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Jan 05
0

Happy New Year!

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It was a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR’S CELEBRATION for the J-Ms this year! We made the quick 2.5 hour road trip to Connecticut to spend New Year’s Eve with the Slavins (see post from August by clicking here). Something about having been college roommates seems to make time spent as families now that much sweeter. I don’t know why, exactly, but it is just really really really special. And fun!!!!!!!!!!!!! I especially love to see our kids play together! Imogen and K & O get along together (and fight too!) like 3-little-wild-peas-in-a-pod. And Audrey and Meera are really just too cute (even when they fight!) as “the babies” twosome. I love it that our kids fight and play together– more like healthy cousins or siblings than as friends who hardly ever see each other. To me, that is really great and I take it to mean that we’re in it with these kids for the long haul. I have high hopes that our kids will know each other well their whole lives. There is no family on the planet that we’d rather spend New Year’s with. We plan on making it a tradition. Highlights included seeing, and spending time in, the Slavin’s new house (they relocated to CT from CA this summer); sledding on their perfect front-yard sledding hill (what K & O wouldn’t give to have this hill in their own front yard!!!); hot chocolate and marshmallows; the Keurig coffee (ahhhhhh!!!!); indoctrinating the children to New Year’s Eve party trinkets and noisemakers; lots-o-margs (of course!!!); an amazing sweet-potato-black-bean-burrito dinner; the kids curled up on the couch with their loveys watching Tinkerbell; champagne and bbq chips; chocolate fondue at midnight; super-duper french toast and Canadian bacon on New Year’s Morning; and… the biggest highlight of all… The New Year’s Day SHOW (this was a show, in five acts, put on by the five kiddos ~~ and what a show it was!… they are already planning for the 2011 New Year’s Day SHOW); many laughs and lots of good time. Meera was fast asleep within 5 minutes of pulling out of the Slavin’s driveway, and K & O were in bed asleep by 6:30 p.m. that night. Four days later, we’re all still recovering. But it was OH-SO-WORTH-EVERY-SECOND-OF-IT!!!!!!!! :)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
Jan 04
0

I – Christmas in New Hampshire 2009

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Oh my goodness. Christmas 2009 was the best ever — at least of my adult life and our life of Christmas-with-kids (as opposed to Christmas-as-kids — in our family, according to my mother, the Matriarch, you get a stocking until you have kids yourself– and thus, you experience Christmas-as-a-kid until you begin to experience, first-hand, Christmas-with-kids). I gotta say, both are magical in their own right. But I, for one, am definitely a huge fan of Christmas-with-kids. I can honestly say that this was a magical, wonder-filled, as-good-as-it-gets-Christmas. So much so, in fact, that I am self-conscious to post about it for fear of what people will think (“oh, she’s gotta be delusional” or “she’s making this stuff up” or “screw her and her Norman-Rockwell blog” or worse). I’ve decided to write these Christmas posts as if 1,000 people aren’t reading this everyday (sidenote: I still am stunned every time I look at our blog meter and see that 1,000 people are reading this). I’m going to write as if this is just a journal for my three children and Braydon and me. I’m going to write this to reflect the Christmas that it was — despite my trepidation of ‘audience.’ For the past few days I’ve been thinking about something that a friend of ours, another adoptive mom of Haitian sensations, wrote on her blog recently. She wrote: “So if it seems like I write with rose-colored glasses, it’s because I am blessed to be living a rose-colored life.” I too, am living a “rose-colored life.” At least that is how I see it. We can, I believe, to some extent, choose how we view the world. We can choose the lens through which we see our lives. And I choose to, and naturally do, see the best in things and people. Having said that, still, I must admit, even I am often breathless for a moment in thinking what a charmed life we are living. And times like the past two weeks are big reminders of all that we have to be grateful for. I live a great and grateful life. Without further ado… here is… a glimpse of Christmas 2009… in snippets and snapshots.
The boys’ last day of school was Friday the 18th. We had quite a whirlwind few weeks leading up to that, and I was out-straight and burning the candle at both ends to make everything happen. But on Saturday morning the 19th, we set sail for our holiday. We hit the road, just ahead of a big storm, and we made it in record time. It took us only 8.5 hours to get to Portland, Maine. Where we checked into a lovely hotel and immediately headed to the indoor swimming pool. We spent a great family night in Portland before kicking off our Christmas on Sunday with the beloved Johnson tradition of the Portland Symphony Orchestra’s Magic of Christmas concert. We joined up with my parents, our dear family friend Alice, and my sister’s family at a stupendous Portland chowder house before heading to Symphony Hall. This concert has been running every Christmas for 30 years. And we have been to 29 of the 30! I started going when I was seven years old! Braydon started going when he was 22! Kyle and Owen have gone for all but their first Christmas (when they were infants, in Haiti still). Meera’s already gone twice now. It is tradition. And tradition, at the root of it, is what our Christmas is all about. So far, for Meera only, it is tradition to fall asleep during the Magic of Christmas in Portland. This year MorMor was the lucky one to have the precious sleeping babe in her arms for most of the concert.
Here we are (below) in Portland after the concert. Three generations valuing the tradition that it is. Meera was, I must admit, beyond adorable in her Christmas attire. How much do I love dressing my baby girl??? What a gift this girl is to me and her grandmother. And what a gift this girl’s grandmother is to me.
 
