Family, Birthday, and Heartache

Well... after the sick kid event, we were in a whirl for a need to go to my mom's. Things seemed to come together to make it happen and somewhat worth while in terms of the travel time. So, off we went to help celebrate the first year of my nephew's life! The party was good... the company... well.... that was back and forth.

There won't be any pictures - I forgot to take my camera... I never do that... I think I'm glad I did. The pictures I would want I can get copied of from my mother's... the way things turned out, I have no idea what might have happened to the camera.

Events that no one wants to happen in a family, happened. Details are not to be given here... Let's just say there is a lot of heartache... a lot of hurt... a lot of concern... a lot of "time-to-wake-up-to-reality".

It's been hard to know that there is such heartache and sadness for various reasons with many of my friends and their families. We've had a fair share of such in our own extended family as well. Most has never been divulged. Not everything needs to be shared. But at this point, there is a tremendous amount of heartache. Of sadness... and hurt feelings and that deep-pit sickening feeling.

I hope people will understand if I just keep distance from such for a while. Keep to myself with these things, but also understanding that I have much weighing on my heart and mind. That my emotions are a shamble. So I'm asking in advance, please forgive me for turning inward for a while. And please know that if and when a time comes that I can and I need to talk about it, that I might call on you.

But, for now, please just keep my family in your prayers. Most specifically my extended family.

Trick Or Treat

This was the first Trick Or Treat Experience without Bob. Since I made him take last week off to go to the Ward Harvest Fest with us, that meant he worked last night. No big deal - except that I was still crazy tired!


Juanita and her kids (after having a crazy day themselves) joined us for the trick or treat experience right here in our own (be it small) neighborhood.


So, this year... Gabi was Morgan LeFay (from the King Arthur stories - but, for her, it was from the Magic Tree House). She kept telling me we needed to "paint" her costume because in the Magic Tree House series, Morgan wears red! Yikes! So I told her she could be Merlin - since he wore blue! She decided to be Morgan wearing blue instead!


She had originally wanted to be Little Foot - but I didn't have the time this year to make a dinosaur costume. So when I saw this one at a reasonable price (knowing I didn't have to buy costumes for the others) I got it. She was tickles, though, to know she could be something from Magic Tree House - even if I did get the color wrong. BTW - They didn't have any other color than blue.


Beth - the fairy - was, more specifically, Prilla. She's one of the Disney Fairies - One of Tink's friends. She's the one who can "blink over to the main land" - the only one - therefore, the only one that children ever get to see!


I had so much fun putting up Beth's hair! She really is the cutest fairy I know! :)


Jeremy - He was a cowboy... or, more importantly, a "mustang herder"! That's right - from the Magic Tree House series as well! Don't ya just love the horse - sorry, no boots could be found!


He loved having the horse and rode it all around the house and deck. But when it was time to trick or treat, the horse got to stay in the wagon. Apparently that bag of goodies needed to hands to hold it! :)


Peter - well.... Thomas is still too big for him....Winnie -The-Pooh we sent to Libby last year and didn't think to ask for it to be mailed back in time (of course, we didn't think it would fit Peter this year given the way he had been growing). So, we had this really cute lady bug... so he was the lady bug from A Bug's Life!


He didn't mind at all. In fact, when he saw the costume the first time he was so excited that he had something his size to play dress up in! He loved putting it on!


The had so much fun. Peter was quite cute the first time. He insisted on getting out of the wagon (we took the double stroller and the wagon to contain the four little boys) and then remembered that he needed his own bag to do his own trick or treating! He had fun for the first 7 houses... then he and the baby were done. So Juanita brought them back to the house, I packed up the rest and head just little further up in the north village, then over to the west village. They did well enough...


Note to self - feed kids before trick or treating... that way they can just go to bed when they get home! :)

Plenty To Keep Us Busy

We've had a really busy week! This marked the second week of the Elders coming to the New Portland area to make contacts and visit with less active members. This week they stumbled into a less active that we didn't even know was in the area. It's been a wonderful experience for us. We also discovered that part of our ward boundaries extends half way through the next town over from us! We thought our town was the last on this side. The special part of that for us is that we know a lot more people over there because of the Rec Program that we're part of!

