The Grand Armada of Pillsbury

Levi's 2nd birthday!! (part 1)

2011-04-14T21:31:00.000-04:00

Duncan-days

2011-04-07T20:20:00.000-04:00

Just a few shots of Duncan in his absolute adorableness!

Fashion Show A La Duncan

2011-02-04T22:09:00.000-05:00

Got this fleece kids shirt at the Goodwill and am working on turning into a Duncan sweater.

This is his brooding look

Are you done taking pictures yet?

Super cute jacket - furry hood!

Handsome in his new sweater

Duncan-doodle

2011-02-04T21:53:00.000-05:00

Handsome boy!

LASER!!!

Duncan loves his laser pointer!

More laser? Please!

Flip chip!

Silly face

Night skiing

2011-01-28T21:32:00.000-05:00

Whoops! That would be Nathan down.

Nathan showing off his groovy moves

going up the rope line

Mia going up the tow line

Cady

Goofiness in the lodge

Cady goofiness

Mia's CrAzY eYeS

What is better when you are cold and tired? Slushies! Wait......slushies?

Mia on the go!

Cady after the jump

Nathan in mid-jump

The new dog!!!!!!

2011-01-16T21:41:00.000-05:00

We got a dog! His name is Duncan and he is just the cutest thing in the world!


Duncan with his rawhide.

We found him on Craig's list. He is a year-old Mini Pincher. He is just the sweetest little guy. We found out that he likes celery (minus the strings, you have to peel off the strings and then he will scarf it!). He also likes the yummy organic sweet potato and fish treats that we got him.
His first day with us was a big one! We picked him up and then went straight to Petco to get his food, a harness and some treats. We would have stayed longer and bought him another sweater (the one he came with is SO Charlie Brown) and some boots, but he had an accident in one of the aisles. I bought him healthy dog food, as they had been feeding him Ole Roy, and that is just the cheapest junk that you can buy. No more junk food now that he is mine! We then went home for a little while to get a bath, chill out and learn about the new digs, and then headed straight over to Oma and Nana's to meet with their 6 dogs. He got along very well with them, and let them know that he is boss, and not to be messed with. He got very sleepy and fell asleep standing up quite a few times before he just gave in and laid down. Once the kids came back from snowboarding, we headed home.
The next morning was Mia's birthday, so he helped me fold the laundry and made sure that I got all of the spots off of the mirror in the bathroom. We practiced the sit command today and he is catching on very quickly. (He sits before he goes outside so that we can put his leash on, and then when he comes back in so that we can take it off).Oma and Nana brought Jackson over (Jackson is their black standard poodle puppy). He likes Jackson, because he is a very calm puppy, even if he is very big. He was very taken with my dad, (even though he barked at him when he first came in)who is allergic to dogs but loves them anyway. He sat right next to him on the couch for a long time, while dad stroked his ears and gave him a little massage, which made him very happy.
Tomorrow will be his first time with us that he will be in the crate for while during the day while we are gone. Keep your fingers crossed that he does well!
I am sure that there will be many more Duncan updates to come!

Christmas with the Princes

2011-01-04T20:44:00.000-05:00

More to come.....

Christmas at the Sears'

2011-01-01T19:51:00.000-05:00

Joey and Spencer

Nathan concentrating

Reed on the move!

Pillow fight!

Levi and his teeth!

Levi loves his tickles

Post tickle hair

Jordann and Ryan

Jessie and Joey

The Gang

Patiently waiting

Mom and me

Jordann and Ryan

Evvie

Pretty bows. What else are you supposed to do with them?

Hallie and Jay

Uncle Chris' cool pocket is great for holding the sippy cup

Claire! Now engaged to Lindsay! Yay!!! Welcome to the family, Claire!

I love this picture of mom!

After the party, time to veg out on personal computers

Christmas Morning

2010-12-25T08:48:00.000-05:00

The morning haul!!!! Now, normally, I am the first one awake on Christmas morning. Not today! Today it was Chris! He got up and made coffee and let me sleep for a little longer. I got as closed to dressed as I was going to be on Christmas morning, came out of my room, and there was Mia! Where was Nathan? Still sound asleep! At 6:00 am!! On Christmas Day! I went in to wake him up and give him his meds. Ever-so sleepy he asked me, "What day is today?" I couldn't resist. I told him that today is actually Christmas Eve, that dad and I made a mistake yesterday and thought that yesterday was Christmas Eve. Nathan now tellls me that that was a pretty bad prank. He was pretty disappointed until I peeked back into his room and said, "Aren't you going to come check out your stocking?" You have never seen a kid move so fast in your life!

Crazy Christmas lights

Santa's gifts

Amelia's haul

Nathan's haul

Add caption

Notice that she is done with her stocking and his is still almost full!

Still tired

Nanobot from the stocking!!!