 We left Portland and headed for New Hampshire. Within just an hour of our arrival in Freedom, at MorMor and MorFar’s house, MorMor unveiled the 2009 Christmas Cookies. Tin after tin after tin. She spent an entire 8-hour-day making over 9 different kinds of cookies (multiple batches of each) this year. Her kids and her grand-kids all have their favorites, of course. But these are all traditional cookies which have varied very little over the years of my life.
Many of the cookies are Swedish, of course, and it is tradition — at least for MorFar — to break out the whipped cream to eat with the pepperkaker. Pepperkaker is good. But with whipped cream, some say, it is great. Here are K & O, following tradition.
Lots of traditions, big and small. A specific concert every year for 30 years and a specific type of dried toast to dunk in your coffee every Christmas of your entire life (and your parents’ and their parents’ lives). What is the difference? It is something I’ve been thinking about a lot in the past days. Traditions are traditions. Big and small. Huge and tiny. They are the glue that holds it all together. It is precious and it is important. And it is profound when you think of passing them all along. Here is our Little Miss Meera eating her first (of many, for sure) cinnamon-sugar-rusk.
Oh, how I love those rusks at Christmastime. Dunked in hot black coffee. Is it the rusks and coffee, or is it the specific bakery where my parents always buy them (hours away from their home), or is it that it is Christmas, or is it that I’m standing there, in the kitchen, doing the exact same thing as my dad – almost in unison – as we have for so many mornings during Christmas week? Rusks– a major, tiny, Christmas tradition.
There is a theme here. Traditional foods. Traditional Swedish foods. Traditional Swedish Christmas foods. And drink. Like Glug. This is Glug with a twist — served by MorFar, outside, on a picnic table in the snow, on Christmas Eve Day.
But the biggest Swedish Christmas food tradition of all? –The Christmas Eve Smorgasbord. My mother is a force to be reckoned with. She is the one who makes it all happen. And the smorgasbord symbolizes it all. Foods that she ate, and we ate, and now our kids eat, every Christmas Eve every year, with no exception, ever.
 Important notes re: smorgasbord 2009 — Braydon finally loves gravlax! And Owen loves fish pudding, just like his mother!!!
And then there are the butterhorns on Christmas morning. Fresh from the oven, with the sugar glaze still dripping. Dough that was been rising by the woodstove overnight. I love this photo below. Amidst opening presents, Kyle (prompted by MorMor) suddenly appears bearing the first tray of butterhorns, and Owen bolts upright to run to the tray! (I love it too because Meera is playing with her favorite gift: a gift from Owen that she’s played with for long chunks of time every day since).
But Owen’s treasured edible tradition of choice this year turned out to be that box of fine Swedish chocolates he discovered the first day. And by the last day, it was entirely gone. And the rest of us had eaten only a handful, total, from that two-layered box. 
Kyle says his favorite treasured edible tradition of choice this year was the hot dogs that he roasted over the fire on Christmas Eve Day. This is a new tradition, only a couple of years old. But it is set for the long haul, of that I am sure. Because Kyle will never let us not do it. Hot dogs, roasted on sticks, out in the snow, on Christmas Eve Day. That’s one of the most amazing parts of all of this whole Christmas thing for us– some of the traditions have been passed down for 3, 4, 5, or even more generations. And others are just getting started now. It is a joyful, evolving thing. Not a stagnant, bland thing.
 Interestingly, speaking of new traditions, I’m pretty sure that Meera’s favorite treasured edible tradition of choice this year was the wood-fired pizza at Flatbreads in North Conway. She’s a modern girl, what can we say?!
 