In addition to that, the After School Program put on by the Rec Youth Program Committee began! It's only two days a week.. but we had a wonderful time. I'm the co-director this year, so I am really involved. It also means a lot of help and support from Bob. But it's been really good for me... and I love watching my kids get involved. This session will be a multi-cultural one. We're very excited about the activities (games and crafts) as well as presentations we have planned!

Yesterday we made rain sticks and wrapped mummies!

And then headed out to Pack Meeting - don't know if I mentioned that I was the Cub Master in our new cub scout pack at church! It was fun.. but we're still getting on our feet and so we've not yet been able to hand out recognitions. But everything for that is finally taken care of and we're planning an extra special recognition pack meeting for next month!

Bob, of course, still has his hands full with the cabinets he's building, helping some friends with things on their house, his normal jobs, odds and ends around here, the apartments... oh, yeah... and helping me! His schedule is way more crazy than mine... But we're busy and we're feeling good!

Fair Experiences

To our great enjoyment, the fair just down the road decided to return - there the larger fair in anothehad been rumors that last year was it's last. Though we've always gone tor town, we decided to try this one instead. I'm not big on crowds and it's only a walk down the road instead of a drive to hunt for parking and then fear that I'll loose the kids.

Saturday, after dance, I packed the boys into the double stroller, and all the kids and I walked down to the fair. (Bob had to work) The girls were so excited, as they remembered going on rides last year. When we arrived, I divided the entry money between the girls (one price for the whole family!!) and they eagerly tried to pay the man. He looked us over, smiled, told me I was brave and that he was only going to charge for me! Saved us $8!

As we walked over to the rides (this is the most exciting part for kids - right?) we were entertained by an amazing trash can band. I did not get pictures because of the eagerness of the girls to get to the rides - and because I thought I'd have time to after they were done. (I, of course, was wrong). But Gabi, Beth and Jeremy were all able to ride on the kiddie rides. Gabi is still small (I have small kids), so she didn't get to do the big rides yet. Probably next year - if we can take someone along who likes to do that kind of stuff!

I was amazed that Peter just sat in the stroller, watching everyone else ride, never complaining, just excited to see the "train" and the "trucks" that the others were riding. The only "trouble" worth noting was when the three were on the "roller coaster" - which Jeremy was uncertain of when it first started, and by the fifth or sixth time around was ready to scream. He only started to fuss a little on the last part of the last round. Though the girls were eager to do it again, Jeremy would not go back to it!

After the fun rides, we wandered back over to the little farm area. The larger fair is much better for animals - although you have to walk through three or four barns to see them all. But this little area was perfect for my young children. Peter got out of the stroller and was so excited. It seemed his favorite were the geese! He'd pet which ever animals I'd let him, and point, grin and babble at everything that I wouldn't let him touch. Jeremy loved the roosters - walking around and crowing along with them. I loved the doves - a perfect pair of white doves!

Since we had time - we wandered along, looking at everything. We stopped and got some popcorn and settled down for a little snack. Half way through that, we noticed the magician was setting up, so we headed back over. When we got there, Professor Paddy Whack was all set to start playing and singing some silly children's songs. The kids really enjoyed that. Peter wasn't too happy with the volume, but as long as I held him, he was content to stare at the strange, loud man. Jeremy was treated to a "balloon banjo" to "play along" - the magician also makes all sorts of balloon shapes and animals. Jeremy was a little confused until I showed him how to work it. Then he wouldn't let anyone else touch it!

As soon as the music ended, we moved into the tent a little further to watch the magic show - which, as we all know, is as much a clowning act as it is tricks! The kids were delighted - though weary from time to time as different people got up to "help out". They soon figured out that it was all fun. Gabi was even chosen to go up for the last trick. She was so excited... and so was I... until I realized my battery had died!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And, of course, in my rush to get us all out the door... and wanting to take as little as possible with us.... I had left the spare battery in the camera case at home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What as I thinking?!?!?!?!?!?!

