Labor Day Weekend 2015

To say that we took advantage of this bonus summer weather over the long weekend would be an understatement. We spent the whole day Saturday at the beach picking crabs out of tide pools, scaling the rocks and building in the sand.  Sunday we had BBQ, visited and played outside.

Monday we talked some adventurous friends into renting a boat with us on Rangley lake and spending the day tubing and basking in the warm weather on the water... or maybe it would be more accurate to call them trusting friends who didn't know what we were getting them into...  It was all fun and games until  we jumped into the rougher part of the lake and realized that it was a bit too choppy for enjoyable swimming.  We also realized that we had rented a "trick" tube that was lots of fun for the adults, but terrifying and impossible to use for the kids.  All in all it was a very fun day.  No one fell overboard, no one got sea sick and that the end of the day everyone wanted to do it again... maybe next year it will go a little more smoothly and we will be a bit wiser;)  We finished the day at "Height of the Land" which is one of the more breathtaking views in the area and it didn't disappoint!

Ben Turns 4!

This big guys turns 4 today!  He is growing into a very sweet, thoughtful, kind and caring boy.  He certainly keeps us on our toes with his active spirit, but he also continues to show us how to have fun and take life head on. He is almost the same size James and Noah were when they turned 6, but he is still very much their little brother:)  We love you Ben and can't wait to see what the next year brings!!

Family Video

We recently had the wonderfully creative Joni James make a family video for us.  She does some pretty fantastic work and we are thrilled with the end result.  When we first watched this video James started crying because he was so sad that Miss Trunchbull (one of our chickens) had died, she was just a chick in the video and I didn't even notice her;)  To view it in full resolution just follow this link: https://vimeo.com/137045680  Enjoy!

First Day of School 2015

We have made the decision to homeschool the kids this year.  For many reasons, mainly because, for this season in our family, it works:) Today was our first day so we all got outside for pictures, some more willing than others... The kids made these tie-dye shirts as one of our last "summer bucket list" items.  Once we gathered everyone for the group shot it didn't take long for the chickens to start photobombing...

Noah is entering 3rd grade this year and wants to be an Air Force (or Naval) pilot.  James is entering 1st grade this year and wants to be a half time inventor and a half time lobsterman... it will be interesting to see how that all turns out;) 

Last Bits of Summer Vacation

School starts next week, so we packed lots of fun into this last week!  Our tomatoes are ripening fast and furious, we are 45 pounds in and going strong:)  Lots of salsa and sauce into the canner. Where we once tried to keep boundaries with the chickens, we have now given in and they have free range of everywhere... including keeping Audrey company while playing in the sand box. In a poor parenting moment, James is demonstrating the only backup clothes I had in the car the other day when he fell into a mud puddle... I guess it is time to restock the car!

On Wednesday, the kids all had dentist appointments in Portland so we spent the day exploring Willard Beach and Fort Williams Park.  It wasn't quite nice enough for a beach day, but it was a great day for a lesson in ocean front fog;)  Friday Hilary and I took all the kids to Boothbay to check out the aquarium and have some ice cream on a beautiful day. 

The bottom picture Gabe took before leaving for work the other day.  We have some pretty amazing sunrises up here!  We try hard not to forget what a gorgeous view we have... or that Gabe gets up really early and works long days to provide for us all:)

Belgrade Lakes Take Two

We finally visited at the clubhouse over a weekend, so we were actually able to hang out with friends this time:)  The weather, although not ideal, cooperated better than it usually does and allowed us to take a beautiful, kid appropriate, hike.  It also allowed us to have a BBQ with great friends where we could let the kids run free (and wild) outside.  Thank you so much friends for hosting us (again) and having a really fun BBQ!

Chickens and Blueberries

We spent this last week with the two older boys at bug camp in the mornings then at soccer camp in the evenings.  It was a busy week, but lots of fun!  We managed to check nature scavenger hunt and jello jigglers off our summer bucket list.  Our chickens continue to be very entertaining... We got their run put together, but wanted to paint it before we put the roof on. "There is no way they will fly that high to get out" is what we thought... They immediately flew up to the roof and thought we had purchased them a new play area with the ladder and extra fencing leaning up against the other fence... I guess we should work on the roof... Our blueberries are in full bloom and the kids eat them faster than we can pick them, so I am thinking that another 100 or so bushes should do it if we want to actually freeze some for the winter;)

In other happenings, Noah has learned to confidently ride his bike and it is all he wants to do.  If we can't find him he is either riding laps around our house or sitting inside the bushes with the chickens.  James is on his way to becoming a master gardner and spends lots of time working on his fairy house or tending to the garden.  James has also perfected his front flip into the water... why don't they make helmets for swimming?!?!?  Ben has become very confident this summer in his swimming ability.  He swims underwater, jumps in the deep end without fear and can now swim with no assistance, though he still prefers to have a bubble so that he can spend more time in the deep end.  Audrey has grown-up a lot this summer and is becoming more and more independent with a matching personality.  She can undress and mostly dress herself, buckle her own car seat and is potty trained to pee in the bushes  outside. When we we can't find Audrey she is likely to have undressed herself to play in the sandbox... it is a consistent mystery as to why she has to be naked to play in there, but that is part of the beauty of being 2:)  

Summer Continues:)

This past week Gabe took my Dad and George to play golf at the gorgeous Belgrade Lakes Country Club with Seth Wescott.  It sounds like they had a great time chatting with Seth and enjoying some excellent golf.  The nice summer weather has allowed us to continue to have some fun BBQ/pool parties with our friends who we don't get to see as much over the summer.  Last Sunday after church we realized that the kids hadn't left our house for over 4 days. They had a really nice stretch of enjoying home (and swimming) in the warm weather.  So, we took a day trip up to Rangley to visit Smalls falls, swim in the lake and have some delicious ice cream sundaes!