It is Time

time for me to do a family post!!!

We have this really dumb tree in our yard that likes to give us a preview of what fall will be like, even though it is hot hot hot...so before we raked (dumb tree) Delilah got a chance to play in the leaves with Daddy.

"look at me put them on my head"

"take that Daddy"

"hmm, do you think they can still see me?"

We also took a little time to visit my Gram, who they call Nana, this week. I can not believe that we got everyone to look and smile all at the same time.

What do you think of that 'vintage' wallpaper behind them? At Gram's house that is original, and on every wall.


   Leslie

Our Insta-Vacation

hi!! i am back!

We had a great vacation to Maine and Boston...filled with all kinds of fun.

We drove a lot, there were quilt shops to see, and sewing to be done in the car....we met up with old friends and made new ones...

We hunted sea glass on the local beach...ate at very colorful local food joints...visited with relatives...checked out those lobsters before they became dinner.

And so much more.
(Sorry that the picture is small. If you want to see it a little better i think all you have to do is click on it) 




Leslie

Quintessential Maine...to me....

I went through our vacation pictures looking for the pictures that said Maine to me. This is what i put together. Maine ,to me, in a series! ok you could probably just translate that as a lot of pictures....but i could not help myself. I wanted to share with you what we love about it there, other than everything!

...lobster dinners! Yes, he is waving hello(with the help of my wonderful Aunt)...

...beach combing for shells and mermaid tears(aka sea glass)...

...blueberry picking in the wild barrens right on the coast...

...relaxing on the beach...i know the picture is blurry/weird but i love how it came out...

...the fruits of our labor in the previously mentioned blueberry barrens...aren't they pretty? they are the shade of blue that Delilah's eyes are!...

...the lobsters, getting comfie together before the unfortunate demise for dinner!...

...Delilah getting to know the lobsters. the picture looks like she is asking Chris if it is ok for her to touch it!...

...My Dad and Mitch hanging out at the beach campfire, waiting to roast marshmallows...

...The kids waiting for the next big wave at our favorite stop in Maine, Schoodic Point...

...there is that wave they were waiting for!...

...and this is the picture that tells you why my kids don't eat lobster...it is pretty hard to eat something you made friends with and named(Bob and Larry, if you were wondering) a few hours earlier...

Leslie

I've Been Blurbed!

My sweet husband planned a little surprise for my birthday this year. Something that he had to work on in the little spare time that he has at work.

Look at it...it is a whole real book!! He took the first year of this blog and had it printed and bound to be forever saved for our family with blurb. It is so cool. I guess at some point or another we talked about this and how it would be a good idea to have, so the kids have it as a record of them too. He remembered this and made it a special surprise!

It is so cool, i love it. thank you sweet husband.

Surprise Breakfast (A Borrowed Blog)

Hi everybody, this is Chris, Leslie's husband. Since I don't have a blog of my own, I'm borrowing Leslie's. While Leslie does a great job taking care of us and making sure we've got dinner on the table, weekend breakfasts are my domain. I try to make breakfast for everybody at least once a weekend or on days that I don't have to be at work. Sometimes it's pancakes, sometimes it's waffles, sometimes it's cheesy eggs and breakfast sausage, but this time it's something much better.

You might ask yourself what could be better than bacon and pancakes. Well, it's bacon in pancakes. I saw a post over on GeekDad this week about the Great Bacon Odyssey, and I was inspired. How is it possible that I never thought of this on my own??

We have a magic word around this house, and it isn't please or thank you. It's bacon. Sometimes our kids can be fussy eaters, but include bacon and it's like magic. The consensus from the two short people??


Well, the plates were clear, and there weren't any bacon pancakes left at the end, so that should answer that. Will we make these again? Absolutely, but not often. I'm don't even want to know how bad these are for me.


I now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging...

A Hike and A Hunt

*Gratuitous Belly Shot* The baby even got in on all the vacation fun and went on it's first hike. Leave it to the husband to try to capture me on film, despite my objections. I think it was making him a little nervous to have me, climbing up and over the rocks, but i did ok...only needed a little help, and he was there with it ever step of the way.


The kids had so much fun, Grampy came along and we explored the trail. Mitch was tracking animal tracks, ie sneaker marks, but we did not tell him what it really was. At the top the view is gorgeous, looking out over the water, islands, several harbors, lighthouse and mountains. There was an artist there capturing the view too. I watched him paint for a little while...he did not seem to mind!

