Dec 4, 2010

Andrew and I decided to go out and watch the Virginia Tech vs Flordia State game on Dec 4, 2010. We were all enjoying the game and making lots of funny faces at each other.  The final score for the game was #12 VT vs #20 Florida State 44-33. As we left Rodger Brown's Sports Bar in Olde Towne Portsmouth, VA we were greeted with snow flakes. This was the first snow of the season.

October 5, 2010

Last week we had lots of wind and rain. The temperature outside was in the mid 80's so the rain did not feel bad at all. We had a tropical storm coming up from the south and it took 4 days for it to pass us by. On Thursday the wind and rain was at its peak. We were under a tornado warning from the hours of 7am until 1pm. As the wind and rain picked up in the morning the kids and I added 3 extra lines to the boat and filled up our fresh water tank as precautions. Sabastian raced down our dock and over to B dock to catch our neighbors cooler which got picked up from the wind and caught it with a net. He also caught Paisley's raincoat which went flying by as well. During the rescue of Paisley's raincoat he lost his net and had to go get another net. So after it was all said and done Sabastian rescued 3 items from the water. It was a very successful morning.

Sabastian's entry on Nauticus

I liked going to Nauticus because of the sharks, horseshoe crabs, a diving claw, and the USS Wisconsin. I thought the sharks were cool becuse they were small and long. The horse shoe crabs liked to cling on to each other. I thought the diver claw was cool because you did not have a timer. The USS Wisconsin has big guns and cool knots. That is why I liked going to Nauticus in Norfolk.

The Run Away Hot Dog by Sabastian

One fine evening there was a big hot dog stand. A lady asked for a hot dog. The hot dog man gave it to the lady but, before the lady could touch the hot dog it jumped and said, "you can't catch me".The a girl saw the hot dog and started to run towards him. He jumped and got away. Then a dog smelled the hot dog and chased him around the tree. The hot dog got away. Then he saw mustard and ketchup and he ran to them and they made the best hot dog ever.

Sabastian's entry on Nauticus

Downtown Norfolk

I liked going to Nauticus because of the sharks, horseshoe crabs, a diving claw, and the USS Wisconsin. I thought the sharks were cool becuse they were small and long. The horse shoe crabs liked to cling on to each other. I thought the diver claw was cool because you did not have a timer. The USS Wisconsin has big guns and cool knots. That is why I liked going to Nauticus in Norfolk.

Sabastian's entry on The Norfolk Botanical Gardens

Bald Eagle flying to its nest

I liked going to the Botanical Garden in Norfolk,VA. It is way bigger than Lewis Ginter Botanical gardens. I liked the Bald Eagles,the plants, and the fish. I like the eagles because they are big and cool. I like the plants because they are beautiful and big. I like the fish becuse they are big and small. I liked going to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens.

Sabastian's entry on shooting a BB Gun

I liked shooting a B.B. Gun. I thought it was heavy. It has a good average of hitting. I also thought it was fun to make targets. They were big and small. The gun was also really big. I had a fun time shooting the B. B. Gun.

Sabastian's entry on Lighting the boat

I liked lighting up the boat because I thought it was cool. I thought stinging the ball lights over the top of our flybridge was cool. We put string lights on our handrails on the side of the boat. We also put sting lights on the back. That is why I thought it was fun to light up the boat.

Paisley's Birthday Day party on Nov 20, 2010

Saturday my friends come to my party. We took my friends across the Elizabeth River. We went to MacArthur Center mall. I took them to the Hello Kitty store. Then we had a quick lunch before going to see Harry Potter The Deathly Hallows Part 1. It was the best movie in the world.

Looking out over the Elizabeth River

Walking through Downtown Norfolk

Baked by Paisley Decorated by Andrew

Hello Kitty story by Paisley

Kitty and I were spending some time together in a meadow. Kitty fell asleep. The kitty snatcher came but, I fought them off. But, when I was not looking they took her away. So I got on my bike and caught up. I leaped on for dear life. I got in and woke up kitty. We made it to my bike. We went home for dinner. Kitty and I went to bed.

