Christina's Visit

My children completely adore their Aunt Christina. Here are some of the reasons why:

She thinks ponies should be decorated with fancy paints and sparkly hoof polish. That makes them even more fun to ride.

She can sing you the Batman song if your Alpine Slide ride gets too scary.

She loves all of the kids favorite places.

And ice cream flavors.

She's always up for a sleepover. And she makes up great bedtime stories about Henry Gopher that all end up with the gopher getting squished. She seems to understand why this is so hilarious.

She will take as many hugs as my kids are willing to give away. They are affectionate little people so that's a lot of hugs. She's also strong enough to pick up Gavin for one of his especially good hugs.

Come back and see us again soon, Aunt Christina. Please? Please?!!!

Happy #40 Austin!

Can you believe this guy is forty? Me neither. He's a bit gray around the edges but he's still as handsome and wonderful as ever.

Such a big milestone deserves a big celebration. But Austin has never been into big celebrations that are all about himself, so we settled for having a group party for all the friends turning 40 this year (see last post) and extending his actual birthday into a weekend of fun.

We started Friday night with cake (angel food, made from our chicken eggs, with whipped cream and fresh-picked blackberries) and presents. The kids wanted to give him an i-pod touch, which they haven't let him touch since they gave it to him. I got him a couple of books and some very practical new Brooks Brothers shirts and a tie.

The gift Austin gave himself is a horse named Major. Major is not a permanent acquisition; like the ponies he goes home in a couple of months. The horse arrived on Thursday and he and Austin spent Friday exploring trails around the farm while the birthday cake was in the oven.

Saturday we took Austin to Quebec City to turn forty in a foreign land. We spent the last day of his thirties and first day of his forties wandering through Old Quebec.

We visited Austin's favorite patisserie for chocolate croissants and hot chocolate every morning for breakfast. How is it that the Quebecois can make amazing pastries? And why can't anyone south of the border figure out how?

The kids' favorite part is always the street performers. Quebec is the home of Cirque de Soleil, which puts on an amazing free show every evening. During the day, the town squares are full of acrobats busking for change.

Austin was recruited to help with one of the performances.

My sister Christina came with us -- she's here to visit for the week from Montana -- and her favorite part of Quebec city was the ferry ride. Views of the old town are truly spectacular.

I hope you had a happy birthday, Austin. I look forward to another decade of adventures with you!

A grand day at Granby

Yesterday we took the kids on a day-trip to the Granby Zoo in Quebec.

The animals are all in great habitats where they are easy to see.

They have lots of exhibits where people can interact with the animals. The kids passed on petting the sharks, but Lucy loved feeding nectar to the tropical birds.

You'd think this would be the highlight of our trip, but no -- Granby Zoo has even more exciting activities . . .

Like bumper cars!

And a roller coaster! (Lucy and Austin are about halfway back in white. Lucy is screaming with joy. Only she could get that man to ride a roller coaster.)

And to top it off, there's a huge waterpark with a wave pool and slides. I couldn't get the best shots of the kids riding the waves because they were both so crazy they needed constant parental supervision.

All zoos should have an amusement park and a water park attached! Ask my kids where heaven is and they'll tell you it's in Canada.

Friends Campout 2010

Every summer we spend a weekend camping with our dear friends from the Philly Singles Ward days: Joe and Sarah Smith, Jason and Rachel Mumford, Bruce and Jeanne Hardy-Baird, and the various and assorted small children that have become part of our lives in recent years.

It was our turn to host the campout here in Vermont this year. We looked around at some campground options then thought, why not do it here at our house?

Austin mowed the meadow down by the river, we dug out a firepit, and voila! A perfect camp site with all the advantages of home.

Bruce and Jeanne brought their kayaks so we got a good flotilla going.

How many people can fit in a canoe? A lot, apparently.

The water was a little chilly but that didn't dissuade our intrepid swimmers. Jason is particularly happy when he's immersed in a natural body of water.

I think Beckett may be our next Jason.

I mixed some washable tempera with baby shampoo so the kids could decorate themselves then jump in the river to wash off.


They really got into it.

I think this was Henry's favorite activity of the whole weekend. He's quite a little artist. Note the yellow mustache.

Lucy and Ben discovered a secret hideout on the river's edge and spent hours exploring and arranging it.

Jeanne also taught Lucy and Ben to kayak. This cemented Jeanne's status as awesomest-person-ever in Lucy's eyes.

When the kids got too waterlogged there was always the trampoline to jump on.


And the tire swing to swing on.

And pony rides on Captain.

And just hanging out together.

The food was incredible. (It helps to camp near a real kitchen!) Jeanne made the most delicious carrot cake I have ever tasted, in honor of the "39-ers" -- Austin, Joe, Jason and Jeanne all turn 40 this year. Jason and Rachel made a Cobb Salad with greens from Dog River Farm and bacon and Rocquefort cheese from the Co-op. I ate four plates full. We had dozens of fresh eggs for breakfast, thanks to the chickens.

(Ben Smith took this picture so there would be one with me in it!)

Thanks for coming all the way to Vermont! We love you guys!

Moss Walk

Rachel's father, a botanist, once visited our house and declared that we have 100 types of mosses and 40 varieties of sedges. We are very proud of this fact. So when Rachel's sister Kirsten dropped in on our campout, we talked her into taking a walk up to Family Falls to teach us about some of our many mosses. Kirsten is also a botanist who is helping write a field guide to mosses in New England. Yeah!

Everybody went searching for different mosses. (Gavin also found some great sticks to use as light sabers.)

We didn't identify 100 varieties, but we did find an impressive collection of mosses. Big mosses and small ones, mosses that grow only in water or only on dead trees, mosses that look like tiny ferns, mosses that grow straight up to make miniature moss forests. I have to say, moss is way more interesting than I ever imagined.

And then we made it to Family Falls, where the stream water drops straight down off huge moss-covered rocks. That was Julia and Beckett's favorite part. My favorite part was watching Lucy get so excited about moss. And having Kirsten show me what in the world a sedge was. I've been wondering that ever since learning that we have 40 in our yard.