Our first Christmas on the boat

It's a sad little tree, but at least we have a tree.  I have 4 HUGE boxes of christmas decorations in our storage unit.  In the very back.  Behind the giant coke machine.  Behind the dining room table and 6 chairs.  Behind everything.  In all the hustle and bustle of Christmas, I just haven't had the energy.  But I did get the  colored lights and found a place for our Christmas Cards.  Thanks to all who took the time to send us a card.  Sadly, I didn't get around to that this year either.

But don't think I'm a total scrouge...We attempted to go see the Boat Parade with Christmas lights Sunday night, but the people we went with had some technical difficulties (We overheated the engine, ran out of battery power, and ran aground).  More on that when I get to know the people a little better and can trust they have a good sense of humor about my take on it.  Editorial note from the Chief:  It wasn't our boat and we weren't driving and he wasn't on board to stop the madness.

We spent last weekend with my parents and did some traditional Christmas stuff, so if you're feeling sorry for Jake, head on over to his blog and see the proof.

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and hope the new year brings you and your family good health and happiness!

Remodeling - Part 2

Despite a rainy weekend and a cast on his foot, The Chief managed to finish Jake's room.  "We" still have to put down wood floors and build him another bookshelf, but I think it's safe to share the before and afters with everyone.  I've gotten a lot of questions about Jake and his "stuff" so I've elaborated a little on the details.

Before:

After:

For everyone who was worried about Jake giving away his toys, or not having enough room, or books, or clothes, or whatever you were worried about, rest assured, he has plenty room/clothes/toys/to do...sometimes I actually lose him in there (no, not on purpose)! Here are some pictures of the details...

Close up of his bed.  It's not really as big as the picture up top makes it out to be.  The Chief's camera has a funky lens on it that helps you see the whole thing.  For those that know us and have seen Jake's room in the past, you can see that we didn't make much of a dent in the yard sale on the stuffed animals.  The big ones found a nice new home, but the rest just had to share in our experiences.

Book shelf with a special bungee to keep everything from falling off when we sail.  LOTS of books!

Toys...Toys...and more Toys...  The white tubs and garbage truck are actually stored in those doors under his bed.  There's a ton of storage under there.  Behind that is a HUGE spinnaker sail.  If we moved that, we could fit Toys R Us under there.

Where you see the two blue baskets, we're going to put more book shelves to house all of his school stuff and the overflow of books we already have, which will eliminate one of the blue baskets.  The other one is for dirty clothes.

Last but not least is the closet.  I've been asked lots of questions about where we put our clothes.  Of course Jake's clothes are a third the size of ours, but you can see he has plenty of space.  We put baskets on each of the shelves with pictures of the clothes on the front so he knows what's in each basket and can find his clothes himself (as well as help with putting up the laundry).

And if you missed it, the theme of his room is...Boy. He couldn't decide between space, ocean, zoo, or monster truck.  So we did it all.  The fabric on the ceiling has spaceships and rockets.  The poster on the wall is full of sharks, and the hammock is full of animals in the ocean as well as any animal you could possibly find in the zoo (or Africa/Asia).

He's very pleased with his room, as am I.  Next stop....the Galley!

Bidding Friends Farewell

Today we said see ya later to some new friends.  I say 'see ya' because we fully intend on catching up to them in Mexico.  They're the first people we personally know who have cast the dock lines and began their adventure on their sailboat Endurance.  I am both jealous of them and extremely happy for them.

Being part of the military, we have said good bye to more friends than we can count so you would think I would be used to this.  I've only known these people for a month!  But it never gets easier watching people leave (I've always told Andy that it's easier to leave than to be left).  But it's so cool to finally talk to people that don't think your nuts or irresponsible or just plain weird.  They want to talk about galley storage (or any kind of storage), first aid kits, and homeschooling on a boat.  AND....get this, they have kids.  Two of them!  Most people we talk to think we're crazy for taking one, let alone two.  Jake was fortunate enough to get to play with Samantha and Trinidad while they were here.  He said a little prayer for them last night for them to have fun and be safe while they're sailing  (I said a little prayer for their mommy...whew).

Anyway, we wish them the best of luck and can't wait to join them next year!