1000th POST!!!!!

This is the one thousandth blog I have written.....thanks to everyone who reads and comments and checks in as I try to chronicle the lives we lead up in Maine. As people who know me may know, I have/keep Facebook almost exclusively to make...well...a mockery of Facebook. I rarely, if ever, post anything real on there. And for good reason. This blog, however, is where I share our lives with all of you. So thanks for reading! And I hope that, if you do, you enjoy what you see. I hope that as I continue this blog I can continue to chronicle our family in such a way that Maira and Callum can someday look back and read through the events of their entire lives, as this blog was started before Callum was even born. I was trying to think of what to write for our 'special 1K post,' but I feel like every post we do is special, because it is genuine (for the most part...often I just piss and moan and complain about people and things...haha).

We had a Halloween party for the kids last weekend and HOPEFULLY George will send us his pics soon!! And my XC girl's team qualified for the state championship this coming Saturday!! And we had two boys qualify individually. So the ending of that season is upon us. Weather has been cooooool and gray and overcast...just the type of fall weather that, to me, archetypes the fall season.

See? Nothing special. Just your run of the mill 1000th post. Thanks for sticking with us. I love living in Maine, but, although many would not believe this, I have a lot of trouble living here too. My family and friends are away, and that causes a lot of pain for me sometimes. This is just a small way of trying to keep in touch.

If you are interested, here is the first 'real' blog entry we did. Wow. Years fly by:

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Father's Day Weekend Cookout

What a great weekend to be with family! Hank the Crank and Babs came up Friday afternoon, followed by Kristin, Anthony, and Chelsea a few hours later. Friday night we went to Asian Cafe and I (Jared) tried soft shell crab . . .very interesting. Saturday was a gluttony festival, as we had Antwon's special stuffed mushrooms, George's shrimp, Lt. Dan's pickled Polish saaauuuusage made by yours truly, and plenty of cheese and crackers. For the main entree, we had marinated steak tits by Hank, marinated vegetables by Georgeth, and I made Chicken Spiedies. Sally Piles made her famous canoli cake for dessert--always fantastic. It was so great to have everyone together (we missed you Mom, Bob, Grandmom, and Grandpop) and have people stay at our house for the weekend. Every spare room had people sleeping in them--well, mostly sleeping. Anthony made his "mixed" drinks, which aren't really mixed, since they are mostly alcohol with a splash of juice. Babs walked Chelsea around the yard at 5, 5:15, 5:20, 5:22, and 5:45. Thomas P. and his cousin Chelsea got along and even shared a couple of naps--not to mention donuts. The pictures above show Dad in his party-shirt drinking alcohol for the first time since we went to Disney World when I was in the second grade. Then, Antwon and I went for a big gay bike ride around the neighborhood. He is so hot! Kristin, Anthony, and Chelsea posed --what a cute family. And the last picture is of Lynne, George, and Sally. We're glad Lynne will be around more now that she moved back to Mt. Vernon from Portland . . .Some other hi-lights include Dad's stool, Barbara's tea, Chelsea and Thomas eating munchkins, George getting lit up, and Anthony and Nacho (Mel) making a "video" together . . . .a true blessing to all be together