July 2012 - 4th Week

Here we go... the official account of the fifth week of summer vacation 2012:

Sailing:

The fifth week of the sailing program provided challenging conditions. The sailors had to deal with too much wind, not enough wind, perfect wind and biting flies, depending on the day. Four  consecutive days of high wind and/or threats of thunder storms have delayed the  launching of the Hobie. 


When we do launch the boat, we'll have a spinnaker to play with! The spinnaker arrived from the previous owner only a day or two before Hurricane Irene last year and I never had the opportunity to install it. 


The kids really enjoy dragging behind the Hobie. They jump into the water while underway and grab onto a rope that is trailing behind. They take great delight in this activity. They are so looking forward to doing it again. 


On Tuesday, Geoffrey's Sunfish II class was instructed to rig three of the club's Lasers. There were only three students that day. Geoffrey sailed away in Laser #4. He never wanted to sail a Laser. He still doesn't! In his first experience at skippering the speedy craft, he capsized three times and for good measure, he was hit in the head by the boom. 


The town is building a new marina so we had to pull the motor boat out of the water for a few weeks. That's OK as it gives me some time to make a few minor adjustments to the console. They called to say they are refunding one-half of the slip rental. That's nice!

Activities:

Our gang participated in an SCYC sponsored trip to the Eagleswood Amusement Park (just down the road from home). They had a great time as you can see in the accompanying pics.

First time behind the wheel!

Driving the big carts

The Big Slide

Mini Golf

Traffic Jam

The Hurricane

Bungee Jump Tricks

The Big Slide

Bungee Jump Tricks

Mini Golf

In the Cage

Flying High

Treasure Hunting and Crafting:

In an effort to keep everybody engaged in summer activities, I introduced the kids to Treasure Hunting (aka Geocaching). We reviewed the concept and discussed information found at geocaching.com. On Wednesday, we set off to find our first treasure. This first effort was a boys only affair as the girls went to make a craft at A. C. Moore. 


We needed to put the truck in 4 wheel drive mode to negotiate the deep puddles on the dirt road that led to the area where the cache was located. We found the location rather easily, but the treasure was not to be found. We looked around, but we weren't sure what we were supposed to find. After one-half hour, we decided to go home to see if we could get more information. The cache was less than three miles from home so we made it back in a few minutes. 


The girls were waiting for us. They crafted Olympic medals and were eager to show them off. They did a really nice job.


We told the girls about the treasure hunt. They wanted to participate too. We got a bit more information off the computer and went back to the site. Before we left, the kids selected items they could leave in place of the treasures they would find. We had a limited amount of time because Geoffrey's Mom had already arrived. She's taking him on an outing. His friend called to invite him to the Pinelands Festival. We only had one-half hour to look for the treasure. With five kids, I thought it was "in the bag." Which kid would find the cache? They looked and looked but once again, we were foiled. We had to leave without finding it.


They weren't deterred. We looked up five other caches that are within a five mile drive. We'll do another one in a day or two!  


After Claire returned home from her Thursday morning sailing class, we all hoped into the truck armed with information for three local geocache sites. The first cache ("A Place to Clear Your Head") was located in a very public place. We know exactly where the cache should have been, but alas, it wasn't there.

The gang proudly displays the ammo container that holds their first ever geocache!

With spirits still high, we set of on the second treasure hunt of the day. The gang struck it rich  at the "Treasure at the Forge" site. It was a team effort and the cache was loaded with lots of goodies. Prizes were exchanged and after a quick cooling off dip in the cedar stream, we were off to find the third cache ("Green Acres"). This too was in a very public place. Just like the first one of the day, we found exactly where the cache was supposed to be. Once again, we found nothing. The kids weren't disappointed since the only thing we expected to find was the log book. 


When we got home, they excitedly told Granny about their expeditions. They want to go out again tomorrow (Friday)! Matt and Sandi took them to the "Green Acres" cache site that we checked out yesterday. This time they found the treasure!

Happy Birthday Claire:

We celebrated Claire's 10th birthday with cheese cake and ice cream. Shelley makes the absolute best cheese cake on the planet! The ice cream was superfluous.

Happy Birthday!

Swimming:

Swimming or should I say playing in the water is one of our favorite summertime activities. We have enjoyed several locations on the bay and in the near fresh water of West Creek where the cedar water stream dumps into the tidal water of Little Egg Harbor Bay. We even got to go wading in cedar water while geocaching  in Stafford Forge.

Action on the Hibachi Court:

Early in the week, Claire and I played a game of Bocce Ball on the Hibachi Court. We had a great game with each player making some nifty shots. I'm very happy with how the court plays. So far, the only maintenance it needs is a weekly grooming.

