From as soon as she could hold a crayon, Kinsley has been enamored with making her mark. She’s not picky about the medium, crayon, pencil, paint, stamps, she happy to try them all. As the cold weather settles in, I’ve been trying to plan out more art time to keep Kins entertained. She’s enthusiastic about trying anything new.

Living on a boat conjures visions of tropical beaches and turquoise waters, sunny days and bathing suits. But living in Boston also includes winter and oddly enough, it gets cold around here.

Three months, 90 days, a quarter of a year, a good start.

When we moved aboard at the beginning of August we were making a leap into the unknown. Would we like living in the city? Would we miss our yard and woods? Would the small space make us crazy? Would anyone be seasick? Was this really the direction we wanted for our family? A quarter of a year into boat life I’m thrilled to say that all is well.

Zoe tagged along with Alex on a work trip to New York leaving Kinsley and I alone for the day. I wanted to plan an outing that was right at her level since so often I feel like I’m tucking her into plans I’ve made for Zoe. After hitting up our local library for a museum pass we were off to the Children’s Museum for the day.

How is it, after spending almost all of my life in Massachusetts, I hadn’t made it to any of the harbor islands until this summer? Easy ferry ride, lots of diversity in what to do there, history, I’ve really missed out. Time to make up for lost time.

In preparing to move aboard we purged everything, including the kids toys. As a family we sorted through our huge collection of board games. We repackaged, sorted, purged, and stored until we had a nice mix to bring aboard.

Zoe wasn’t feeling good so Kinsley and I head to the grocery store, just the two of us. It’s rare for me to head out with just one kid in tow and I enjoy it when it happens. I have the chance to slow down and shift into toddler mode.

When the idea of boat life was first proposed to Zoe she was surprisingly enthusiastic. She rapidly agreed to move and travel anywhere, as long as she could keep attending the same school. Maple Dene was a great fit for Zoe, a student interest driven K-6 school with three teachers. She loved the kids, the teachers, the challenge, and the flexibility. Somehow, I just couldn’t make that happen.

It took all summer but we finally managed to take the kids out into the harbor on Goblin. We were greatly delayed for a variety of reasons. I’d like to say it was all waiting on the insurance to finally come through, but that was only part of it. The other was the challenges that come with sailing your home.

Goblin is beautiful. I thought so from the first moment I saw pictures of her. I love her black masts and trim and now that her black dodger is up she has a very distinctive look. Inside she’s just as lovely. There’s so much beautifully maintained wood, walls and floor. It’s a little like living inside a tree.

When we moved aboard, I knew I wanted to make our home feel not only beautiful but also personal.