Casco Bay

Could it be that I allowed an entire YEAR to slip by without a single update to our family blog?! Yes, dearest family and friends, this is the sad truth. It certainly has not been for a lack of material; Sam & Jack have been growing and changing daily, and now I shall provide the evidence. As it would be overwhelming for you, dear reader, to view twelve months worth of photos all at once, I will start with the present and try to pepper each post with a walk down memory lane. Gradually we shall fill in the blanks from July 2010 to present.

This summer has been quite a hot and sunny one. With Daddy deep in the Apogee weeds, the boys and I have taken to the water as much as possible. Following are a few pics from a Casco Bay outing with Aunt Kristin & Cousin Gordie. Being that I married somewhat of a landlubber, it's lucky we have boaters in the family.

Hot Tubbin' Maine style.

Aunt Kristin, Gordie, Jack & Sam.

My sister snapped this one of me and Jack with her iPhone. Fun to think that she & I traveled these same docks as kids. In fact, Kristin has never parted with the waterfront and is the Dock Master at this marina in South Freeport.

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...)

Maypole

Who knew that watching one's son dance around a Maypole for 5 minutes wearing a wreath, fireman rain jacket, red wellies and a tutu could make a mom weepy? Now I know.

Mormor, Jack and Daddy also witnessed this very sweet event.

Spring 2010

A few images from our spring: (I keep trying to write captions for each but am too tired to be clever. I think I'll just let the photos speak for themselves...and go to bed.)

I quote, "Look guys, this bad boy is rollin' like mad". Oh dear...

Sam models his very cool hat from our friend, Uncle Matty.

I'm in love with yet another Cashman boy.

February 2010

Another blast of several posts at once...it's my own style of blogging...the blogging blast followed by months of silence. I like to build the anticipation. :)

Thanks to Mormor Sam has been doing a lot of skating this winter. Good thing, because all the snow has been in DC!

Off to the rink with Mormor.

Aunt Kristin and Gordie have logged lots of rink time too. Here's Sam with Kristin and my mom.

And here's Gordie with his mama. Both boys are way into hockey and have been going to lots of Bowdoin College games this season. Sam often insists that I call him "Goalie" not "Sam".

Check out the video we've posted to see Sam in action. He LOVES this little guitar. I think we may have a budding musician here...as long as he continues to think his guitar-playing daddy is cool!

January 2010

Sam the painter. This day he kept saying, "Mommy, I'm a real artist!"

Jack gets a visit from his friend Nora. Sweet Nora belongs to my good friend Jones.

Coming home from a wintery walk.

Love those smiles; they can warm the coldest day in January!

Lots of snow means a good snowblower show from our neighbor Mr. Reed.

Jack getting his guitar lesson.

Pure sweetness. What more can a smitten mama say?