Traditions… old and new… they are the glue.
Jan 04
0

II – Christmas in New Hampshire 2009

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Christmas Eve Day
The traditions — old and new — go far beyond food. Skiing on the days leading up to Christmas is a new tradition. For the four of us J-M’s who ski (Meera will learn when she’s three, but until then is off the slopes), it is a highlight. For K & O, it is the highlight. Our boys look forward to this all year. And even now, two weeks later, they are still standing firm that the “high” of the entire holiday was “skiing!!!” I think it might be their favorite thing to do in all the world. Seriously. They love it. And they are pretty dang good (especially for five year olds who only ski once a year). This was their third year skiing. They got right up, and bombed it down the hill on their first run. We were skiing — like, full-on all-out the-four-of-us-skiing — together and loving it. Braydon and I are so proud that we have taught our boys to ski. The first day we skied just the four of us (thanks to MorMor and MorFar for keeping Meera at home all day). The second day everyone joined us and it was 9 of us skiing together (us four, MorMor, MorFar, Sadie, Stina, Mark). It was a dream come true for my mom. And the truth is: it was dreamy. Even Meera loved it (she spent the afternoon toodling around the lodge with various chaperons who took turns hanging out with her and drinking hot chocolate).
Not so dreamy was the reality that on our first day skiing, Owen broke his collar bone. Yes, you read that right. He broke his collar bone skiing. Here he is (below) in the Ski Patrol Clinic at the lodge. Not a tradition we plan on keeping. More about our baby’s broken bone in a post below.
Back to traditions that we like and want to keep… tubing at King Pine. Love it! The boys, especially love it! Here’s Owen, loving every second of it. (even with a broken collar bone.)
And this year — a magical gift was received by us — solid frozen lakes clear of snow. We skated every day that we didn’t ski. It was magical, and memorable, to say the least.
Candle-light Christmas Eve Service. A tradition passed down through the ages. A tradition we keep. We are blessed to have this as the place where we go on Christmas Eve:
 
Like I said, I am self-conscious of the loveliness of it. But, as Braydon reminds me (because he still reels from the wonderousness of it all, each and every year), “it is real.” It is very, very real.
This year was a year to remember in regards to The Pageant. Of course, the J-Ms are sort of famous (infamous?) in Freedom for our “performances” in the Christmas Eve Pageant (most memorable of which, was, for sure, the year K & O were 2 years old). People tell us outright that they come on Christmas Eve in Freedom “to see what our kids will do this year” (???!!!?). Not sure how to feel about that… but… it is what it is. And, in keeping with tradition, this year the J-M children did not disappoint in making a huge show of it. It was “The Debut of the Littlest Angel” (i.e., Meera). MorMor saw it fit that Meera, at age 18 months, should be in the pageant this year. I personally would never have in a million years thought to put her in an angel costume and send her up there. But, alas, she loved every second of it, and so did her large audience. She stole the show (along with her brothers, whose precociousness never fails, and whose protectiveness for their baby sister is unyielding). She (and “bunny,” her lovey) had to be pulled off the stage more than once for simply being too cute (seriously) and not letting the minister get on with the Christmas Eve regalia. I can’t do it justice in words. I will have to look for it on YouTube one of these days, since a couple of different people in church that night told us that they had captured it with the camcorders. Anyway, it was, for lack of a better word, adorable. If you click on this photo to enlarge it you can see Meera Angel standing next to Kyle Angel on the left. Owen and Sadie are the two sheep to the right.
Another way that this year was a year to remember: The Christmas that Stina and Mark were engaged! Auntie Stina is getting married!!! Cheers!
And cousin Sadie is getting a great guy in her life. I have to say, in all honesty, we love Mark. He seems to fit perfectly with our family. And there is no denying that this threesome (skating on Christmas Eve afternoon) is very, very cute!
Moving onward with traditions… Santa’s arrival on Christmas Eve afternoon. And yes, again, this year, he dropped off exactly, precisely what each kid had asked for. The look on Kyle’s face = priceless and precious. “Yes! He came!!! And he brought a snowboard!!!! A red snowboard!!!!!”
And the snowboards were immediately put to good use. And they were “PERFECT!!!!!!” And Meera got the “underwater baby” / “baby doll that can go in the bath” that her brothers asked Santa for on her behalf.
Another tradition: trying to get that perfect photo of the cousins in front of the tree on Christmas Eve. We tried. Here is the best we could do:
 