Halo man

Amelia's special Santa present

Knitting stuff!!!

Nathan loves his skull hat from his New Jersey Grammie!!!

Amelia's super-soft, super-silky socks!

Dragon shirt and radio from New Jersey Grammie! Cool!

Amelia's shirt from New Jersey Grammie is totally groovy, dude!

Big, soft fluffy pants from New Jersey Grammie. Mia better keep her eyes on these, as Amy might want to borrow them!

Nathans soft fuzzy skull pants from New Jersey Grammie. Totally awesome!

Magic science kit. Can you tell that she is excited?

Dad's gift from the kids...Team Hammer shirt from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

The snuggies that they just HAD to have

Goggles!!!

Turned out to be the most gorgeousAsian copper bowl with copper stand....gorgeous!

Star Wars books!!!!!

Can you tell that he was pleased with this gift?

Yes, Mia, now you have your very own Halo lego vehicle

Happy Daddy! He got DJ mixing equipment!

Are you kidding me?!!! Computers! We got our own computers?! "Oh, no you didn't!!! You guys ROCK!!!"

This happened almost instantaneously after they were opened. Everything else was forgotten. Good thing that dad took the time to set them up BEFORE he wrapped them!

Happiness

The aftermath. Not so impressive when you make sure that you pick up all paper and boxes after each present is opened.

Guys....we have to go to Oma's to open more presents. Guys? Hello? Um, you need to get dressed. Hello?!

SNOW!!!

2010-12-23T13:22:00.000-05:00

Early afternoon after the snow ended

Wow! Who'd have thought that Walter would look BETTER covered in snow?

I shoveled the porch. I asked the kids to clear the steps. This is how they did. What do you think?

So much for getting a shot of the pristine back yard. (Notice the snow yoda in the left-hand corner?)

Very proud of their snow yoda......I am still chuckling about that. They apparently had a difficult time making a round snowball for the head, so they improvised! Smart kids!

No Nathan! Don't punch Yoda!!!

Can I just give him a little nudge with my foot, then?

Goofiness!

I heart snow Yoda.

Tah-dah!!!!

Little Orphan Annie

2010-12-23T13:00:00.000-05:00

Cady was in a musical - Little Orphan Annie - she was an orphan with a speaking part!

That is Cady on the right edge of the stage in brown - not looking at the camera

(forgive the pictures, I am pretty sure a child had the camera)

Amelia's 6th grade concert

2010-12-23T12:55:00.000-05:00

Chris and I taken by Nathan (he insisted that this be put on the blog)

The program

Nathan waiting patiently (and in need of a haircut)

Amelia and her best friend Ava

Thanksgiving

2010-12-23T12:05:00.000-05:00

Manly men of the family watching FOOTBALL!!!

Amelia getting ready

Small part of the gang

Notice Reed in front taking a picture of Amelia taking this picture!

All exhausted

Desert!

Reed and Uncle Chris having fun with the Droid

Grampa's and a box, guaranteed fun!

Cousins! Jed, Jaws and Amy Kay

Jordann and Ryan! All together now, AWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!

Levi and is turkey

Evvie and her turkey

Think we went a bit overboard?

Chris, Levi and Reed

That's right, the Patriots are on

Pooped out

Reed thought that we were all too loud!

Anonymous

2010-12-22T14:44:00.006-05:00

This is to the "anonymous" commenter.
Here are some of your most recent posts:

"weird...you are not the MOTHER...just sad...and things are going to go hard at a point as they get older and have lost their mom...and btw chris is a psychopath that you seem to be bouncing off..think again"

"you did a wonderful job killing these children's mom...way to go new mom."

If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. This blog is for the kids and family and people who love them. Please stop commenting with stuff that has nothing to do with the blog post.

Sincerely,
The Pillburys

Paulsen/Ridley visit

2010-10-25T19:36:00.000-04:00

Hanging out in the

creepy eyes.....

Hiking in the orchard

Still life with dog....

Pilar!

Milkweed puffs

Creepy tree

How do those milkweed puffs taste, oh creepy-eyed Pilar?

Oh....not so hot!

sleepy after a 2 hour walk

view from lying on my back

Mia taking a sun-nap

Creepy-eyed Amy

GIGANTIC LEAVES

PICKLES!

Best friends

Everett! With a fluff!

Super-creepy Nathan!

It was a little windy out

Super-duper creepy Nathan

Proving that the leaves are as big as Nathan's head

So windy that even Pickles ears are flying!!!

Girls day out

Nathan found out that you can twirl a stick in the long grass and get...um...whatever you want to call it. He thought it was wicked cool (so did I, actually)

That milkweed puff stands out nicely against his red shirt

Pickles!!!

Too cute for words!

Bye!

