A Hole in the Raft!

Is this raft going to hold air?

 We took the kids out to Olnes Pond to picnic, fish and raft on Memorial Day.  When we arrived and tried to inflate the raft it wouldn't hold air.  Much to our oldest boys' dismay, he found a gigantic hole in the front;  nothing a little gorilla tape wouldn't fix.  Thus began their adventures for the day....

Don't forget baby brother's life jacket!

We're off.....

Look at this beautiful bald eagle that landed in a tree right next us



The glassy calm of a serene pond...

The fish keep eating our grubs!

 Our friends came out to enjoy the day with us.  They brought the best bait: the fish kept stealing it right off our hooks!

Fishing with Daddy...

The mighty adventures return with their deflated raft...

These mighty adventurers rowed all the way out to the island on the far side of the pond to go exploring.  When they had thoroughly tramped through the brushy island, they returned to their raft and found it barely afloat.  They half-floated and swam to the nearest bank and pulled and pushed the raft alongside the bank until they could all get out and finish the rest of the way walking back to camp.  We could hear their voices floating to us across the water and our friend pulled out her binoculars so we could see their progress.  They had so much fun and had a great time solving their dilemma all on their own.  This was their friends first time ever rafting!  What a great memory!