Catching Up . . .

Ridiculously cute . . .Callum fell asleep in our bed the other morning . . .he looks like a little old man . . .
The girls gabbing the other night . . .
Amanda (with Callum in his little Bjorn) and Michelle (Belle) at Moxie falls
Amanda and Emma--who was in the process of making a silly face
Uncle Bob and his (and Aunt June's) new dog, Ms. Jenny, the 140 pound Newfoundland. An absolute gem of a dog! (Also notice how meticulously stacked all of Grandpop's wood is . . .do you think the Navy taught him anything about being "neat?" Jeesh . . .)

Since I see I havent written since MONDAY. This is so not like me, but, needless to say, things have been quite hectic. Today was grandmom's actual funeral, and we attended the service (at the same church Sally and I were married) at 10:30. Callum made sure to let grandmom know he was there, actually in the church . . .and then, after about 7 minutes of letting her know he was there, he went to sleep for the remainder of the mass. Grandmom's ashes were buried at the Maine Veterans cemetery, which is pretty new as far as cemetery's go . . .and also has an "Arlington" feel to it. Except, as I'm sure, at Arlington the grounds crew probably has the common decency to turn off their freaking week wackers and lawn mowers and show some respect for the family mourning their loved one--this cemetery did not. I was incensed by this, but, after George made me a vodka and tonic, I was okay.

We all went to Craparitas tonight for dinner, and it really surprised me--just when I thought the food couldnt get any worse there, it did; I got a burrito which had absolutely no taste or texture whatsoever. But the food (if that is what they want to call it) was secondary; the real blessing was just being able to be with family at the "kids table" with me, Stevee Cee, Michelle, Amanda, Callum, Jon, and Mel. We had some good laughs and some great, animated conversation about Michelle's "likes" and "dislikes." (this is TOTALLY an inside joke).

Yesterday, Jon, Mel, Steve, Emma, and Michelle met at our house in the morning, and we took a big fun field trip to The Forks--most notably Moxie Falls. This was good because it got us all out together, and it also gave Grandpop some well needed peace and quiet . . .well, actually, June was still there, so never mind (wah wah wah). The trail going to the falls was absolutely abysmal; it was mud 6 inches deep. And it rained. Hard. But then we made it and were awestruck by the power of the waterfall, especially after all the rain we've gotten lately (for those of you who dont live in Maine, suffice it to say it has probably rained 4 days a week for the past month and a half). I took Emma in the water for a little dip, and everyone else followed suit. It ended up being a lot of fun--especially when we were on our way back and saw all the people just starting out on the trail with their nice clean sneakers and sandals . . .

And FINALLY, the day before that (is that Tuesday? I dont even know . . .) I got out with Dave and his friend Rick onto North Pond in Smithfield for a little bit of fishing and trolling. Not too much going on, but Dave caught a beauty of a smallmouth bass which was about 3 pounds (as I seem to remember). But its just good to be out on the water . . .