Camp, Summer 2013

At the end of July, we left town for our annual trip to Maine.  It was great timing since we were all going a bit crazy after a hard summer and we all wanted a change of pace and scenery.  Of course, we spent much of our time there rounding up paperwork (thank goodness for the internet or we never would have gotten it all done!) but it was a great trip nonetheless.  We had parades, fireworks, a vacation within a vacation, and a chance to see an old friend.

 

This year Alastair learned to paddle the short kayak on his own.  He really lasted a lot longer than either Kim or I thought he would.

In Rangeley, there was a logging festival which included a parade, a craft fair, and a logging competition.  It was such fun!

The kids loved the parade, especially when the participants started throwing candy.  We can get behind pretty much any event that involves candy around here.

There were new and old logging trucks, including this vintage logging vehicle.

There were antique fire trucks alongside ones and even Harley riders, a New England staple.  Here is one of four seaplanes that flew over Main Street during the parade.

The firetrucks were a little loud.

At the logging festival, we got to watch men and even a few women compete in various events.  The axe throwing was a real highlight, as was one event where the participants hacked a log apart in a race.  While it was between their feet.

Then it was time for a vacation within a vacation.  We headed south to Portsmouth to meet up with our buddy Chris, aka Skippy.

Although the weather was supposed to be sunny and mild, it rained the whole way down from camp and was pretty chilly.  That's Maine for you!  The kids were not deterred and we stopped at a beach near Old Orchard to let the kids burn off a little steam.

They loved it and promptly got soaking wet.

After a nice dinner with Skippy, we headed for our hotel.  This trip was the first experience Emery had with sleeping in a big girl bed, starting with a toddler bed at camp.  She did really well although Kim and I were about to do them both in because sharing a bed was so exciting they kept playing and wouldn't go to sleep.  Being trapped in a rental car with two fired up kids for five hours can make grownups tired.

The next day dawned bright and beautiful.

It was time to really enjoy the beach, although no one was quite hardy enough to get in the water.  The Atlantic makes the Cupsuptic lake water feel like a hot tub.  I do remember a trip from my own childhood where Billy and I swam until our lips turned blue, which from an adult's perspective might have taken all of about five minutes.

It was warm enough to be comfortable in bathing suits, but breezy enough to not get hot.  Emery loved digging in the sand.  She spent a lot of time on our lake beach doing the same thing, telling us all she was making blueberry pie.

Alastair enjoyed chasing seagulls and looking for treasure on the water's edge. 

Back at camp, we did camp things like fish, hike, and play on the beach. 

I got the most out of my fishing license.

I also tortured the family with our annual dock photo.

One turned out pretty good.  Currently hanging in our new hallway.

And then it was time to go home.  To chaos.  To packing and unpacking, painting, and building, and work.  Oh my.

Some quick shots on the rock, a Lewis family tradition.

Grammie and Emery.

Alastair and Papa.

Next year is going to be a bigger adventure as we'll have to rent a minivan to fit all the carseats and the airplane ride will surely be exciting.  At least we won't be on the phone with our realtor and banks the whole time...  Totally worth it though!

School. Thank the Lord!

After a crazy summer that ended without the fun "end of summer" stuff we normally do, both kids were so excited to get started with school.  And this tired momma was plenty ready for a return to routine.  Routine that didn't involve siblings torturing each other for entertainment.  The soundtrack of my summer was the sound of shrieking/crying accompanied by giggling.

Alastair on his first day of kindergarten

Before school started, I was planning to walk Alastair in to his classroom for his first day.  Over the weekend, he announced he really just wanted to ride the bus and didn't need me to come with him.  "Oh, OK," I responded, at which point my astute boy asked, "why do you sound sad now, Mom?"  Sunday night, he relented and told me I could go with him, but that he was definitely riding the bus from that point onward.  Fine with me!

I figured I get one shot to have my kids pose in front of the school on their first day and I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity.

Alastair settled in nicely and immediately got to work coloring his "welcome to kindergarten" worksheet. 

Seven weeks into school, he loves it.  The best part of his day?  "Riding the bus!" he tells me.   I personally love all the artwork he brings home and seeing how much his writing and reading have already improved is nothing short of amazing.  Alastair relishes his independence and perceived maturity as a big kid who goes to real school.  By Thursday or Friday though, he's pretty worn out and his patience runs thin at the house for any interference, imagined or otherwise. 

Two weeks after Alastair started school it was finally Emery's turn.

My turn!