On Thursday, Geoffrey and Madi played Josh and Rose. It was an exciting game. There were several lead changes and some magnificent shots. With Geoffrey and Madi holding a slim one point lead (6-5) Josh and Rose came storming back by scoring two points to secure a 7-6 win on the final tosses of the game.

July 2012 - Week 3

The third week of July and the fourth week of the Sailing program is in the books! We're having a great time with the kids. They seem to be having fun too! Here is the synopsis:

Sailing! 

The boys arrive by motorboat!

Sailing Away! (Claire)

Madi Underway!

Group photos of the SCYC classes were taken this week. Here are the pics:

Opti I (Madi)

Opti II (Claire)

Bay Kids (Rose)

Sunfish II (Geoffrey) The class decided to have their pic taken with Geoffrey's "cool Pirate sail!"

Concert:

Thanks to Sandi, who came over to take care of the kids, Anna Marie and I were able to go on a date! After dinner, we set off for the Ocean City Music Pier where we had tickets to see Arlo Gutherie. We didn't know it at the time we purchased the tix, but the show was part of the Gutherie Family Reunion Tour. Woody Gutherie's 100th birthday was celebrated only days before this concert. Many of his songs were included in the set list. It was a great show!

Arlo's Guitars

 Crabbing:

After taking a week off from crabbing, yes, it's been that slow, we were back at it this week. There is no noticeable improvement in our catch as we harvested just four crabs.

America's Got Talent:

The kids have enjoyed watching AGT for several years now. This year is no exception. It has become a ritual we all enjoy. The girls frequently play AGT. One performs and the other two judge. They take turns performing and judging. They are thinking about entering the competition one day. 

While watching the show on TV, they root for their favorites and give big forearm "X's" to acts that don't meet muster. When they were little, they liked to watch, but didn't really pick up on the name of the show. Everyday they would ask if the "Three X's" were on. This year they use the short hand "AGT" when discussing the show.

Swimming:

We're having another hot spell. With temperatures in the high 90s, the kids are especially interested in swimming. A new favorite spot in in the big creek, near the kayak launch area. I take them there on the motor boat. Anna Marie takes them in the car. Sometimes it's tough on the lifeguards (us). While in the water, the swimmers splash and have fun. It's a different story on land. Green head flies swarm around the lifeguards biting at every chance. 

Treats:

As you might imagine, the kids eat a lot of food! They particularly like treats! Once or twice a week we indulge them with special treats. 

Peanut butter and mint Oreo cookie shakes!

This week, the girls attended an Ice Cream Social at the yacht club. It gave the boys an opportunity to try their hands at creating a special ice cream concoctions of their own.

Boy were they good!

Thursday evening was Funnel Cake night. Rose was the official "Powder Monkey" (the powder monkey shakes the powdered sugar on the funnel cake) but she graciously shared her duties with Madi and Claire. 

Musical Theater:

The girls had a great time at the opening night production of "Cinderella" by the Ocean Professional Theater Company. They had a great time and are ready to go to another musical!

When they arrived back home, they couldn't stop talking about the experience. They loved the music, the theater and Cinderella. They particularly liked the part when Prince Charming came to their seats to see if the glass slipper fit. As you may have guessed, it didn't, even though they are princesses. Prince Charming was particularly enamored with Roses's flowered sandals and told her so. She appreciated the compliment!

The boys chose to stay home, as they had no interest in seeing the play. We watched the Phillies on TV instead.

Action on the Hibachi Court!

Hibachi:

As reported last week, the Bocce court is finished. The kids have never heard of Bocce but they learned to play the game rather quickly. On Thursday, Josh asked the others if they wanted to play a game on the Hibachi Court. All agreed and the boys defeated the girls 7 - 0. Bocce Ball on the Hibachi Court... you gotta love it!  

July 2012 - Week 2

Sailing!

Rounding the mark!

Sailing continues at  SCYC. Geoffrey  has no interest in racing yet he believes if he learns the rules of racing, he'll be a better sailor. His group is learning to race, so he's having a good time.

Claire and her sailing buddies decided to participate in the Green Fleet Regatta at the Barnegat Yacht Club. It was a windy morning. She shipped a lot of water, got tired of bailing and bagged it. In the final race, only 16 of the 36 competitors finished the race!

Claire sails "Hale Storm" in the Green Fleet Regatta at BLYC

Madi has been out on the water several times. She says she likes it.

Rose continues in the Bay Kids Program. She loves it, especially when she gets to go swimming. She's become quit the water rat.

Green Fleet Regatta Skippers!

The Rides!

First ride of the night!