The End

Paisley's entry on The Norfolk Botanical Garden

The Norfolk Botanical Garden is bigger than Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. In the Norfolk Garden there is so much to explore. A tram takes you around the gardens and tells you some information. It is so much fun. There is a kid's garden and a japaneese garden.

Nov 15,2010

So life is running a lot slower these days. My body has slowly entered the sleep/pain mode over the last 2 weeks. Thankfully, my wonderful husband has been working from the boat so I can get some much needed rest. The kids are also doing a wonderful job of staying on top of school work and boat work. Hopefully, I will be back up and running at my normal speed soon.

Nov 10, 2010

Children's Museum

Children's Museum

Bald Eagle

We have been busy exploring the towns of Portsmouth and Norfolk since we arrived here on Halloween. The kids and I did a bike ride into Olde Town Portsmouth. We rode down High Street (the main street of olde town). We explored an art gallery, a nautical themed store and stopped for coffee at the information booth at the High Street ferry docks. Our next trip into Olde town consisted of stops at the Children's Museum and the post office.  Our most recent trip into town included a trip to the City of Portsmouth Library.  The kids loved the fact that the children's section was in the basement!
The kids and I also visited the Norfolk Botanical Garden's twice since we have been here in town. Sabastian spotted a bald eagle on our last trip! The kids are already asking for another trip to the gardens and we are definitely going to go back. The gardens are beautiful and there is still so much more to explore.

Paisley and Hello Kitty

On Sat Nov 6, 2010 We ventured over to MacArthur Center Mall to wish Hello Kitty a Very Happy 50th Birthday! Miss Paisley is a huge fan of Hello Kitty. We took the kids to our favorite restaurant when we use to live here back in the late 90's called the Grate Steak in Norfolk, VA. It was a fun evening out at one of our favorite restaurants.On Sunday Nov 7, 2010 Andrew and the kids took a ferry ride over to Norfolk to explore by bike and ended up at Nauticus and the Battleship Wisconsin.

Paisley's entry on Trick or Treating

My family and I went Trick or Treating. It was so fun. I even got to walk through a small forest. The kids all went trick or treating it was like no other. The next day we moved our boat to Portsmouth, VA. I got to see Navy Ships. It was so cool. We had fun.

Sabastian's entry on Trick or Treating

One Saturday in Deltaville, VA. I went to the Deltaville Museum. I got into my costume and then got my bag as we went to trick or treat the festival because, the houses are to far apart. We went from table to table and said trick or treat. We also went into a dark but not so scary forest. When the forest was over we went on a hay rack ride where people jumped out and tried to scare you. I got a lot of candy and had fun.

Nov 1, 2010

Leak

The boys

The Wasp

Independence

Submarines

USS Nicholas

Baked by Paisley Decorated by Sabastian

Container Ships

Tugs and Barges

Coal Piers

Norfolk,VA

Yesterday, we left Norview Marina at 9:45am. It was a beautiful day to be on the water. We had John aboard with us for the journey. My parents and Andrew's parents came up to Deltaville,VA and drove our vehicles down to Portsmouth,VA for us. Our journey was going very well. We had nice calm waters and the sun was shining bright. Paisley was down below baking a cake. Sometime around noon I went down below to check on the kids. The waves were kicking up a bit from the west and I wanted to make sure the cake was out of the oven. Sabastian was laying down in the forward stateroom. As I walked in I noticed that water was coming in through the anchor locker. I opened up the hatch and noticed that where we had fiberglass repair work last fall did not hold up. I called for Andrew to come help find a solution. Meanwhile John was captaining the boat through the rough water. See above picture for Andrew's wonderful idea to stop the spay of continual water entering our boat. Paisley and I stayed below in the forward stateroom to keep an eye on the situation. Sometime around 2:00pm the water calmed down and we had nice weather for the rest of the journey. We arrived at 4:30pm at Tidewater Yacht safe and sound.

October 28,2010

Primer

sanding before painting

 new paint

On Oct 13th and Oct 25th the aluminum posts got some much needed attention. This was a family effort and everyone participated. This work included clearing off the aft deck, sanding and scraping the posts. Then painting on a coat of primer and then painting one to two coats of brightside polyurethane. The posts sparkle now!

