My memories of kayaking Lake Wappapelo, pregnant!

Lake Wappapelo, in Southeast Missouri was a great place to stay. It is one of those few areas that we would consider moving to when we are ready to settle down. The small town, self-sufficient, not a suburb, was very appealing to us. But, since this is the kayaking article, I best stick to that subject and not go on a rabbit chase.

The lake is quite beautiful and has good fishing. Shae, Cody and Hanna went on an exploration kayaking trip around the lake. The air temperature was pretty cold, so no swimming.

The next day we took the kayaks to the spillway for the reservoir.



Spillway of Resevoir

 I was very pregnant with Tytus at the time, but decided I would take a quick spin anyway. Those of you who know me know that I can be very adventurous. I climbed in, with a lot of difficulty since my belly was huge! Josie decided she wanted to ride with me. She climbed in and we headed out. I didn’t get too far from the shore in case we tipped over.

Fisherman dotted the shoreline, some catching fish, others not.

Seeing the spillway and enjoying the water from a kayak is a wonderful way to enjoy God’s creation. There is something special, peaceful sitting on top of the water; no waves, quiet, no rushing or appointments.

Josie got a little antsy and wiggly, so I decided I better get to shore before she tipped all three of us over; her, me, and sweet baby in my belly! I paddled to a little inlet where I thought we could disembark. Cody, my 17 year old was nearby so I hollered to him for some help.

He grabbed little Josie and set her on shore. I, on the other hand, was not as easy. Sitting so low in the kayak coupled with the water being much lower than the rocky shore, made for a bad combination. I put my left leg out of the kayak and realized that there was no way my large, pregnant body was going to follow.

The police officer, sitting in his car, near the shore, looked at me like I was crazy as I attempted to boost myself out of the kayak, with no success.
I had Cody grab my left forearm. He pulled as I pushed with my right.
Legs flailing, arms grasping, loud grunting, my dress flying up, are just a few of the actions of the moment!

I noticed the police officer looked away politely as my legs flew up and my dress slipped past my knees. I think I would have rather had him come help me, though!

With absolutely no grace and complete embarrassment, I got out of the kayak and on to shore, vowing not to get back in the kayak until after the baby was born.



Shae attempted to carry two kids in his kayak so we could go for a family trip. 
We didn't get very far!





Cody and Hanna tried to ride together,
Once again, this did not work at all. 
I laughed so hard as I watched them almost tip over!





Gabriel thought he discovered a new island
and named it the "Island of Pine".  He got to
be a real explorer, and THAT is one
of the many reasons we do this trip, so our
kids can do amazing things.

 (This story actually took place in the spring of 09.  I am going back in time to tell some of our earlier stories.  Hope you enjoy!)  This story is also on our website, http://www.smittysinfo.com/ on our kayaking page.