First day of school

2010-09-19T13:42:00.000-04:00

Well, better late than never! Here it is....The first day of school pictures!!
The kids were SUPER Excited! I stayed home so that I could put them on the bus. They chose their clothes very carefully.


Notice the skull and crossbones on his shirt. It is one of his favorites!

Isn't her new haircut adorable?

They ran, and I mean RAN up to the top of the driveway to wait for the bus.

Goofing around

Cute face, hunh? I had to have them facing the sun to take the pictures.

See that scab on Mia's shoulder? She took a digger at Oma's just a couple of days before.

Nathan was protesting having his picture taken facing the sun. It was already getting hot at this point, and the bus was late.

See what happens when I shoot facing the sun? I like this picture anyway.

Randomness

2010-08-30T20:29:00.000-04:00

Birds at the wildlife park

2010-08-30T20:11:00.000-04:00

Little nephew bee

2010-08-30T19:31:00.000-04:00

Last day of Freedom

2010-08-29T16:10:00.001-04:00

Sunday, the last day before the first day of school. It was FUN-TIME!!!

We planted seeds in our new pots...probably the only time Amy will allow that much dirt in the house, ever!


Bucket o' stinky dirt


Our fancy flower pots

Mixing all the magic together

FLOWERS! They will bloom as their minds bloom in school...or that is the theory.

Concentration

Poking holes for the seeds. Poke, Poke, Poke.

This is Amelia's pattented Pinkey Poke

Sprinkling the tiny seeds

The aftermath. Thankfully Chris thought to put down these big sheets of cardboard. Cleanup was a snap!

Only got a little on the floor. And it was my fault!

Playing legos

LEGOS!!

Goofiness!!

MAJOR GOOFINESS!!!!!

SUPER-CRAZY GOOFINESS!!!

We finished off the day with the movie Night at the Smithsonian, with snackies of chips and flavored H2O.
Dinner is burritos and then off to bed early, because tomorrow is....Duhn Duhn DUH....The First Day of School!!!!!

Monday with Pilar!!!!

2010-08-29T15:43:00.000-04:00

Today the girls (Pilar and I) went to the Jay indoor yardsale and the free store in Rumford. The only picture of this day is our goofiness at the Moose in Rumford? Mexico?

Or maybe there is more than one...how about this one....

Or this one....what is up there?

I love my Pilar!!

Amy's 10th Birthday Party

2010-08-29T15:36:00.001-04:00

My M & M's are bee-ing positive!

Little niece bee

Little brother bee

Balloon blowing bee

Bee-utiful brownies. Notice the little sugar bees on the middle brownies.

The garden looking ready for the party

Amy and Michelle

Show us those bee-utiful nails!

Present NAILS!!

Cutest little bee

Maria, Jessica, Donaldson, Joey, Spencer, Jordann

My bee-utiful cousin Jordann

Nephew bee buzzing around the flowers

Pilar and Dad

Amelia

It was a bee-utiful day!

PILAR!!!!!!

2010-08-29T15:10:00.000-04:00

Pilar is here! Pilar is here!!!
Pilar made the trip from Vermont to spend a fun-filled weekend with the Pillsburys and Prince.
Chris took the kids on Saturday and Pilar and I headed to Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth.

Unassuming looking path that leads down to the most amazing ocean on the planet.

Fashion plate!

Carefully picking her way upon slippery rocks

Crashing waves....not so terribly crashy.

Rocks that look like wood

Super-cool rocks

Finding treasures in the tide pools

Toe dabbling

Best friends

Pilar's toes in the Atlantic

Driftwood chair at The Lobster Shack

Broken lobster traps on the beach

Is it my imagination, or is that Ellen Brody from JAWS?

Checking for treasures
Broken Lobster traps on the beach

Afterwards we went to the HUUUUUGGGE Goodwill store in Portland and made it home in time for dinner!

Maine Wildlife Park

2010-08-17T21:35:00.000-04:00

Right in front of where we parked was this really cool tree...I started in with the pictures right away!

Being goofy!

So cute!

More goofiness

Mia being eaten by a very cute bear...Nathan REFUSED to have his picture taken with this...he gave me the hairy eyeball in a BIG way!

Moose are cool!

This is the most beautiful wildlife park ever!

Real moose

This young moose had no problem with the kids. The minute I put the camera down and started walking toward them...he took off.

Mia wondering where we are on the map

She was fascinated with how many boards they can get out of one tree

There were cute little animals along the trail that you had to find....one dimensional ones, but they kept the kids searching the woods. The cool thing about it was that they found lots of real animals that we probably wouldn't have seen otherwise...chipmunks, bluejays, a snake hole , lots of cool stuff!

When I asked them if they understood what this meant, Mia told us that if you get off the trail, you could fall on a tree stump and it could scratch you and that would leave a scar. Oh dear.

White peacock.