Oct 28, 2010

So our biggest project to date has been the installation of our new aft head. Andrew and Jay spent 2 days working on installing new black water tubing,replacing a broken Y valve, cutting starboard to cover all of the old holes in the fiberglass, as well as working on all of the wiring required for our fancy flushes. Andrew spent a third day to actually get the head installed. I am very thankfully for all of their hard work. They both did an excellent job!! I am proud of both of them.

Electric panel

Andrew and Jay working

Elizabeth installing the flush panel

Jay hard at work

New Head

sump pump Oct 9, 2010

Andrew and Sabastian had some not so much fun work in removing the sump pump under the forward stateroom bed. We noticed that the forward shower was not draining properly and decided to investigate the issue. We had to remove all of the bedding to get to where the sump pump was located. Sabastian climbed down into the bilge area and started to remove the screws. When the smell got to strong Andrew took over. The pump was successfully removed and then we were off to Hurd's Hardware to locate a new pump and switch. The installation of the new pump and switch went well and now the forward shower drains properly.

VA Boating Safety Course Oct 16, 2010

The VA Boating Safety course book covered know your boat, before getting underway, operating your boat safely, the legal requirements of boating, boating emergencies what to do,  and finally, enjoying water sports with your boat. We woke up early on Saturday to head down to the Mathews County Rescue Squad to take our test. We watched videos and had an answer question segment after each chapter. The class began at 8:30am and the test began at 2:45pm. The kids finally finished with some help around 5:00pm.  The test was an open book multiple choice test. The power squadron that was supervising the class was very patient with the kids who needed a little extra help  in some of the areas. All four of us successfully passed the VA Boating Safety course! We are all now legally certified to drive the boat.  Now we have to put our knowledge to the test and do our best to follow the rules of the road.

Sabastian's Entry on Va Boater's Test

I had a boating test on 10/16/10. You had to watch little videos and answer questions and you had to sit in your seat for more than an hour. We left our boat at 7:00am and stayed until 5:00pm. It was long and boring but I passed and got my boating certificate. Now I am legal to drive a boat. I liked chapter 6 best of all it was about having fun and being safe on the water.

Paisley's entry on VA Boating Class

Early one morning I woke up and went to the VA Boaters test. The class had to go over the booklet and after that I took the test. Everybody passed including me. I never have to take the test again because the card is good for life. My favorite chapter is chapter 6. It was about having fun on the water like fishing, hunting, and jet skiing.

Paisley's entry on life on a boat

My version of life of living on a boat. When I wake up I eat breakfast. At 9:00am I have school until about 2:00pm. After school we have fun like listening to a cool story on tape or maybe watching t.v. but the funnest thing to do is to swing on the rope. Do you want to know why it is the funnest thing to do? I will tell you. Because you get so close to the water but never go in the water.

October 5, 2010

Last week we had lots of wind and rain. The temperature outside was in the mid 80's so the rain did not feel bad at all. We had a tropical storm coming up from the south and it took 4 days for it to pass us by. On Thursday the wind and rain was at its peak. We were under a tornado warning from the hours of 7am until 1pm. As the wind and rain picked up in the morning the kids and I added 3 extra lines to the boat and filled up our fresh water tank as precautions. Sabastian raced down our dock and over to B dock to catch our neighbors cooler which got picked up from the wind and caught it with a net. He also caught Paisley's raincoat which went flying by as well. During the rescue of Paisley's raincoat he lost his net and had to go get another net. So after it was all said and done Sabastian rescued 3 items from the water. It was a very successful morning.

Sabastian's Entry #4

I am living on a boat. I will tell you why i do and do not like to live on a boat. I like to was and rinse the boat. Also, I like to tie knots. I really like to go fishing. I do not like to do the dishes.

Sabastian's Entry #3

My favorite job is to make knots. First, I think it is fun and entertaining. Next, it helps in a part of tying up the boat. Finally, it is cool to learn trick knots. I have already learned to tie the French Hand Cuffs. That is why i like to do knots.