This week we also spent some time at a family favorite spot called Jasper Beach. We have gone for many years. The rocks are beautiful and we bring home more than we should every time. My aunt mentioned that we are a family of Hunters and Gatherers....and she is not kidding. We all have a love for rocks and sticks. They are all over my house.

These are my favorite shots from Jasper...Avery was enjoying the water but it was cold cold cold!! Leaping out of the way was so cute.

Mitch had the most fun just throwing the rocks or filling his bucket and then dumping it!

Maine we will miss you, until next time!!!

Vision of our Days

We have been enjoying cousin camp!!! There has been tie dye, which makes the prettiest laundry you have ever seen. There was night swimming on the 4th of July. Ice popes that were very festive. The kids did a fashion show...very silly. And we had a game night. Didn't Avery looks thrilled with bingo?! If you want to see some fun pictures of our 4th go check them out at my sister's blog, here. There are also a few more cousin camp pictures here.

We've Been to the Beach

***Brace yourselves, this one is picture heavy....***

We went to the beach this week. Not just any old trip to the beach, we went camping at the beach.

We did not have to go far, obviously since we were camping there, to enjoy the sun and sand and wind and cool weather. The kids and Chris got to do what they love to do at the beach...flying kites!

Mitchell, showing off a little when i wanted to take a picture. He saw the camera in my hand and then started getting goofy. And, yes, that is a mohawk you see. We are trying out yet another new summer hairdo.

The sky and clouds were so amazing to watch while the fog was blown out to sea. I love the dark colors. The ocean kept changing from a dark gray to beautiful greens and blues. it was so pretty.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Avery...we have one that is very similar to this from when she was about 3 or 4 flying a kite on a beach in Washington state. My how she has grown.

This time Mitchell could get in on it, he has always been too small, not strong enough, to manage a kite in the wind. So, these are pictures of his first time ever flying a kite.

And a great shot of the boys flying the big kite together. Chris has many large kites and trick kites that he likes to bring along...and nice daddy that he is he lets the kids have a go when he takes it out.

Oh, and building the obligatory sand castle...look what a great job he is doing!! Careful, careful...

then, oh no...i think you can guess what is about to happen!!!

as for the camping part...because i am sure that any of you that know me in person are wondering(especially after reading about our first trip in the woods)...it was good!! Beach camping is way better than woods. The weather this time of year is better too. And we slept great every night, Chris made all the food and did all the work. The kids and i just played at the beach!!! How hard could it have been?

Mitchell's Take on Things

Honestly this should be a weekly installment, an ongoing post of sorts, because this kid says some really funny stuff. Today they all center around his impression of our trip to a modern art museum called the DIA. Yesterday was free day for the local community, so we decided to go and check it out.

Let me tell you what Mitchell thought.

Mitch, as we walk in, looks around..."this is not art!". We tried shushing him.
...as we are standing looking at the scrap metal sculpture..."i am taller than that piece of garbage"
..."it doesn't even look like sculptures"
...as we walk into a room of all white canvas, "no art, no art, no art"
..."mmm, boring"

Now understand that this is coming from a kid who's introduction to 'art' is largely influenced by his first introductions at the National Gallery in DC and the Met in NYC. So, please don't be offended all you modern art lovers(Natalie). We found lots of things there to appreciate that were really impressive, there were just a few too many that made us say, "huh?!?". All in all we had a nice visit...Avery really loved it actually. There was even a point when all three, Chris Avery and Mitch, were kneeling on the floor looking at an art piece and i said to them, "even if you don't always understand modern art there is something to discover about it".

One More

The time has finally come to share with all of you, my bloggy friends, what had been keeping me from my blog for so long. We are expecting a new little baby at the end of the year!!!!

I know these ultrasound things are sketchy to figure out at best, and this baby was not cooperating on the day we had this done...so the baby is at the bottom of the picture, on the right is a head and the lighter spots to the left are hands and feet( I am pretty sure).

It is thanks to this little smidgen of a babe that i lost all my energy, motivation, creativity and will to eat or get off the couch. But it is coming back now, all of it. I am feeling better. That is why, you might have noticed, i have been blogging a lot more lately.

We are all very excited. It is going to be fun to have a new little one in the house, when the other two are big enough to help a little.