Nathan can do impressive things with his fingers

Only the cutest owl on the planet. He was so small!!! Just a little bigger than a soda can! All together now....Awwwwww...

Golden Eagle

Turtles in the sun, that is what we are....

This box had turtle shells, eggs and claws. They were both grossed out by this.

Thank you...We will STAY AWAY....Right Nathan? RIGHT!!!

That is the type of fish Nathan wants to catch

Do you know the answer to the question, Mia?

Who would have guessed?!

Fish ni

Handful of don't-touch-mes

Totally twisted cat-o-nine-tails

Nathan showing us where we are going

See how red my face is? It was HOT!!!

Watching the bears

Making tracks

Albino porcupine

Albino raccoon

We had fun!

Great end to the day...games at TGIFridays

Post-trailer, pre-house camp-time

2010-08-17T20:56:00.001-04:00

There was a one-week hiatus between moving out of the trailer and into the new house, so we spent the week at camp...sigh..fabulous!!!

Cool sky pic.

Aunt Beth!!!!

2010-08-11T20:14:00.000-04:00

Aunt Beth and Uncle John came from California to visit and we had a LOBSTER FEED!!!

And to go along with all those lobsters.....plenty of butter!!!!

And clams!!!!

Clams taste better with friends!!!

I don't know what was going on here....but it looks funny!!

And what family reunion would be complete without the family pictures?

You don't have to check the weather report, just check out how big my hair is....very big=very humid!!

Jessie and Joey

Cutest

Family Football!!!

The cheerleaders

Time with Chris at the Darling Marine Center

2010-06-14T20:10:00.001-04:00

Chris recently spent three weeks in a graduate program at the Darling Marine Center near Boothbay Harbor checking out how marine worms move through the mud by putting them through jello.

He found lots of cool things in his travels..

We went up after his second week to spend the weekend with him.
Checking out Chris's teeny-tiny room.....

The above was one of Chris' few neighbors. Mia has named him Alvadore.
We got to check out the touch tanks at the Marine Center. Lots of really cool stuff.

We got to see the most amazingly large starfish!!!

Even Scientists have a sense of humor:

Next we went to the Pemiquid Point Lighthouse. First we went into the lighthouse museum.

The lobster behind me was real...at one point in time. They figured him to be over 80 years old when he died.

Gotta love the self-timer...we actually got to get a family picture..so cute...

We headed down on the rocks to check things out while waiting for the lighthouse to open.

We got to see a lobsterman hauling traps....super-cool....

Finally, the lighthouse opened and we got to go up. Up the 36 (or so) steps up the circular staircase, then up the 7 steps on the ladder. The view was amazing!!

It was a very small space...

Finally down, we just had to go to the gift shop next door. I think that seeing the ocean from way up high made us a little giddy, and we could not help but take some silly pictures...

We went to Pemiquid State Beach before dinner to romp and play in the sand. Chris wanted to show us the moon jellyfish. We sure got to see them...they were all over the beach!

Mia found one....by stepping on it!!!! Luckily they are totally harmless!

Chris searching for sea glass for me...

This was the cute little cabin we stayed in..."Little" being the operative word.

The next day we headed to Jason and Hallie's, with a quick stop in Damarascotta to see the running of the Alewives. There was a whole festival going on around this. Here are some pictures of the really neat fish ladder that allows them to head from the ocean into fresh water.

Amelia, was that you?

2010-06-14T18:37:00.002-04:00

Chris: Amelia, was that you?

Amelia: Hysterical, maniacal laughter

Nathan: Wow, Amelia! Your butt packs a powerful punch!

I love my mom

2010-05-23T21:38:00.003-04:00

I love custard. I love my mom. I love that my mom knew that I needed custard today. I love you, mummy! Thanks!

Boothbay Harbor

2010-05-16T17:28:00.000-04:00

So Chris headed out today for three weeks for a graduate-level condensed botany course in Boothbay Harbor. When he is done, he will have graduated from a five-year degree in FOUR YEARS!!!! I am so proud of him and I know that he will have so much fun. Of course once this is done, the job search will begin. He will probably end up with a job on the coast, so we might need to move to the Brunswick (twist MY arm!) area. That being said, I am in charge of the household for the next three weeks. Just call me "Big Mama"! Since I don't get home from work until 5:45 I had to do some fancy footwork to figure out how to get a good meal on the table fast (because we have been SSSSOOOOOO spoiled by Chris' cooking!). So, it is all planned out and kid approved. I made the lasagna this afternoon and that is in the fridge ready to be popped in the oven at 5:00 by the girl-child. The garlic bread is wrapped in foil and ready to be popped in when I get home from work. All I will have to do is make the salad and we are good to go! Then left-overs for Tuesday.
But tonight! What are we having tonight that the kids are so excited about? Hmmmm....could it be grilled cheese pizza sandwiches? Ummm....I think it might be! And breakfast tomorrow? Only strawberry pancakes (already made and in the fridge waiting to be microwaved up in the morning).
I'm so good sometimes it scares me!

