kayaking and paddleboarding

Today we went kayaking and paddle boarding.  There is a site called Town Pool which is very similar to Groupon and we had rented a kayak for 50% off.  We added a paddle board to the mix and had SO much fun!  We kayaked and paddle boarded around for about 2 hours, stopped and had some lunch on the beach and had just finished eating when it began to rain!  We quickly gathered up our things and kayaked/ paddled as fast as we could across the harbor to return the boats :)  It was quite an adventure, and we had a blast!

We had fun exploring where the path took us.  We are able to go all around and it was so relaxing.  We saw a bunch of egrets and another black bird that we still have to identify.  I don't have any pictures of them though because I was afraid I'd drop my phone!

This is C's first time stand up paddle boarding.  J is a complete natural!  I was thrilled that C decided to give it a try today.  He is our kayaker!  He discovered back in June that he LOVES it.

I had such a good time doing this today :)  Hubby and I paddle boarded when we were in Maui in April and it was much much choppier.  While it was windy today, it was so much smoother!  I was so excited to be able to do this :)

Weekend Fun With Dad!

Saturday morning we got up and as the forecast was iffy (once again!- so lucky this is not our only week on Nantucket!) we decided to go play golf as a foursome.  There are 4 golf courses on the island. 2 are private, 1 is a public 18 hole course (where the boys take lessons) and then there is an old public 9 hole course.  We played the 9 hole course :)  This is also the course where I can drop the boys off and they can play with their friends.

The extremely fancy club house...

 And while I am not very good at golf (I just started play two years ago) I do what I can to look good on the course!  Love my new golf bag!  I searched and searched until I found this one, and then I searched online and found it on ebay.  Hooray! :)  Unfortunately I need to see about getting it repaired when I get home because a mouse made a nest in the bottom of it and ate away at the side :(  And came out attached to one of my clubs when I was getting ready to hit.  Always great to scream bloody murder while on the golf course!!! (you'll be happy to know I did not take a picture of the mouse!)

After golf we picked up sandwiches to eat on the deck, hung out watching the olympics, then went out to dinner with my parents.  They watched the boys and Hubby and I went with friends to see a band and grab a drink.

Today we decided to go turtle-ing.  I have been wanting to do this with the boys for years, and am so happy that we finally were able to do it.  We met up with my friend and her kids too.  We brought the chicken legs and wipes and she brought the twine and scissors. :)  (In case you want to do this too, just take the Madaket Road, pass the dump and then look for a small parking area on the left.  There is a dock visible from the road)

We finally got one!

 "Hey, get me the net!"

Then we got a really big one!

After about an hour we were done (I was done!!) and we went here for some lunch.  Yum.

 We are sad to be saying bye to Hubby this evening, but we are all so glad he was able to make it for the weekend.  We will see him next Sunday as he finishes the Pan Mass Challenge.

The cloudy day activities continue

Well, we had SO many sunny days when we first got here, that I guess we are due for some cloudy ones.  I am beginning to feel a bit like a camp counselor trying to keep these two occupied!  Perhaps a week of camp is in order next summer. ;)

Hours were spent working with sculpt clay

Many marbles were constructed, as well as a pig and a turtle.

Then we met up with some great friends at a place called The Creeks.  We had never been here before, and what a great time we had!

We (well, the boys!) had a blast collecting things.

The fiddler crab was a good find.  C also bought a small flounder, but I didn't get a picture.

I think the horseshoe crab was the favorite find though.  It was Huge! (the purple bucket is REALLY big)

Hubby made it in late last night.  Yippee :)  And I was able to get out to a cocktail party for a bit prior to his arrival ( Thanks to Grandma and Grampa watching the boys!!)  No pictures of that though...

Cloudy Day Fun!

Today didn't have the best weather forecast, so we decided (especially after having such a good time last night!) that we would head back to the aquarium.

There was a small scavenger hunt set up...

Just so you get a sense that this isn't not a big place by any stretch of the imagination!

This big guy is about 90 years old!  Crazy!  We see him every year :)

This is like what we saw last night on our marine ecology field trip.  How cool is that?

I like to get in on the action too!  As long as it is just a spider crab I'm holding...they don't really pinch too much.

C loves the touch tank!  He is holding a knobbed whelk.  We often find these on the beach ourselves.

J holding a spider crab.  Just a tad bigger than the one I was holding ;)

C spent a lot of time trying to catch this little fish.  Success!

These guys are really just so ugly!

After our time at the aquarium (we were actually there for over an hour!)  We walked down the street to one of the boys favorite shops on the island...

J loves to surf, and C is a great boogie boarder, but this is the real reason they love this place so much!

The Secret Candy Room in the way back of the store!

They were each given $1.50 and left with a few little treats for the day!

Night time Marine Ecology Field Trip!

After a day when I had just absolutely had it with my kids we headed out for a 9:00PM field trip to look at marine life. Just so we are clear, the boys are usually in bed between 8:30 and 9:00.  I think perhaps I am a wee bit crazy!  I was second guessing myself, but the boys were so excited to be off adventuring in the dark :)  They even apologized to each other for not being nice all day.  So, off to a good start!
I tried my best to document the outing, but only had my phone with me.  I was afraid I'd drop my good camera in the water!  Please excuse the poor quality of the photos.

 The boys on the back deck ready to head out!

Looking over the dock at squid and fish.  I never knew that squid came out to feed at night.  Did you?

Two interns at the aquarium dragged a huge net out in the harbor and when they brought it ashore, we were to go through all the muck to find animals.

 C found this giant crab.

J found a flounder, a pipe fish, and many small crabs.  An eel was also found.

Here is C looking at all the collected specimens.

After we went through the net, looked at everything and released it, we walked to the end of the dock and looked at the Comb Jellies at night.  SO SO cool.  We got to see the bioluminescence!  That was pretty amazing.  I wish I had pictures, but not only did I think they wouldn't turn out right, I was scared to death that C was going to fall right in the water!

We got home around 10, called Hubby to tell him all about it, and then the boys went right off to bed. It was a really long day, but the boys had a great time.  Poor C is missing his Daddy, who hopefully will be able to catch a flight over Friday night. (fingers crossed!)

(just had to add that the boys are NOT wearing lights around their necks (although that would have been a good idea) the flash is just reflecting the reflector fabric Patagonia puts on those pull overs!)  :)