Stay up there, already!

Don’t you wish the leaves would just stay on the trees? They are so pretty up there in the fall, and are even pretty on the ground, but then they start to pile up. Therein lies the problem.

Beautiful! When it's a leaf, here or there.

And pine needles...let's not even get started with pine needles.

Combine the two, and you're really asking for trouble.

Maybe the boys could haul 'em all away?

Maine life ain’t nothin’ to sneeze at! Or it is, actually, depending on your sinus situation in the fall. But boy, you have to be of hardy stock to live in a place like this. Because it not only involves raking, but hauling and stacking, too.

from this...

to that.

But for me, it’s still The Way Life Should Be. (Although I could be easily enticed to move south about mid-February through, oh, April. I would have no problem with that. Just so you know.)

Vacation Part Two, and Back to Reality

As nice as it is to come home…it’s hard, also. To come back to messy houses and responsibility. To work, and changing diapers. Although it was wonderful to see Ry and Jack! We’ve never had 3 days and 2 nights away from them. Doesn’t sound like much, but it was to us!

We had grand plans of visiting Boston and venturing a little further south to visit Ikea. But they didn’t pan out; this ended up being more of a relaxing vacation, which was exactly what we wanted. It was so refreshing; our Inn was right in downtown Newburyport, MA, so we walked everywhere. Such a nice break from Motel 6in’ it every time we get away! (Which isn’t that often, really). It was hot as blazes while we were gone, so we spent a good part of our time in our room, becoming totally addicted to the Food Network. I took a few pictures; not really that many. But here we go:

our home for 2 nights

our 8 dollar lunch from Edible Arrangements...fruit salad totally fit the bill in that heat!

rooftop dining from the 3rd floor...a majority of the following pictures came from up here.

the bay

Chim Chiminey Chim Chiminey Chim Chim Cherooooo....

Erick's middle name is Lee. This boat cracked us up. It's probably "Erica", because boats usually have girlie names, but still!

the boardwalk in the evening

fun signage

The following sign caught our attention right away…is that not Ryan and Jack?! Skinny Ry with his blond hair, and little Jack with his wild mop of dark hair? We couldn’t believe it! You can actually get these signs personalized, so I think we’ll do it. Too good to pass up!

Anyway, it was wonderful to just immerse ourselves in one another for a few days. A “must-do” for all marriages. Oh, and when we came home yesterday, this shirt was waiting for me. I bought it from Union 28…because he absolutely does!

Reporting from the Soggy Northeast

Blast it.  I am so tired of this endless gray, as I sure everyone in the northeast is, by now.  I mean, what is it?  A month straight?  Ok, maybe 3 weeks.  But might as well be a year, actually.  That’s sure what it feels like.

Earlier today, I saw a bit of blue sky outside, so I said “Come on boys!  Lunch, quick, then we’ll get dressed and walk down to Big Bill’s for an ice cream.”  Unfortunately about 2 minutes later it was pouring outside.  Plan B; pop in some Charlie Bird and Ella Elephant and Philly Joe Giraffe CDs to jazz us up a bit, and partake of the Klondike Bars from the freezer.  So it’s been a good afternoon anyway, filled in with some dancing and wresting and hide n seek.  And I highly recommend these books and CDs-you can get a great deal on Amazon.

My dad uses them for his classes, so the boys get good use out of them too.  The cds are FUN.  They make you wanna boogie and belt out some tunes, which is a good thing on a day like today!  There are 4 or 5 more in the series, too.

In the meantime, Erick hopped over to our house (we are staying at mom and dad’s while they are away) to see if he could get some painting done in our bathroom and the boy’s room.  Low and behold, our practically watertight basement was no longer watertight, so he has been salvaging what he can from our sodden boxes.  Fantastic.  So much for a short, productive trip today…

Well, I hope you all are having a sunnier 4th of July than we are.  We are going to grill some burgers on the indoor Cuisinart Griddler that mom and dad own, and hope for a half-way clear sky tonight to have some sparkler fun of our own.  I don’t think we’ll go cruising to a big show tonight-we’ll be seeing fireworks in a week or two that are just a walk down the street.  And I’d rather do that than get stuck in 10:30 pm traffic somewhere. 

Have a happy weekend!