Santa brings that one special gift on Christmas Eve afternoon. And then, while we are sleeping, he fills the stockings. And then, up the chimney he goes! The presents under the tree are our presents to and from one another. One gift per person from each person. It is simple and pretty minimal (by choice), but still, it adds up to be a very magical sight to behold!
And the gifts are substantial!!! K & O wanted only one thing this year (in addition to the snowboards from Santa)… “football outfits”… and their MorMor and MorFar pulled through big time!!!!!!!!!!! Talk about making dreams come true. Can you imagine the delight of having a MorMor and MorFar who, literally, make your wildest dreams come true? These boys have it.
Do these boys know how lucky they are? Yes, actually, they do. They know. And they are truly grateful. And they do let it be known in their own ways. Like, when Kyle, on Christmas morning, asked MorMor to go with him back upstairs (where he had already been for a time) so that she could “see him in the mirror!” He is a football star! 
And another tradition: getting special gifts — gifts that we didn’t even know we wanted — from the people we love. Here’s Meera with her new favorite thing on earth: her “kitchen” from MorMor and MorFar. With dishes from Auntie Stina.
And here are the three older cousins, the day after Christmas. All knitting with treasures found in their stockings. A rare, beautiful, sunlight sweet moment of calm and quiet.
Christmas 2009 was filled with active adventure, snow, ice, love, giving, receiving, and the wondrous magic that can only happen when everyone puts their heart and soul into it. What a blessing!
Jan 04
0