Oh well.. she had tons of fun! She got to be the one to hold the "magic wand" that, of course, wouldn't stay together! At first, when it fell apart and the magician started asking her what she did, she got all serious and a little "nervous" and started trying to "explain" what happened (she's way too much like her mom) - then she figured out it was part of the show and started laughing so hard she could barely finish helping! She got to make a "bunny" - though the first attempt brought out a green cloth with a picture of a bunny eating a carrot on it out of the black hat. Then she got to tap a box... and out pops a real live rabbit!

She was so good about not having any pictures... she simply said (after the initial look of disappointment) "That's okay, Mom. We can still blog about it!" (Isn't she sweet!?!)

Jeremy had been asking for fireworks since Thursday... so I let the kids stay up late, in the hopes that we'd actually be able to see them. I didn't want to take the kids back to the fair because I knew Peter just needed to be in bed... 8pm is past his limit! So, at 9:30pm we headed out to the deck to watch for popping lights! Sure enough, they were high enough that we could see them from our front porch! It was wonderful to just watch - not worry about loosing my kids in the dark, to how we were going to get out and get everyone home in one piece! It was a wonderful way to end the night!

Wood

Well, since we heat with wood, that means there is "extra" work to be done in getting ready for winter to come. Bob has spent many afternoons and Saturday morning chopping what he could... by hand! Well, thanks to our home teachers, he now as use of a splitter for the really big stuff... and we'll see what else depending on how fast that goes.

Anyway, we had this lovely big pile of wood that was just sitting out, airing, and knew there was a bunch of rain heading our way. That meant it was time to stack it undercover, where it will live until we bring it into the house to burn. This year, we had more hands available to help out - and since we're trying to teach our children the principle of "hard work", yet "fun work", and that we all benefit from what we help with, we got everyone involved. Bob did the most, of course, and the kids were back and forth playing and helping. Peter took a nap, and I, of course, was involved in getting him there and taking care of snack needs and such. Never the less, we all worked well together!

Each of the kids helped by filling the wheelbarrow, then either Bob or myself would run that in. A game was created to see how busy everyone could keep Daddy. So, while he was unloading the wheelbarrow, we'd all bring in more wood to add to what he was staking! Then the kids stopped helping to fill the wheelbarrow (except for Peter) and just kept taking him more wood so that Peter and I could get the wheelbarrow filled back up before Bob ran out of wood to stack! It didn't always work, but it certainly kept things moving right along.

It always feels good to work together and to get things ready for the winter!

Ward Picnic

Okay, so I'm back tracking... my head has been muddled up quite a bit lately. Don't really know what's going on, but anyway....

Monday (Labor Day) was the annual Ward Picnic. Normally this event is over flowing and never enough chairs. This year turned out to be much smaller... I guess it was the year for people to "picnic" else where. Regardless, we had fun.

As usual, Bob was asked to provide his (seemingly) famous fries! So we packed up early and set out. Fortunately Peter was asleep, and willing to stay that way for a real nap, so I was able to go about helping set things up. What a strange feeling that was! No baby to chase after.

Anyway, the kids were helping Dad with the "fry cutting" and enjoyed themselves... Gabi stayed to continue helping with that. Beth and Jeremy started helping with the tables and chairs... that's not an easy thing for little ones. Jeremy even got to roll out the big trash cans! And, since chairs are typically an issue, we decided to have a "kids table" this year We brought out the two low tables and all the little kid chairs to go around. Jeremy was especially great with that, he unstacked the chairs and put them around the table!

But, since I was helping with all that, I didn't have my camera on my hip, and therefore didn't get some adorable pictures... but hey, just picture my cute little three year old boy hefting those chairs and grinning all the while! I did get a picture of him "helping" to roll a table back in afterward!

Beth was very inventive! She found a stick and then took her napkin and made herself a flag. She loved to wave it and then spin in circles making it ripple around her!

We had a nice time, and it was great to visit with people... we even made dough boys this time! We just might make those again next year.. I guess we'll just wait and see!

It's 8PM, Do You Know Where Your Kids Are?

