I know.....

I haven't blogged in 5 days! Well the truth is that I've been concentrating on my week in the life project AND concentrating on soaking up all the goodness the lake plus family and tons of little cousin togetherness brings (and don't forget Mom's Amazing whoopie pies!). I'll be back soon, with all my photos (all 1,684 of them taken last week),stories and joy. I've missed you:)

31 July

Today......

in the early morning hours, Trevor caught his very first fish ever (right in front of the dock after paddling all the way down the lake.) and I'm sure it's something that him and his grampa will never forget......

In his own words:

Today was very exciting. I caught my first fish. He was pretty big. He was a bass. I named him Fred. But me and Gampie went all the way across the lake and back and I caught the fish at the grassy part right near Gammie and Gampie's house. At first I thought I caught the bottom or a giant piece of seaweed, but since it kept tugging, I knew it was a fish. For bait I used the new bait Dad bought me. The new bait was fake worms. The fish was a little hard to pull in. It was fun. I let the fish go after I caught it.

30 July

Celebrating.......

Turning one and turning nine

Being together

Smashing cake on Jeff and Ryan

baby toys

slip and sliding

water-balloon fights (and Target practice on Jeff and Kevin)

water gunfights

shimmering sun off the water in the late afternoon

sticky hands

Lucas and Sam's "collections"

jumping off the dock 50,000 times naming a food

sunsets

amazing food

campfires

falling into bed in our cozy camper:)

Grateful for:

Cousins

Brothers

Sisters

grandparents

campfires

playlists

cornhole jokes

the end of a tantrum (and parenting advice)

the slip-n-slide

Mom and Dad....... for loving us all no matter what, for sharing this AWESOME house, lake and camper with us, and working so hard to make sure we had an awesome day.

that we have something to celebrate.

29 July

Being almost nine+fishing=love

28 July

Cousins.......We're all here and we can't wait to party on with family for 4 days at the lake, fishing , swimming and sleeping in a camper! We managed to line up the kids the same as last year....look h at how much everyone has grown!

27 July

a summer night with friends, great food, kids, swimming, and fun.

26 July

So happy you are all here and around our table and in our kitchen (and playroom and backyard and dining room and driveway and bathtub, )...Best.day.ever.

25 July

Trevor was so cute as he helped all the kids make their own cards (on his own) and he carefully crafted his own pop-up card complete with gift (socket set) and a chocolate, chocolate birthday cake. What more could any daddy want. Happy Birthday daddy, We Love you!

Our new....

dining room, or should I say, kids homework/reading and craft room. Our old dining room went to live at Gammie's lake house and we got a new table (LOVE craigslist). Now we are just looking for the perfect reading chair for the corner (and maybe a couple of daddy made built ins in the future) to complete the room. I love decorating:)

24 July

You. look sooo cute when you are sleeping and mommy loves you more than life. BUT, little boy, you test me and my patience from the second you get up until the second you fall asleep. By this time I'm fried and you think it would get easier the third time around, it doesn't. I don't know what to do but bang my head against the wall. Most of the time, I find the joy, but hey, this is about REAL life, and REAL life (with you screaming your head off in the grocery store) is not always joyous.

23 July

Our traditional once a year lobster shack seafood dinner. This place is amazing, we could have sat here all day on the rocks and watched the waves crash in. There is nothing like the coast of Maine in the summertime (Plus it is twenty degrees cooler than anywhere else 75 vs 95.).

22 July

The story of today.......the heat!

It's never broken 100 degrees here in my life!

21 July

Friends+doing girly stuff+a day at the waterpark+pizza for dinner+summer+my first ever sleepover=heaven (for mama and daughter:))

20 July

a a brief after dinner trip to the shore. I LOVE everything about this place, the sunlight at this time of day is so beautiful (not to mention the sight of three smiling little ones playing in and around the water. Summer=Love.

19 July

summer every day work.

J- computer, e-mail, conference calls

me-laundry, cleaning out (another box to goodwill!), organizing and making plans for some redecorating.

kids-fighting, typing, playing legos, fighting, eating, reading, playing legos, playing outside, fighting etc, etc.....

Truly, our adventures at home rival any of those that take place elsewhere (and are needed!).

18 July

The Typewriter.

Well, a long time ago, inspired by Amanda, I had an idea that Trevor just might like a typewriter of his own. I mean, what could be wrong with a kid asking to write? He has been begging for one ever since he saw her post. The other day, we stopped by Goodwill to see if there was one in working order. Well, we found this one, complete with receipt, a ribbon that worked a little bit, and manual from 1982. We were also lucky enough to find a new ribbon for it on Ebay (since they don't make these things anymore). So for the price of $4, we packed it up , took it home, set it up on his desk and plugged it in. They have been typing away ever since...... stories, lists, little notes to each other and even a secret code. Really, the best $4 I ever spent:)

17 July

Just watching the storms roll in.

16 July

This weekend, we headed down to Connecticut to visit some college friends. It's hard to believe it's been almost 14 years since we have lived here. It was a scorching hot weekend and we headed up to Lake Compounce Amusement and water park for the day on Saturday (along with the rest of the state). The kids all got a long so well. and it was a dream to watch the level of patience Trevor had with all the younger kids. Our friends have a beautiful home and no one was EVER hungry with the spread they so effortlessly put together every night. We were so glad to be able to add some Maine lobster to the mix that we had brought down with us. It was so fun hanging out outside every night talking and laughing until the wee hours on the deck to the light of the Tiki torches. Great, great memories.

15 July

And More swimming......Love this.

14 July

Summer means.......

lots and lots of swimming. When I was a kid we went to the lake EVERYDAY. I remember packing a cooler in the morning with plenty of drinks, a loaf of bread, peanut butter and snacks. We took swimming lessons and swam out to the dock. We hung out with all our friends until dinner time and sometimes we even stayed until after dinner time when the dads would come down and take us all waterskiing. Those are the best memories, what a lucky kid I was. Now, we spend our time between friends pools, the camp, the waterpark and the ocean. The kids are carefree, swimmimg and playing until after dark (and they are exhausted). After all, we have a whole winter to rest:) Happy memories.