Remembering

Happy Memorial Day!  Enjoy your parades, picnics and bbq’s on this beautiful day…and thank a veteran while you are at it!

So much info…so little time!

We had a great week last week…I have pictures to share and posts to write.  But I wanted to pass this link along;  take it or leave it, but I’ve been hearing about the possibilites of this happening since last August.  So…whatever.  It popped up on the wordpress homepage so I thought I’d pass it along; better safe than sorry, I guess!

I’ll catch ya in the next day or two with some cute pics.

Update on Mom

Doc says bladder infection;  not quite sure about that.  She felt good again this morning-ready to go on a roadtrip, and then crashed before we could get out the door.  Keep those prayers comin…Thanks!

Northeast Color

First off…we are well! The boys and I were up and at ‘em by Saturday; unfortunately the bug got ahold of Erick Saturday night.  He’s much better today but still a little tired-good thing we have another snow day today!  We are getting dumped on out there, but at least it gives Erick an excuse to take it easy today (until he has to clear the driveway this evening…)  Do I sound like a broken record or what with all of these snow days piling up?

It’s pretty astounding to me to look at all of the pictures of blooming flowers on my friends’ blogs who live in the South…to hear people saying that summer is on the way, when we are knee deep in the snow up here.  Such is life in Maine.  But I do have a little color to share with you today!  Last week the school across from my parent’s house had their winter carnival, and take a look at the sculptures they created.  I think they are flat-out fantastic for a group of high schoolers!  There was a Dr. Seuss theme this year:

Pretty fascinating to me!  Another fascinating thing (that made me laugh…I figured my warm-weather friends would get a kick out of this);  the meteorologist said that Wednesday and Thursday would be very nice days with temps hovering just at or under freezing.  Ha!

That’s ok though-pretty soon I’ll be sharing summery pictures of my own.  It’s worth the wait for a warm Maine day!

Little Blessings

It’s Thankful Thursday time, and last night things kept popping into my head; this post will be a little bit all over the place!

I am SO thankful that the last two days have warmed up; I’m seeing actual terra firma out there!  It’s just like spring!  I fully realize that we will probably get dumped on again, but at least we’ll be starting over instead of adding on.  I walked to our mailbox yesterday; it’s the first time I have done that since before the snow started to fly!  (Too cold and slippery before).

I’m thankful that, all though it led to a rather cramped experience, Erick and I had two little boys join us in bed during the wee hours of the morning (and I do mean wee…before 3 am in one case).  I know they won’t want to snuggle forever;  I’ll take it while I can!

I’m thankful for my coffee, and the fact that it will keep me half-alert today since I missed out on said sleep last night!

I am incredibly grateful for a working car!  Ours konked out twice in the last 2 weeks; oddly enough it was at the same store both times.  After not turning over try after try, and after pretty intense “Please Help Us Lord’s!” it kicked right in, and the second time around we were able to drive it to the mechanic.  During those experiences, though, I would watch people start their cars up and drive away, thinking how often we take for granted things like a car that does what it should.

Well, I could go on and on, but I’ll leave some more for next week.  Go visit Rhondi to join in the Thankful Fun!

Sugar High

Caught in the Act…can you believe this child?  Yes, that is syrup.  And yes, he is drinking it.  I’m thinking we are in for a long night…

I am Thankful

It’s that time again!

I am incredibly thankful for…

God-given Talent.

I went back through my posts and am going to pull some  pictures of things that make me smile (you can click on the picture to find the post that it originated in)

Ok, I must stop; I could post pictures all day!

Whenever I look at something I appreciate, not only nature’s beauty, but something that someone created, or thought up, or wrote; whether it be a book, or a blog, or a card, or a painting; whether it be fine design, or photography, or a song, or the machine that someone created to actually make things; I am in awe.  And while initially I might be in awe of that particular persons talent, I never forget that there is a CREATOR behind the creator of those creations!  If one person can do something amazing, just imagine the awesomeness of the God who put that talent into His children.

And!

The really exciting thing for me to imagine, is that no matter how glorious and wonderful all of these things can be, they are all a little bit imperfect, because nothing on earth is the way that it was orginally intended…the way it will be again one day.  Imagine all of these creations perfected!  It’s almost too much to take in!