Now We Are Three!

The girls celebrated their birthday with grandparents and friends galore. They had a great time partying all afternoon and into the evening. We had three of their buddies and parents over for cupcakes and playtime in the afternoon, and they all went to town with the helium balloons and punching balloons that we had. We received so many lovely new books as gifts, and the girls have asked to read them over and over.

They are very excited to be three!


Highlights included:

Balloons

Cheeseheads

Blue and purple cupcakes (Bridget asked for blue, Moriah asked for purple)

Outside playtime with friends

Hugs from Granpa Daly!

Potato Hill: The Return

With the colors peaking in the hills nearby, we headed up Potato Hill again ten days ago with Phaedra. The girls were happy to enjoy a snack on top, a fantastic view, and we were able to squeeze in one last hike with Phaedra during her visit to Maine. We hope she comes back soon, or we'll have to go to New Zealand.

The girls think Phaedra is the greatest hiking buddy! She carried Moriah on her shoulders on Saddleback and Potato Hill. They were very excited that she came to visit, and I'm so pleased that they were relaxed and very friendly even though they haven't seen her in a year. She got lots of hugs and kisses when she said goodbye.

Moriah, Phaedra, and Bridget

Moriah and Mt Blue in the background.

A rare photo of me with the girls.

Wedding

What a great time we had at Dave and Mouse's wedding this past weekend!

The girls were flowergirls, and enjoyed wearing their special dresses. Here they're coloring before the start of the ceremony.

Mouse and Dave!

We had a lot of fun playing in the leaves outside the chapel. The girls had a terrific time at the reception, and really danced the day away. It was too good to capture on film.

Fair season

September weekends were busy with fairs. The local county fair and the Common Ground Country Fair overlap, so we devoted one Saturday morning to each. The girls loved them both! They were most excited about seeing and petting the animals. I was most excited to visit the fiber tent at Common Ground with Phaedra, but I managed not to make any yarn purchases.


Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures at Common Ground because we were busy feeding sheep, listening to music, sliding down hills, watching sheepdogs, eating falafel, and buying apples. We did get to meet up with Phaedra, and see her put her pin on the world map to show that she had come all the way from New Zealand.


The Franklin County Fair had fewer people, but just as much fun. See below!

Sheep, white and black

Mama and baby donkeys
Cows getting washed up for their showings

Tomatoes

Three varieties are coming in these days. Doug only likes the really red ones - he says the unusual color (on the left) puts him off. More for the rest of us! The girls love to eat these fresh, in salads, on pizza...you name it.

Wonderland

Bridget told me that Bar Harbor was "all closed up now" today. I guess summer has really come to an end? We were talking about our visit to Wonderland, and I remembered that I hadn't put any pictures here from our walk there in July.

It's a little bit of a walk from the parking area to the beach, so we had to take lots of breaks to play in the puddles.

Both girls really enjoyed playing with all the different kinds of seaweed on the beach, and investigating the little creatures they found hiding there. Here's Moriah holding some Irish Moss.

Wire Bridge

Just off Rt 2 to the north of us is this beautiful bridge crossing the Carrabassett River. It still takes car traffic, but there is a small parking area on either side for those who like to walk. Below the bridge on the east side of the river is a small park and beach, perfect for a quick splash on a Saturday morning!

Hiking in NH

Yesterday we met some grad school friends just north of Crawford Notch for a hike up Sugarloaf (north of Mt Hale, west of Mt Washington). There were four adults, three two-year-olds, and a dog - we were quite the expedition.

After cloudy, rainy days before, the view from the summit was spectacular. The hike was the longest the girls have participated in this summer. They were very excited to get to the top and run around after having first lunch.

Bridget, with a view to the east

Moriah, view to the west

The girls and their buddy Caleb

Giving hugs

All four of us!

Garden

Two shots (a month old) of our garden this summer. The vegetables are coming in now, and the girls love to forage. Top picks are peas and fresh tomatoes. We added two raised beds for a total of three this year, and will have five next year. I think we'll try out carrots, maybe potatoes, cukes, and chard. As long as the girls enjoy picking and eating the veggies, we're happy.

Front: pumpkins, zukes, pole beans
Middle: tomatoes, lettuce, peppers
Back: tomatoes, onions, basil, peas

The sprinkler is the best part!

Boundary Waters

I'm just back from a week with Carleton friends in the Boundary Waters. I hadn't been there since the summer of 1992; I hope the next break isn't so long. The best part was spending time with far-flung friends, but the terrific weather and gorgeous scenery didn't hurt. Photos of Kelly Lake, South Temperance Lake, and Sawbill Lake respectively.

Fundy and beyond

We spent two nights at Fundy National Park on the way to Cape Breton. The site had a great view of the water, and the park wasn't very busy. There's quite a bit for the under-3 set to enjoy there - a large playground, a heated salt-water pool, and some beautiful short trails for hiking. Dickson Falls (below) is on a 1 km loop with lots of boardwalks and stairs that the girls enjoyed.

The drive from Fundy to Cape Breton is a long haul, but we all survived and enjoyed the last hour especially as we drove over Cape Smokey at dusk. The campground at Ingonish was much busier, but we had a nice spot close to the trail to the beach and the playground.

Moriah organized all the footwear outside the tent!

Below she is busy digging at the Ingonish beach.

A gorgeous short hike is near Black Cove beach. The trail takes you up over a small hill with a great view to the rocky headland north of the beach. We didn't do the whole trail along the headland, but had a scenic snack then came back closer to the water. The geology here is fantastic, to boot.

I think it was quite a treat all four of us to spend time together. Below, Doug and Bridget at Corney Brook (west side of Cape Breton).

Cape Breton

First photos from our fantastic trip to Cape Breton. Bridget at Arisaig, Corney Brook; Moriah hiking on Middle Head and playing at Fundy. The two of them hiking around Middle Head. More soon.

Acadia

A few more pictures from Sand Beach. We took the girls 4 or 5 times - none of us could get enough of it. Moriah is quite the sand castle engineer, and is very keen to wear hats. Bridget loves to play with sand and RUN!

Watermelon

From the backlog of shots:

Nothing tastes as much like summer as ripe watermelon! Extra good if you've been playing unclothed in a large dirt pile with your friends all afternoon.

Moriah enjoys the recent addition to the backyard - a slide, swingset, sandbox combination. Let the fun commence!

Downeast

I have tons of older pictures to share, but since thought I'd use this opportunity to post a few photos from Bar Harbor. We've been having the BEST time with the girls. They love going to the beach, hiking, going for boat rides...all of it! They talk with exclamation points all the time! Like this!

We try to get outside all day to take advantage of Acadia and Bar Harbor. We had afternoon snack on the tidal sandbar that gives Bar Harbor its name. Moriah was very concerned when the water started to come up - she grabbed her sandals and started to run! Here is Bridget enjoying her snack.


Since Doug is teaching during the day, we try to do something with all of us after dinner. We went up Cadillac the other night. Moriah wanted to explore all the rocks, and Bridget is showing you which way the glacier went over the top of Cadillac!