Anna Marie once again organized the SCYC trip to Fantasy Island. Claire spent the whole evening with her sailing buddies. Rose talked Fodder into talking her on the Bumpity Cars. She steered the car while Fodder worked the pedal. When Fodder offered steering advice, she said, "Watch and learn, Fodder... watch and learn!"

"Watch and learn," said the driver to the pedal operator!

First ride of the night! 

Then she talked Fodder into taking her on the Tilt-a-Whirl (aka Twister). Geoffrey likes that ride, so he came with us. Rose giggled and screamed the whole time. Geoffrey laughed the whole time as well. Fodder did not have fun! 

In addition to the rides, Geoffrey and Josh set about winning prizes for the girls. They cleaned up! All told, the kids came away with nine stuffed animals/balls and one token for a prize to be named later! 

Trying to win prizes!

Rose and Emma 

Swimming!

Searching for treasure!

This week, in addition to swimming at the yacht club, we went for a dip at the Surf City Bay Beach.

Sneaking!

At the Bay Beach!

Journal Writing

The kids are keeping journals of their summer adventures. I'm not sure they like the project, but their writings will be useful for several projects that I'm working on.

Their entries are not diaries, so I can share some of their thoughts:

On July 3, Claire wrote:

I went sailing today!We practiced racing. I came in 5th in the first race and 3rd in the second. The starts were interesting. After the one minute mark, I started to get my boat in position. To control the boat, I could luff to slow down or stop; sheet in to go faster. There were nine boats. That made it exciting on the starting line. 

Racing was fun. I registered for the Green Fleet Regatta in Barnegat Light. Hopefully, I won't come in last.

On July 9, Josh wrote:

Today, Geoff and I played Xbox. Then for the first time, instead of going to the yacht club by boat we went by car. Then when we got there we had lunch. When I was outside, I found a ring and gave it to a worker at the yacht club. She said someone was looking for the ring. When I got home I played MineCraft. A little later, Geoff came home. He started playing MineCraft. Then we ate dinner. We played MineCraft a little longer then played DS. Then watched TV until bedtime.

On July 5, Geoffrey wrote:

... When Claire got home, we all went to Party Island. Claire, Josh and I went out deeper. Fodder waived us in. Claire got in first. Josh and I came in very slowly. We were busy talking.

We had fun doing swim races using different strokes.

Party Island was fun. I'd go back again! 

On July 4, Madie wrote:

We baited and threw out the crab traps. Sadly, all of the crabs we caught were throw-backers.

I helped Granny made breakfast and I went shopping with Granny.

In the afternoon, we went to the movies to see Madagascar 3. Matt, Sandi, Rose and my Mom met us there. I liked the movie a lot.

We had a BBQ at Fodder's and I couldn't wait until the fireworks. The girls all piled into my Mom's car to see the fireworks from the end of the road. The boys stayed home to watch from the deck.

The fireworks were colorful. We were too far away to hear them.

Bocce Ball!

We finished building the Bocce Court this week. Let the games begin!

The Bocce Court (beach sand surface)

Anna Marie and I were challenged by the boys (grandsons Geoffrey and Josh), who thought they had the skills to beat us. After all, "Geoffrey has a pretty good aim," said Josh. This was the inaugural game and the old folks managed a 7 - 5  victory.

Crabbing!

The crabbing was so slow last week that we decided to give it a break this week. We think the heat wave may have made the water too warm and that the crabs are in the deeper, cooler water. We'll try it again next week although there isn't much chance that the water temperature will cool anytime soon.

July 2012 - Week 1

SAILING!

Prepare to be boarded!

Opti's in wind!

Claire is rigging "Hale Storm"

Madi is Rigging "Hot Pink"

Geoffrey is rigging the Pirate boat

Party Island!

SWIMMING!

To date, the swimming venues include the yacht club, Party Island and Granny Beach. The water is clear and warm! We use the motorboat to get to all three venues!

CRABBING!

The King Crab contest is in full swing! Unfortunately, the crabbing has been unusually slow this year. In a new twist, the kids voted to make teams this year. Rose and I are teamed together. We haven't done very well so far, but it's a long season!


Geoffrey and Josh are teamed together as are Madi and Claire. Both of those teams are tied for the lead with 5 1/2" crabs each.

SPECIAL ACTIVITIES!

The first week of July has been one of activity and fun. As a special treat, we all went to a matinee on the fourth of July to see Madagascar 3. Everyone loved it! The movie was followed by a traditional BBQ. The evening was capped off nicely as we watched LBI fireworks from the back deck.

Pay day line

PAY DAY!

The kids get an allowance for helping Granny and Fodder with chores around the house. They usually save their money. Their accounts range from $30.00 to almost $100.00. Now that's savings!