Moxie Falls

This past Tuesday we went with the Carlton family up to The Forks to hike one of our favorite hikes: Moxie Falls. We left early so we could get up there before it was too hot....the bugs werent that bad....there was a chance for severe thunderstorms, but we avoided all of them and we had, for the most part, perfect weather!

We went off the beaten path to a little pool by the head of the falls and just waded around a little bit...there was a cute little frog swimming around in the pool, so the kids were obviously very interested in this....

Afterwards, we made our way back to Northern Outdoors where we had some lunch and Andy and I sampled two of their fantastic beers--he had the Red IPA and I had the SummerDrift Wheat Ale. Both were fantastic...they make wonderful beer there!

The kids found their way into the rec-room/arcade that Northern Outdoors has, and they all somehow cajoled the adults present to unload all their quarters on them; Callum, in a true moment of altruism, doled out all his remaining quarters from his wallet to Maira, Hannah, and Emily, so they could play video games. Deciding which game to play, hopefully, is the most difficult decision any of these kids will ever face, since this REALLY threw them for a loop...haha

In the end, Callum and I played some Mortal Kombat game and he wiped the floor with me. Maira was content to just sit on the pretend motorcycle for some motocross game....

After lunch, it was back to Fairfield for Hannah's afternoon karate, and Callum's swimming lessons. Callum has been doing a pretty intensive swim lesson program at the Alfond Ctr, and he has it each day for about an hour...and this goes on for two weeks, and he is doing an awesome job!!

I know these were on FB...but our camera is still nonexistent, and I am relying on other people's pics...haha...

But here we all are hanging out by the pool of water before the big falls!

Selfie!! Maira's face kills me. Dont know if it is the "Pirate Face" or just the "go to hell people" face....both are faces she makes often....

Broken Camera

Yes. That is correct. Yet another thing for my dad to make fun of my about for the next several years. While we were away last week up at a camp in Whiting, our camera, while in Amanda's chair on the dock, got blown into Indian Lake and now does not work anymore. We are working on getting another one soon. But until then I just wanted to recap what we have been doing, if only (actually COMPLETELY only) so that, in years to come, I can read this to the kids and they can see that I wasnt really that bad of a dad and did cool stuff with them. I know full well that no one else will read this because there are no pictures. So I am sorry about that. Go back to facebook I guess.....

We had a fantastic week staying on Red Cedar Lane off of Route 1 in Whiting on Indian Lake. A gorgeous area....Whiting is truly DOWNEAST near towns like Machias and Lubec....it is about ten miles or so from Cobscook Bay State Parque. Always fantastic to be in our great state, outside, on the water, with the kids and family. We did so much awesome stuff....but I thought that for time's sake I would sort of 'bulletize' the rudiments of what we did so we can look back in years to come!

• Multiple canoe paddles each day....solo...with just Callum...with just Maira...with everyone....we were out in the canoe, at some points, all day long, exploring the coast and the shallow lake (20 feet at deepest)....Callum and I found an ice skate stuck in the mud off the boat launch...
• "Canoe Games" involving me paddling out to the boat launch across the lake and dropping Callum off....then I would circle around and come back and pretend that I 'discovered' a magical land of robots (he would pretend to be a robot) and I would 'buy' him to work for me.....then I would paddle him home
• Making fun of the Greek professor (who owns the camp) and his choice of 'decor' like floor to ceiling mirrors in most rooms....a spiral staircase the goes down to the basement (the stairs were covered with pink plush carpet) etc
• Playing one of our favorite games--Spinners (a domino game) with everyone...teaching Callum how to play
• Playing an ongoing Scrabble game where Amanda cheated (as usual) and played the word MIOS, claiming it is the nickname of Tim and should thus be played. This set up a 47 point triple word score from Lin or something....
• Going to Helen's restaurant which USED to be amazing but now sucks hard. Oh well. 
• Commissary Point Hike with BaBa (90 years old and still drives all by himself and hikes and walks each day etc....God Bless him!!) The mosquitoes on this trail could have been used by Bush in one of the wars he started and they could have been used as Weapons of mass destruction  
• Maira doing her first 'mountain' hike of Klondike Mtn in Lubec....a really really awesome and easy and pretty hike if you are up that way (you wont be....)
• Listening to the sox lose each night and then listening to this batshit insane guy named Vin Scully from the Dodgers call the Dodger's games after....
• reading great books
• spending the fourth of July in Lubec....going to the library book sale...getting coffee at one of my favorite coffee places in Maine--THE ATLANTIC HOUSE where they also make a donut called the LUBECKER, which is a plain homemade donut cut in half like a bun...stuffed with this cream that should be illegal...and covered in this chocolate glaze....UNREAL
• getting hit with Hurricane Arther...downeast REALLY got hit hard...driving home was scary...you could 'hear the tension in my voice' Tim said, cuz he's a tool. Trees blown down everywhere...re routed because of snapped and fallen utility POLES (nevermind wires!!) on the roads...flooding....very scary ride
• Screens....(sorry....the kids told me I had to)
• Callum and Maira in their duck float and their Lightning McQueen float, swimming out to the booey
• The Pink Easter Egg booey the kids loved so much

