Farm Visits

A couple of early spring farm visits helped to boost our spirits and convince us that spring actually might arrive, one day. Each year farms throughout the state participate in Maine Maple Sunday. They open their "sugar shacks" and invite the public to come indulge in all things syrup.

Sam admires the steaming sugar shack.

The requisite tractor ride.

Fun, non-syrup demos like sheep sheering.

What is it that they say about pet owners looking like their pets?!

Also took a trip to Wolfe's Neck Farm in Freeport. We visited a few animals, but honestly Sam was most interested in riding a plastic toy tractor and watching the real tractor shovel sloppy manure out of the stalls.

Sam and these exotic fowl took a shine to each other and went for a stroll.

Winter and Early Spring (?!)

Once again, much time has passed since my last entry and viewership has likely dwindle to...well, perhaps just me. But alas, what can I say. I blame it on my first trimester of pregnancy and my inability to stay awake much past Sam's 7:30 bedtime! Luckily my energy is returning now and so is the sun, so things are looking up. Although, I did find myself warming my hands over the toaster the other morning, which is a sad sign that spring weather is yet elusive in this here State O' Maine.

I should not complain too much, though, because despite cold temperatures, the sun has been shining and we were lucky enough to spend the last week of February in Florida with Kevin's parents. I have to admit that I took vacation seriously and didn't even bring my camera on the trip. So unfortunately I don't have any photos of Sam playing in the surf and sand, but we were there nevertheless and enjoyed soaking up a little Vitamin D, not to mention Mimi and Poppa Cash's attention.

Following are a few photos from the past few months. I truthfully didn't snap many photos this winter, but at least I caught a few moments to share. Hope you enjoy.

The other morning Kevin declared it was "tax day", which is my cue to (happily) exit stage left. It was a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning so Sam and I headed out the peninsula to Pott's Point. We found some lobster pots, threw rocks in the water, sloshed through the seaweed and squinted in the bright sun. On our way home we stopped at a nice little cafe for some seafood chowder. It was a lovely date with my son, which was made even sweeter when Sam, sitting next to me in the cafe, sighed deeply and said, "Momma, I love you!"

Here are the images of our "tax day" excursion:

Morfar recently came for a visit from South Carolina. Here he and Sam read "Busy Town" together. Whenever Sam sees a picture of a helicopter now he says, "Morfar flies helicopters!"

There is nothing that gets Sam more excited than going for a bike ride with Daddy. Here they are early March heading out on Sam's first ride of the season.

In February we braved the cold and enjoyed a nice walk on Popham Beach with our friends Chad and Susan. Walking the beach seems to be beautiful no matter what the weather or time of year. We even saw some people riding horses along the water - a lovely sight.

Our friend Guybe got married in November. Many friends gathered at his parents' house on Valentine's Day to celebrate the happy newlyweds. Below is a crew of Dickinson couples. Guybe and Susan are front center. Congratulations again, you two!

The following are photos I took during a snuggle fest on the couch.

(Hopefully the next blog will show us sans snow and down jackets! Perhaps even some photos of us planting a garden! Tune in.)

December

Closing out the year with a few  images of December...

For awhile Sam rejected mittens.  "I do not like mittens.  I do not like mittens," he would emphatically enunciate.  As the weather got colder and colder, I began to worry.  But after some clever indoor "mitten games" invented by Kevin, Sam finally warmed to the idea of wearing them outside.  Phew...I was anticipating a very long winter if this battle raged on.   

So here he is, red mittens and all, doing a little shoveling after a recent storm.  The folks who sold us our house left this wonderful kid size shovel for us - great score!

The shoveling team.

Gordie came to play after this same storm.  Here he and Sam watch Kevin rake snow off the roof.  Very cool stuff.

The long john line-up.

And a warming hug, too.

This is random, but I had to throw in these photos of Kevin suited up for an afternoon of dirty work.  In preparation for getting our basement insulated, Kevin donned a tyvek suit and respirator to clear our basement of old junk, some of it very old.  Ah, the joys of new (old) home ownership.

Our friends Chad & Susan Olcott came for breakfast mid December.  After filling our bellies with pancakes and coffee, we ventured to a Christmas tree farm.  Funny how one can agonize over a couple dozen, nearly identical trees before selecting just the right one.  Sam was actually asleep in the truck at this point.

But he woke up in time to enjoy the views and inspect this lovely orange tractor, which was, of course, a whole lot more interesting than trees.

And at last, Merry Christmas 2008!  We spent the holiday in MA with Kevin's family this year. Sam had a wonderful time and was very much in the Christmas spirit.  We taught him to exclaim, hands raised high, "Behold! I bring you tidings of great joy!"  This performance, indeed, brought great joy to all.

Modeling his new John Deere hat and tools from Morfar and Grandma Kay.

This train set belonged to one of Kevin's grandfathers.

It was a source of great interest to Sam and his Daddy, too.

Our family.  (How happy young Sam looks!)

Cashman family photo: (back to front, left to right) Kevin, Will, Jim, Gitta, Mike, Kathy, Laura, Sam(2+), Bella (6mo.), Ava(3+).

November

Oh dear... when the new year is approaching and your blog still leads with "Halloween", you know you're behind the eight ball!  So here are a few images from November to start...then I'll see if I can post some December hightlights under the wire while it's still 08.

First, I had to post these shots of Sam modeling his special cow shirt.  Our dear friend Hana Schutz is a very talented artist and made the shirt for Sam's 2nd birthday back in September. She has ideas of marketing these adorable prints - I think they'll be hot items!

We had several of our Apogee leaders over for breakfast in November...

...apparently they enjoyed themselves.  

Actually this is a promo shot for our new Apogee hoodies.  Sam got in on the modeling, too...

Here Sam & Daddy do a little trench digging for a new heater going into Kevin's office.   

Makes the old sand box look pretty boring, eh?

If I were a famous artist this would be called "Boy and Swing".

The girl in the party hat turns 35.  We were not able to capture it in the photo, but Kristin is holding a chocolate Obama bust in honor of our recent, historic election.  A clever and tastey gift!

Halloween

Halloween was all about tools this year.  Here Sam & Gordie go to work on their pumpkin...

And the finished product... Who knew you could carve a pumpkin with a plastic drill?!

Sam gives Mr. Pumpkin some love.