1st Day of Pre-K

Yesterday Brady started pre-K at NGCC.  He is now dropped off upstairs in the Kindergarten room with the computers in a mixed age group then moves over to his primary classroom K.  He was a little under the weather this weekend with runny nose and cough, so we have been giving him breathing treatments (BTs), trying to keep him hydrated, and making sure he gets enough sleep.  So far it hasn't developed into more.  When we asked him how his day went in pre-K we got the usual "good" then off to some distraction.  He already knows this teacher - Ms Lauren - as most sub +/- an age group when another teacher goes out on vacation or illness.  And we think Ms Lauren is one of his favorites as she drives a 1970s T-top corvette and let's the kids climb in from time to time.

Parker will stay in the Toddler room until March of next year when he moves to preschool.  However all the kids were welcomed back for the fall school year and he got in on the celebration.

Brady (age 4) and Parker (age 2) have some similarities and differences in their preferences.  For food a joint favorite is fish sticks, chicken tenders, applesauce, and bananas.  However Brady loves yogurt and baked beans (not together) and Parker loves rice.  Both boys enjoying running and wrestling, but Brady prefers quiet time watching cartoons while Parker will play with matchbox cars.  Parker will copy all of Brady's actions, and Brady will want whatever toy Parker is playing with.  Parker is already doing somersaults on the couch cushions and we have to buy two of any toy.  We have split the boys up from time to time giving them each an opportunity to sleep over at the grandparents house.  When we do this Brady always asks about Parker and definitely misses him.  Parker seems to forget about Brady but always gives him a huge hug when he returns, his 2yr old memory is shorter.  It's fun to see their personalities and love for each other grow as they grow older.

We are enjoying them all we can now while they are young, tomorrow they will be in Kindergarten and Preschool!

End of July in Maine

We spent last weekend in Maine with the family and enjoyed some gorgeous weather.  On the way we made a stop at Santa's Village, why not do Christmas in July?  It was a pretty hot day by northeast standards and they had the sprayers running but we tried to image it was cooler given all the Christmas music playing on the loud speakers.  And the place was packed.  The boys had fun riding the rides, meeting the raindeer, and eating cotton candy.  Brady can go on rides that Parker cannot, so we had to distract Parker for those, otherwise rides like the cars or ferris wheel or merry go round we enjoyed as a family.  We got lots of hugs and kisses for this impromptu stop.

We had a great time in Maine with the family.  Daddy and the boys spent a lot of time on the boat.  Daddy is getting to be quite a good wakeboarder and slalom waterskier.  His determination and perseverance are impressive.  Uncle E is quite good too getting faster and working on his jumps over the wake.  Uncle Chris is a great boat driver and manages to find smooth water and perfect speeds.  Then they turned to tubing, using two tubes, and had a blast bouncing all over the lake and sometimes onto each other.  Brady even tubed a couple times solo on his own tube at slow speeds, it won't be long before he's a daredevil too.

That Saturday we also checked out the annual Logging parade which by any small town standard is HUGE.  They had lots of logging trucks, timber trucks, firetrucks and ambulance, horses, floats, classic cars, and of course threw candy.  This year we had a special treat, the parade kicked was off with a fly over by 3 seaplanes and 1 regular plane, what a treat!  They even made a couple of passes.  The town did a great job with the parade and we all enjoyed it.  Brady seemed partial to the candy, and Parker liked the logging trucks.

Saturday night the grown ups got a night out and watched Foreginer.  We figured they are 40 years strong now.  It was an outdoor concert over looking Rangeley Lake and the mountain range.  We met up with Uncle Paul who was staying with his friends Dean and Ken for guys weekend, and Chris's friend Andy came to join us so we had a pretty big crowd.  Foreginer sang their classics and we enjoyed the beautiful weather and gorgeous sunset.  Then we hung out at Dean's and played some pool.  On the way home that night we saw our first moose of the season (sad they're all dying out).  He charged Chris's red car but jogged happily along with Erik's jeep.  Guess he just wanted a pack to run with.

When we weren't at an amusement park, parade, or concert, we spent our time at camp on the boat or enjoying the beach.  Brady did find a yellow jacket nest and got stung twice, but he was tough and shook it off.  The boys had fun digging in the sand, getting buried by their uncles, splashing grandpa in the kayak, or paddling with Mom and Dad in the kayaks themselves.  Parker enjoyed the water swimming with Mom practicing his kicks and enjoying being tossed in the air.  The boys also enjoyed feeding the ducks sometimes directly out of their hands.  If they weren't feeding the ducks they enjoyed chasing them like chickens running around the yard.

We've had the camp for 28 years, incredible.  So great to be able to bring our little family up to enjoy it now too!

Fun times at Santa's Village

The family at the Logging Parade

Fun family times in Maine

Foreigner concert