Camp Fun

The chickens have matured to a place where they will roost ANYWHERE inside our shed... time to put up the chicken wire to stop them from also pooping everywhere inside our shed. This past weekend Gabe, Noah, and James attended Fiddle Camp, so Ben, Audrey, and I had some special time practicing bike riding, kayaking/canoeing, and baking.

The weekend concluded by spending the day with the Abbott's at their camp in Nobleboro. The kids always have so much fun together.  This year the focus was on swimming, fairy houses, and s'mores. Thanks for having us Abbotts!

James Turns 10!

James has reached double digits!  Although if you had a conversation with him you may mistake him for a 50 year old man;) We took a trip over to Skowhegan for some mini golf and outside time AND made a stop at the trampoline park this week to celebrate.

James is as black and white as they come and loves to play devil's advocate on ANY topic. He is a forward thinker and will one day change the world for the better with his ideas.  He LOVES to play with legos, brainstorm new inventions, and draw/design military vehicles. He continues to be an expert on the Titanic and US war history. He had a kind, loving heart with a tender spot for those who are in need or are hurting. Nature is his happy place and spends lots of his "thinking time" outside while climbing trees or chatting with insects. James enjoys skiing, soccer, basketball, hiking, bike riding, and playing the violin.  Happy Birthday James, we love you and can't wait to see what this next year will bring!  

James' Military Birthday Party

James insisted on a military party this year and everyone has been on board brainstorming, creating, and coming up with very specific ideas.  Noah spent lots of time painting various targets and scenes for target practice, he also spent hours the morning of the party mastering his skill of water balloon filling. James spent the morning preparing for the party by putting the little army men EVERYWHERE and in very specific spots/scenes.  James was really set on having a piñata at the party, but the only relevant one at the local party store was a soldier. We felt a little weird about that so James came up with the brilliant idea to tape Hitler's face on the piñata... I guess learning about WWII is having practical applications to his life;) Thanks to everyone who came to help us celebrate!

End of the School Year and More Basement Progress

Now that "regular" school work is completed the kids have been eager to get into the projects they haven't had time for.  We have a pile of obsolete/broken electronics that are just waiting to be taken apart and investigated. Except for the wall decorations, Noah's room is finally completed and he has moved in!  James is reveling in having a room to himself, but is also sad he doesn't have Noah to talk to at night;)

Ben and Audrey have wrapped up their seasons and both improved so much!  We did finally get our garden in, though I am not sure how much we will be tending to it this summer.

The kids are excited about our hiking goals this year and are keeping a list for Audrey to keep track of the increasing mileage/difficulty of trails to work up to (hopefully) hiking Tumbledown by the end of the summer. This week's hike was Bald Mountain in Weld and it was gorgeous, as always!