Camping

We went camping up near the Maine border last weekend. Here are a couple of pictures of the kids in the water. What a view huh?!

A trip to New York

The kids and I took a trip to NY and here are some of the pictures I took to share. I just added a few more today as I was having trouble uploading again!

Me with two of my brothers, Randy and Ray

My Dad :) We were at a restaurant and I think I caught him after just swallowing a bite of something, haha!!!

My mother-in-law Donna with Romy (who is still growing!)

My niece (okay, GREAT niece!) Leaha and I :)

Christian with his Uncle Ray (my bro). Christian spent a lot of time with Uncle Ray and Aunt Patty swimming, going for rides on the motorcycle and four wheeler!

We went out to eat with my friend Erin and her son Grant. Here is a picture of the kids together!

After visiting with Jenny and her girls, Sarah and I went to the barn to meet Grandma there. Here is Sarah with Grandma's new freisian Romy. Sarah is thinking "he's a lot bigger than Kit!!!" He's such a lover though..he'll put his head down for a kiss and a hug.






Melinda (her mom and dad own the horsebarn where grandma keeps her horse, she's a real sweetie and one heck of a rider!!!) , Sarah and Jake. Jake is one of Melinda's horses. Sarah gets to ride him whenever we visit the barn. Thanks Melinda for sharing your horse with Sarah!

Sarah, cousin Tyler, Christian and Sally our pup all posing for a picture

We stopped at Tupper Lake for a picnic on the way home to New Hampshire.

Summer Blossoms

I decided to go for a little walk around the flower beds today after I finished my computer work and took my camera along. I wanted to take some shots of some of the summer blossoms that are out! I took most of them up-close, so you would not see the weeds.. :) I have not weeded most of the garden beds in at least three weeks and they are getting pretty bad!! I'll have to tackle them soon.

Mallow

Tiger Lily

a pretty type of a black eyed susan!

A Pink Poppy

This picture is of Sarah and her friend Sierra who came over today for a while. Christian had Sam over again too after golf lessons (I forgot my camera, next time!) Since both kids were so busy playing with their friends, I got to finish up some of my school work.

When Sarah saw this picture she said, "ohhhh, don't you love him?!"

Then she saw this one and said "he looks like a mule!!!!" We love those long ears! Sierra was BEGGING to ride Kit and time was getting away from us, so I just threw on his riding pad and gave the girls a leg up. We just walked him from the pasture where he was all day to the barn, then the girls brushed him and loved on him some more before we put him in his stall for the night.

Pictures of Eric

Eric had a tennis match last night so the kids and I went to watch Daddy and cheer him on! It was Hanover (the team Eric is on) vs. "our court" in White River (doubles). Eric and his partner won their match! Here he is getting ready for the ball. The pictures I took did not come out very clear because the kids and I sat in this room up above the courts that had a glass window for viewing. He is on the Hanover team plus he will be playing in another doubles tournament at the beginning of next month. His partner is from our town. Should be fun to watch!

Here he is trying to figure out how to get that darn old sink out! It was a huge sink. We finally got it out along with all of the old metal cupboards and another old wooden counter top that was across from the stove, and ripped down most of the yucky old fake tile that was on the walls. There is layers of adhesive there as you can see, so instead of trying to scrape all of that crud off we're going to put wainscoting there. It should be pretty. The floor will eventually be replaced also.. (all was original to the house which was built in 1952 except the stove and fridge, so it is time to update!!!) It was pretty funny though because the kids saw that old counter/cupboard out on the lawn and decided to use it as a diving board... "you might be a red neck" right??!!! haha!

Some night time fun!

We decided to put off our fireworks last night that we bought in Myrtle Beach! I tried out my "fireworks" setting on my new camera and it seemed to work pretty well! The kids really enjoyed themselves too. Sarah was gone all day with a friend and Christian had company at night time for a sleepover. Sam joined in the fun. When Sarah got home we ordered a pizza, did the fireworks then they had some fun in the pool for a night time swim.

We were sitting in Eric's truck and I put the music on loud. Here are the kids, striking a pose!

Christian and his friend Sam goofing around in the pool

Sarah :)

Happy Birthday USA!

Sally went with us to the parade today. She was scared to death of the bands that were there, the poor girl! Here she is having fun chasing Daddy.

We went to the parade today and had a picnic. Later on tonight we'll head over to Lake Morey and watch the fireworks from the golf course! It was the perfect day, not too hot. It was nice to see friends there and everyone smiling and having a good time celebrating our country! Happy Fourth of July !!!! Also, a very happy first birthday to Erin and AJ's baby Grant! A true yankee doodle boy!

We had a little fourth of July picnic. After lunch the butterfly (minus the wings) and Daddy chased each other around a bit!

Christian and his friend Cody decided they would catch candy instead of being in the parade this year. They each got their bags FULL of candy by the time the parade was over with! Christian went with Cody after the parade for a sleepover at their family cottage. Have fun boys!! Don't eat all of that candy!

More candy....

Sarah was in the Orford/Fairlee parade on the library float! She was a butterfly for their "catch the reading bug" theme. There she is peeking over the little bugs on the side of the float. They threw candy for the kids watching along the way. I think they ran low by the time they cross the bridge over to Vermont! The lady dressed as a bee is a friend of mine from work.. what a good sport!!!

SOME HISTORY!




The Star Spangled Banner
by Francis Scott Key
O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming;And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;O say, does that Star-Spangled Banner yet waveO'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?On that shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam--In full glory reflected now shines in the stream;'Tis the Star-Spangled Banner; O long may it waveO'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where are the foes who so vauntingly sworeThat the havoc of war and the battle's confusionA home and a country should leave us no more?Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.No refuge could save the hireling and slaveFrom the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave;And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph doth waveO'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
O thus be it ever, when freemen shall standBetween their loved homes and the war desolation;Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n-rescued landPraise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,And this be our motto, "In God is our trust";And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall waveO'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Biographical and Historical Note
Francis Scott Key (1780-1843), a native of Maryland, was a lawyer and poet. His patriotic poem, "The Star-Spangled Banner," which has become a national song, made him famous.
The incidents referred to in this poem occurred during the War of 1812. In August, 1814, a strong force of British entered Washington and burned the Capitol, the White House, and many other public buildings. On September 13, the British admiral moved his fleet into position to attack Fort McHenry, near Baltimore. The bombardment of the fort lasted all night, but the fort was so bravely defended that the flag was still floating over it when morning came.
Just before the bombardment began, Francis Scott Key was sent to the admiral's frigate to arrange for an exchange of prisoners, and was told to wait until the bombardment was over. All night he watched the fort, and by the first rays of morning light he saw he Stars and Stripes still waving. Then, in his joy and pride, he wrote the stirring words of the song which is now known and loved by all Americans--"The Star-Spangled Banner."

Butterflies

These pictures were taken in mid-June, and there were some of the many pictures I wanted to upload and could not until now. We have some late blooming lilacs that spread from our yard to the woods beside the house. They are in the shade, so we get lilacs a bit longer than they normally would be out! We went out in the yard one night and saw these butterflies all over the lilacs. I just had to take a couple of pictures. We looked it up and found that they are Eastern Tiger Swallowtails (we think!) I don't know a whole lot about butterflies, but the description said that these are attracted to lilac and the colors matched. Very pretty!
Sarah was out walking the pup in her yellow outfit. If you look close you can see the yellow butterflies on the lilac blossoms.