Got my new canoe

It's a 12' Sevylor Colorado and it holds 400 Lbs. The material is the same they use on the Zodiac boats. We have dozens of lakes around here so as soon as the weather permits it time to start paddling. I am also only 25 miles from the far south end Of Puget Sound with lots of coves, channels and islands.

I did my homework and it gets very good reviews. Behind each seat is a storage pack that detaches and becomes a large fanny pack. In the back is a space for the mesh cargo bag to attach on. It's 35 lbs and easy to carry.

So me and my daughter are looking forward to getting it out and wet.



Pro video of it in action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLQ5kShEv14&feature=fvw&fmt=18

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Brent,

Looks like a very cool canoe!

It sounds like you will have alot of fun with it too.

Memories with your daughter. Nothing better than that.

You have your priorities in order.

Enjoy!!!!

Cindy

You have a wonderful lifestyle, Brent.
What a great childhood for your daughter - she is a very, very lucky girl to have you to be her Dad.

Good childhood is much better them millions in the bank - nothing, but nothing can take this away from you.

And BTW, the canoe looks great.
Good luck, and take lots of pix for us

Senna

My wife works every other weekend and is going to school to get her BA. My daughter and I are not going to sit around and do nothing the whole summer. I also know one morning I will wake up and it will be her graduation day.

I have heard so many dads lament that they wish they would have spent more time with their kids and done more. She also spends a bit more time on the computer and her Nintendo DS then I would like.

I live right next to the Cascade mountains and there are dozens of lakes around us. Many are very remote wilderness lakes with lots of wildlife.

We are also only 45 minutes from the South Puget Sound (salt water) area with many islands, coves and channels safe for canoeing and kayaking.

Tomorrow we will take it down to our pond to get my daughter used the whole synchronized rowing concept. That way we won't look like complete buffoons on the public lakes.

We took it down to our pond today so my daughter could do some practicing. She picked it up within a few minutes. And I experienced the thrill of falling in while trying to get out of it.

Edited to add: The water is only two feet deep so I did not have her wear a life vest. However any where else and we will both be wearing one with no exceptions.






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She did great! Did she enjoy it?

Was the water cold?

She really liked it and is very excited about going to the local lake this weekend. And yes the water was very cold and there was a breeze also. But I had a good time watching how quickly she learned and the fun she was having.

That's so cool. Wish my dad would have done that sort of thing with me....

Me to, my dad did absolutely nothing with me except go fishing twice. Fortunately my gramps was always taking me fishing, hiking,boating, camping etc. I have great memories of all that and my daughter should have those also.

Your daughter is so cute! I took my kids camping as often as I could when they were younger. We would go 2-5 times a year. I love camping, and my son still does. He and his fiance live in Vancouver and camp all the time.

My daughter on the other hand only wants to camp in flat places and where there are conveniences and electricity. She would get migraines at altitude and it took us a while to figure that out, so some of our camping trips were horrors for her. She is plannning on moving to Portland so maybe she'll get back into it as she gets older.

My dream man is one who will go camping with me. They are surprisingly hard to find!

I totally understand the altitude trigger. Every time I went hiking above 5000' I had to first dope up which tends to diminish the experience.

There are two campgrounds just 1-2 miles from where I live. I always get a chuckle when I tell someone where I live and they tell me they camped there one or more times.

My wife and I call it camping when you load up the backpacks and climb up to some place that even 4x4's and horses can't get to. There is so much incredible scenery around me that you can't drive to. You have to "hoof it".

It's one of just a few simple and affordable ways to get outside and clear your head of all the gunk we deal with every day.

My daughter and her friends get a total thrill out playing and plastic bag sledding in the dead of summer up on the snow fields of Mt Rainier. Wearing shorts or sweats and T-shirts.

This was in the middle of Aug. Last summer.

I don't hike out to camp, but I do like going out away from people. If there is an outhouse or a place to dig a hole, I'm fine, but that is a bit too rustic for my daughter. Camping in campgrounds with showers and all is good, but tooooo many people! I like getting away and connecting with nature.

