5.27.2009

Video Fun

The first video is from our Vermont visit and the late night fireworks. These were actually the third set of fireworks Nora has seen or been near, but seeing as she was two weeks old at the first set and asleep at the second, we'll count these as her first.

This second video is really only a little glimpse, but it was too cute not to post. I put Nora to bed tonight, but instead of turning out the light, I read for a little while. She turned over and went right to sleep, and she was too adorable for me to resist taking a video.

5.26.2009

This past weekend Nora and I went on quite adventure. Shane was headed up north with his Uncle to work on his camp, so Nora and I decided to take a road trip. We were up and packing Friday morning, and somehow managed to leave before noon, but just barely. We drove for about four hours until we came upon this:
I'm embarassed to say it, but this was my first moose sighting. I was super excited, and hanging out the window trying to get a good picture, while locals drove by rolling their eyes at me. Fortunately, I'm not too scared of looking like an idiot.
We drove about an hour more and then arrived at our destination. We were so excited to see Gavin (and Meg and Chris, of course). We were only there for a day and a half, but we crammed plenty into that time. We visited a neighbor's house whose animals Meg and Chris were taking care of. Gavin and Nora had a great time playing in their barn.
They have this amazing play house built in their barn. I had to take a picture of it so Shane could build us one someday. This isn't the best picture of it, but you can see the play area under it and the stairs on the side that lead up to a cool little landing.
Outside the goats were waiting for us. There were new babies that were so adorable. They're being raised for meat, but they might be just a little too cute for that purpose.
This is one of the guys who was separated from the moms and babies. He was a little scary looking with that big set of horns.
Back at Chris and Megan's farm, the animals were waiting. I brought the camera over and they lined up for a photo shoot, with one of the sheep even giving Morgan the horse a little kiss.
At the bottom of the hill is the garden. Meg and Chris worked all afternoon while Nora and I took a nap. I was totally planning on helping out, but Nora took the nap of a lifetime, and by the time we got out there they were just about finished. In between all the raised up beds is old wool to keep weeds down. I couldn't begin to tell you everything they've planted, but I know it's a lot of delicious things. I think we'll be planning a trip around harvest time. I'm sure they'll need our 'help' again...
That night Chris and I took Nora into town while Meg put Gavin to bed. We happened to be visiting on the day of the Spring Fair in their town, and after seeing a parade in the morning, we went back to watch fireworks that night.
They started so late that Nora wasn't exactly excited to see them, but she did alright.
The next morning we got ready to leave a little early with the intention of visiting Rachael's clan at their summer camp. We got on the road around 10:30am, but with Memorial Day traffic, we didn't arrive until past 1:30pm. Nora settled right in with the dogs in a nice dirt pile.
Rachael moves in for a little tickle.
Tim manned the grill and cooked up some delicious assorted meat-full and meat-free items.
We had a wonderful time visiting our friends in Vermont and Maine. Thanks for hosting us, everyone! Stay tuned, because the word on the street is that my cousin will be bringing her newborn twins to Maine this week and if that's the case, there will absolutely be an abundance of pictures here for you to see!

5.21.2009

It's that time of year!

Once again Shane is participating in the Trek Across Maine. He tried really hard to convince me to join him, but I just wouldn't budge. I figured one triathlon was enough of a goal for this summer. Lucky for you, though, it means that only one of us is in need of fund raising help!
Click here to help Shane raise funds for the Trek Across Maine, and maybe, if you're lucky, I'll keep posting some cute Nora clips. Have a wonderful day, everyone, and if you're in Maine, enjoy this amazing weather!

5.15.2009

I always come back!

Even though some days it seems as though I'll never get back to this blog, I always manage. We've had a relatively rough week, and each day I've reminded myself that I really need to find some time to post a few pictures. Well, finally, that time has come. Of course, this morning when I went to upload pictures off one of our cameras, I realized Shane had brought it with him to school. Oh well. I still had a few on the other camera, so I'll post those for the time being. The first are a couple of Camella's sister, Anna, who grows sweeter every day. Last weekend (or was it the weekend before?) we spent some time with Nanny and Grampy. Tara brought the boys, too, and all the kids had a good time splashing in the hot tub. It was a blustery day, kind of cool, which made the warm water feel all the better.
Wylie's eyes, which are already a bright, bright blue, were reflecting the light off of the hot tub. This picture doesn't even do them justice; they were so light!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

5.04.2009

A Beautiful Weekend

As summer gets closer and closer, I realize just how busy we're going to be. Both Shane and I will be working full time along with a few nights on Shane's part. Nora will be going with me to work full time as well. On top of that, most weekends are booked or will become booked as the season gets closer. I'm trying to savor the empty spaces we have on our calendar now because I know I'll miss them in the coming months. This weekend was one of those- just a big empty space. Of course, we easily filled it up, but it was with activities we could do as a family. A trip to the beach on Saturday was first on our list.
On Sunday we took a hike in Camden with friends. The cliffs we visited were beautiful, but definitely not child friendly. Nora stayed in the backpack until we were on safer ground.

Later that evening we headed over to the house of our hiking buddies for our first cook out of the year. We grilled, listened to music, explored the woods, played ball and toasted tofu dogs and marshmallows over the fire. (Okay, Nora, Kalen and I were the only ones eating the tofu dogs, but we loved them.)Can you tell that the flash was a little too bright for Nora? Thankfully, she can still see.
Towards the end of the night I decided to play with the camera a little. I had see something similar to this on another photographer's website and really wanted to try it out.
Next time I try it I'll hopefully have a less cranky little girl so that I can spend more time playing, but for the first time, it was pretty fun! Enjoy your week, everyone!