Summer 2011: Maine

We got to go and visit my family up in Maine this September. It was a great time! We played around in the woods and wild, played in the ocean, roasted s'mores and had boatloads of fun!



The Fam and the Atlantic



Zach and Charlotte at beautiful Popham Beach



Ben wading into Knickerbocker Lake



Charlotte at Knickerbocker She really didn't like sitting in the sand. At all. And didn't like the cold water. At all. But she did manage smiles under these specific conditions.



The boys and I on Mom and Dad's sailboat. My, she is yar. It was loads of fun. Even when the boat keeled and the boys almost slid right into the water. Good times. We also all slept out on the boat one night. Slightly less good, but still good times. It was so beautiful out there on the water. We kept seeing all these monarch butterflies flying over the water. It was lovely.

We also got to go to the Common Ground Fair. It's brilliant. I was a little overwhelmed by the whole thing though. There was so much to see and so much information, I couldn't take it all in.



The boys spent all kinds of time watching the blacksmith work. They really enjoyed it. Then they all went to learn how to make fire. They used string and sticks. Zach was the first one to actually make fire and everyone clapped. The boys thought it was great.



Ben eating organic pizza and listening to a performer



Jen and Chris at Popham Beach. It was great to see them!



Charlotte taking a bath in my parent's sink. And being off the charts cute.

It was so much fun visiting. Thanks, guys! We loved it.

Oh, and here are some quotes from our time up there:

Before a game of chess:
Sam: Let's have a fair game, Ben.

Ben: Lobsterman almost always wear shoes!

While playing at Grimes Cove:
Ben: Mom, come in the water with me!
Katie: Oh no, Ben. It's too cold.
Ben: It's not cold! It's refreshing!

Summer 2011: Washington

We got to go up and see Zach's family in Washington this summer! It was great fun. We got to have fun with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins.


Cousins: Lydia and Charlotte


Aunt Emma in Leavenworth

We had a fun time up in Leavenworth. The boys loved playing in the river with their cousins.








Aunt Vanessa and Lydia in the Icicle River


The Boys watching some telly


Aunt Emma and a sleepy Charlotte


All the grandkids.

It was so much fun. We also went up to Quincy and played on the farm. The boys became one with the dirt and the gravel and grass. And the dirt. Did I mention the dirt? I also got the feed the cows corn husks, which I found unbelievably enjoyable. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of this because our camera was still mad at me about dropping it at the beach during Zach's marathon and wouldn't work at the time. Super sad. But, all the same, it was great fun.

Thanks guys! It was wonderful!

6 Months

This is from August...







- Charlotte has her two bottom teeth
- She is "this close" to crawling
- She is a great nap taker
- She doesn't like to sleep by herself at night
- She is super happy right after she wakes up
- She waves her arms up and down when she gets excited

Summer 2011: Marathoner

Zach ran his first marathon in July. He's been training for it for a long time and he did great! It was run along the coast at Rodeo Beach.



Yet again, we were completely unprepared for California coastal weather. It is always the opposite of what we are expecting. I should start bringing supplies for all weather conditions. Oh, well. At least it wasn't as bad as it has been in the past. And either way, we still had a great time.



A well placed plank entertained the boys for a long time. It was brilliant.



We walked up and down the beach several times, playing in the waves and picking up pretty stones. Sadly, I tripped backwards over a rock and dropped our camera full into wet sand. It's been mad at me ever since, but it still mostly takes pictures, so not all bad.



Zach ended up getting 7th overall and 2nd in his age group! We were very impressed. And the boys were so happy that he got two medals! (one for finishing and one for placing). And it was such a fun beach that I didn't mind being with the kids for a couple hours by myself (but don't tell Zach, because I think he still owes me. :)



Our gallant marathoner, boldly facing into the wind. And looking forward to a great post-race burger!

Summer 2011: Ben and Sam's Birthday

My little baby boys turned five this year! It is mind boggling. We had a lot of fun celebrating this year. We played in our (very) little pool, because it was a scorcher and went to McDonald's in classic birthday celebration fashion. Then came home for some cake and presents.



I'm pretty terrible at decorating cakes, but Ben liked the icing robot so much that he cut him out all for himself.



The party really got started when we went on our camping trip. The boys picked camping over a friend party. We went to a little state park in the middle of farming country. We woke up to a cow mooing quite loudly across the river.



We swam, splashed and played in the river. We had s'mores and burgers for dinner. The boys loved it. And Charlotte did well, too.



When we woke up and got packed up we went on a completely annoying hike. The "lake" we were heading to was more of an algae covered puddle, it was extremely hot, and the boys got worn out pretty quickly. The highlight was finding a dead possum on the trail.



But at least Charlotte looked cute.



Afterwards we went to the river's beach and let the boys fish for a while. They did great, but sadly didn't catch anything. They did completely drench their pants though, so not a total loss.



It was a most splendid birthday.

if a tree falls in the forest...

...and no one blogs about it, did it even happen?

That is the question I've been asking myself for the last couple of months. We did a lot of fun things this past summer, but we were having so much fun that I didn't really get to the recording aspect of it. So, I'm starting a series of posts over the next week or so called "Summer 2011." And we'll get caught up and everyone is happy. Lovely. Thank you and good night.