**** The Black Pearl, Hazelnut, Rosabella and E-e Ah-Ah (Regatta boats)

We just can't have enough water activities this summer with the extreme heat.  We headed to Hobby Lobby and got some model boats for the kids to build and paint.  They spent the first day constructing their boats and painting the bases and the next day designing and putting on the sails.  

Hunter did a classic pirate ship with a skull and crossbones and some gold coins painted on the deck.  He named it the Black Pearl which seemed fitting.  Emma wanted hers to be pink ( big surprise there :) :) ) gold polka dots and a rose on the sail since she is Emma Rose.  She said its name was Rosabella.  Avery started with a combo of pastels, pink on the sides and purple across the top.  It definitely took a different turn when she started designing her sails and started going to town with the brown.  When I asked her was she was drawing she told me they were nuts.  Hazelnuts to be exact and that was what her boats name was, Hazelnut.  She said she really likes Hazelnuts which was news to me but I am always game for something unique and creative.  We asked Hudson what he wanted on his sail and he said "ummmmm, animal!"  When I asked him what animal he wanted to grinned and said, "E-e Ah-ah" (which is what he calls a monkey even though he can say monkey, he only calls them ee-ahahs.)  So I attempted to draw a monkey which I thought looked ridiculous but to which he exclaimed happily upon my finishing, "E-e Ah-Ah boat!!!"  

Deke set up the slip and slide on the driveway and created two "lanes" and then started up the hose and the racing began.... the poor Black Pearl had a sail crash after its third race and had to wait to be repaired.

The boats went pretty slow with the water dividing between two lanes so we started racing them down one at a time and then they started flying down the track.

Hudson was making us all laugh so hard.  Every time he would put his boat in the water at the top and it would take off his eyes would go wide and would get so excited.  Every time as if it was the first time he had done it.  It was so cute.

Then he would hurry and run down to the end to grab his boat as fast as he could clapping and saying "oh yeah! oh yeah!"  Then he would pick it up yell, "Ee AhAh boat!!" hold it up to show me and then run back up to race it again.

The kids raced over and over again....

In the end the E-e Ah-Ah proved to be not only the fastest boat of the bunch but thank goodness somehow the sturdiest.