Weekend in the Mountains

We celebrated Grandaddy's --and my-- birthday with a trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains. We spied deer, butterflies, and a goldfinch. When Grammy asked what we were going to do if we saw a bear Madeline matter-of-factly answered 'we are going to freak out.Madeline also noted that she "really likes the  sound of nothing" up in the mountains. Me too.

The Lightning Destroyers

Coach Dad and the Llightning Destroyers tied their home opener on Saturday morning! 

Beautiful Ballerinas

Madeline told us she'd prefer to go to 'princess dancing school' but for now ballet will do.

Lego mania

The Lego situation in our house has reached new heights. Patrick is building sophisticated ships and catapults and even Madeline has gotten in on the action, building a Lego wedding scene in her room complete with a caterer and treasure chest. 

A Lego catalog arrived a few weeks ago that included photos of kids with their creations. After picking out a lifetime's worth of wish-list sets the kids began begging me to take their pictures to send in, convinced the Lego people will recognize their engineering genius and choose one of their constructions for a future issue.

Amazing Animal Helpers

A final post to wrap up our summer adventures: on the way to Maine we stopped for a day in Vernon, Aunt Melussa's hometown. We visited Dinosaur State Park, a truly incredible place where hundreds of perfectly preserved dinosaur footprints were discovered embedded in the sandstone in the 1960s. It's one of the largest sites of its kind on the planet, and preserves the footprints of many different species.

 After that we spent an amazing afternoon making treats and toys for the animals and getting a VIP tour of the Connecticut Humane Society. This was all followed by a delicious pizza party courtesy of Uncle Greg, and a campfire in Aunt Melissa's legendary fire pit.

Cautionary Tales

I've been telling the kids a recurring bedtime story over the last few months: tales of naughty Christine. Christine is based on a very naughty girl I used to babysit. The kids love hearing about all of her naughty antics, which have included getting stuck in a giant pile of mud (after her parents warn her not to go near it) and borrowing a penguin from the zoo. This picture is Madeline posing to look like naughty Christine. Not to be outdone, Donald has created a spin-off bedtime series featuring the adventures of naughty Larry, based on some childhood mis-adventures with a playmate.

The Two Elsas

Andy's mom knows four-year-old girls. And she knew that both girls absolutely had to have the light-up singing Elsa Princess dress. Ms. Diana heard so much about them on Monday that she insisted the girls wear them to school yesterday so she could see for herself.

A Maine Wedding

My favorite memories from Lee's wedding are looking up to see the bride walk down to aisle and seeing Patrick, Madeline, and Sophie standing on the balcony at the Newagen Inn watching the whole scene, and the amazing crowd on the dance floor dancing to the best wedding band ever. What a treat to be in Maine for such a happy occasion.

Camp Gran T

For the last week of August Patrick and Madeline went to Roanoke for a week of serious spoiling. Chuck E Cheese, Natural Bridge, the pool, and more than one trip to Target were just a few of the many highlights.

Happy Hoos

We cheered the Hoos to a win on Saturday in Charlottesville. Patrick and Hunter bonded over their identical jerseys, wii games, and giggled half the night in the bunk room at the lodge. I managed to cram six children into a photo booth at fan fest, and we all enjoyed the band and the scene at the tailgate.

UVA class of 2028 and 2029?

Scootin' to School

Postcard from Maine

Lee's wedding took us back to our Maine roots. We hit all the highlights and found them delightfully unchanged: South Bristol, Damariscotta, and Boothbay. Donald ate 7 lobsters in 36 hours, Patrick spied a seal in the harbor in South Bristol, and we all hunted for treasures at Reny's Basement. We found lots of new fun times at the Newagen Inn, a beautiful setting with a game room with vintage bowling alley.

Melissa and Greg kayaked right up to the cottage, which looks almost the same. I remember the yard being endless and the beach holding infinite treasures. 

School Days

Our big second grader and genie began a new year on Tuesday with lots of smiles. So far the reports are good--Patrick thinks Ms. Evans is 'really nice' and Madeline is prepping for kindergarten with the amazing Ms. Diana and new teacher Ms. Connie.