Tully Trip 2015

We've returned from our annual trip to Tully Lake, where we had a fabulous weekend of camping with Ian and Elizabeth.

Here's Lucy's take on it:

Here's the whole gang at the end of the weekend (we probably should have taken one at the start):

We've been doing this since 2012, when we looked like this: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jakeb/8016683159  or this: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jakeb/8016674708

And here's the whole gang in 2013: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jakeb/10010118613

And here's the 2014 version: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jakeb/15397401305

We've refined ourselves a bit over the years, improving our gear and our food. This year, cast iron skillet yielded delicious bacon as well as dough deep-fried in that very bacon's grease.  It was amazingly delicious.

Sadly, due to an algae bloom, we were not allowed to go swimming or wading, which also meant that we couldn't bring Alice (because there's no way to keep that dog out of the water).  So Alice had a lovely time at Camp Furvana (Paula's house) and we spent our time on long hikes and just hanging out.  We went on a beaver hunt (in the canoe) but sadly did not see any beavers.  But we did talk a lot with a ranger, who is a wildlife rehabilitation specialist.  She is raising a baby beaver who got separated from her mother.  In related news, Lucy now wants to grow up to be a wildlife rehabilitation specialist (previous plan was zookeeper).

Can't wait til next year.

 

The times, they are a'changin'

We have several important updates for our readers:

1) Lucy is now in Second Grade! 

This is shocking.  Here's what she thinks:

2) Lucy is taking piano lessons!  

Also, we now have a piano!

Here's a visual demonstration of both of those things:

And here is Lucy's illustration of the new situation:

3) Lucy is playing soccer for the Dracut Flash!  

Here she is in her uniform:

This is our first foray into the world of competitive sports.  So far, so good.  We started this past Sunday, and it looks like we're going back for week 2.  Go Flash!

Here's Lucy's story about it from school:

She really likes it.  Even the oranges.
4) The above are all awesome things.  But we also have a Very Bad Thing we have to report.  Our very favorite Beacon Street family has moved.   To Maine.  Which is Far.  Not That Far, but still, not here.  We are very excited for Matt and Mary and Ruth and Woody to start their new adventure in Maine, but we are very sad that they are no longer our neighbors.  They will still retain honorary status as members of the Christian Hill Cocktail Society (CHCS).  We all go way back:

We raise a glass to Matt and Mary and Ruth and Woody, and we will all visit soon!!!!

Second Grade

Summer is officially (unofficially?) over, as today my school and Lucy's school commenced the academic year.  Lucy is off to second grade. I find this shocking.  She had a great day and is happy with her teacher and classmates.  I asked her if all the kids talked about what they did last summer, and how they introduced themselves.  She said a there was a lot of talk about Canobie Lake (a theme park not far from here) and such summer things.  Here's where it went from there:

Me: Well, what did you tell them about yourself?

Lucy: I told them I have a dog, and her name is Alice and that my dog has a doppelganger named Remy.

Me: Oh.  Did the other kids know what a doppelganger is?

Lucy: No, so I explained that.

So I can only imagine what Lucy's teacher and classmates now think of her.

I couldn't be more proud.

Also, Alice DOES have a doppelganger named Remy and they are mortal enemies.  It's almost hilarious, if it weren't sometimes scary the way they seem to want to destroy each other.

Happy New School Year!  I hope to have updates soon.

Meet the newest member of the family!

This is Flame:

He's a Betta fish, like his predecessor, Norbert. 

Lucy received her Aquafarm for Christmas from Santa, but we only got around to putting the whole thing together recently.  Flame is a farmer:

He provides nutrients to some plants up above (at the moment, wheatgrass and radish sprouts) and they, in turn, clean the water for him.  Impressive work, little fish-farmer!

Lucy wrote a nice piece about him for school:

We are pleased to have Flame as a member of the 83 Durant Family!

Happy Father's Day

Here's what Lucy wrote in school about her Dad:

Nice, eh?

Happy Father's day!

HubBub!

We just spent an amazing day at the HubBub in Boston.  It was the first (and we hope not last!) Boston Book Festival for Children!  Our main motivator was that we wanted to see one of our very favorite authors, Mo Willems!

And we did! He started out his reading (to a packed house!) by telling everyone that they should take their photos, and he posed in appropriate ways:

And then he insisted that EVERYONE put away cameras and have their hands free. It was awesome.  He said we were all there to experience the event, not document it.  It was delightful!  He read from Pigeon Needs a Bath, answers questions from the audience, read from I will Take a Nap (the latest in the Elephant & Piggie series) and was entirely delightful and wonderful the whole time.

And then, he ran to the back of the room and signed books!!!!

Here we are, having Mo Willems sign our copy of Hooray for Amanda her Alligator.

And yes, by the way, we DID dig deep into the Mo Willems catalog to get that one.  While all the other kids had their Pigeon and Elephant & Piggie books, I believe we impressed as being very committed Willems fans. He was lovely and excellent.  And now we have his signature and a doodle in our copy!

BUT WAIT -- that's not all!  The day continued with an all-day fest at Copley Place, featuring various literary characters, children's book publishers, workshops, puppet presentations, musical acts, storytelling, and just all around awesome-ness.  There were crafts, including those inspired by Willems:

We even found out the answer to life's age-old question: Where's Waldo?

Answer: OMG, he's RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!!!

We did the treasure hunt, which included getting stamps from various tents/groups that had exhibits and activities. So Lucy made a lightsaber at Einstein's Workshop, and even more exciting, she participated in the Build-a-Lair workshop at 826 Boston. Yes, she built a lair. 

