A rainy day isn't always a bad thing

Aaah, a rainy day on the houseboat. A good book and a long nap with the sound of the rain pittering on the water and pattering on the roof. It sounds like the perfect relaxing day. Maybe I could put a fishing line with a bobber out at the back of the houseboat and catch some supper without getting wet. Maybe I'll get to play a German board game with my sweetie. I'm almost sure to get beaten but it really doesn't matter it's so much fun to have time together doing something relaxing...
.
.
.

Playdough fun

Aaah, a rainy day on a houseboat with a two and a half year old... Time to scrap the book and the quiet nap.

I had often wondered what we would do with Abby on the houseboat on a rainy day but it had been a busy week and I was tired. A quiet day doing quiet things on the houseboat actually sounded like a lot of fun. I had brought a lot of Abby's favourite things that we hadn't played with yet so we got them out and had a great time. Abby played with playdough and we read all the stories we'd brought. She did some of her puzzles. We don't watch a lot of TV but Mike set Abby up with a smurf cartoon on the laptop. It was a nice treat for her on a wet day and let us have a bit of down time too. The rain slowed down to a drizzle and we let her try some bobber fishing at the back of the houseboat. I had no idea she would get so excited about catching a fish! Each time the bobber went under the water she would start jumping up and down shouting, "It means there's a fish! I've got a fish!" After supper the rain stopped and we were able to go swimming together.

For anyone planning to go houseboating with young children I recommend bringing some different things along for a rainy day. Make them special things that they don't get to do all the time. Plan for it to be some together time that you spend creating moments they'll remember. A rainy day may not be a good day to read a book or take a nap yourself but it's a great day to string necklaces or make a special craft or read some books together. You probably won't get to play the game you'd like to play but you can have some good laughs and make some great memories around a game your little ones enjoy. Abby loves UNO Moo! and any memory game. She's also getting to be quite good at Go Fish and Dominoes for a few fun ideas.
Of course you know your kids and what they love best. Whether it's building towers or painting or stickers or building a fort under the table a rainy day can be a fun day of creating special memories.

My little fisher girl watching for her bobber to go down.