Summer Fun

A few pics from our summer:

Jack waves the Apogee flag in this sweet onesie my mom had made for him.

The above four photos are from a lovely family hike we recently took. It was a treat to steal Daddy away from the Apogee "situation room" for a short while. The loop we took brought us out to beautiful water views and the perfect spot for a cool dunk.

Popsicles are being consumed with great joy these hot, humid days.

Jack is delighted by this refreshing summer tradition.

Over the Independence Day weekend the boys and I joined Kristin, Bobby & Gordie for some boating and an island picnic in Casco Bay. Nothing quite like a full day of sun and salt.

Our very serious (tired) patriot.

You may not know this, but vacuuming is also a wonderful, relaxing summer pastime...at least in our household that's true. Yup...Sam is still obsesses with this amazing brush-spinning, dirt-sucking machine. The good news is that he can now actually vacuum for real, on his own. And does so almost daily.

Wooly Jack

Jack models his new wooly green leggings knit by Mama. I wish I could say that a lot more has been coming off my needles, but for now I'm happy to report that I actually completed a project. Luckily the cuffs are rolled over in this picture and the leggings will still fit when the cool weather returns. Phew...

I'm thinking I may later change the title of this post to "Handmade Jack" and include pictures of other lovely things that friends and family have made for this lucky little lad.

Sam's First Bike!

Because of Apogee and the fleet of rental bikes Kevin keeps on hand, it is not unusual for Shawn-the-UPS-man to pull up to our house in his big brown truck and deliver a very large bike box or two. But one day early June, alongside one such large bike box, sat a wee little bike box. Sam's first bike! Daddy and a delighted Sam unpacked and built the bike together and then off he went, elated and a wee bit cautious.

Kevin later told me that while they were putting the bike together Sam said he wanted to tell him a secret. Sam cupped his hand around Kevin's ear and whispered, "Thank you for getting me a bike, Daddy." Then the next morning Sam came downstairs into the kitchen with a sweet little knowing grin on his face. "Mommy," he said, "do you know why I'm smiling?" "No, Sam, I don't. Why are you smiling?" "Because I know my new bike is sitting in the garage." Pure, genuine gratitude...love that...(or is he just playing his cards right in hopes of getting a car when he's sixteen? Hmmm...)