Our family boating day...

Stunningly beautiful waterways!

Clearly, the idea of renting a boating vessel for a day of exploration along local waterways was the most sensational idea ever for a sunny and very warm summer's day!

Check out the video below and try to capture the overdue family bonding and total relaxation which ensued, something so very welcomed for all of us that particular day.

We were quite disappointed beforehand as my hubby was nearing his final days of his appointed vacation times, and although quite warm, many summer monsoon showers seemed to visit daily during this period. We were also working hard around the property and rearranging in the home from our move.

We had anticipated a boating day and prepared to escape for one two different days, canceling each due to weather issues. At last, though not quite as prepared as the first few times with food and beverages, we threw together our coolers after waking four groggy children at the crack of dawn, announcing this was "the day".

Perhaps in the end it benefited us more to just wing it and fly by the seat of our pants, but truly the weather seriously tends to play a major role in boating excursions of any kind.

The only problem we encountered wasn't anything to do with the boating in itself. Nope, all except for my hubby who remained under cover for most of the day became bright shiny red lobsters by nightfall. The skin located on the forefront of my legs and my arms are still experiencing peeling issues that even a five star spa couldn't exfoliate half as quickly or organically natural as one can achieve by obtaining unexpected lovely sunburns in one day.

Wow, never before have I had to endure a sunburn quite like this one. Actually come to think of it, in my entire lifetime I can only recall having ever tanned with the sun's rays and not burned ever before. Sunscreen in tow, nothing could have prepared us for the sun's whopping magnified reflection off of the water with such wondrous weather overhead.

Whoa.... can you say SPF 50 (at least!) next time?

**Just a note - this has been a long time coming as I built the video on my Picasa software and had trouble exporting it to this blog post. Try clicking on the photo below, but I have a feeling it will take you to the Picasa site for viewing. Thanks for your patience. Any tips welcomed here...