Memorial Day Weekend

As Memorial Day Weekend came around, we were initially excited to have "no plans" for once.  But "no plans" really equals "hit the household/yard chore list"... BIG TIME.  We power washed the deck and vinyl siding, power washed the birds' cages, weeded the garden, bought vegetables/seeds and planted the garden, mowed the lawn, weedwhacked everything that was not mowable, tried to kill all the weeds on the stone pathway out front, went grocery shopping, vacuumed and cleaned the whole house, cleaned the fish tanks, went to the dump, dropped off a bunch of kid toy donations, and did a mountain of laundry.  With all that and making sure the kids didn't wander off or stab each other with sticks, the chore list ended up taking all three days.  We needed to get it done, but it wasn't much of a relaxing weekend.

Haley at the gazebo after finishing her ice cream

Racing on the green

We did manage to do a few fun things- an impromptu BBQ (complete with sparklers to usher in summer) at the Anderson's house, a quick trip to Elkins Beach, and a walk across the green for ice cream at Arctic Dreams.  That was about it on the leisure list - oh, and Andy ran the Black Fly Blitz 5K on Monday morning too, but I'm not sure that counts as leisure.

Aiden and Ben in Sunapee Harbor

Little Doo

Work is still absolutely crazily busy, and most days I feel like my brain is on overload from the minute I wake up to whatever time I finally quit working for the day after the kids have been fed, bathed and put to bed.  I'm pretty sure it's not a healthy scenario, and I hope things mellow out soon.  In the meantime we will try to savor the few quiet/fun moments we do have during these busy weeks, and try to stay sane!

3 days, 3 mountains

Every spring Andy and I try to take a day off together ("date day") to do something fun and regain a bit of sanity.  Usually we try to align our date day with spring warbler migration, and spend our day looking up into the canopy with binoculars to find all the little singing beasties.  Sometimes we go somewhere in Vermont, sometimes the seacoast, sometimes the north country... but this year has been such a hectic spring for us that we both agreed we wanted to stay really local.  So last Friday we spent our date day climbing (birding) our way up Mt. Kearsarge.  It was a beautiful clear day, and we took Kimball along for the hike.  The summit was bugless, windless, and clear as a bell...in short, perfect.  After birding our way back down, we had big fat burgers at the Flying Goose Brew Pub, and even fit in a little afternoon dragonhunting at a few local haunts before picking up the kids at school.

With Kimball on Mt. Kearsarge

The next morning our legs were just a little sore from the Kearsarge climb, but we headed off to Mt. Sunapee to participate in the first ever Mountain Mucker Adventure Race there.  It's a 5K race (ok, simple enough) but straight up the mountain and with 14 obstacles to conquer along the way...things like scaling an 8 foot wall, climbing under barbed wire, walking a slack line over a huge mudpit, and lifting giant logs 20 feet in the air on a pulley system.  It was nuts.  Kyle, Mike, Andy and I made up Team "Leisure Badgers"... we were so leisurely that we didn't even pull together any sort of t-shirt or costume to identify ourselves, but we still had a great time.  Mike and Andy stuck together and finished about 10 minutes ahead of Kyle and me (we took a few breaks on the crazy uphill runs, in true leisure badger style) but we were all equally muddy and sore in the end.

Team Leisure Badgers

Andy's legs after the mucker

Free Harpoon after the race!

There was a "Mini Mucker" for the kids too, and Aiden, Molly, and Maddie (another WH friend) ran that.  Their obstacles were considerably tamer (bouncy house, tire jumping, caterpillar crawls, beanbag throws) but they still had to run up a very steep ski slope and then back down.  Andy and I were impressed that Aiden didn't stop the whole way- most kids (and adults- like me) ended up walking up the mountain slope but Aiden kept running and passed a whole mess of other kids.  When he finished, he wasn't muddy other than his sneakers, but he was definitely tired!

Molly and Maddie ready to race

Aiden, Molly and Maddie

Go Aiden!