I will try to post some pics that George took (actually I think Amanda took most of them on his camera) if I can figure out how to format them to Jpegs from George's fancy IT Consultant web site cloud browser cookie thing....and hopefully the Goldsmiths will be back with images soon!!! 

We are having a very blessed summer

My dad always used to tease me...

actually....correction.....I should not have used the past tense....my father continues to tease me. In fact, our whole relationship is predicated thereon. But, anyway, he used to tease me about how I would tend to 'hold on' to things like some of my old toys and such. In particular, I held on to my Smurf figures and my original (not this new Lego crap, etc) Star Wars figures. I used to say that they were going to be worth a lot of money someday. Who knows if I am wrong or right, but, the other day, Callum asked me to get them down from the box in the attic so he could play with them. I have all my old Smurfs from when I was a kid and my dad would take me to Sedell's Pharmacy to buy one each week if I were a good boy...I think they were a dollar each! 

Mixed in there were also some original Star Wars people: Luke Skywalker, a headless Darth Vader (dont know where his head is), Admiral Akbar, R2D2, and some bounty hunter (not Boba Fett...some other guy), Yoda, Chewbacca, and I think someone else too. IN ADDITION, as an extra bonus, I had some original GI JOE dudes in there: One of the CobraTwins and the driver of the hovercraft that I used to have ( by the way, the hovercraft retails on ebay for 256.00 now and the Cobra Twins retail for 30 bucks....Admiral Akbar, however, only sells for five bucks). I had a WhoFramedRogerRabbit Roger action figure in the mix as well, as did I have a vintage Garfield figure.  

KRISTIN, not sure if you read this (Mom doesnt) but do you recognize the thing in the picture below about an inch from Callum's ear?????

Callum packed up all the things and brought them outside to play with them on the picnic table....he was having fun! Maira, for some reason, cannot say the word SMURF to save her life. She pronounces it FUYYRFF or something...

I just get a kick out of the faces this little minion of ours makes....

You dont have to tell me how cool my outfit is, cuz I already know. But, in this picture, let me explain what is happening. The kids had been playing in the 'Frinkrurr' (Mairish for SPRINKLER) for about an hour and were cold, so I built a campfire. Callum asked me to tell him some ghost stories around the fire. Now, it should be noted that Callum is afraid of the most non-scary things in the world. But I did my best. His favorite one...and one that he keeps telling to people, goes something like this: One day, daddy was paddling his canoe out on a big, cold, deep lake all by himself...when, all of the sudden, a HUGE MONSTER pulled up in a canoe right next to him!!!!! The monster paddled right over to Daddy in his canoe when all of the sudden Daddy said, in his loudest voice, 'OH HI UNCLE JON!'"

I think I was telling that story in the picture below...

Summer Sprinkler Sessions

We have been doing this each afternoon for like the past three days....the kids have a blast and never want to stop....yesterday, after they were done and 'cold,' we warmed up by a campfire out back. The cool thing about summer vacation is that, at 2:39 in the afternoon, I can sit out back with my wife and kids and have a campfire and read THE MAGIC TREEHOUSE books.....

We love the Quarry Road Race Series!!

