Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day to everyone!

We finally got to break in our backyard with an "official" barbecue with friends today.

Henry helped fill the pool:



And spent the morning playing with Meredith, Charlotte, and Liam:







Then, we relaxed with food and drink:




And, of course, popsicles:




Popsicles can be messy:

New Bike and Old Friends

We spent the day with our good friends from college Jess, Erin, Roy, Jenny and Mr. Cheeks (also known as Baby Everett) who were in town visiting. It was great to see them and we had beautiful weather to enjoy.



After a big brunch at our house we headed to the Arboretum, where the big news of the day was that Henry got to use his NEW BIKE! A big thank you to Nana and Papa for this great birthday gift - we picked it out last night and Henry was SO excited to use it today.



He is pretty good at it! He is still about a half inch too short for it (so, he can't put his foot down and touch the ground) so we have to stay right by him in case of tight turns. Also, braking is still a foreign concept. Other than that we were very impressed by his bike skills. He took a few falls, but each time got right back on.










Everett spent his time walking:



And looking very serious:



Later at the house, games were played:



And serious backyard play began:





Thanks to everyone for a great day, we can't wait to see you again soon!

Soccer and cupcakes

We had a very busy day today. It started off with some serious malfunctioning smoke detectors (as in, all smoke detectors in the house, garage, and basement going off simultaneously for no apparent reason). Since we couldn't turn them off, and couldn't figure out why they were going off, we had to call the fire department. Now we know that if there is ever a real fire we are in good hands - minutes later two engines and a police car, sirens blazing, showed up, and 8 fireman in full gear (axes included) were walking through our house. Henry will not stop talking about it for the next 5 years, I am guessing.

After that excitement, we had Henry's last soccer class (well, there are actually two more, but we will be gone the next two weekends, so effectively this is the last one for Henry). He is doing so well! He followed the drills, participated in the game, and even scored a goal!





After class we headed to a local playground for our friend Charlotte's 3rd birthday party! Our friend Sarah made gorgeous cupcakes:



That Henry thoroughly enjoyed:




Then, after playing in the sprinklers for a bit, Henry and Meredith did some climbing together:



Luckily, all the morning activity meant that Henry actually took a nap today!

Conversations with Henry

On our walk back from school this afternoon:

"Do you see that!!??!!! There is a big hole in that tree! That is where the squirrels live. They live in the hole and make honey. Just like bugs. Lots of honey"

"We need to pay attention. We need to pay attention to pine trees. Then we need to be very careful and PAY ATTENTION to find pine cones"

"Do you know what makes me happy, mommy? Sun chips. Sun chips make me happy when skies are gray"

"I gave you a pine cone. I am a very kind person for giving you that pine cone for your collection. You should really say thank you"

And the best one when we got home - "purple grape popsicles are my favorite special treat. That is why I love you so much"

Hot

It hit 90 degrees today, so we found some ways to beat the heat.

In the morning, we had friends over for a fun "water" playdate. We broke out the kiddie pool:



Played on the slide:



And ran through the sprinkler:



(I love how baby Liam is just sitting RIGHT ON the sprinkler)

Then in the afternoon we walked to our playgroup, sporting our shades and carrying our water bottle:



At the park for playgroup, they had turned the water feature/sprinklers on. This was a surprise to all, since they don't usually turn them on until June. Thus, we were all unprepared and had no towels, swimsuits, etc., so the kids ran around in their underwear for a few hours:




Then dried off and went crazy on the playground once the sun started going down:




All in all, a great day!

Summer Days

The weather has taken a turn for summer, so we are enjoying it to the fullest.

Henry and Kate showing off their shades at the park:





And Henry, Kate, and Jake enjoyed their first ice cream truck visit of the season:

Maine

Since Mike has been working extraordinarily hard lately, we decided we were due for a vacation of some kind. So, this past Thursday we headed out for a 4 day mini vacation in Maine.

We rented a little house in Rockport:







Henry enjoyed relaxing on the deck:



And the spiral stairs:




On Friday we spent part of the morning enjoying the harbor in Camden:




Then headed to the Rockport harbor where Henry was thrilled to find a train:



and got to meet "Andre the Seal" (who was the honorary harbormaster of Rockport - random):



Hung out in a buoy:




Explored the beach:





And refused to cooperate for photos:



That afternoon we visited a nearby lake:





And then visited Camden Hills State Park for some views and hiking:






On Saturday we visited the Camden lighthouse - Henry was a trooper on the mile long walk along the granite pier to get there:





And then later in the day we visited the Owl's Head lighthouse:






And that night spent some time back at Camden Harbor where Henry broke out his "hippie dance":





(all he needs is a hacky sak)

Sunday morning we enjoyed breakfast on the harbor:





And headed to yet another lighthouse (hey, it's Maine, that's what you do), this one in Port Clyde:







(by the way, the rest of Maine was hot and sunny - Port Clyde is apparently a Stephen King story waiting to happen)

Then we headed home. Of course, on the way we had to stop at the LL Bean flagship store in Freeport, because that is what you do in Maine:




Henry picked out some new shades:



And a new lobster friend: