Happy Camper

Ollie is having a fantastic week at Blueberry Cove... on the last two mornings when I dropped him off, he quickly found his new friend, Joey, and I watched (with heart swelling) as they wandered off together, hand in hand. He came home last night with his spare clothes bunched up in his backpack, soaking wet and filthy with mud - so I figured it must have been a good day. Today it's a big camp trip to Drift Inn Beach all morning, what fun!

Our Garden Fairy

Sweet Maddie is so excited about her new fairy costume! She hasn't had a lot of dress-up clothes yet, so when I saw this today, I couldn't resist. We've had days and days of only sunshine here in Maine, and finally today we had a big huge rainstorm, with a bit of thunder and lightening as well (the kids loved it!). When it cleared out this evening, the light was fantastic, so we couldn't resist having a little walk to the harbor to enjoy it. Maddie obliged her silly mom by posing endlessly for photos. In this first shot, I think I asked her to smile really big, and this was the result!

I decided she must be calling out to all the other garden fairies to join in her revelry. Then she ran around in the grass a lot, possibly attempting to take flight. Prettiest garden fairy ever. xoxo

Nothing Better

Whether it's Tenants Harbor or Hayfield, I think there's almost nothing nicer in the world than taking an evening stroll with Andy and the kids. We're having glorious weather here this year, every day feels like heaven. All you can do is smile.

Soulshine Boy

It's not every day that you get an email that makes you smile inside and out. I'm posting this so that Oliver can look back in 20 years and have special insight into the kind of little boy he was. A very, very special boy indeed!!!! Last summer he was a camper at Soulshine Farm in Randolph, NJ for two short sessions, one in June and one in August. It's such a great place - each day is divided into three sections: arts, farm/garden, and yoga!! Ollie apparently made a big impression on them!!! Here's the email I received this morning:

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Hello Gillian and Oliver.... Hope your trip to the UK was delightful. I wanted you to know that Oliver, you were the topic of conversation today at camp...the conversation went like this. “Hey Miss Julie can you check when that boy named Oliver is coming? I hope he comes when I’m here, I wanted to show him my hat.” Another camper chimes in...“Yeah, I loved having Oliver here.” And a staff member...“I agree, it is not the same without Oliver.” No pressure, but we miss him! We’ve had a terrific start to camp and are enjoying the children so much....but it feels like someone is missing. All sessions are now full - but for Oliver, I will add an opening to any week he’d like to attend based on camper enthusiasm for his charming manner. You’ve raised one memorable child that others like to be around. Again, no pressure, just wanted to let you know we’re thinking about you. Smiles, Julie, campers and crew
PS I also have some scholarships left, so if it would be helpful for Oliver to come as our guest, he is welcome.
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On trying days, Oliver, I will return to this and smile, again and again!! We love you!!! (Here's a photo of Ollie taken just a few days ago here in Maine, wearing his Soulshine Farm tshirt with pride!!)

Gardens, Shmardens

The Garden Tour this year was really, really nice, but the best part was just being out with Mom and Dad, Ian, Aidan, Eli, and Hillary!!! We even had a nice visit with Marianne and Arthur. Andy stayed home with the kids and they all had a lovely time at Drift Inn Beach. Fantastic day!

Happy 4th!

It's kinda weird having the Fourth of July fall on a Wednesday...

all day, Andy and I keep thinking it's Sunday - it just feels like that! We're not used to having fun-time together on a weekday! Andy's plan for a monster bike ride this morning were thwarted by rain, so we all hung out till about 9am when we headed to Sparta for the big parade.

By the time we got there it was already well over 80 degrees, and we used umbrella's to keep the sun off! (Except Andy, who thought that was silly!) Loads of people lined the main street in Mohawk, and the parade was good fun... a highlight for the kids being - as ever - the candy collecting! I was pleased there was a marching band this year...

I never get very excited about parades that don't have marching bands. Ollie loved the fire trucks, but Maddie (as you can see) thought they were a bit too loud!! After standing in the shade of a big tree for over an hour, we were still super hot,

along with everyone else - temps in the low 90s today! We headed back home, Andy ventured out midday on his bike and made it 30 miles or so before having to call me for a rescue -- just too hot out there!! A valiant effort.

We had a refreshing stop at TCBY for expensive ice cream, then back home for an urgently needed water-fight!! I think little kids learn all they need to know about ruthlessness from their Daddies during water and snowball fights!

Ollie took it all in stride, laughing gleefully with every squirt. Lovely marinated pork tenderloin for dinner, with corn and carrots. Happy 4th!!

First Day of Preschool for Maddie!!

Our little girl, getting so big!! She starts preschool *in earnest* in September, when Ollie starts kindergarten, but over the summer they are attending his preschool together for a few days here and there.

Whenever she talks about school, she says, "I'm going to learn letters...... and numbers..... and read books..... " and she's very excited about it!! In the fall she will go two days a week, just like Ollie did. Here she is with her very supportive big brother, wearing her new jumper from Primark (UK)!! We love you, little Maddie-boo!!!