A beautiful weekend weatherwise....we havent had any rain for almost a week, and that is saying something for up here! Usually it rains every single damn day. So we will enjoy this while we can I guess. Or not. Or whatever. Amanda got out to go see Allison Krauss and Willie Nelson with her friend last week...and on Friday she had a girl's night sort of thing, so the kids and I (along with Andy and his girls) went over to Pete's (where he had all HIS girls) and we had dinner and hung out. Callum is the only boy in a sea of girls...hah

On Friday we got out on our first canoe trip of the season....we went over to Messolonskee stream for a short little paddle, and we say two HUGE snapping turtles (one was skulking underneath about a foot of water...like he was hiding and stalking us...). On Saturday, Callum had a birthday party, so Amanda brought him to his friend's house and I got some time alone with just Maira...she (and I) loved this. I asked her what she wanted to do. Some options included staying home and playing dollhouse, going to JC Penny to buy a new dress, and taking a trip to the playground and/or DUnkin Donuts. She was not impressed by any of those. Instead she asked if we could go canoeing. Perfect. I love this girl. 

More running pictures from last week's race...

The kids and I warming up before THEIR race....doing high knees, Frankensteins, etc....(again, notice the Yurt in the background! Fun!)

Best buddies excited to get running!!

The race coordinator uses a foghorn to indicate the GO! of the race. Look at Callum anticipating it...while Maira, in her own anticipation, covers her ears preemptively....

Callum coming down the home stretch around the kid's field-trail....

In hot pursuit! Callum tried to catch these guys, but it just didnt happen. He was kind of frustrated...

And then, me, gearing up at the starting line for MY hellish 8K....still the toughest course I have ever run...I swear the whole thing is uphill.

Bounce Zone!!

Still a little bit behind in the blogosphere....but last week, on the 14th, Callum celebrated his SIXTH birthday!!! He chose to have his party at the Bounce Zone, which is this bouncey-house kind of thing over at the Alfond Center...it is a great place where the kids burn off a ton of energy and work up a sweat. There are slides and obstacle courses and moonwalks and all kinds of stuff....and stuff for little little three and under kids too.....he had invited a bunch of kids, but it is a really busy time of year for folks....lots and lots going on. Still, he had a great group, and they had a blast!! Below, he is getting ready to ride down with his friend Alex....

And immediately after he was climbing up again.....

Kind of a fuzzy picture, but this is one of the AmericanGladiator style gauntlets they go through....haha

Amanda made some stellar cupcakes for the occasion--the frosting was bought, in quarts, from HILLMANS!!!! Then she used one of her fancy cake decorating tool things that she takes out once per year....and thennnnnn she had the idea to put NinjaTurtle 'rings' on each cupcake....

The place is neat....and after an hour of bouncing, etc, they bring in a few pizzas and bottles of soda.. Then, it was present time!!! Here he is with some of his buddies that were there.....

Most of his gifts were NinjaTurtle based (obviously...haha)...he got action figures, water bottles, stuff animals, and vehicles all NinjaTurtleRelated....but then he got some really neat stuff like a light up safari scene to put in a window....wooden animals to paint...some art set stuff (ninja turtle)....some great books....and more!

The next day was father's day. But who cares about fathers, right? But the kids did pick out a fabric they liked, and Amanda made me this bowtie! Zoom in on the pic...a very interesting pattern of ice cream, punch, flowers, and...um....I dont know what else....but at breakfast, I got compliments!!

Vacation: Day 1

Yesterday was my last day of school--each year, we travel over to Waterville Hike School (part of my AOS...things are different in Maine than they are in Mass....) for an end of the year luncheon and meeting. Then I hit up Maineley Brews with my buddy Rich for an end of the year DropDeadRed Ale. Good stuff. Last week, Amanda took a bunch of pictures from the race; I will post those later, but on FB you can become a 'fan' of the Quarry Rd Summer Race series, and see pictures, times, etc. 

I was telling Patrick, the coordinator of these races, that Tuesday night races are LITERALLY the favorite part of Callum and Maira's week!! They get so excited, and I am in love with the idea of all of us going over to do family races. Truly a gem to have right in Maine...right in Waterville! Below, there is a picture from their web site of the starting line of the run last week...you can pick out the ninja and Maira....also, Dad, please notice the Yurt in the back right!!

Now, I am certainly no expert. When people tell me I am a 'runner' I usually correct them and say 'no....I am just a guy who runs.' That being said, as a coach, I have done a bunch of reading and research about mechanics, and the technicalities of running. Why I say this is because Callum really does have a fantastic stride...look below and see his 'start.' He is intense and competitive and focused and he has great form. Maira does too actually. It is a blast running with her and seeing her do her very best!

Photo finish!!! If Callum didnt constantly look over his shoulder, he may have won! haha

....and here is a guy who looks like my friend Jawn....