Hi, everyone!
We had more stormy weather right after we got back from Colorado! The waves on Lake Ontario were breaking against the lighthouse pier and I got to see more storm clouds from the ground! The sunset was very pretty, anyway!
The water level in the bay is going down some more, so that our deck is almost completely out of the water. When James and Thomas came out two weekends ago, they had just passed their yellow belt tests in tae kwan do! Thomas made his belt part of his superhero costume! Uncle Steven helped Thomas inflate Godzilla, but there’s a big leak in Godzilla’s arm seam. He loses air and falls down after a little while! It was still pretty windy and wavy, but James practiced kayak paddling with Grandma close to the deck.
During the week, Grandpa worked on replacing old timbers around the patio so the entrance step to the kitchen wouldn’t tip. Then Grandma and Grandpa bought a new small-sized kayak! All the cousins were coming at the same time, and Grandma wanted to have enough kayaks for everybody to paddle together. Best of all, Grandpa brought the powerboat back from storage! I was really happy to see him driving it down the bay!
Grandma took me on a kayak adventure to see the rose mallows in bloom. They were very pretty! We didn’t see as much purple loosestrife blooming alongside the rose mallows this year. Maybe the loosestrife didn’t like the high water!
We had some getting ready to do before all the cousins came to the bay for last weekend! Grandma and Grandpa borrowed two small kayaks from Harlan-san. Then I helped Grandma make a tunic like mine for Original Lion-san! Grandma had to guess at the size, because Original Lion-san is skinnier than me! Uncle David and Aunt Emi and Bill and Karin came late on Friday night. Grandma told everybody we’d have to do our kayaking first thing in the morning, because the rest of Saturday might be too windy for beginner paddlers.
Uncle Steven’s family wasn’t coming until lunchtime, so Karin got to try out the new, smallest kayak. Bill took the borrowed one Karin has used before, and Uncle David came along, too! Grandma led a paddle around Grass Point, because there were a few rose mallows in bloom there!
After everybody got back from the kayak paddle, Karin gave me a ride on the swing. Then Grandma tried Original Lion-san’s tunic on him and sewed the snaps on to fit. It works! Original Lion-san can sit up now!
After Uncle Steven and James and Thomas arrived, there were lots of shared video games! Thomas practiced his tae kwan do moves with Godzilla. Thomas worked really hard on figuring out how to be Mocha’s friend, and he got lots of Mocha-kisses! Karin helped Thomas inflate Godzilla every time Godzilla fell down. That was a lot of pumping! Everybody took turns working on the jigsaw puzzle Bill and Grandma had started.
There was a powerboat ride on Saturday, and on Sunday morning James joined the kayak paddlers! Bill and Karin each shifted one size up in the borrowed kayaks so James could have the new, smallest one. He knew what to do right away because he had practiced with Grandma! All the cousins went to the beach after lunch on another powerboat ride. Meanwhile, Grandpa kept working on the boathouse. He managed to jack up the front end so it is level again! There was a big gap where you could see light shining through, to show how much it had been lifted!
On Monday morning Grandma was the only person who went paddling. James and Thomas and Karin and Bill and Uncles David and Steven went for a powerboat ride, instead. Guess what? Bill got a chance to drive the powerboat, with Uncle Steven supervising! Then the borrowed kayaks had to come back upstairs, so Grandpa could take them back to Harlan-san. Original Lion-san and I said our goodbyes while everybody else had an early lunch.
Just before Uncle David’s family left, we made an ice cream stop in Alton. When we came back, the ruts in the road had been repaired!
This week back in Fairport, I’ve been spending time watching the groundhog on our back deck. Actually, Grandma says she’s seen two groundhogs! I still don’t know whether I’ve made friends with either of them!
Love,
Lion-san
What a great time you had enjoying all the cousins as well as Original Lion-San! All the activities you did makes a long list, and lots of repairs, too! Everything is ‘ship-shape’ in time for Fall!
Glad you cousins had such a nice time together. I love the Rainbow Seashore puzzle you all put together. How many pieces is it? If and when you are ready to part with it, I wish you would send it our way. Looks like a real fun puzzle.
Love from Great Aunt Betsy
Great Aunt Betsy, the puzzle is 600 pieces. We put it together from the inside outward because none of the edge pieces are straight! I’ll let Grandma know you’d like it when we’re done with it.
Perfection! Lion-San, you have a wonderful family. ..and remarkable grandparents. (Are they your grandparents?). Cousins, boats , water, puzzles…all of my favorite things. Jacking up the boat house sounds like a job for a super-hero. Maybe??
It sure looked like fun with all your cousins. Joe-san is making pesto again. It was great that your road got fixed while you were gone! Glad you all got to go kayaking.