The Products of Santa's Workshop

Avery was a blast this Christmas. The train set that he requested from Santa arrived fresh from Santa's workshop where it had been carefully crafted by his elves.

Fun with Reptiles

Avery enjoyed our visit to the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL over the weekend. Devon went there as a child and wanted to share the experience with Avery! It took a little bit (and a demonstration by Devon) before he was brave enough to take a silly photo in the mouth of the gator. Avery has no fear of snakes though. His dad had quite a different experience with a Florida snake a few years ago. We also had the chance to play with little lizards in Devon's backyard.

Clarabelle's somersault

Here is Clarabelle at 23 weeks. Yes, for those of you who don't know, Avery has named our baby Clarabelle (which he made up by himself). We have decided not to find out the gender of the baby again, though Avery and I think we're having a girl and J thinks a boy. In March, we'll see who was correct. So, here's a 2D image of the flip she did during my ultrasound this morning to fold herself in half and a 3D image of her hands on her head and feet in front of her smiling face. Really, just squint a bit and you'll see it!

Santa Train

Avery is very interested in trains and tractors at the moment. Yesterday, he was very surprised to wake from his nap in the car to awake at the Unity train station. He had the chance to sit on Santa's lap and ask for a Kubota. We sang a few carols and had a snack in the dining car. We had a very nice afternoon together.

A Productive Week

"The guys" have been getting a lot done while Mom's away. We're managing fine, having some deep conversations about the pilgrims and the daily schedule, and looking forward to seeing Jen again on Friday.

Trick or Treat

Avery enjoyed his first time trick-or-treating. We visited most of the houses on our street and then Avery enjoyed handing out candy to the kids that visited our house.

Happy Halloween!

Avery first wanted to be Mater, then a pumpkin and then a carrot. Thankfully, he hasn't changed his mind again. He "helped" make this costume... using his Play-Doh scissors and the counter (otherwise known as a quilting square). He's looking forward to Trick-or-Treating and handing out candy to "the children" (yes, that's really what he says!). I had hoped to not corrupt him this year with trick-or-treating... but he totally gets it!

Batgirl Ensures Family's Safety

So it wasn't a crazy squirrel afterall? We came home this afternoon and went through the process of climbing the ladder to the attic to check on the squirrel trap. Again, no squirrel. But there was something scurrying around the attic. And there it was, a giant bat climbing on the screen covering the gable vent. The attic trap door was quickly closed.

A short time later, a scratching sound could be heard as the bat slithered above the kitchen ceiling, down the kitchen walls behind the cabinets, then back above the ceiling. It tried, to no avail, to climb down through the light fixtures. Then, suddenly, it was there, peering out from atop the cabinets.

Bat girl quickly sprang to action, shouting orders, broom in hand. "Put Avery upstairs!" she shouted, "Lock Buggy in a room." She flung open the doors and windows as Max retreated, slowly, quietly upstairs, out of harm's way.

This bat was stubborn. We prodded it with a broom handle. It wouldn't budge. It flew around briefly, but returned to its perch on the cabinets. Flung dog food wouldn't move it. Direct hits from a squirt bottle had no effect. It licked the water from the wall in defiance. The suddenly it flew out, diving at our heads as we stood our ground bravely. A swat from Jen's broom and it landed on the floor where it quickly found itself trapped by the "Bin Shopping" Canadian grocery bin.

It was flung out into the dark night.

The Squirrel Chronicles (continued)

Last night, for the first time in many weeks, we heard an animal scurrying around in the attic. We haven't covered over the hole that the squirrels were using to get into the house because we haven't figured out how to get to that spot on the roof.

So I opened up the attic hatch and poked my head up there. I was met with a terrible smell. I had left the trap set in the attic and hadn't checked it for quite some time. Apparently, we had caught squirrel number 3 several weeks ago.

I bought some hardware cloth to cover over the entrance hole. The trap is not baited with some fresh peanut butter and reset. We will see if we can catch this new varmint, then get someone to patch the hole for us. I climbed up on the roof this afternoon, but it's just not safe to try to reach the hole with the steep roof pitch.

We will keep you all posted.

Tractors Tractors Big and Small...

The bedroom relocation project has moved to a new stage. We are moving things from our former bedroom to our new bedroom. Avery's new "tractor room" is moving closer to reality.

Pickin' Pumpkins at the Pumpkin Patch

We visited the Treworgy Orchard to pick pumpkins visit the animals, take a hay ride, and otherwise enjoy the fall weather. We didn't try the corn maze, but we had a great time and Avery picked out a 20-lb pumpkin.

Oh Baby!

Baby No.2 is due 3/31/08!

Meet Pearl (the squirrel)

Captured squirrel No. 2.

The thing is, it's not just Earl.

Either Earl (the squirrel) managed to navigate about 10 miles back to the house, or we are dealing with a family of squirrels.

I was in the kitchen tonight pouring myself a drink when I heard a creature scrambling around above the kitchen ceiling. I've reset the trap in the attic.

Captured!

Earl (the squirrel) has been captured and relocated.