My only necessary conveniences are a big tent and an air bed. I got one after camping on the ground for 12 years and now I won't go back!

Alli

That is also one of my requirements now, a pad under the sleeping bag. My spine can no longer sleep on the ground like it did in the past. Our backpacking tent only weighs 3 Lbs. Instead of small we refer to it as "cozy". And dad refuses to carry any tent tent that weighs more then that.

Although the snow is not too bad to sleep on. It's like natures version of a Tempurpedic mattress.

Notice the chef in the background firing up dinner with the best kitchen view you can get. And my wife keeping an eye on the tent so it doesn't get blown off the mountain.
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Do you like the kitchen? We went with volcanic rock over marble since it went better with the white dinning room.

Very classy looking kitchen. Although I'm not sure I'd want to see your guest room.

It's right next to the tent. You just have to move that rock.

You are so right that you will turn around and she will be graduated --- my boys and I used to have such fun - I homeschooled them, so we could camp out, canoe, hike, on weekdays when the crowds were down, and "do school" on weekends...

Now one is grown, married, working, and the other is in college... sometimes I miss those times so much I honestly think it will kill me. And it could be worse, it's not like I don't see them, I do... but it's not the same, we can't 'play' anymore... and I am not their number one 'girl' nowadays---

So make the most of the time - I know you will, you are a good and caring Dad...
Holly

It does seem to be a cruel twist of nature to only have a short period of time that kids are old enough to really do a lot with. I know that in a few years she will be in her teens and not want to hang with mom and dad very much. So all I can do is make the best of now and get lots of pics and videos.

It will be a chunk of time before I will have grand kids to enjoy. But I know that will be a great part two of my life.

I guess it's hard for me because of their dad taking off ---- God meant for me to have a mate to share this time with. It's really hard alone.

Holly

My hats off to any single parent. It's a tough enough job with both parents and nothing shy of heroic for one. I know too many guys (and few moms) that have abandoned their families. IMHO abandonment does not need to be physical, it can be emotional or nurturing also.

The effects can be the same. I can't do that, I have seen the endless harm that comes from it. By the time I was twelve all but one of my friends lived in a single parent house. So growing up I had a front row seat to the challenges and drama it causes.

None of us will ever get the perfect parent award, certainly not me. But if we make the effort to be present and involved with our kids their will be a better outcome usually.

I have read too much about girls that do not have a positive male example in their lives. They then seek it elsewhere, from the wrong men and it usually involves sex. Sex that is likely way too early and not healthy.

So I have a serious responsibility to be there and ever present in my daughter's life. It's fun and rewarding most of the time. I may never understand why any dad would not want to be there and enjoy it for all it's worth.

You are my hero of the day....!
You are right about girls needing a bond with their dad - I didn't have one, and married at 18 , mostly just because someone male said they loved me.

I tried to keep it together for 34 years, but in the end, he loved alcohol more than us...

What a sob story, huh? But if every dad let their daughters know they were LOVED and beautiful, there wouldn't be so many trying to hear those words from others--- then they would wait for the right man, not just any man....

My opinion...
I hope you are having a pain-free day -
Holly

I have to tell you Brent that I am so impressed with you.

Your family is very lucky to have you.

And you are right , instead of searching for love from some man, she is getting you and your great example.

Therefore, she will have her standards set high and will be measuring every man she meets against you.

Good for you!!

Cindy

I think that's what scares my wife so bad.

Good one Brent!

But...I don't believe that for a minute!

Take care and keep the pics coming.

They are so gorgeous that I want to move!

I really enjoy them.

Cindy

Thanks! And I hope everyone else shares pics of their kids and the fun things they do together. I think it's a minor but needed distraction from all the stress and frustration we deal with. We need it and deserve it.

Your stamina and creativity have always impressed me but they pale in comparison to your parenting. Your daughter is very fortunate. To have a father's love AND to have his time are more precious than anything else.