IV – Owen’s Broken Collar Bone

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(Written by Braydon)
We’ve always known and have often said that both our boys have an absurdly high tolerance for pain.  On more than one occasion we’ve found a blood trail in the house leading to one of our kids who had cut their toe or shin or something, only to find them playing happily as though nothing had ever happened.  Or we’ve seen many a crash on a bike or scooter or toy that would toppled pretty much anyone, but they bounce up with a laugh and keep going.  They are not immune to pain by any stretch of the imagination, and are also acutely sensitive to touch and feeling, but they can tolerate a lot of pain. Don’t know why.
So, we’ve discovered we’re a family that loves to ski together.  We took the boys when they were 3.5 and 4.5 and now at 5.5.  This year, like last, we went skiing before Christmas when the lines are short and the mountain has 2 for 1 deals going on – and it’s wonderful.
We started on the bunny slope and way beyond what we expected, the boys picked up where they left off last year.  Both K & O grabbed the tow rope and up they went.  No poles of course, but right on up.  And then right down, with a little snow plow and a little turning.  A few of these little practice runs and we were off to the rest of the mountain.
We were not planning it this way, but I skied with Kyle and Heather skied with Owen. We got to the top of the lift and dumped out onto our favorite run from last year – a nice easy green trail.  I followed Kyle, who, turns out, is a total speed demon, adrenaline junkie.  He took off, blasting down the mountain.  Now, I am a pretty aggressive skier, but he was bombing fast even for me.  We went past a little tree’d area that I liked to ski through last year and flew to the bottom. Totally crazy.
Kyle and I got to the lift and waited for H and Owen.  And waited, and waited and waited. Until I started to get very worried, and despite my best efforts to both hide it from him and also assure him, so did Kyle.  So we took the lift back up. I imagined that Heather had a terrible accident.  It did not occur to me it might be Owen.
When we got to the run, we saw Heather sitting on the snow holding Owen.  A ski patrol passed me and Kyle and asked if that was them.  I didn’t know what he meant, but seeing it was not normal, sent him right there.  When we got there, Heather had our boy cradled in her arms, he was not moving.  I was freaking out. But when Kyle and I clicked out and got close, we could see Owen was awake and ok – just very still and in a lot of pain.  Thank goodness he had his helmet on.  He rode the ski patrol sled down like a champ, with me and Kyle flying down behind and Heather going down too.  We headed to the ski patrol room where they carried him in for an exam.  Later Owen told me that he wanted to ski down between the trees like Papi had done last year.  Cutie pie.  Unfortunately, it was all crusty ice this year and he slammed down very very hard.
In the ski patrol room, they wanted to cut his new turtle neck shirt off, but Heather managed to get him out of it.  They articulated his left arm to gauge his reaction to it and determine how hurt it was.  He was able to move it forward and back and all around and they declared that no matter how high his pain tolerance, that if it was broken he would have screamed bloody murder.  Which he did not.  It was hurting, but not broken.
After a little recovery and an attempt at some hot chocolate, we went back out skiing again to make sure he was not too afraid and we had a great rest of the day.  Owen was a bit more tentative, but had a lot of fun.  Then we did it again the next day and also had a great time.  Owen was again more caution, but that’s not really all that unusual for him.  Kyle bombed down the mountain.  People commented that if he lived in NH they would have him on the junior ski team.
Over the next few days O favored his hurt shoulder and we gave him motrin regularly for it.  But generally he was himself and just seemed ok to play and move around.  We went ice skating and at one point we did a long chain of 6 or so of us with Owen in the middle all holding hands and swinging around.
When we got home, his shoulder was still hurting him.  We were going to make an appointment with our family doctor, but they said we should just go up to urgent care.  Since that was like the emergency room, but with a 3 hour wait, we made an appointment with our local Chiropractor for the next day.  But that night Owen woke up with a lot of pain.
Heather and I examined him and noticed a bump along his collar bone that we had not seen before.  He was still really hurting so we decided I should take him to the emergency room – which I did. It was 11 PM.
The ER doc examined him, articulated his arm, up down, back front, pushing pulling and trying to see if it hurt.  Owen said it did, this and that hurt, and mostly when the doc pushed on the bone with his thumb, but nothing dramatic.  So the doc decided that he should get an x-ray to find out what was up.
Broken collar bone. Clear as day on the x-ray.  Bent now, not curved.  Starting to knit together, but with a little bump.  Broken.  Our 5.5 year old had a broken collar bone. For 8 days.  
We’re taking him to the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow for a review.  The ER doc both assured us that he was going to be fine and that he would have full range of motion with no limitations.  But that we should have the orthopedic group look at him.  So we are.
Unbelievable in so many ways on so many levels.  But I guess maybe that is just our boy.
Note:  the photo above was taken in MorMor and MorFar’s back yard on Christmas Eve Day. Yes, his collar bone was broken at that time. 
Jan 04
0

V – Flicka Stuga at Christmas

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Over the rivers (the Delaware, the Hudson, and several others)
And through the woods –and cities (of New York, Hartford, Boston, etc.)
To grandmother’s house Flicka Stuga we go
[note: MorMor & MorFar’s house was named, by them, when they built it, “Flicka Stuga,” the Swedish for “Girl’s House”… and it is aptly named]
Papi knows the way to drive the five
 Through the white and drifted snow, oh!
Over the river and through the wood
Oh how much work it takes —
To prep, and plan, and shop, and scam to create the Ho Ho Ho!
But, over the river and through the wood
Is the least that we can do —
{and this is where the emotions kick in and the whole lyric/rhyming thing starts to break down…}
For what we do is absolutely menial in comparison to what MorMor and MorFar do…
My parents. They love Christmas. They bring magic to the word magic. And they share it. But, the thing is, it isn’t actually magic. It takes thought, time, energy, money, and most of all — hearts of gold — to make it all happen. My parents. They are, truly, an inspiration. I am learning from them. All that I can hope is that I will be able to carry it on for my children as my parents have done for me. The details are endless. Everywhere you look, every moment of each day spent, you see and feel what they have done to make Christmas Christmas. It is all meaningful. And for five people with the last name “Johnson-McCormick,” it is all deeply appreciated.
Over the river and through the wood
to Flicka Stuga we go
Who knows what each day or year may bring?
So we savor these memories so.
Thank you Mom and Dad!
(and really, let’s be honest– MorFar is truly awesome, but MorMor is the Mastermind — so, Mom, thanks especially to you at Christmastime. You are, for real, the best of the best.)
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dec 30
0

