So we FaceTimed with Greg’s mom (Diane) today and she made a special request of the kids. I think Greg’s last post stressed her out a bit (she’s in good company!) so she asked the kids to please “make a post about all the good stuff going on right now”.

And for those of you who don’t know Diane…that lady doesn’t ask for much. So here you go gma. Out of the mouth of babes (and transcribed verbatim by me) ;)

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Grace:

Megan: Alright Grace, Grandma asked for the good things, so I want you to tell me all of the good things you’ve got going on right now.

Can I say something? Ummm…one of the good things on the boat is that we got most of the jobs done in the past few weeks. Ummm…and we got jobs done including cleaning the window sills (I think she’s referring to the port lights here), and fixing the lightbulbs and putting LED lights in. And we got a dehumidifier. We got some hooks up to hang up things. And theeEEEeeen we put up the pictures that me and my sister Aden made with our old friend on our old court. She moved and it was very sad that she moved because she was one of our besties. Ellie was a nice friend. (ok Grace so more good things now)

What makes me happy at the boat is that I have a wonderful boat and a wonderful family that bought this boat and I hope I enjoy sailing on this boat. But what I do also kinda like is that the sunset is very pretty here and there are spiders that are kinda cute spiders and they are funny and do funny stuff. I have funny dreams about spiders because spiders are my fifth favourite animal.

What I like about this boat is that we have lots of cabinets to put stuff in and we have a lot of food to eat so we don’t have to spend lots more money every single day at restaurants and grocery stores. My most favourite thing is that I get to spend a lot of time with my family and sleeping really well and my mom nice and she works a lot. What my last favourite thing about being here is that there is a pool. Grace - out!

Liam:

Megan: Ok Liam…Grandma asked to hear about your happy things or favourite things about being here so take it away.

I like it here because there is a pool so that when it’s really hot out we can hang out at the pool everyday and we don’t have to pay (actually we have paid bud). It’s also fun here because I have a bunk bed and I don’t have to share my cabin with anyone. So far most of the boat projects have been fun. It’s also fun since I have Lego and I can build and play with things I create like this thing (he holds up Lego in his hands that his fiddling with while talking). I also like that the boat has air conditioning so it’s not too hot. I’m here with all my family so I’m not alone.

Ya, that’s about it.

Aden:

Megan: Your turn Aden; what are your favourite or happy things about living on our boat at Herrington Harbour?

I like how we are planning where to put stuff on the boat. I like that because I like to plan most of the time and I like to put things somewhere. Like I did with the picture (Note: she lovingly hung a very ugly picture of El Trauco from Greg’s brother and wife from their trip to Chile that they bought…I think, as a joke…thanks guys). Umm…I also like how beautiful the butterflies are and how many deer and cats we’ve seen. I also like how there is a pool and a park - those are fun. There is a pool bar at the pool but I haven’t used it because it’s for the big kids, like grown-ups because there’s rum and things in it that I’m not allowed to drink. But there is one drink that is a kid drink, even babies can have it…I don’t know what it is called but I’ve seen six-year-olds drink it. I haven’t had it yet because it’s too sugary. (Sorry not sorry kiddo!).

I like going for walks around the harbour because there are lots of things we can see like blue herons, green herons and ospreys. And there are blue crabs - I’ve eaten blue crab before, they are very good - I saw a blue crab yesterday. It was on a post in the water by the surface right in the middle and I got a picture of it.

I like the crazy weather. It’s been stormy then very very hot and sunny. I like the wakes in the harbour because our boat is so big and heavy you can hardly feel them but when you do feel them and you are outside it feels like you are surfing. I like my teachers mommy and daddy because they make me do good school work and it’s fun. Like a research project that I did on snapping turtles that we have seen many times in the water. One time I saw a snapping turtle eating the head of a fish - it was a big one! I also like colouring and I like playing with my Beenie Boos with my brother and sister. I also like doing my blog posts like I am doing right now.

I also like what we are eating on the boat. There is a really good grocery store called Harris-Teeter and we go there because there is really good produce like vegetables and fruit. It’s very big and I think most people go to it because it’s nice and the people there are very friendly. What I liked best so far are the wraps we’ve been eating, the couscous and also the pasta…it’s good stuff.

I also like playing Lego with my brother - it’s fun. We like making vehicles and things and cars and nice houses out of Lego. I also like drawing umm well…ok don’t write that…just write I like drawing. Ok I know what I’m going to say now. I like drawing pirate pictures and I keep them in an art binder that I have. That’s all I have to say right now. I will talk to you folks later! Bye Bye.

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Ok so what did I learn from these three brief interviews?

Well it appears that with all the upheaval and change the kids lives are still pretty simple and the “good stuff” for them is pretty simple too. I mean, couscous and the odd stray cat for Aden?! Sure. Done. Boom. The Lego Liam is referring to is one shoe box of random pieces out of PILES of Lego that he had at home and has since given away. Grace just thought she was on cloud nine when we had a family Yahtzee game last night in the cockpit and she got to eat chips. It was the highlight of her week.

Most of their thoughts on this question aren’t very deep (not shocking) but I have to say it’s reassuring to be reminded that a) just being together is enough for them and b) it also helps to have a pool nearby :P

M