Friday night

2010-05-07T21:54:00.000-04:00

Today was Amelia and Cady's dress rehearsal for ballet, so when I got home from work, I picked up the boy-child and gave him his dinner options: Subway, The Chuck Wagon, or Lunchables from the grocery store. He had a real difficult time choosing between The Chuck Wagon and a Lunchable (because, as he said, "Subway is right out").He finally decided on The Chuck Wagon. We got to sit in the "Gold Dust" room, so named for the "gold" bricks on the outside wall. Nathan was very disappointed to realize that they weren't real gold, but wood painted gold. He chose his favorite combination: Grilled Ham and Cheese with chips and an orange soda. After we ordered, he asked me if I had brought any cards for him to play with (the last time that Chris and I took him, Chris brought a deck of cards and did card tricks). Unfortunately, I had come straight from work to pick him up, so had not brought anything to keep him occupied. The conversation went something like this:
Nathan: Did you bring any cards to keep me entertained?
Amy: No, sorry bud, I didn't.
Nathan: Well, that's okay.
Amy: What do you think that we should do?
Nathan: Well, we could talk!
Amy: What should we talk about?
Nathan: I know! How was your day?
Amy: It was quite nice, thank you! I was very glad to be done with work, though.
Nathan: Why?
Amy: Because it is Friday, and I have the whole weekend away from work. And because I was looking forward to our dinner date together!
Nathan: I was looking forward to it too! I like eating out, even if they don't cook as well as you and Dad.
Amy: How was your day?
Nathan: I got to have not one, but TWO chocolate pudding cups at Grammies.

The conversation went on like this for a while. He began to regret the two chocolate pudding cups (low-fat, he informed me, and made with real milk, so it is healthy!) when he could barely finish his sandwich. I knew that he was VERY full when he decided that he was too full for dessert. I felt his forehead to make sure he was okay. The kid who begs for dessert every night is too full for dessert? What? Okay...
It was a great night!

Sunday

2010-05-02T15:39:00.001-04:00

Wow...did not get to do what we wanted to today (fishing). The washing machine finally bit the dust so we called up Uncle Jimmy and he came to our rescue. We now have an almost-new washer and dryer combo!!! Woo-hoo! It only takes 1 cycle to dry the towels!!! I didn't know that was possible! And the washing machine? Three words for you - extra large capacity. Wowsers!
Unfortunately, Chris got stuck moving out the old ones and moving in the new ones. Then, once that was complete, we had to clean up. Then we decided to put in the air conditioner because....damn...it is hot!!! Then we had to got to the store because we were out of paper towels and toilet paper. Phew! I think that we will both be glad when this Sunday is over!!!

Ode to my Xterra...

2010-05-02T08:13:00.000-04:00

Oh dear Xterra, how I loved thee....

You were big and green and handsome
With lovely swirlies on the side...

There willl never be another like you

you lovely gas-guzzling, cross-country traveling,
helping people move, head-turning Xterra, you.

Randomness

2010-05-01T23:25:00.000-04:00

Randomness that I have been remiss in putting on the blog yet....
Christmas...Nathan or Spiderman?

Cute things that Nathan says

2010-05-01T23:03:00.000-04:00

We went to pick up Nathan at Oma's today after we went fishing (he decided to go with them to get his hair cut) and Roni was laughing about something the little guy said: " Amy's been so kind to me. And Marybeth is just some friend I don't see"
Awww! Thanks bud!

Fishing!!

2010-05-01T21:52:00.000-04:00

It was an Amy, Mia and Dad fishing day!

Chris caught two - one pickerel and one large perch. We only got a picture of the perch.

I caught one...(Chris took it off the hook for me (thanks baby!)

Mia got sleepy and took a nap....(she had a sleepover last night)

Then on the way back, I got sleepy and took a rest....

Ah! Summer is here!

Easter/Levi's Party at the Princes'

2010-04-11T19:34:00.000-04:00

We got Easter buckets from Grammie, with parachutes, bean bags, bubbles, jump ropes, and edible easter grass.

Jason showing us how he uses parachutes...

Levi played the piano...

He opened some gifts and played with them immediately...

Dessert was sherbert filled Easter eggs!!!

We partied hard!!

Easter with the Pillsbury's

2010-04-04T22:11:00.000-04:00

We had a great day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, there was no snow in sight and it was in the mid-70's. We spent most of the day on the porch.
The kids had an easter egg hunt....Lining up...

Waiting patiently for the people with cameras to get settled....

Searching.....

The haul....

Learning to skateboard.....

Blowing bubbles....

A dog is never happier than when in the back of a truck....

The Girls Birthday

2010-04-04T21:49:00.000-04:00

Tired Levi...