Yes... I can hear them happily playing outside in the dirt... trucks running... everyone, that is, except Peter, who ate his dinner at 4:30, tried to take a bath, and fell asleep before 5pm... he didn't have a nap today.

But back to the other kids.. we would normally have them all in bed... But since our schedule became so much more flexible with the home schooling, we've relaxed some on the bedtime.

I was watching them out the window last night remembering that after dinner into the early dark of night was always my favorite time to be outside growing up. It brought back so many memories.. and lots of smiles to my face. They seem to love it too, so it gives Bob and I both a chance to get a few things more done, or just extra time with them - especially Bob, now that he's back to teaching.

Of course, when they've not been outside at this hour, they've been cuddled up in Bob's lap while he's been reading "It's Raining Pigs and Noddles"! A great book for getting kids to love and enjoy poetry - Thanks Nielsen Grandparents for such a crazy and well loved book!

Blueberry Picking

Well I can't recall the last time I went before this year! Yikes! It's been too long! But really, with Bob's schedule in the past, and me either pregnant or nursing or just little ones too small to hang onto without others to help watch... well, we just didn't get there! This year, though, on a whim (thanks to Leah's blog) I jumped at the chance and Bob was willing. So we packed everyone up last night and off we went... during the dinner hour (yes, I fed my kids a large snack before and had one waiting in the van for after).

I was amazed. Just under two hours in the blueberries and we came home with 30 pounds! What great pickers I have! It was amazing... and that doesn't count all the ones that Peter picked out of the bucket and threw on the ground, or the ones that kept spilling out of the kids' bucket when it was all but full! (Peter did help quite a bit, though, too)

Jeremy loved to bounce between buckets (Bob's, mine and the girls') and Peter was, of course, the first one done with everything since he's no longer napping. But it seemed that if he went to the other parent, he'd become content again and start picking more berries.

The girls had fun "hiding" from Jeremy as they ventured near us to find the bush with the "best berries" (ie... the most easily able to be picked by little hands).

All in all we had a great time and the kids are already talking about going again next year!

A Start and A Transition

We officially started home schooling yesterday! It's been exciting... and this week is really more of a get our barrings and make sure we know how to fit it all in week. But Gabi seems to really be enjoying herself... enough so that she even mentioned how much fun she had today in her prayer. I've enjoyed my kids coming into bed with me and wanting me to read to them! It's a much better way to enjoy the morning than racing for the kitchen to make sure we have a lunch, homework, shoes, jacket... and whatever else might be needed that day!

This morning, Gabi came in and we finished half a book before the other kids joined us. It was nice to have some alone time with her... that hasn't happened often.

I've also been transitioning Peter..... all my other kids were off naps at this point, so I should have put two and two together sooner... but it was during the "dad away at Zion's Camp" when I let me kids "camp out" downstairs that I learned why Peter was awake every night... typically happy (if he can find the bink) but just lays there, kicking whatever and tossing and turning until he falls asleep again! Oh well... this week is rocky.... transitions always are.. but I think it might go a little faster than the others!

On the up side, I've noticed Peter using his words much more often... when he's not over tired! And today I even got him to do a sentence in sign... "please, read more book"... as he was wanting me to read Dora's Opposites in English and Spanish (from Aunt Cheri several years ago) over and over and over again. I, of course, had to accommodate since he was actually communicating and not screaming! His favorite part, though, was at the end when he started pointing to all the characters and I'd tell him each name. When I'd get to Tico, he started laughing and laughing. It was great fun!

Anyway, look for our new blog... we'll be starting a second one just to keep track of home schooling things... fun adventures, and notes to help us remember everything. We haven't decided on a "school name" yet, so the site's not yet set up. I'll let you all know when we get it running!

Adventures From The Chapel

Sunday mornings... well, unlike many, this one wasn't so bad. The kids were actually getting along. The blanket project "miraculously" came together, and Gabi was so great about helping the boys to get dressed, getting the kids breakfast, and getting our bags together! (All so I could get the blankets finished so we'd actually be able to deliver them)

She then picked several flowers that she wanted to take up to leave with Savannah. We had originally thought we'd do that before church, but since things worked out with the blankets, we visited after church instead. It was nice to visit her grave. The kids really enjoyed laying the flowers down, and then Gabi stood, by herself, and blew over 20 kisses right in a row. Paused (maybe she was talking, I don't know I was watching from behind) and then she waved. It was cute and touching.