An Uninvited Guest

Don't ask, we can't figure out how this creature (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) found its way into our house. Before heading out to the first night of the American Folk Festival we heard a strange sound that seemed to be coming from behind the dresser in the bedroom. We sent Avery in with a flashlight to investigate, but found nothing. When we returned home, Jen and Avery flopped down on the couch in the living room to find this squirrel clinging, motionless, to the top of the door frame. We think he was "treed" by a Buggy/Max joint effort while we were gone. After some careful maneuvering, we were able to open the sliding door, and guide him out the door with a broom.

Hampden Children's Day

Last weekend was the annual Children's Day in Hampden. We didn't make it to the parade but we visited the festivities in the afternoon. Avery showed off his cat-like balance on the playground and jumped around in the bounce-house. We returned in the evening to see a pretty impressive fireworks show.

Pine Point

We took advantage of the great weather on Saturday to take a day trip to the coast. We headed to Pine Point for a day at the beach. First, of course, we stopped to have lunch at the Clam Bake. Avery loved everything about the beach. The tide was going out, so we went for a walk on the sandbar and searched for sand dollars. We didn't find any, but we found lots of tiny crabs hiding out in shells.

Weekend Update

This weekend was all about birthday parties and work around the house. On Saturday, we went to Isabelle's 4th birthday party. It was a good day for the kids to go for a dip in the pool. Today, we stuck close to home and got some work done. We managed to trim around a large pine on our property line and do some pruning. The house got a good cleaning as well. Sorry we don't have anything more glamorous to report. Above, you will see a picture of Avery helping out with another ongoing project--loaming and seeding the lawn in front of our new deck.

New Hampshire Vacation

We just got back from a week-long camping trip to New Hampshire. We stayed at Roger's Campground in Lancaster, New Hampshire. My parents used to take us there when we were kids, and it was fun to go back with Avery. It rained quite a bit, especially early in the week, but we still managed to have fun and keep dry in our camper. We pulled the picnic table under the awning so we could still cook or sit outside even when it was raining. The campground was pretty deserted, with only a few other families there. It was a good campground to spend a week at, with a nice playground that Avery couldn't get enough of and nice paved campground roads for walking.

Campground Review Section
Since there aren't a lot of online reviews for Roger's Campground, I'm sure we'll get some traffic from people trying to find out about it. Just for these visitors, I'll say that the campground is pretty nice. There are many good sites and the tenting/pop-up sites are shady. The roads are all paved, which is nice because it isn't dusty. There is a lot to do right at the campground, including three swimming pools and a water slide. Some of the facilities, particularly the bathrooms and showers, are showing their age and in need of updates. The store is well-stocked and the staff is friendly.

We visited Santa's Village on Tuesday. It was only ten minutes away from the campground. Avery had a great time visiting Santa and Santa's reindeer and riding all of the fun rides. Avery especially liked driving the antique cars. You can check out a video of Avery's driving skills here. On Thursday we went to Storyland for more of the same type of fun. The trip to Storyland gave us a great opportunity to drive through the White Mountains. We, of course, were traveling with Max, so it was nice that both Santa's village and Storyland had kennels where he could stay while we were there.

It was great to get away for a week--our longest camping trip yet. We've posted a bunch of photos of our trip here for you to look at. The White Mountains are beautiful and the drive to get there isn't bad. We are already thinking ahead to our next visit to the area. We would like to check out the Mount Washington cog railway and the gondolas at Wildcat as well as stay at some of the state parks in the mountains. -jgr

Is he only 2?

Pepe and Meme came to visit recently and brought Avery this stylish soccer outfit. He is getting so tall... and looks so grown up here. He is standing on the little red stool (once his dad's), looking out the window at the neighbor's dump truck full of dirt (working on their lawn with lots of exciting big equipment) and comparing it to his book Curious George and the Dump Truck.

Camping at Whispering Pines

(July 2005)





We spent the weekend at a nearby campground on Toddy Pond in East Orland. We went there when Avery was just four-months old (see 1st photo and post). We knew exactly what campsite we wanted when we went back and we were lucky enough to get it this time. The site was right on the water. Avery went fishing for the first time, right from the campsite, and we caught many, many sunfish. The campground has canoes that campers can use, so we went for a paddle both days. It's a great little campground and it's only a half-hour from home, which makes it great for a quick weekend trip. We can definitely see it being a regular camping destination.

Home Improvements

The new deck, front stoop and roof are complete. We are now ready to start landscaping. Jason plans to level out the backyard and plant some grass. The next project will be a swing set for Avery. We're looking forward to cookouts on the deck this summer.

Camping Trip

We ventured out on our first camping trip with the new camper during the holiday weekend. We didn't go far--just to a KOA campground in Richmond. Avery got to act out all of the stock camping activities that he has been chattering about for a couple of weeks, like playing on the playground and having a campfire and eating marshmallows. We've included some key pictures from the weekend, which include Avery digging in the dirt; Avery riding his bike down the big hill; our campsite; Avery and Ashton, the six-year-old that adopted Avery as a buddy; Avery sleeping comfortably in his sleeping bag; Avery preparing the traditional kid camping breakfast of cereal from a single-serving box; and the colorful curtains and cushion covers that Jen made for our camper.

The camper was great. It is nice to have a place to sit down with Avery and color, an awning to sit under for some shade, and a place to retreat when it rains. We are definitely looking forward to many more trips this summer.