Tater tots

2010-03-03T18:50:00.000-05:00

The scene: the back seat of the truck
The actors: Nathan and Cady

Cady: We had salmon last night for dinner. It was SOOOOO good! I just love salmon. My mom is the best cook in the world!

Nathan: Oh yeah? We had chicken hot dogs and tater tots, and that is like finding the ace in the deck!

Cady: Oh. Tater tots? I really like tater tots.

Cut to Amy and Chris glancing at each other, laughing silently.

As I see it...

2010-02-07T16:42:00.000-05:00

The bathroom. Amelia is starting to go through puberty and her face is getting really oily and unfortunately, zits are starting to rear their ugly heads. Chris has just sat her down and explained the science of a pimple, how the pore get clogged and 'angry'. Amelia is washing her face and Nathan is watching her.
Amelia: "Ow! Ow! It stings!
Nathan: " That's because you are killing all of the spores"

Cut to Amy and Chris covering their mouths and laughing hysterically. Hope you did too!

Christmas concert

2009-12-22T19:27:00.001-05:00

The kids looked great and sang even better. Our two were dressed as stockings and Cady was a Snowflake princess. Please excuse the bad pictures...the lighting in the gym was playing havoc with my camera.

Nathan jamming away....

Amelia being very serious...

Advent Calenders

2009-12-22T19:15:00.001-05:00

This was today's chocolate from our Advent calenders. The magic Christmas mushroom! How very, very odd.

4th of July, Engagement and Sears Party

2009-07-08T20:43:00.000-04:00

The day dawned grey and rainy. Can it really "dawn" if it is grey and rainy? Well, anyway, I got up early to take a shower and enjoy a few minutes of quiet before the ruckus began. I got everyone up and we got ready to head to Turner for the Festival on the Green!!! "Hey, kids! Are you excited to see the parade and the family and have a PAR-TAY?"
I think that you could say that they were a little on the hyper side!

We got to Turner and got a great parking spot up near the middle school in the shade. That is right...shade. Because the sun came out with a vengence! Speaking of shades, Reed decided that Auntie's shades looked better on him!

First stop, after the family meet and greet, was the library basement, for the massive, incredible, over-the-top book sale! We got a box of books, mostly for the kids for $7 bucks!!! The kids were so excited! Pokemon and Transformers and bed-time books, OH MY!!!
The parade was so much fun!! It was really long. Some of the high points for the kids were the little ponies, the big horses with the braids, fire trucks (that didn't blow their horns...THANK YOU, Town of Turner). Their favorite part, you may ask? Well, THAT would be the candy! Tons and tons of candy thrown from every float that went by, every vehicle, every kid riding his decorated bike. They hit the motherlode! They were stuffing their faces and having a blast!
We got to go into the Turner Natural History rooms. We saw sea shells and birds, bird eggs, petrified snakes (or snakes that petrified....depended on who you were!) and all sorts of neat things!
And, if you are a regular reader of this blog, you will know who it is in this picture who found a catapillar (or cap-i-tiller as he is so fond of calling them). This ones name is...yup! You guessed it...Marching Bull 2 (see the blog about Memorial Day if you don't understand that).

The Turner Ridge Riders parked their truck with tracks that they use to groom the snowmobile trails. Nathan thought that it was cool, but not as cool as the capitillar....you can see that he still has it in his hand.
And what can be better than candy at a parade? If you answered cotton candy, you would be right! It would be remiss of me in my role as caretaker if I did not buy them each a bag of cotton candy and make sure that they did not share it with anyone! So they each got a bag and Chris and I shared one. Mmmmm!!! Cotton candy for breakfast! Who is the best mom-like-person around? That's right! I am!
We were the first group down at camp and the kids hopped in the water right away. They hopped right back out pretty quickly too. A month of rain does not a warm pond make. So they chilled (hehehe) on the dock and blew bubbles.
Evvie and the giant ice cube. It was meant for the soup, because the microwave that mommy and daddy donated to camp is a lot stronger than the 20 year old one that had been down there before.
This is the gorgeous fruit spread that my man made. I helped (sort of...I scraped out one of the watermelon aligators). Can you believe his talent? Amazing!

And.....drum roll please....CHRIS PROPOSED!!! In front of my whole family!! Everyone was laughing and crying and hugging! I was as high as a kite! I don't know who was happier, the kids, my parents, his parents, or us!!! It was so amazing and so romantic and the ring is just GORGEOUS!!!!! Check out this bling!!!!!!!

This picture was taken in the car on the 5th while we were driving to Zach's graduation party. The sun was shining through the window and the ring was blasting rainbows all over the car. Okay, so yes, I am a tomboy....and yes, I love my blue jeans WAY more than skirts, but I AM girly enough to also love shiny gold baubles for my finger!! (high pitched squeeling noise...was that me? Yes! Yes, it was!!)
We had a blast at Zach's party. The food was amazing, the weather was beautiful, and Nathan had fun with blueberries....

