddle - It had been a hot day (I mean Really Hot for May - 85 degrees!) but the evening was cooling off and the water was warm and placid. 


The surface was smooth as silk and reflective as mercury.   The light was gorgeous, the sky  a rich blue, the sun was setting and a waxing gibbous moon hovered over everything. 

 





It was a good way to celebrate the eve of my Sweet Beorn's 41'st birthday. 

















Maxx even got a chance to try paddling.









And you know what else was fun?  We got to take pictures of it all (thank you, Molly)  because we finally got our family outing camera!  It's a waterproof Olympus Powershot D10.  So far we are liking it.  No one has actually submerged it yet, but it was nice to have it along and know that if it did get splashed or if some small person's exuberance got out of hand and tipped us all over, it wouldn't get ruined.  I'll post more about the camera later on as we learn more about it.

Right now, I have to go figure out how I'm going to cook a ham for dinner tonight.  Can you believe it - almost 20 years in and I've never cooked a ham.  Ham is for big occasions and Bry's mom always cooks them but that's what the man wants for dinner tonight so - I'm off for an adventure in the kitchen.

Here's a link to our camera on Amazon in case you need a handy waterproof family camera.  I did a lot of research on this decision and this seemed like the best possible choice for under 300 bucks.