Sunday, December 30, 2012

A Quiet Evening

Our days are so busy that it's nice to be able to have quiet evenings spent playing games in front of the fireplace.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Cousins

Today was our big family Christmas party.  The kiddos were having such a great time that it was really hard to get them all to stand still for a group portrait!

Friday, December 28, 2012

Every Time

It happens every time.  "I'll just sit here & enjoy the fire for a minute...zzzz"

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Blizzard

Our girls are certainly brave adventurers.  The wind was blowing that snow hard enough at times to know us over, but we still went for a trek through the dark woods!  It was so quiet and peaceful in the forest and we really enjoyed it.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Grooming Trails

There's my husband, happy as can be, doing something he loves...grooming our ski trails with his homemade drag.  The kiddos are loving the great conditions for skiiing & snowshoeing!  They are spending hours and hours out there trekking through the fields & woods.  

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas

Every year we take family portraits in front of my parents' Christmas tree...
And the family just keeps on growing and growing! (There were several missing - we'll catch up with them later in the week.)

Sunday, December 23, 2012

An Early Christmas

Due to scheduling issues, we celebrated our Christmas with the kiddos today. 

Merry Christmas (a few days early) from our family to yours!

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Flooded Brook

This morning we walked down to see how flooded the brook is after all the rain we received overnight.  As you can see, our little brook is a raging river and the rocks that we normally sit on are covered with water.

Friday, December 21, 2012

No electricity? No problem!

When the power went out, they lit a candle & started drawing by candlelight.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Artwork

A quick trip into her school gave me a chance to see her creativity!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Soupy Smile

It's that kind of day...cold, wet, dreary, and I'm not feeling well.  Tomato soup for lunch really hit the spot.  When I was reaching for my spoon, I saw this quirky little face and it definitely perked me up!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Monday, December 17, 2012

Patterns

One of our girls' paper-weaving project...I love the crazy pattern that she created!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

1st Meet this Season

Our oldest daughter had her first gymnastics meet for the 2012-2013 season this afternoon.  She did a great job & we are so proud of her for placing!  It's gonna be a great year!!

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Parachuting off the tower!

This morning my brother & I took the kiddos hiking on Douglas Mountain in Sebago, Maine.  Yeah, it was only 28 degrees Farenheit, but it was a beautiful day & the physical activity kept us from feeling too cold.  The best part of that mountain is the tower at the top.  The view is incredible!  And we brought a parachute man to throw off the top and watch float to the ground.  You might notice that the toy certainly has Amber's attention...she ended up catching it before it hit the ground!  But, she was a good girl and gave it back to me so that he could take a few more trips. The kids thought it was a wicked lot of fun!

Friday, December 14, 2012

Merry Christmas, West Paris!

This evening there were many smiling faces waiting for us as we drove up in a wagon pulled by Mighty of Stargazer Farms.  Mighty spent the evening pulling folks all around town.  The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful time!

Monday, December 10, 2012

Ready for School

The girls put a backpack on Amber...they would love it if she could really go to school with them.  I think she would love it too!

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Rusty Ornament

This weekend I stitched an ornament for my oldest son, featuring his favorite cat, Rusty.  The girls & I even chose the colors of the cat by holding Rusty up to the threads.  As I was working on it, I was thinking about how much my son loves him, remembering when I brought Rusty home & other memories.  Rusty, as a general rule, ignores me.  However, I think he knew what I was doing.  He kept coming over & sitting at my feet, watching me.  It was rather interesting.  I hope he likes the finished project.  I know that my son will cherish it.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Reason #8,642 why the kiddos love living here...

Not only did they harvest a Christmas tree for the living room, but they also each cut down a mini tree for their bedrooms!  They are having a blast decorating for the holiday!!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Focus

How do you help a girl who is struggling with reading, but you're not sure why?  Well, we finally figured out that she just plain couldn't focus long enough because every little noise would distract her from her book.  We have started plugging her ears with classical music, and now she can read and read and read.  Here's the best part - she loves it!!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Never Leave Fire Unattended

 
As if we needed another reason to never leave the fireplace unattended...the glass door exploded!  I'm so glad that the dog wasn't in her favorite napping place and that I heard it shatter, so I could immediately start putting out the fire and clean up the glass on the living room floor.


Tuesday, December 4, 2012

It's National Cookie Day!

The boys are happily celebrating with warm chocolate chip cookies & milk - yummy!

Monday, December 3, 2012

RIP Bob

During our visit to the Maine Wildlife Park last month, we noticed the their mountain lion, Bob, was in very poor condition.  Today we learned that Bob passed away.  He was 20 years old!

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Friday, November 30, 2012

Jeep

What are the chances that we'll actually win it? It's my color!

Thursday, November 29, 2012

New Wheel Covers

Gypsy's all tucked in for the winter. It makes me sad. I'll miss traveling with her.  I can't wait to see where she takes us next spring!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

All she wanted for Christmas...

My oldest step-daughter was very specific about what she wanted for Christmas this year - pheasants!  We found her a beautiful trio of Silvers in Naples...
Swagmeister

Isabel & Dora

Monday, November 26, 2012

Training Today & Tomorrow

I'm not in the office, but rather at a software training course at a site in Portland. This was the best part of my day - lunch from Anania's! 

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Oxford Hills Christmas Parade

I got to be in the parade this year! The girls' gymnastics team needed another banner carrier, so I was recruited. The team did cartwheels for 4 miles. I was just glad they didn't ask me to do that!

Friday, November 23, 2012

Car Lashes?

One of the girls spotted these in a parking lot. What a cute idea!

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving

The kiddos are busy this morning making napkin swans, I mean turkeys, for our table.  They're gonna look great!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Monday, November 19, 2012

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Waterfalls & Mountains

This morning the kiddos asked to walk to their favorite place - the waterfall out behind our house.  It was a beautiful morning to wander through the woods!  We did warn them NOT to get wet though, 'cause that water is freezing cold.  Guess who slipped and got his feet wet?  Dad.
This afternoon my neice came up with her 2 daughters (and dog) to visit us and play around the farm, namely ride Lily.  We also took the girls (and the dogs) for a hike up the Pinnacle, (the mountain we can see from the house) another one of our favorite places. 

What an amazing day!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Clivia

For 11 months of the year, my Clivia plants are pretty boring. And then, they do this...

Friday, November 16, 2012

Good Fortune

Today we enjoyed lunch at the Asia Eatery.  This was the fortune that I found inside my cookie.  Considering the fact that I have been many places, and have been busily planning our next trip, I thought it was quite appropriate! 

A few years ago, I posted a photo of this restaurant.  Since then we have eaten here a few times and can definitely recommend the food and the great service.

Thursday, November 15, 2012