Connor has been itching to canoe ever since the Cub Scout camping trip in August, and today was a perfect day to take out my in-law's Town and Country fiberglass on Lake Josephine. Connor, Ryan, my niece Maize, and I canoed over to the Lake Josephine public beach and playground to swim and play. We had to wash out all of the spiders, which were numerous and varied in species, before getting in the boat. For some reason, my sons are bug-shy and didn't want to share the trip with arachnids.

Connor paddled up front on the way over, and Ryan tried to paddle on the way back. We all had a blast, and Maize was an absolute angel. At three years old, she's confident, brave, and well spoken. We swam, splashed, and practiced the buddy-swim system. Connor worked on his dolphin kick and impressed the hell out of me with his front-crawl. Ryan just wanted to be thrown into the air, and Maize showed me her kick!

That old canoe was a heavy beast to put away by myself, but I couldn't really ask a seven, a five, and a three year old to chip in. I think I should make canoeing a more standard part of my workouts!