rain in paradise

Sunday afternoon, as we're all enjoying a lounge on the sand, the clouds rolled in and started to sprinkle. We ignored it, as true Western Washingtonians do. We did a bit of exploring in the dinghies with 2 other families and then decided to head back for cover as the sky got darker and darker. Monday morning dawned dark and dismal. We had quite a bit of rain, which Pete caught for laundry and we tried to keep two active children busy indoors. Finally in mid afternoon a break came and we all piled on Wyndeavor for a bit of rope swinging and hot tea. Guess you can figure out who sat and drank tea and who launched off a halyard into the water. Playmobile toys were also a hit when the rain came back. We counted up 12 kids and 10 adults in the anchorage and invited ourselves all over to the biggest catamaran. Potlucks are one of our favorite cruising activities. Cook up one dish, eat tons and visit all evening. "Dolphins" has 2 DVD watching set ups, so Tarzan and Brother Bear were playing and 12 kids were so quiet for 90 minutes we forgot they were there.

Today, the sun did it's magic thing again, brightening our day and our spirits. After a quiet morning reading, doing art projects and playing Spider Solitaire, we had a bacon and egg lunch and headed for the beach. "Now a Days" has left, but 3T has come, so now we have 13 kids and 10 adults. Peter, Chris (Ocean Breezes), Mike (Wyndeavor), Rob & Helen (Dolphins) and Eva (3T) went for a drift snorkel and Lisa, Kelly and I did kid duty at the beach. The only thing we had to do was hand out granola bars, water and Cheetos occasionally and the kids were perfectly entertained with hermit crabs, rocks, sand and sticks. The snorkeling site had a strong current going out a shallow pass from the lagoon and breaking waves on either side. Pete decided that he and Chris should try out the boogie boards on the waves. The comments when they got back made me question my usually sensible husband's judgment. "I just tried to stay alive," from Chris. "I felt like I got washed inside out," said Pete. Rob and Mike verified that it was good that Lisa and I weren't there to worry. As they watched Chris get sucked farther and farther out, the sane guys in the dinghy were making a rescue plan that sounded hairier than the boogie boarding.

Tonight we had the last of our wonderful tortillas that Carrie brought from home. There's not a lot of Mexican food in French Polynesia. Most boat kids get put to bed between 7:30 and 8 and us boat parents usually follow soon after. Tonight though, Rob, Mike and Pete are going to have a laptop session of "sharing resources". I guess that's a few hours of alone time for me. Not a bad day all in all.

-Kellie