First ever Indy Caruana/Wilson Regatta

So, as you can read on Wendy's blog [ http://icouldeatandblog.blogspot.com ], we had a blast in Indiana with the Caruana's (and the Fitzpatricks during part of the trip). Anyway, it had been a plan of mine to do something "new, interesting, and fun with the Caruanas" - primarily the kiddos - and so I thought a great deal about what we could possibly do. Some of the ideas I considered were horseback riding, hot-air-balloning, visiting a random place, and paintballing, among many other good and not-so-good options.

In one moment though, I had a brilliant idea (ok, so it was perhaps not brilliant, but it was at least pretty stinkin' good)! How about spending some "craft" time making boats out of household items (which itself is pretty cool) and then racing them down the creek that is behind the homes across the street?! Pretty clever yes?

So we did exactly that. We found some red plastic cups in the cupboard, plastic knives, twine, ducttape and scotch tape, and chop sticks. Josh helped Hannah, while I helped Jonny design boats. Even Caleb got in on the action. We did much of the technical work, but we did allow them to be the decision makers, and help where possible.

I mean, as boring as it would be to do this; being the great uncle that I am, I was totally willing to sacrifice my personal desires in order to do something nice for the kids. And when they kids got distracted, or began to lose their fire for the idea during the craft part, I stepped in with my fun "uncle-ness" (that's uncle, and awesomness combined, in case you wondered) and made sure to keep the excitement up to ensure that they enjoyed their experience. and when Jonny grew tired of building his boat, and was convinced it was enough and ready for decoration; I was sure to support him by gentle and kindly showing him the error of his ways, and went the extra mile to "assist" him with making sure his boat was of the best possible build.

As you can see, not only did I have a great idea, but I worked tirelessly and selflessly to ensure a quality time for everyone. I know, I know... I know what you're thinking, but please no praise... I am "just a man" after all.

So back to reality. In the end, they were creations that they could be proud of... and I have to admit that it was pretty darn fun for myself (and I'm assuming Josh).

When all was said and done, the kids decorated their boats with stickers, and named them, while I made my own simple little boat.

Jonny's - Jon
Hannah's - Styla
Mine - Silver Bullet

Then it was time to put them to the test. We headed out to the creek with much excitement, posed for one last picture (thanks Wendy) and launched them! To our very pleasant surprise, they actually floated...

...at least at first. Jonny's went well at first, but on the first rapids, immediately capsized, and remained a "submarine" for the rest of the race. That said, as a submarine his ran very very well!

Hannah's worked so well, and the sail that she[read: Josh] meticulously worked on actually functioned!!! The problem? It functioned too well, and the wind - which was blowing upstream - kept her ship very slowly creeping upstream, then sliding down, then slightly up, etc. etc.

Mine actually ran far better than I expected (Because the bottom half was made of cardboard whith duct tape on it; I half expected it to just wilt and sink). It survived all the way to the end of the race!

Anyway, so Hannah's finally hit the first rapid, and also capsized, which destroyed her paper sail. This actually was a good thing since - now sail-less - her ship ran very well.

We followed them for a very long time, freeing them up when grounded, and each of us maintianed first place for a significant portion of time. Finally, Hannah's took over with a little help of a new-found power source (she found a stick with which she could push it along), and in the end she maintained her lead.

In all, it was a very very fun experience! Besides the fun, Josh left the competition with fresh ideas "learned" from the first experience, and is determined to scrap and improve on his - ehem, I mean Hannah's design. To paraphrase/quote him, "on the next one, I plan to get out the power tools". I think this might be a lasting tradition. I guess we're gonna need to come up with some sort of trophy.