Any way... the adventures were actually at church. See, we walked in, with our bags, everyone sat down nice and calm. The books were opened for reading. Everyone getting along. Everyone behaving and being nice. Peter discovered that he had people to entertain behind us, so he focused his attentions backward.. but he was still being quiet, so I didn't mind. (After all, Bob was gone on Stake business again, so whatever made my life a little easier through Sacrament was a okay)

Peter has learned to "jump"... mostly just up to the toes and bouncing down again. So, in his entertaining mode, he decided he would "jump" for the people behind him. Sure enough, his foot slipped... since he was only on the edge of the bench... and over backwards he tumbled just as the first Sacrament prayer was finished. He hit his head, so I knew I had to get him out before he started screaming.

As I picked him up, I noticed a little blood... so I grabbed him, and, while darting out or the chapel, told the guy behind me to watch the others and grabbed the father of a friend on my way out the door to help me find the first-aid kit! By the time we got across the hall and into the mother's lounge, there was blood all over the back of his head. So, we cleaned it up, put on the pressure and tried to get it stopped... Fortunately Peter wasn't willing to move much, so the bleeding settled down without much trouble.

So I took Peter back into the meeting... now Jeremy needs to go potty... so the boys and I head out. That done, we get back and now Jeremy is down-right bored... which, for anyone who knows, means nothing but trouble for everyone near by. Sure enough, he decided he'd bug Beth... feet on her, laying on her, pulling her book away, and so on. I tried sitting him up, talking to him, and finally we left for a time out. I decided he was doing better on the couch in the hallway.. it might have had something to do with the friend's dad being there... so I checked with the girls (who were being perfect) and stayed in the hall with them.

Well, the "good" wore off, and the next thing I know the boys are wrestling (and laughing) on the floor. Not long after, I noticed the wound was bleeding again. So I get that stopped, get through the last song and prayer and head off to deposit kids in the right rooms. - Jeremy and Gabi, no problem.... Bethie... she just wanted me... Peter wanted to be in nursery.. but his head started bleeding again.

So I sat, in the hallway, with Peter (who fell asleep) and then Bethie (who also fell asleep) while the Primary President decided it would be best to find someone else to cover music. I must admit was was grateful for that... with all that was swirling around me, I didn't have the energy left to be "entertaining".

On a side note, I'm not actually the primary music leader any more either. (As of last week) But with presentation coming up, I offered to help out until the new leader was called. Instead, I have been called to be the Den Master (for cub scouts)... and let me tell you, I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO REAL IDEA OF WHAT I'M DOING! It will be exciting to learn, but I know that right now I feel completely and totally lost. Part of that is probably because we've not had a cub scout program for at least as long as I've lived here.... so there's no one "easily identifiable" to consult. There are people I can talk to... so I'll be getting it together... slowly... and maybe faster than I think!

Waterfalls

Well... it would appear that we've done NOTHING over the last week... but then again, appearances can be deceiving... and they are!

The weekend was filled with odds and end stuff... going to Newport on a speaking assignment... and getting the computer completely backed up in preparation for an upgrade... a full system upgrade! That was a bit of a headache.. but we got through it!

Tuesday the kids and I went back to meet up with Jenna and bring Amber back here for a couple more days before she headed home. Since we met in a beautiful area, we decided to do a little site seeing as well... the weather was some what cooperative... and we had a nice little time! We had a picnic; then we saw the first of three waterfalls. It was at a place not so well known, called the Baby Flume. It was pretty... although it would have been prettier without the rain (which wasn't too bad), we enjoyed it.