Oh yes, and then the third mountain... the day after the Mucker I woke up so stiff and sore I didn't even really want to roll over never mind get up and out of bed.  But as luck would have it, I was scheduled to climb Mt. Monadnock for a work event on Sunday so...no rest for the weary.  It took me about 2.5 hours, but I made it to the top of that one too!  Now it's Monday, and I'm not going anywhere near any mountains today.  

Near the summit of Monadnock

Artsy-fartsy

One of the benefits of sending your kids to a preschool associated with a college is that they get to take advantage of all sorts of resources and facilities on campus.  The annual Windy Hill School art show is a good example.  Every spring they showcase the Windy Hill kids' artwork in Colby-Sawyer College's actual art gallery.  It's a great open space with lots of windows and light, and they hold a lovely reception for all the "artists" and their parents, complete with finger foods and fancy drinks.  The kids love showing everyone their individual and collaborative pieces, and having their work on display for a few weeks at the art gallery.  We are appreciating this year especially, since it's the only year both Haley and Aiden will be at Windy Hill School together.   

Haley and her teacher Jen look at some of the toddlers' work

A bird sculpture creation of Aiden's

Aiden and Haley in front of a collaborative canvas creation by the Kindergarten class

Kindergarten class project

Lobsters, Sand, Shells

After a fairly stressful couple of work weeks for me (and the rest of the family, since I was either not around or totally tense), we all finally had a chance to relax and unwind on Sunday, Mother's Day.  We drove two hours down to Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester, and met Jason and Julie and their 3 kids, and Micah, Becky, Phoebe and Fisher for some beachcombing.  You would think it would be too chilly for swimming in mid-May, but the kids all managed to get entirely soaked splashing in the different tidepools, and Haley even went for a deliberate "swim," thus proving that children of a certain age cannot sense cold.  Aiden's latest obsession has switched from raptors to seashells, so he was in heaven collecting a big bucket of surf clam shells, periwinkles, moon snails, and sand dollars.  We even found one whole sand dollar ("Atlantic sand dollar, mom..." Aiden tells me) and a little baby starfish too.  

Micah showed Aiden how to dig for steamer clams and surf clams, and they managed to scrounge up a big bucket of both types to take home.  When we were done with the beach, we headed to Micah and Becky's house for a lobster lunch, complete with steamers, cole slaw and white wine from a CT vineyard that J&J brought.  Aiden was drooling to get started on his lobster, and as soon as it was cooked he was on it with the crackers.  Come to find out, he loves steamers just as much as lobster, and he polished off a good dozen of those at lunch too.  This kid is a seafood fanatic.  He'll definitely eat Fisher's share if it turns out Fisher can't stand fish...he he he.  The kids all managed to get totally soaked again after lunch, thanks to M&B's sprinkler hose, and everyone headed home tired, sandy, full, and happy.  

Digging up something: Bryce, Colin and Aiden

Haley doesn't care how cold it is

Phoebe at the beach

OH yeah, you're mine, buddy!

Ella napping

Haley kissing Fisher's toes (she loves a good baby)

Colin, Bryce, Julie and Ella

Cinco de Mayo means "Return of the Blackflies" in NH

Forget Mexico's independence, on the 5th of May we usher in blackfly season here in NH.  The nasty little buggers get so thick by the middle of the month that sometimes you can barely run to your car without inhaling five or six and getting at least one painfully wedged somewhere between your eyelid and your eyeball.  Not to mention their bite, which leaves a red welt the size of a nickel and itches like crazy for days.  So of course, we spent most of the weekend outdoors.  Fiesta time!  T-ball season coincides neatly with black fly season, so that was our first adventure of the weekend.  Then we had a Cinco de Mayo party, graduation party and pizza party in relatively rapid succession.  It was a busy weekend flying from one house to another but somehow it felt good to be tired, a little sunburned, and a little itchy by the end of Sunday.  Definitely better than staying indoors to avoid the blackflies.