Last year, both kids went to the same school.  Alastair went to class three days a week to Emery's single day.  Every time we walked in though, she asked, "Is it my turn now?" and on Thursdays I got to tell her yes.  This year she goes for two days a week and is loving every minute.  She calls all teachers "my Mimi" after Mrs. Amy from last year but is starting to mix in a little "Miss Jessie" and "Miss Laura" now which shows her maturity.  Her favorite part of the day?  Eating a packed lunch.

It's great to see the kids enjoying their respective programs so much and it sure makes grocery shopping easier! 

Six Year Old in the House

Alastair's birthday this year fell on the second Monday of his school year, Labor Day.  Rather than try to procure addresses and invite his classmates in a week's time (not to mention track rsvp's), we had his party the week before school started.

 

This was our first "store-bought" party, and with the exception of a ghetto decorated cake which looked better in person and a Lego Storm Trooper shirt that I made (inspiration here), it was all store bought.  Monkey Joe's did the food, the clean up, and served everything.  In a word:  awesome.  Alastair loved every bit of it and I did too, with the exception of some seriously terrible lighting to work with for pictures.  Oh well.  The kid loved his party!

 

Emery loves hanging out at Monkey Joe's and has been able to run and play on her own there for about six months now.  However, she is a terrified of the costumed monkey and about fell off the bench the first time she saw him at a party.

The big kids don't have that problem.  Emery is clinging to me for dear life while I take this picture.

 

It was a fun party.

Moving on down the road

We live here now.

This summer was not an easy one in our house and the blog has really suffered.  I am determined to get things back on track though before there is a new person living with us and I think the big move is probably the best place to start.  The buying and selling of houses was where everything summery and fun went on hiatus.  Replacing it was/is a to-do list a mile long that consumes every bit of "diminished due to pregnancy" energy I have.   I spend the remaining free time on the nearest couch or bed, drooling into my pillow.

The selling:

The sale of our house was not without a bit of stress.  We had an initial offer and contract within 8 hours of listing and thought everything was going to be fine.  Silly naive souls, we were.  After their inspector, who we feel must be an avid user of hallucengenic substances, suggested that our roof was in imminent danger of collapse and that our backyard (inudated with rain in a very wet July) had a sewer or water main leak.  A sewage leak!  I should think the neighbors might have noticed.  We politely declined to replace the roof and put the house back on the market.

In retrospect, it was only a few weeks later that we were under contract again.  Those few weeks felt the longest of my life, however, as I struggled to keep a 2 year old and a 5 year old content and the house spotless and ready to leave at a moment's notice.  If we weren't under contract by the time we returned from Maine, the plan was to lease it out.  

We should have gone on vacation earlier because within 24 hours of leaving Houston, we had two competing offers, including one that accepted the roof as is, in writing.  Hurrah!  

The moving:

Oh, how I hate moving!  There are hardly words to convey my feeling on the subject.  I am still having moving nightmares, made more vibrant by my hormones no doubt, in which I remember boxes we forgot or another run we still need to make.  

We hired movers to bring over all the furniture and everything I alone could get packed before their arrival.  Note to future movers:  it takes a lot longer to box things up with two kids in the house than it did before you had any.  I was under the impression I got most of the house boxed up, but as the trips continued for two weeks after, clearly I was wrong.  I shudder to think about it.

The during:

The second Bowling to get pneumonia while moving.

On August 15th, we were in the house and sleeping here.  On August 17, I took the closing papers to Alastair's new school to get his registration transferred over.  On the 27th, he started kindergarten.  On the 31st, we closed on the other house and were officially done with moving boxes.  Not unpacking them, of course, but the moving was done.  Finally.

During our trip to Maine, Alastair picked up a cough on the airplane.  It didn't seem to slow him down one iota on our trip and truly, it was just a yucky sounding cough without any other symptoms.  By our actual move in date, he was starting to sound like an 80 year old with a two pack a day habit, and I took him in as soon as I could, which wasn't immediate for obvious reasons.  Turns out it had developed into actual pneumonia.  Mother of the year, right here folks!

Some before/after teasers:

Goodbye, Crazy Town red.

 

 Hello soothing and sophisticated.

 

There is good woodwork and bad woodwork, people.  Ugly must go.

Almost there.

There is plenty of work still to do, starting with the installation of all the new hardware that has just come in, building and installing the new gameroom cabinetry, sourcing a chandelier for the dining room, having the hardwoods in the front installed...  I could go on, but you will have to wait for another post (or 10) with those projects.  Or you could stop by with some caramel bullseyes for the beleaguered pregnant woman and see for yourself!