Blastoff!

It's a bit hard to tell from the audio, but Lee is counting down from 10 and Clara is chiming in with something resembling numbers (about every other one is "do!"), and then they both say "BLASTOFF" before taking off down the driveway.




Sometimes Lee pushes Clara, sometimes the other way around, and sometimes when Lee doesn't want to participate, Clara attempts to push an empty car, which usually ends up off the side of the driveway among the plants.

The Thrill of Waves

I had to add a comment to this picture because, as Bridges correctly pointed out, there is not a hint of a wave to be seen. I guess that's partly what's so cool - these were little teeny tiny waves coming into the beach, but Lee thought they were just fabulous. This picture was, obviously, taken between waves and cropped a bit close.

A Speaking Milestone

This week Clara put two words together for the first time. Three times yesterday she said "Milk, please" (or "please, milk" for variety). And she did it again today. She's really starting to talk!

More Pics from the 4th

Bruce and his son Ben

Eric

Glamorous Deb

B and his girls

Sparklin' Ryan

Kids on the boat

Sunset

Bruce hangin' with the boys

Eric & Jack

Jump!

But whatever you do, don't put that face in!

Eagle Cliffs

This July 4^th weekend we had a big crowd at the lake, including three of my siblings with their families, my aunt and uncle, and my cousin and his family. In total, we had fifteen adults and ten kids aged from 18 months to 13 years.

We had a fantastic few days with no squabbling whatsoever among the kids (and no squabbling among the adults either!). There was swimming, tubing, rides in the motorboat, Wimbledon, a bean bag game that resembled horseshoes, cribbage, paddling, hiking, and a fair amount of drinking (adults of beer and wine, kids of soda).

Here are some pictures from our hike up to Eagle Cliffs on Red Hill, which offers great views of Squam Lake.

My Dad came along with us. My Dad will be 77 this summer, and he’s really in great shape aside from his joints breaking down from years of physical activity. My Dad’s always done a lot of hiking, and he took us as kids, and I’m sure he slowed down quite a bit for us when we were younger. I remember the first time I kept up with him easily, and it doesn’t seem all that long ago. Then there were a few years where we hiked together comfortably (although not all that often given my proximity to NH during those years). And I remember the first time that he really slowed me down. His knees just aren’t good anymore, and the tough rocky terrain of New England is hard for him, especially going downhill. Your balance deteriorates as you get older, and he’s just not as steady and sure-footed as he once was. But this year, Bridges was carrying Clara (and allowing her to walk now and again) and my cousin’s wife was carrying her 30+ pound two-year-old (and allowing him to walk now and again), and so my Dad very comfortable hiked at the rear with us, while the older kids (including Lee) raced on up ahead. It worked out really well. It’s kind of funny how things come full circle.

Blue Girl Group

June Recap

Wow, I didn't post much in June. Here are some June highlights (not necessarily in chronological order):

• Clara walking around saying "happy, happy, happy..." Really. She is a different kid since her surgery. I could go into a lot of description but that about sums it up.
  
• Over six inches of rain during the month. Not from soaking spring rains, but from one violent thunderstorm after another that felt apocalyptic to me (but to Bridges felt like, well, thunderstorms). This was actually great because we haven't had to do any watering of our new plantings the entire month. However the weeds love it too, and there's so much humidity rising off the ground it feels like we're living in a rain forest.
• After-dinner weeding parties where Lee monitors how many M&M's each of is has earned and compliment us on "doing good work."
  
• More water in the basement (see six inches of rain above).
  
• Lots of trouble with with Lee's sleeping. I'll post separately on this.
  
• The start of the season at Lindentree Farm. It was a wonderful strawberry season.
• A weekend in New Castle which involved getting a load of plants from my mother-in-law's garden, a breakfast out with just the two of us, lots of strawberry picking, and some nice relaxing walks on the river.
  
• A few initial trips to The Res and the town pool. I'll have to do separate posts about these mainstays of our summer.
  
• The beginning of our membership in Chestnut Hills Farm, a meat CSA. Yummy!
• The re-test of my thyroid (which was extremely low last fall). It came back normal, which I attribute partially to my commitment to regular Bikram yoga.
  
• A quiet weekend at the lake where we got out for a beautiful (if a bit drizzly) early morning paddle over to Steamboat Island.
• The rodent wars. The tally at the end of the month was 7 chipmunks, 3 mice, 2 voles, and 1 squirrel. Yet we fear they are winning.
  
• Concern over the knocking down of houses in our neighborhood. They've knocked down fives houses in our immediate neighborhood in the past year. The houses that go up are 5000+ sq ft. Who needs all that space?!?