Just down the road... not even a full minute... we stopped to see Cascade Stream with some waterfalls as well.. not sure why they didn't name the waterfalls! The kids were able to stop here and throw rocks. That, of course, was more fun and more exciting then seeing the waterfalls... which got a quick "WOW" and then right back to the throwing of rocks! :)

That's when Jenna and her kids headed back the other way and we headed back ours. We made another stop at Smalls Falls... which I didn't think was quite as pretty since the water was all murky-looking (even in the falls itself) because of all the rain... and the water levels were really high! The kids loved trying to climb the rocks on the way up and down... and learned that when rocks are wet, they are slippery!

Wednesday we didn't do too much... although we made sure to scan in all the pictures Amber drew of the Pixie Hollow Fairies.... just right to make our own little coloring book! The girls are so excited about that! And though the bulk of the day was spent inside... trying to get caught up from the weekend... late afternoon took everyone out on the deck for ice cream (or sorbet), and then out to the Wire Bridge. The water level there was crazy high (at least for that section) and someone before us had started a bit of a rock wall damn to slow the current for swimming. Much of the time there was spent building that up more and throwing rocks.

Thursday we took Amber back to the airport... stopping to catch a movie and make a return (our printer had died and so did the scanner in it, so we'd gotten two separate ones this time, but the printer didn't end up working right, and we ended up getting another all-in-one... it's a Canon... works great.. and I love it... for now, anyway... mostly I just love that I have access to a printer and scanner again!). Then, since we were so early, we stopped by the mall which ended in Ben and Jerry's (at the mall)! It was especially hard for Gabi to say good-bye to Aunt Amber... she even told me this morning that it would be easier on her if she could live in Maryland, California, or Vermont... where her relatives are!

Today we've embarked on another project... one that has taking too long to get the stuff together... loosing things... finding things... and on and on. We're about half way through... and I believe we'll finally finish it! I'm hoping to complete it tonight after the kids are in bed (probably wishful thinking) and then tomorrow morning we can finish cleaning and getting the rest of the stuff unpacked and organized from getting the carpet put in... that's probably expecting too much too... I'll settle for clean and tidy before Bob gets home from Zion's Camp.... oh, did I mention he left Wednesday morning for that?

Life becomes normal again next week... I'm not sure I'll be able to handle it... I don't even know what normal is any more! But I'm looking for to it none the less... Until then... I'll try to keep focused!

A Little Adventure - In A Big Way

Wednesday morning we packed everyone up and head out to drop Amber and Bob off for a nice run down the river. It was calling for rain, but all the days leading up to it the rain held off until at least late afternoon, so we were hoping for the same. We got to the starting point, Bob and Amber gathered the canoe and their things and headed down the bank to get started. (I only have pictures from the beginning of the trip since I wasn't going to be "tagging along") All seemed well.

So I drove the kids and myself home thinking I'd sit down with them and read "Vidia and the Fairy Crown" since we'd not been able to touch it in several days due to late nights (we were reading a chapter a night of this series and had only just got through the first chapter of this book). Before I could sit and read with them, though, I needed to catch things up in the kitchen before I really got behind... we've done fairly well keep things tidy and cleaned up!

I was just thinking that I'd make some nice soup for everyone that evening, since it had started to pour outside... I figured my two adventurers would be in need of some warm and filling food. But I wasn't expecting them until at least mid-afternoon, so I knew I didn't need to start it right off. I had just finished up the kitchen and was working on a load of laundry when the phone rang.

I was screening our calls... we've had way too many that I can't answer the questions to, so I just let them go to voice mail for Bob to deal with later. So I almost didn't answer when I saw "Robinson Gen" show up. But for some strange reason (okay, I was prompted) I picked it up. And there, on the other end, was Bob. They wanted me to pick them up. Obviously they'd cut their trip short - due to the rain and all - right? So, yes, I gathered all my kiddos and off we went again.

When I arrived to pick them up, there they were.. two very drenched individuals... I almost said drowned rats, but really... They get in, I turn on the heater (yes, the heater in the summer... the kids weren't too thrilled but seemed to accept my response).

"So, hey. Where's the canoe?" I said.

"We left it in the river" came the response from Bob.

"With some friends" added Amber

"Left it in the river? You mean you banked it and we need to go get it?"

"No. We left it in the river to be washed down stream with all our stuff."

Now, with me somewhat puzzled, the story came out.

