9.21.2009

My Girl















This little gal has been such a dream. I've always wanted a daughter just like her!

9.15.2009

Other pictures that I couldn't resist...




















Okay, that just about does it for our reunion trip. Whew. Thanks for staying tuned in!

The Hike















We managed one short hike with the whole group that ended up being really fun. We saw a beautiful waterfall and mountain stream that traveled through a tunnel under the path. The weather was perfect and even though we didn't get too far before turning around to hit the lake again, I'm calling it 'the hike' anyway.

More Boathouse and Dock
















I'm almost done with the reunion, pictures, I promise! Now if I could only find more than 10 minutes to myself at a time...

Josh has been so busy with school I hardly see him at home anymore. I love looking over our reunion pictures and remembering life before single-parenthood!

9.12.2009

The Boathouse and Dock
















I have been so glad that I learned how to canoe and sail as a child and I have always wanted the same benefit for Nora and Wells. I look forward to the time when they are old enough to learn these skills. There is something empowering about mastering your own course on boat. The boathouse and dock proved to be quite a gathering place during our reunion and there seemed to be activity going on there at all times of day- and occasionally night. The first picture shows me comforting Wells after returning from a boat ride. He never liked the sight of me sailing or paddling away from him very much.

9.11.2009

The Beach













By far the greatest thing about our reunion destination is that it is right next to a beautiful mountain lake. The cottage has a boathouse and dock, a walking path that goes the whole way around and a man-made beach at the far end. For small children and beginner swimmers, the beach is great and much easier to supervise than swimming off the dock. We hit the beach a few times and I even managed to bring my camera for one of them. Truth be told, I'm not really a beach person, mostly because of the excessive sun and sand combination but this time was fun, neither of the kids got burned, AND I don't remember Wells trying to eat the sand even once! Well, if he did, I didn't see it, and that's good enough for me.

Even More Tide Pool Pics
















More Tide Pool Pics
















I couldn't resist. This place was so gorgeous and so much fun. We took so many pictures and with the perfect lighting of early evening, we ended up with some really great photos. The kids were in heaven. I rolled up Nora's jeans so that she could put her feet into some of the shallow pools and within about ten minutes she had slipped in completely and was soaked and shivering. That didn't stop her from collecting shells, crabs and star fish for an hour and a half and even then screaming in protest when it was time to go. When Josh and I had been married for only a year or two we traveled to Boston and Rhode Island on a road trip from Philadelphia to visit with his brother and friend who lived up here. When we tried to get home, our borrowed car didn't start and we ended up spending an extra night. It was a fun trip and we liked Boston (even visiting MIT Campus while we were here!) But we never dreamed that we would live here some day. This state park was definitely more of an adventure to visit with kids than it was without!

9.09.2009

The Tide Pools











Oh, I have so much blog updating to do. Our immensely fun family reunion ended on Monday and I am completely overwhelmed by how many pictures I have to sort through. First on the agenda is to figure out how to include more than four pictures per post. Yes, that will be necessary. The first pictures that I looked through were of a visit to a state park in Rhode Island that features a very scenic rocky coast and tide pools. This particular outing was a highlight, so I'm starting with these. We had spent the previous week at family cottage in the Poconos and a few rather fun nights in New England upon returning. Nora was so upset to see her cousins leave on Monday that she cried bitter tears for 45 minutes. I must say, I got very lucky to have married into such great crew. More of the trip to come!