Holiday Break

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Will post soon about our many adventures of the past days ~
but, for now, we are thoroughly enjoying the holiday break;
trying to savor it in the moment;
without interruption for blog or otherwise;
knowing that it is a sweet fleeting time for indulging in the here and now.
For those of you checking in on us—
A Very Happy New Year!
Oct 15
0

Chesapeake Bay!

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This was one of our best trips ever. And for anyone who has been reading this blog awhile, you know that says a lot, since we’ve had some pretty fantastic family trips! This little 3-night/4-day mini-vaca was absolutely magical. We had been to Baltimore as a family a couple of times, and we had been to Assateague Island, but we had never been to the “real” Chesapeake Bay, and had been wanting to go there for a long time. We finally went, and we found there a magical place that we really, really love! We almost never go back to the same place twice, but we cannot wait to go back. Some highlights:

We rented a house that was situated right on the edge of a huge (75 foot) cliff overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. A 2-minute drive down the road was a virtually untouched/deserted/’private’ six-mile strip of bay-front-beach. The beach was incredible. We did not know such places existed in the U.S. We took long walks on the unspoiled natural beach, utterly alone, everyday. In total we encountered only 7 people on the beach over the entire time we stayed there (which included a bunch of long walks). One of those 7 people graciously took this photo for us:
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The sunrises from the house were absolutely spectacular. We were, all five of us, up in time to watch the sunrise over the bay each morning. It felt like we were watching a magic show. Perched high above the bay, in the quiet and stillness of the early morning, it was incredible.


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Once the sun was up, we ate our breakfast, and then headed out to the beach.
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The boys swam in the bay everyday.
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The bay was very shallow in most places, and they loved it that they could walk out so far.
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On this trip Meera learned to throw rocks (and shells, and sticks, and whatever she found) into the water. This is a big deal because this has always been one of her brothers’ absolute all-time favorite things to do in all the world. They loved to see her doing it. We all got a kick out of it. She was so proud of herself.
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There was a swing-set right on the beach, which was a big hit.
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The weather was awesome: fluctuating from high 80s/low 90s and calm/sunny all the way to mid-50s and windy/cloudy. (I love this picture, below, in part because way in the background you can see K & O far out in the bay.)

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The peacefulness that the water brings to our boys…
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…the joy that these times bring to us… is indescribable.
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A big Chesapeake Bay thing in the area where we were (Southern Maryland; Western Shore) is fossil hunting. Specifically, “Toothing” (this was new to us; “Toothers” are people who hunt for fossilized shark’s teeth as a hobby). We were determined to find a shark’s tooth while we were there (the area is famous for this). We found one! Kyle, especially, was so into this– and so excited to have found it!
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And Blue Crabs, of course. The area is famous for Blue Crabs. We found a few of those too!
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Best of all: the time spent truly together.

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There was a telescope at the house. Braydon and the boys looked at the bazillions of stars in the pitch black night sky.
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Solomons Island was nearby. We had so much fun there. Including a boat ride which was, of course, a major high for K & O.
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Big highlight, as always, the food. Fresh, local, authentic cuisine is always a top priority. The boys are catching on to this and have come to anticipate (and look forward to) experimenting with whatever is the “real deal” wherever we are. They are always up for it (although, we are not bashful to admit that we always order hot dogs or mac-n-cheese to be waiting in the wings if need be). This time: Shellfish. Crabs, shrimp, and… oysters. Raw. On the half shell. One of Mommy’s absolute favorite foods in the entire world. They did not love it (in fact, Kyle got very nauseous from it!), and described it (quite accurately, I must say!) as tasting like they were “eating the ocean,” but… they did all try it. Which made their Mommy proud (I was also thrilled they didn’t like them, because that way I got to eat most of them! Braydon likes them, but isn’t the biggest fan.). Here’s Owen eating his first oyster on the half shell:
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Here’s Kyle eating his first oyster on the half shell:
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Here’s Meera eating her first oyster on the half shell:
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The steamed crabs were a huge hit (mostly for the fun of cracking them open, picking the meat out, dipping the crab in melted butter, ETC.). But the biggest food hit of the trip, for sure, was our discovery of Owen’s adoration of crab cakes. His new favorite food. The discovery was made during lunch on Sunday. We went to Broomes Island (which was gorgeous), explored the waterfront awhile…
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…and then went out to lunch at a great restaurant dockside. Braydon and I ordered crabcakes. Owen ended up eating the bulk of them. He couldn’t get enough of them.
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Major high of the trip: We went to the Calvert Marine Museum, which was, on its own, great. But while there, we went to a toy-boat-making-workshop.
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And then we went back to “our beach” to sail them.