Lucy took part in a photography contest (we'll keep you posted on the results!), made a parachute that she tested in a wind tunnel, and got to listen to the School of Rock band.  It was all incredibly awesome, and we can't wait to do it again next year!

Happy Anniversary!

Ten years ago today, Jake and Bridget got married.  Don't we look dapper here:

Are you thinking to yourself, "huh, I don't remember that wedding"?  That's probably because we didn't invite you.  Or anyone.  At all.  Sorry!

Due to multiple computer updates and moves, we've had trouble locating some of our photos, but I found a few:

This morning Lucy took a picture of us:

Aside from Jake's decidedly less formal dress (and more developed facial hair), we pretty much look exactly the same.  HA!

We also made this silly video back then, using our rather crude tools:

Someday, we will throw a great big party and invite all of you.  For now, we hope we get to see you in the coming year to celebrate.....whatever you'd like to celebrate.  We feel very lucky to have each other, our families, and our friends, and it has been a wonderful 10 years. 

Apparently the 10 year anniversary traditional gift is "tin/aluminum."  Seriously?  I guess it's time to break out the aluminum foil and decorate. Or maybe we'll raid the recycling bin and go redeem our empties?  So many options.  Tin/aluminum Anniversary: I know! We need a periodic table of the elements!

Did we mention the pool?

Last summer, we got a big pool for the backyard, but I don't think we really used it much.  Jake and Lucy decided to improve on it this year by getting started early.  Last weekend, just before all the rain came, they relocated the swingset, dug out a flat area in the backyard, and set up the pool.  Yesterday, Lucy had a chance to use it, despite the fact that it was only maybe 70 degrees out.  She went prepared in her new wetsuit:

And it worked out great:

Yes, she is trying to squirt the photographer.  Alice went kinda nuts and tore around the yard (I regret that I did not get photos or video, but it was more important to watch what was happening).  She is very pleased that there is a large pile of dirt, apparently set up just for her to dig in.

Here's the full situation in the yard (yes, it still needs some work):

It was a fun time, and exhausted everyone, as pictured here:

And then Lucy got dressed up for guests:

Yes, that is my dress she's wearing, a little vintage number from sometime in the early 1980s.  It was a good time.

More updates soon, I hope!  Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Field Trip Day!

Lucy and I are going on a field trip to the Swan Boats today!  The day started with Lucy waking up in tears, believing that we had all overslept and she was going to miss her field trip.  It was 6:50 am.  She has to be at school at 9:10.  We are not going to be late.

More updates from Boston later!

Here are the girls first thing on the bus:

And here's the whole crazy class:

 The swan boats were lovely and we had simply marvelous weather. 

We had a nice walk to the playground and also to the Make Way for Ducklings statue, and then had a picnic. And then it was back to the bus!  But wow, what a great field trip!  Let's do it again next Friday! (Zoo Trip!)

various updates, somehow related

1.  We're getting a new washing machine. Should be delivered Friday.  Fingers crossed.  Until then, our clothes are kinda dirty.  Sorry if we smell.

2.  Also Friday: Lucy's class field trip to the Swan Boats in Boston!  She's very excited.  I'm serving as a chaperone.  Any advice?

3.  Alice has an ear infection. We have a new regime of 10 day of ear washes and ear drops twice a day.  FUN!  Not really. She's mostly compliant, and given her motivation re: treats, it's going pretty well so far.  You may recall that Lucy had a lot of ear infections.  So frequent, in fact, that we began to document them, like with this fabulous video: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jakeb/3026867905/in/photolist-5BAD4m-5BtunF
Alice also seems to be in good spirits and does not seem to be affected much by the situation.

4. I took Alice on a walk today.  We were walking along at the Reservoir.  She ran for some birds.  I attempted to run, too. I am not sure exactly what happened, but I ended up on the ground.  I held onto the leash, but hurt my left ankle.  I laid there for a while, with Alice coming up to lick me.  I got some assistance from a neighborhood lady.  A man tried to help, too, but Alice's bark kept him away.  We got a ride home and I've been doing the ice/elevate thing.  So far, I think it's just a bit twisted.  We'll see how it's doing in the morning.  Hopefully it won't affect my ability to go to the swan boats!

5.  Further Reservoir update: for the past little while, we've been marveling at a charming family of ducks who have made their home at the Res (as we call it).  There was mama, a papa, and 11 duckings!  Totally adorable!  Over a couple of weeks, they were whittled down to 9 ducklings (not sure what happened to those other two,  but apparently this is a pretty good survival rate).  We stop in almost once a day on our regular dog walks to see them.  They've been growing up, getting more and more adorable, doing awesome diving tricks and following their mom about.

On Monday, we took Lucy for a brief walk after school (it had been raining all day and we were glad to have a moment of merely misting to get out and about).  We were AMAZED to see the ducklings following their mom, not around the pond, but walking down the street.  In fact, we followed at a safe distance, watching them cross streets and get from the Reservoir, then cruising down Bennett street, hopping into some backyards and popping out on Vernon street, and then just walking across Third Street, around the gazebo park.  We were so excited.  We tried to continue following, but somehow they gave us the slip (likely into a backyard?) so we gave up and came home.

BUT a few hours later, Jake drove downtown to pick up Alice from the Social Pup, and he spotted the duck family again!  It was awesome!  They made it all the way down to First Street and ended up in a parking lot of a business there.  They even got traffic to stop so that they could cross the VFW Highway so that they could get to what we presume was their intended destination: the mighty Merrimack River!  Here's their path (roughly, as google doesn't have a "duck path" option):

I hope to be able to add some video from Jake soon, because it is ridiculously adorable.  Make way for duckings, indeed!  And hey, on Friday, Lucy's class will be visiting the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture!  Serendipity indeed!