The Carlile's Visit!

To start off our summer visiting/fun/crazy series the Carlile Family drove up from Boston last weekend.  Their kids  celebrated their last day of school and jumped in the car to visit.  We had so much fun and such a relaxing time playing, swimming, exploring and visiting that this was the only picture taken, and Gabe gets the credit for it:)  A sign of a great visit I guess!  We played outside for most of the weekend and had a great campfire to roast s'mores... I am pretty sure I wasn't hungry at any point this weekend;)  We continue to be amazed at how well our kids like each other and when they are together they just pick up where they left off at the previous visit. This could be said for the parents too;)  We actually got out a real, live board game to play after the kids went to bed... it was a bit of a shock to realize that 1- there is a very likely possibility that we haven't played a non-kids board game in over 8 years and 2- Our 90's version of Trivial Pursuit was painfully outdated... as in we are getting old... The Carlile's even brought their dog, lucky, with them and Audrey did so well with him that it is safe to say that her dog phobia has lessened significantly in the last year:)  The picture on the right was Audrey's idea of how to best play Headbands on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Summer Begins!

We have had a great first week without school!  We moved the chicks outside which was bizarre because they seemed so big in their plastic tote, but so little in their coop.  They seem to be thrilled to be outside in the sun!

On Gabe's day off this week we took him for a "hike" up Center Hill in Mount Blue State Park.  There is a gorgeous view from the top, but it only takes about 5 minutes to reach the top, so not great for exercise;) We found lots of neat bugs in preparation for the boys heading to bug camp next week.  

James' 6th Birthday Party

This big 6 year old has been obsessed with having a spy birthday party ever since he watched the movie "Spy Kids" on Netflix;) We had a spy training obstacle course, a laser course, and a spot to try to find and deactivate a "bomb" in the basement.  The dynamite piñata was a hit, literally, but we were glad for the strong bigger kids who could break it open:)  James picked out this birthday cake online and kept saying to me, "I know you are trying your best"... I never got a straight answer if that was a compliment or not...  James' favorite gift, that he still hasn't stopped repeating, was the $15 in one dollar bills that Aunt Amy put inside a tissue box... the box is falling apart, but he is still at it:) Thanks so much to all who were able to attend and make the day extra special! 

Last Day of School

Although it seemed to drag on at times, Noah and James have both officially been upgraded to 3rd and 1st graders!  Everyone was pretty excited for their last day and to have them home for the summer:)  They only had a half day, so we had 4 extra kiddos over for a bit of a celebration complete with swimming, watermelon, playing with the chicks and a movie.  Congratulations guys!

James Turns 6!

This big guy turns 6 today! He was very excited to share his birthday with the last day of school.  We had some breakfast ice cream waffles, followed by a fun afternoon with friends.  We had his meal of choice- stromboli for dinner followed by cupcakes and presents.  He may have been most excited about the Star Wars cereal I just happened to find at Hannaford this morning;)

Over the last year, he has grown into a very kind and thoughtful brother and friend.  He is not afraid to speak up when someone isn't following the rules, but is also the first to "bend" the rules if something would be funnier... he is the king of practical jokes.  He loves all things Star Wars and legos.  He is extremely creative both in the stories he concocts as well as in the structures he builds from legos or our recycling pile.  He really enjoys swinging, swimming and flying down the hill on his bike.  He learned to read this year in kindergarten as well as how to ski last winter.  We love you, James and can't wait to see what the next year will bring!!

Fiddle Camp 2015

The day after the Twilight Run was school for Noah and James followed by a trip with Gabe to Fiddle Camp.  Noah and James are both enthusiastic about playing the violin and since Gabe and I are not in anyway musically inclined (except for playing the tuba and baritone in high school, of course;)) we thought this would be a great opportunity for them.  They got to sleep in a tent, stay up late, swim, meet new friends and learn the violin while Gabe learned the guitar.  James ended the weekend saying that he wished he could live at Fiddle Camp.

While the two big brothers were at fiddle camp Ben, Audrey and I enjoyed some quiet time at home fixing the chicken coop and trying to acclimate the chickens to grass. I think that they enjoyed their time being only two kids, they were over the moon when Noah and James returned:)

Twilight Run 2015

Another Twilight Run in the books and another amazing experience.  This year Noah and I combined to raise $750 for the Maine Cancer Foundation.  Not to mention that our team of only 8 (3 of whom were kids) came in 5th place in team fundraising! I can't say enough about how great this event is.  Noah has been training hard again this year and set a goal of finishing in 28 minutes (honestly, I thought this was a bit lofty and finishing in 28:something is what I expected).  Well... halfway through the race I said, "Noah, I can tell you are running really fast because I am tired!".  He finished in 26:24, 8th overall in his division (which is men 19 & under)!  I have never seen him so proud of himself. James and Gabe are both excited to be part of this event next year:)  There is a really neat video of the event on the twilight 5k website and I will try and paste the link here.  Noah and I are crossing the finish line around the 1 minute mark:)

http://twilight5k.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1123507