Bar Harbor Day Two - Pirate Ship

  About ten minutes after I posted yesterday's blog, just after I had gotten into bed, Charlie woke up.  He fussed for a minute saying that he wanted to go home and I was able to calm him down.  But five minutes later he was up again and we went back and forth for half an hour until it culminated in him yelling, as loud as only he can, "I wanna sleep Daddy!  I wanna sleep Daddy!"  I was concerned that he would wake up the other boys and even more worried that our neighbors would at any minute come pounding at our door to complain about all the noise.  So I brought him over to cuddle.  

  At first Charlie just said "Sleep Daddy" and lay down next to James with a big smile.  But almost right away he started making vampire noises!  I don't know how else to describe them, it was a hissing growl with his teeth bared that looks pretty creepy in the dark even when coming from a two year old.  I burst out laughing which was exactly what he was going for.  Poor James had to settle him without me because I could not stop laughing.  Finally he calmed down and James rolled over and fell asleep.  A minute later I heard Charlie say "bonk!" followed by a loud thud as he head butted James.  (I still can't stop laughing about that even as I type this)  That was the final straw and Charlie was back in his crib and a half hour later finally asleep again.

  Due to all the late night shenanigans we got off to a late start this morning.  Charlie didn't wake up until quarter to nine!!  Our first stop was the traditional brunch at Jordan's Restaurant where we filled up on pancakes and french toast.  Afterwards we still had some time to kill before our boat ride so we took a walk down to the water and then along the coast line.  Well, I say "walk" but it was really wading into the water, climbing on rocks, collecting smaller rocks, running full tilt in every available direction, and collapsing in exhaustion on the grass.  So business as usual.

Will at breakfast

wading in the water

James shows the boys a snail

Sisyphus

Colin has been using the kids' camera and he kept asking strangers if he could take pictures of them.  He was pretty cute and no one seemed to mind, most people thought it was pretty sweet.  All the boys are very friendly but Colin and Charlie go out of their way to greet people.  As we were walking down the street today Charlie would yell "hi!" to everyone we passed and Colin would call out "How are you today?".

Colin in a tree overlooking the harbor

Jon in a tree

Will hangs from a tree

Uncle Jacob would be proud

My little monkey

  













  As a treat this morning we gave each of the big boys five dollars to spend since Grandma was planning on shopping this afternoon.  But the money was burning a hole in their pockets and they had to buy something at the first store we passed.  Jon and Will each bought an eye-patch and a pirate hat (which broke right away!) and Colin bought a switchblade comb.  Colin doesn't look thrilled in this picture but he was actually very happy with his purchase.  He spent the whole day threatening to comb people's hair!  

Will the pirate

Arrrr, matey!

Colin's switchcomb

blind pirate

  Today was hot and humid and we were quickly worn out by our walk.  But at last it was time to board our ship.  We were going out on the "Margaret Todd", a four masted schooner that looked, to little boys' eyes, like a pirate ship.  There wasn't much wind when we started out but the calm water and slow speed allowed us to see a pod of porpoises and a harbor seal.  After we got away from the dock they cut the motor and raised the sails.  And Jon got to help!  It was hard for him to pull because he was so little but he was really proud of himself.

Our ship

Camille and the kids

Jon hoists the sails

James and the boys take in the sights

   Because of the lack of wind there seemed to be much more side to side than forward motion.  And it turns out that I get a little seasick.  Not horribly, but it definitely effected my enjoyment of the trip.  I found that I could handle it better when I stood in the front of the ship so that was where I spent most of my time with one kid or another.  Up there it was more pleasant and I think that I might be OK on a faster ship.

Sailing in Bar Harbor

James the pirate

Ready for the shore

  It was dinner time when we at last found ourselves on solid, steady land and we headed up to Route 66, another of our traditional restaurants.  By this time everyone was a bit cranky and tired.  Charlie had skipped his nap and did NOT want to sit down at the table.  James and I were feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of corralling four boys who seemed incapable of sitting still or using indoor voices.  But dinner came quickly and we all felt better after a good meal.  

James is weary after being bitten twice over a highchair disagreement

Boys sharing a milkshake

Boys on a slide

I love my happy Jon

Colin on the swings

  













  We decided to skip shopping and go for a swim instead.  The boys were thrilled and once again we all had a blast in the pool.  At one point Jon got in a little too deep but he kept calm, jumped up and down and called out "help!" at the top of his jump.  He wasn't actually over his head (I think he was just nervous) but I was really proud of him for the way he handled it.  We splashed, played, swam, dunked each other and played Marco Polo until after dark.  We had the pool to ourselves so we could be as loud and splashy as we wanted.  It was such a great time and James and I had just as much fun as the kids.  

Jonny in the water

Jon prepares to jump

splash!

Will and Colin in the water

Colin in the water

Jon swimming!

Jon in the water

  




























  James was once again the "kid whisperer" and was able to get everyone settled and sleeping quite quickly.  I like this new development, if I play my cards right maybe I can get out of doing bedtime on all our vacations!  Now if only Charlie doesn't wake up again...  :-)

Goodnight!