"Deck the boat..." Part 2!

Frank took the dinghy out after dinner to try to get some better pics of the lights. :)

"Deck the boat with boughs of holly..."

We made an epic trip to Target this morning to fetch some lights for the boat. While the kids napped, we got 'em all up! There are white up-and-overs, candy cane ropes around the top life line, a lit wreath, and a little lit tree. Not bad for our first boat decorating attempt!



The inside was decorated a little bit, too. Stockings and some window clings are up. Not much, but it sure is enough to get me in the mood!

May have to add some better "after dark" photos later...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pretty awesome day here aboard Lehe Paine as we prepared our first Thanksgiving meal on the boat. After the kids slept in (THANK YOU!), we had a lazy morning of a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and football. Katreina took a few moments to pick toys to give away this holiday season and I'm proud of her for making some very tough choices! Trent and I took a nice long walk outside before a light lunch and naps for the kids. Then I got down to business for our early dinner feast!

Getting to work on the deviled eggs first. Check out my new apron--thanks Mom!

I felt like I was always doing dishes, but with breakfast, lunch, and the need to keep the workspace free, I had to!

After the birds went in the oven, we all headed out for a little dinghy ride. The kids really wanted to see the ducks so we took some bread with us and gave them a little T-day feast of their own. We weren't out for long since I was a little anxious to get back and check on dinner. Katreina and I stayed put and drank some hot chocolate to go along with the "Hot, hot, hot, HOT CHOCOLATE!" song in Polar Express while the boys went on a little diesel run. It was all coming together!

In the home stretch...had to put the board over the sink as everything was coming out of the oven and off the stove. I can't believe it all worked out!

My awesome family! A 4pm dinner of Cornish game hens, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, deviled eggs, corn, cranberry sauce, and cranberry rolls. Pumpkin pie came out way later!

Frank served up the birds and we all ate LOTS of food!

I seriously loved being here in our little boat as a family, enjoying a holiday tradition. Katreina sweetly recounted a LONG list of things she's thankful for, including her family, her friends, her Aunt Brandi, rock climbing, her cousins...and it went on and on! I'm very thankful for my wonderful family who so willingly embarks on adventures.

After watching a Christmas movie, we had some pumpkin pie and the kids played. We had an especially fun game of hide and seek. In one round, it took Katreina, no joke, at least 5 minutes to find me. Hello! Our boat is not that big! Their bathroom is apparently a really good place to hide. ;)

All quiet now...and for that I am very thankful!

FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!!!

It'd be funny if this wasn't true! So we moved back in Saturday morning and decided to celebrate with a yummy dinner of steaks. It was pretty windy and Frank had to babysit the grill to keep it going so he stayed up in the cockpit while cooking. All of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I see orange flames shooting out of the grill, almost licking the canvas dodger. YIKES! And there was Frank, hopping around, trying to get the gas to shut off. He had to shut it off at the actual propane bottle. The flames subsided and Jay-Z boomed from the iphone...quite a party!

Sunday night he worked on the grill a little, cleaning out some of the vents, then slapped our chicken drumsticks on. Wicked windy again and a little flare-up! Not as bad as the previous night, though.

Not sure if I really want to put those burgers on the grill tonight...I like our canvas!

We're home!

We were up early this morning for a chilly 8:30am launch. The lift operators were awesome and hung the boat perfectly level with the ground so we could walk the kids on. They were happy to be back with their movies!

It took a few tries to get the engine rolling...it was 34F outside! After a little warm-up we were off and about a minute later we were docked at the slip. Everything went so smoothly. I immediately fired up the space heater but after 2 hours we're only up to 47F in here and that's with the boost from the stove. Frank has just finished up installing the heater and, wait--yep, that's warm air blowing!


Time to get warm, get some cleaning done, and re-stock the fridge. We're home!