After arriving at the marina, we had a lunch of barbecued hot dogs and then explored the marina. One of the treats that we give ourselves, and this time Cohen, is an ice cream if we can find it. The little office/store at the marina had a cooler of ice cream bars and Cohen enjoyed picking out his. For the afternoon, we built with legos, and had a potluck dinner of appetizers. When we arrived at the gathering place for meals, Cohen spotted the other kids that were with us and yelled out "Friends!" as he took off running toward them. The rest of the weekend was spent playing with them whenever we were all together.
While we were on one of our walks, we spotted a seaplane tied up to the dock. Cohen was very happy to see it and we were able to get a picture of him standing next to it. That evening Cohen crawled into his sleeping bag with his new Jake the Pirate pajamas that Grandma and Grandpa found for him. It did not take long and he was sound asleep. A very successful first day!
On Saturday, Cohen did some more lego building and then joined Bob and the other kids to build model boats. This is the third year that Bob has had a craft for the kids where they can build an actual wooden boat and then float it in the pond. Cohen had a wonderful time building it with the other kids and was very excited to have an opportunity to float it. Later that afternoon, Cohen helped me bake cookies. He wasn't very interested eating meat and vegetables but those special treats were really good!
The theme of the cruise was Mad Men/Paper Dolls based on a hit TV series called Mad Men. The show takes place in the 60s so the requested dress was from that era. Cohen and Bob wore dark pants and white shirts and Bob had a fedora. I wore a dress that is a retro area with an apron, which were also quite popular with the ladies. Isaiah had packed his batman costume just because he wanted to so we decided that was the perfect touch for a 60s themed dinner. To pass the time, Cohen recruited Bob to help him smash clam shells that the seagulls had dropped on the blacktop.
Sunday was a big day for Cohen. He got to run his model boat in the pond with all the grownups. Bob has been putting together a sailboat contest for those who wanted to purchase an r/c sailboat kit. The "captains" have been practicing all summer and today was the big "regatta". Bob attached a string to Cohen's boat so he had a lot of fun pushing it out into the pond and then sailing it back in.
The next big event was the Doggy Olympics which Barkley took part in. We realized after arriving that we should have planned a costume for him so he quickly became Batman. He performed about as we expected but he did win one award - the First to Finish prize. He ran from me to Bob and then Barkley (or Bob) had to eat a carrot faster than anyone. Well, Bob had to eat the carrot but he did do it fast enough that Barkley won the prize.
The afternoon activities include some boat christenings and then the annual dinghy tour over to the nearby bay. We loaded into the dinghies, tied them all together, and sat back while the Coleman's towed us over to the bay and back. By the time we returned, Cohen fast asleep on Grandpa's knee.
The last evening was a potluck dinner followed by the award for the events of the weekend. Cohen (and the other kids) all one first prize for their model boats, Bob won 1st place for his fedora and I won 2nd place for my apron.
We headed back Monday morning and returned Cohen to his mom and dad. We all had a great time and he told me several times how much he loved the "grandma and grandpa time" and asked us, "Aren't you so happy that I'm here with you?" Yes, Cohen we are so very happy you are with us!
