One Month In

Hi again.  Now four weeks into my nine week vacation, I'm proud to say that I've largely managed to stay off the computer and disconnected from my various handheld devices.  I feel a little out of touch with reality, but for the most part, that's a great thing.  Tonight, however, I felt the urge to at least plug in the cameras, look at the pictures we've taken, and post a quick update.  We've packed a lot of fun into the past four weeks.  For almost two of those weeks, we called Stonywood home - it was the longest stretch we've ever been able to spend at the lake, and it was perfect.  Like I had imagined, that amount of time allowed all of us to really settle into a routine and relax.  We lucked out with an unbelievable stretch of weather, having to game and puzzle through only two hours of rain over the course of thirteen days.  We kayaked, hiked, visited with friends and lots and lots of cousins, sat at the beach, built sandcastles, learned to swim and jump off the dock, picked (and ate) many blueberries, and generally relaxed and enjoyed being together.  The boys and I did a quick turnaround when we returned on Sunday night, departing for the Duck House (Rockport) bright and early Monday morning.  We spent three days there with Uncle Pauly, leaving Daddy behind to tend to his (not so very) neglected garden.  And the last few days, we've just been home.  And I think we've all very much enjoyed a couple of quiet hours before we put on our traveling shoes again tomorrow.  A snapshot of our July:

On our wonderful lake vacation, we...

Spent a lot of time in the water, exploring all the named rocks (here are the boys at Mermaid Rock)

Colored on the porch

Ate delicious dinners with grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins 

Snuggled our newest nephew/cousin as much as possible

Got rescued by a quick uncle after falling into the water (thanks Uncle Mike - sorry again about your phone...) 

Ate the Waterford Town Breakfast out of house and home

Drastically improved our swimming skills via swim lessons at the town beach
(advice is so much more readily accepted when it comes from someone other than mom and dad!)

Jumped off the dock while big brother learned to swim

And loved every minute of it

Got cozy with nature in the form of ticks (Ethan) and leeches (Adam) and removing such critters (Mommy)

Had so, so much fun at the Waterford Worlds Fair

Watched our cousin win a pig in the pig scramble

Got repeatedly hit in the face by an inflatable wrecking ball (Adam) but loved every minute of it if it meant hanging with the big cousins

Ate lots of ice cream

Watched Uncle Dan take home third place in the He-Man contest (again, this Waterford Worlds Fair was such a hit!)

Kayaked with cousins

Did some serious relaxing

Got out for an amazing adults-only dinner at the Waterford Inne

Hiked Tire'm a bunch of times

Sometimes with sisters

Sometimes without pants

Went back home with Daddy to check on the garden (this is Ethan's bounty)

(this is Ethan and Daddy's bounty combined)

 And away from the lake, we've been busy...

Playing with Mommy's old Cabbage Patch dolls at the Duck House

Feeding the cows...

Milking the cows...

And collecting eggs...

At Pineland Farms

Digging up our potatoes

Harvesting our blackberries

Playing with friends at Deering Oaks Park

Getting mani/pedis

(Who says a mom of two boys has to miss out on ALL the fun?)

And doing our "learning", as Ethan calls it.  Here are the boys making a sunflower craft after we learned about sunflowers yesterday.  So far, we are experts on all things bug and beetle, frog, snake, and flower.  We're onto space and dinosaurs next...