Everything was going well. The weather was fine. The water was fine. They were having a good time. It seemed like a wonderful adventure... especially for someone who had never "gone down a river before".

Then came the rain. Not that a little rain hurts much of anything. But the rain and the splashing of the water made it hard to see through glasses, so Amber took hers off and held them between her teeth. And still things were going well... they were wet... and getting wetter... but everything was under control.

One wrong move - or rather "steer" - and the next thing they know they're in the water! Splash! Unexpected, cold, wet....

A gasp... the glasses gone.

The lunch... gone.

Water bottles... gone.

One paddle... gone.

A life preserver... gone.

The canoe..... BROKEN!

BROKEN. BROKEN. BROKEN. Split in half!

Very wet, and with nothing else to do, they head to shore. Amber, having never had this marvelous experience of being dumped and then fighting the current to get back to dry land... or rather, wet land. So, with some vocal guidance... and a lot of prayer... she made it safely there... and so did Bob.

Dripping... being rained on... looking back at the mess they'd have to leave behind... they then plunged forward to figure out where they are. The rain is pouring... they're cold... they stop at the first house they see... no answer. Then the second.... no answer. A third.... no answer.

"Three strikes. We're out."

And finally they land at the store they called me from.

In amongst all the excitement, they were able to see a rainbow and a Bald Eagle.... In looking back, Amber laughs. It wasn't funny then.. but it was a great adventure....

Bob... well... he always laughs... so that's what he did. Humor is all in the way you look at things! :)

A Small Sample Of Rockland

Rockland has some special memories for many in our family. The last time we were there... okay, for a real visit... was with Grandma and Grandpa Nielsen. That was several years ago... when I was pregnant with Jeremy. But it also has special memories for my father and step-mother. So, with that in mind, I thought it might be fun to take Amber over there so she could see what her parents loved here in Maine.

With the weather reports calling for so much rain, we planned the trip for yesterday... the one day we were suppose to have a break from rain. Of course, we then had three days of beautiful weather (with some rain at night) p that night and we neededroceeding our day adventure. I forgot about the ferry that goes to the island from Rockland until we were just about there. Had I remembered sooner, we would have left really early so we could have gone over. As it was, the day was going to be just "sampling" since the girls had a dance practice to stop off for a Sam's run since we were going through.

We still had a relatively nice time though... aside from Jeremy getting hurt and then just screaming and screaming because everything wasn't right any more. And then when he calmed down, Peter started in - he was just done with being in the van. (I didn't have my "magic" DVD players with me because I have no idea were the cases and plugs are right now... so much for unpacking!)

We went to the lighthouse museum where we were able to see many miniature displays of lighthouses and ships. We also were able to see old ship wheels, old rescue rigs, the various different types of lights and bells. It was neat.. but I must admit we didn't really have time to "learn" much by reading the plaques... four little kids in tow... 6, 4, 3, and 18 months.... well, let's just say we enjoyed it but it was good not to push it too long.

After that, we headed out to the breakwater light. You can walk along the breakwater (a huge stone wall for "breaking" the waves so the other side is much calmer) all the way out to the lighthouse. The lighthouse itself is only open on the weekends, so although we walked out there, we didn't actually go into it. That's okay... that was when Jeremy got hurt.

See the breakwater is made up of these really large rocks. But there are "cracks" between them that you have to step over. They aren't too big, but large enough that a foot could slip in them at times. Well, as we got right to the lighthouse, Jeremy started watching everyone up on the balcony of the house. This is when he missed the "crack" and scraped up his leg. That hurt quite a bit. He, obviously, wanted to be carried back. But it was hard between the two boys. Amber helped for a while... but they are both rather heavy and it's a long walk to be carrying such big kids.

Prior to that, though, we all enjoyed seeing and hearing the waves.. watching the boats and ships around... and the kids all walked out there by themselves... Jeremy even walked back a good part of it with his sore leg. Peter loved walking and would get mad when I'd tell him it was time to "catch up" which meant I had to carry him for a while again. But on the way back, he wanted to be carried.

Anyway, we had a nice little "taste" and we'd all love to go back and see much more some day.