Ava and Amelia had fun in the stream. They found a dead crayfish body and searched for live crayfish.

My big guy and my nephew...he's 3 months old already...can you believe it??
A beautiful end to a beautiful day....

Video..kids at camp

2009-06-30T14:57:00.000-04:00

This is what happens when you let them out after they have been stuck in a car for 4 hours.

Sno-Cone Fun

2009-06-30T14:49:00.001-04:00

Nathan is REALLY excited about the sno-cone maker....
Amelia....did you eat it to fast? Is that a brain-freeze I see?
Pineapple and Cotton Candy flavors mixed....YUM!!!!

Boothbay Harbor/Aquarium/Botanical Gardens

2009-06-30T13:54:00.001-04:00

Saturday Chris got to try out his Fathers Day present, a GPS navigation unit, as we headed to Boothbay Harbor to visit the Aquarium and the Botanical Gardens. The weather wasn't bad, despite the look of the following pictures. The weather was warm enough that we never really needed our sweatshirts.
Once there, the first thing the kids did was check out the ocean...
Then into the Aquarium we went. No one warned us that this was a one-room Aquarium. We got to see some lobsters, anenomes and trout in the fish tanks, and then pet some Dog Sharks in one touch tank. The far wall had a tide pool touch tank with a Nazi docent who would snatch things away from you if you got to close to actually touching them. (In her defence, she looked about 800 years old. Oh, am I not defending her? Sorry. So that I don't say anything more rude about her, I will end this section.)
After playing with the sharks and the tide pool touch tank, the kids went outside to watch the lobster presentation. We learned lots of cool things about lobster traps (did you know that the place where they put the food is the kitchen and the place where the lobsters crawl into is called the parlor? And that all lobsters have one huge claw, called the crusher and one smaller claw called the pincer? Really!) Nathan got to help with the presentation by putting the bands on a (fake) lobster.
We also got to see a blue lobster. Blue lobsters are very rare. Only one in every one million lobsters is blue!!
After the presentation, we headed back inside for a few more minutes with the touch tank. Nathan really liked the starfish...
Amelia and I checked out the area while Nathan and Dad washed their hands. Amelia found some friends and went swimming while we waited...
We then headed over to the Botanical Gardens. The Garden of the 5 Senses was one of our favorite parts...

Note to self, I want a stone labyrinth pathway when we buy a house....Really cool basin in the meditation garden...
Can you tell by this picture that Nathan is really sick of "all this stinking walking"?
We ate at The Lobster Shack in Boothbay Harbor. You can get a grilled cheese sandwich, lobster and/or a bottle of Dom Perignon. It is a strange mix of basic, order-at-the-window "restaurant', and high class, $35/lobster establishment. They were featured on the Food Network. Crab Cake Throwdown with Bobby Flay. The food and prices were above average, but not spectacular.
We were going to stop and get ice cream on the way home, but we would have had to contend with waking up Nathan...which is NEVER a good idea. Not even for ice cream.

We stopped for a bit of perusing at the Christmas Tree Shop in Augusta on our way back home. I picked up a sno-cone maker for $15.00!!!!!
Once we got home, the heat and the humidity overwhelmed us. I called up to camp to see if Jason and Hallie were there yet...no answer. Called up mom, they weren't coming up this weekend. Guess what? Fifteen minutes worth of racing around and throwing things in bags, and we were ready to spend the night down at camp! We hopped into the Xterra and off we went. The fresh air revived the boy...

We had a great night at camp. We saw two adult loons and one baby loon when we first got down there. We swam, had sno-cones for snacks, Chris BBQ'd some fabulous chicken for dinner, and we ended the evening by the fire pit with two s'mores each and plenty of time poking sticks in the fire. Ah! Camp!

Dinner

2009-06-30T13:48:00.000-04:00

He cooks, he cleans, he makes art from food!
I came home from work, hot sweaty and feeling blechy and this is what was for dinner!!!!
Can you believe what a lucky woman I am?!? Chris can apparently do anything and everything that he sets his mind to!!!

Father's Day and Elecia's Birthday

2009-06-30T13:37:00.001-04:00

We spent the morning of Fathers Day down at camp. I cleaned inside and Chris cleaned the porch.
2 gallons of deck wash = $10.00
2 deck brushes= $40.00
A deck that is not slimy green and slipperier than greased monkey snot? Priceless!!
We came back and cleaned up and headed over to his parents for a Fathers Day/Elecia Birthday party. The kids helped make the pizzas.... Nathan made sure that I got a picture of the one that he made...
Once they were done making pizzas, they took our drink orders....
Then we opened presents...Elecia's had a heartbeat!!!

