Vacation in Maine! Part 2 - Five Islands

Our second day in Maine took us to picturesque Five Islands, a tiny community of lobstermen and vacationers. We had bright sunshine and this little beach all to ourselves.

Paddling was on the agenda. Dad and I paddled over from the parking lot. Then Grammie Daisy and Gretel managed to entertain each other while Casey and I went exploring in the kayaks!

Gretel took a big interest in the kayaks too!

Sand and sea and sunshine and an awesome Pappa!

We collected seaweed for the compost pile.

We were all worn out by the end of the day, and everyone but Gretel got a sunburn. But what a full, happy day!

Vacation in Maine! Part 1 - Popham Beach

At the end of September we flew to Maine to visit Grammie Daisy and Grampy Frank. We had a great time! Our first day consisted of a hike over Morse Mountain to beautiful Popham Beach. We had a picnic and spent lots of time playing.

Above, Gretel and Grammie Daisy look for shells.

Below, Gretel spent a lot of time playing by herself in a pile of sand. I think she's finally getting this beach thing!

Picnic time!

Casey got artsy drawing big circles with a stick.

End of Summer Fun With Friends and Food!

We've had such a plethara of local food in our world this summer - it's been wonderful! Casey has had the opportunity to go fishing several times and has so far brought back two big salmon and two big steelhead. We've had enough to eat right away, share with friends and we even smoked some too.
Below is a shot from our garden, a trombolina baby with bloom on. Pretty beautiful.



A typical day's bounty from our garden this year.

We had friends Wendy and Barb over for a local meal. Gretel loves their dogs!

We ate poisson freshly caught that day, the first time our platter has been used so appropriately! Also a faux nicoise salad, all ingredients from our garden.

The dinner partiers.

Speaking of food, here's Gretel when she accidentally opened the bag of O's by herself. Whoopsie!

Another dinner with friends, here's Wednesday Peck smiling at yummy local food.

Wednesday, Oscar and Gretel playing badminton.

Our favorite new neighbors, Jenn and Sid.

Gretel "cooking".

Liesl and Gretel Visit Union

Gretel had never met her cousin Thornton before, so we made a trip out to Union to visit the Lackaff/Lay family. Here are some shots of Thorny, caught in his pajamas!

With Jess - Gretel starting to fuss!

Thorny loves bananas and ate three while I was visiting.

The Union house (above) and playing at the park (below).

Yogurt Face

Sunroom Doors Sneak Peek

Our new doors are in, and although the project is a long way from being finished, we wanted to show off how cool they already are! We are quite pleased, as is Alistair.

Below is the before shot. Ugh.

Cousin Soleo's Birthday Party

Soleo recently turned 2, and the whole family attended a party in his honor. Here's Gretel with her two Hess cousins, and below mowing the concrete.

With Grandma Liz and Soleo.

Great Grandpa Jim and Great Grandma Norma.

Eating watermelon. Gretel LOVES watermelon!

The host with the most, Brian.