Some friends of ours are moving this weekend up to Grand Prairie, so we've been trying to spend as much time with them this week as possible. We got together as a big group for a potluck BBQ on Monday night and it was there that the idea was concocted that we should go canoeing, since we have some canoes in our possession. Thursday looked like the best weather day, so we headed out to Ghost Lake and set sail. It was a bit breezy when we first started, but after a few strokes, our warm muscles insisted on removing sweaters. Lucy, as usual, was nervous, but we convinced her that it was going to be fun. Max loves playing 'canoe' in a box in our living room and saying 'paddle, paddle, paddle!' while he strokes the air with a spatula. He kept telling me that we'd have to bring bigger spoons for these boats. He was a bit disappointed that he couldn't paddle very easily in this boat, but enjoyed the trip anyway. We had 4 canoes out on the lake: Ian and Anna and their kids Petra and Kyle; Kristen and Brielle rode with Janeen; Keith and Amy Jeffries and their kids Brytan and Austin; and then our boat with the four of us. Austin is 18 months old and insists on learning purely from experience and not heeding his parents' warnings so after repeatedly being pulled back from the edge of the canoe, he finally went in and realized the water was cold and deep and didn't really like that.
On our trip back to the dock, the wind picked up significantly. We had chosen the biggest boat for ourselves, thinking we'd enjoy having the extra space, but not calculating the fact that it would be heavier and my huge arm muscles are not quite adequate. We would get SO close to the dock, and then just get blown back half-ways across the lake. The kids were getting hungry, and were not too pleased with the back and forth. Finally a family in a motor boat came over to give us a hand and towed us back in to dock. The kids switched over the motor boat and I hung on to the ski-rope and was pulled as close as possible. We got our canoe on shore and then ran down the dock to help retrieve our kids. Because of the wind, the motorboat had a hard time getting to the dock as well and again the kids were frustrated with the back and forth. We finally all made it safely back to shore and had a quick lunch and laugh in the truck, safe from the wind. A few of the kids dipped their feet in the lake and then it was back home for naps. It was a pretty fun trip, with only a few minor cuts and bruises. (Mostly to me. As we were loading the canoe down the dock to go in the water I slipped and cut up my foot. Nothing a Diego bandaid and some polysporin can't fix though. Fortunately, Tyler tells me my fall was completely ungraceful, so at least I have that to comfort me.) The worst part of the trip was when I was able to take 2 shots with our camera to have it close up and tell me to change the batteries...which I had none of. At least I got those two shots.
Some friends of ours are moving this weekend up to Grand Prairie, so we've been trying to spend as much time with them this week as possible. We got together as a big group for a potluck BBQ on Monday night and it was there that the idea was concocted that we should go canoeing, since we have some canoes in our possession. Thursday looked like the best weather day, so we headed out to Ghost Lake and set sail. It was a bit breezy when we first started, but after a few strokes, our warm muscles insisted on removing sweaters. Lucy, as usual, was nervous, but we convinced her that it was going to be fun. Max loves playing 'canoe' in a box in our living room and saying 'paddle, paddle, paddle!' while he strokes the air with a spatula. He kept telling me that we'd have to bring bigger spoons for these boats. He was a bit disappointed that he couldn't paddle very easily in this boat, but enjoyed the trip anyway. We had 4 canoes out on the lake: Ian and Anna and their kids Petra and Kyle; Kristen and Brielle rode with Janeen; Keith and Amy Jeffries and their kids Brytan and Austin; and then our boat with the four of us. Austin is 18 months old and insists on learning purely from experience and not heeding his parents' warnings so after repeatedly being pulled back from the edge of the canoe, he finally went in and realized the water was cold and deep and didn't really like that. 
On our trip back to the dock, the wind picked up significantly. We had chosen the biggest boat for ourselves, thinking we'd enjoy having the extra space, but not calculating the fact that it would be heavier and my huge arm muscles are not quite adequate. We would get SO close to the dock, and then just get blown back half-ways across the lake. The kids were getting hungry, and were not too pleased with the back and forth. Finally a family in a motor boat came over to give us a hand and towed us back in to dock. The kids switched over the motor boat and I hung on to the ski-rope and was pulled as close as possible. We got our canoe on shore and then ran down the dock to help retrieve our kids. Because of the wind, the motorboat had a hard time getting to the dock as well and again the kids were frustrated with the back and forth. We finally all made it safely back to shore and had a quick lunch and laugh in the truck, safe from the wind. A few of the kids dipped their feet in the lake and then it was back home for naps. It was a pretty fun trip, with only a few minor cuts and bruises. (Mostly to me. As we were loading the canoe down the dock to go in the water I slipped and cut up my foot. Nothing a Diego bandaid and some polysporin can't fix though. Fortunately, Tyler tells me my fall was completely ungraceful, so at least I have that to comfort me.) The worst part of the trip was when I was able to take 2 shots with our camera to have it close up and tell me to change the batteries...which I had none of. At least I got those two shots.
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