Amelia's 10th Birthday Party at Camp, Part 1

2009-06-20T19:43:00.001-04:00

So Amelia's birthday is really in January. January is not a good time to have a birthday party where people can swim. So we pushed off her party until today so that she could have a camp party. She invited a couple of her friends and down we went . We managed to get a day where it didn't rain (much) and we couldn't keep the girls out of the water (we did manage to bribe them with lunch and dancing, and then cake).
First we stopped at Grammie and Pops and said hello to the chipmunk that Pop caught in his Have-a-heart trap (this was one of 4 caught today)...
dropped off Nathan and picked up the cake that Grammie made for Amelia (thanks Mom!)

Grammie proved to us that it rained 3.5 inches yesterday!
Then it was off to camp. Time to PAR-TAY!!
They Limbo'd.....

This is Amelia's way to limbo when the bar is to low...on her hands and knees. I don't think that is quite legal, but it is her party, so we will let it slide.
Chris even got in on the Limbo action...

They did the Hokey-Pokey, because that IS what it is all about...

They had their cake and ate it too...
This is what happens when you leave a bunch of 10 year old girls to their own devices with a knife and a dead fish...

I found a friend..
More to come....

The Forcast.....

2009-06-20T07:45:00.000-04:00

Saturday - 65 and cloudy
Sunday - 69 and cloudy with occasional showers
Monday - 68 and cloudy with scattered showers
Tuesday - 67 and cloudy with scattered showers
Wednesday - 70 and mostly cloudy
Thursday - 77 and partly cloudy
Friday - 79 and mostly sunny

Where the heck is the Maine June weather???????

Jason Mraz

2009-06-20T07:39:00.000-04:00

We love Jason Mraz. Seriously. Not just Chris and I. The kids love him too. Click the link below to watch his video "I'm Yours" and find out why!!! If you can't click on it, highlight it and put it into your address bar and hit enter. Jason Mraz ROCKS!!!!

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x67yp4_jason-mraz-im-yours

Yorks Wild Animal Kingdom

2009-06-17T19:10:00.001-04:00

The day dawned bright and beautiful....for the first time in over a week! We were off to the animal park under a cloudless sky! I dressed the kids in matching colored shirts to make it easier to find them....We went with Amelia's Girl Scout Troop and met most of them there. This is the group that we toured the park with...hand in hand through the parking lot...Ladies and Gentlemen.... The Seven Dwarfs!! In front, Amelia, Bailey, Acacia and Cady. Followed by Quinn, Brandon and Nathan.
Wait, Nathan! That is not a real Zebra! (Thank goodness! Check out where his thumbs are! Yup! Right in the nostrils. Boys!)Once we got there, we checked the map...
And we needed a plan of attack....We decided to start out spying on the Nubian goats...but they caught on to us pretty quickly...
Nathan found a caterpillar. If you know Nathan, you know that he can find a caterpillar anywhere!
We got to see them release the white tiger into its large enclosure...We fed the regular everyday goats...
Nathan got to pet a boa constrictor....

And who would have thought that they would have deer just wandering the path. We were not allowed to touch the fuzz on their antlers (we were sorely tempted...it looked so soft!) One of the deer was much smarter than the rest and was cleaning out the inside to the machine that you put quarters in to get the little pellets to feed them. He was nosing the little metal covering up and giving little snakey-licks.

(Just so you know, I went through an ENTIRE bottle of hand sanitizer while there.)

2009-06-01T19:16:00.000-04:00

Fishing!!!

2009-05-31T21:38:00.000-04:00

We went fishing today and Amelia and Nathan both caught a bunch of nice-sized trout!! We had them fishing in an area that is 16 and under, so Chris and I only got to watch and enjoy their excitement. Amelia started out on the lake-side, and after hooting at a few loons (they hooted back!)...
Her patience was rewarded with a Sun Fish that she took off of the hook herself! She made sure that she wouldn't get any spines in her hands by using the towel. Smart girl!
She soon realized that Nathan had caught a trout below the dam, so she decided to try her luck there. She was rewarded with three trout!! Nathan caught two!Intently baiting his own hook.....
Reeling in....
The tomboy baiting her own hook....
And then wiping off the worm-guts. Notice the scraped knee...such a tomboy!This was our reward when we got home....meat, meat and more meat!!

We cooked up 4 of the trout, each one with a different seasoning...dill with lime juice, ginger-flavored soy sauce, mustard, and one with just butter and Old Bay seasoning. The best one was the Old bay, followed by the dill with lime. Chris liked the mustard and wasn't real big on the ginger soy, while I liked the soy and not the mustard. Just so you don't think that we are complete pigs and fear for our waist-lines, I just gave this grill to Chris as an early fathers-day present. He grills our meat for a week and then he doesn't have to heat up the house with the oven during the week (only the microwave...hehe).