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The ride home was noteworthy because it was “Old School Style” (our portable DVD player, which we’ve relied so heavily on during road trips and plane rides for all these years) died during our drive down. So we had nothing but good old fashioned togetherness for the 4.5 hour ride home. We expected the worst. It was not all that bad.
~~~
Final trip summary: It was a stupendous trip.

For all the pics, click here.

Sep 21
0

Skydiving for MorMor’s 60th

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Back from the blog break– sorry for the long hiatus– too much going on to blog! Seriously! Anyway, moving on…
First on the agenda for back-to-blogging is this: The weekend before last we went away for a skydiving weekend in celebration of my mom’s 60th birthday. It was crazy fun. Here’s my mom jumping out of an airplane from 2 miles up!
Turns out my mom has always wanted to go skydiving. Who knew? Turns out my dad knew. So, for her 60th birthday he planned an amazing weekend away for her and a bunch of their friends. We had such a good time. My dad rented a house in the Poconos near the skydiving center. People (especially my sister and her two people!) drove for hours and hours and hours to get there, but it was worth it. We had a terrific weekend. The house turned out to be perfect for our group. We had a celebration dinner at the house Saturday night for my mom. There was hiking and swimming and many adventures had by all. There were some stolen snugly moments too (mostly revolving around K & O getting various grown-ups, including MorMor and MorFar, to read them books). The highlight, of course, was the skydiving. What a thrill. I went solely for my mom with no inclination to go on my own. But I’d go again in a heartbeat. It was awesome. My sister and I flew in a plane together and jumped within seconds of each other. In the pictures below it is our two parachutes that you see. My mom and her friend Theresa jumped from another plane. And family friends Laurie and Rich jumped from another. The rest of our group watched from the earth below… word has it that Kyle, Owen, Sadie, and Meera could not have been more mesmerized by it. It is really quite a sight to see– these colorful billowy parachutes falling from a crystal-clear-blue sky. If you haven’t done it or seen it, I highly recommend at least one or the other. It is incredible. A week after it is all over, though, the biggest thought I’m left with actually has nothing to do with skydiving… I’m just left, yet again, with the thought, “What an amazing set of parents I have.” Skydiving for your 60th? Your husband planning and implementing it all to make it happen? Your kids and grandkids and some of your closest friends –all in a gorgeous vacation home somewhere in the middle of nowhere– singing “Happy Birthay” with candles atop your favorite kind of cake? It seems like something from a movie or something– is this our real life? But the truth is, my parents are amazing and they deserve every second of happiness they get coming their way. Their lives have been centered on giving and, for me, one of the greatest sights to see is watching it come back to them. Life is a gift. Every precious second of it. Happy birthday MorMor! (and thank you MorFar!!!)


















Aug 18
0

New Hampshire Summer Trip ’09

Posted by | TRAVEL | No Comments

We’ve been doing this trip every summer and it has become such a good tradition for us. (click here for last year) We look forward to it all year. We really do. This year, for the first time, we went for a full week. And could have easily stayed for two. And, also for the first time, we stayed at the lake (“MorMor and MorFar’s Cottage”) the entire week (as opposed to sleeping some of the nights at my parents’ house)… which was definitely the way to go. It was a spectacular week in New Hampshire. Lake Winnipesaukee was at its finest. We enjoyed every minute of it. And it was especially good to be able to be with my parents while my dad was still in the relatively early stages of his recovery from his prostate surgery. It was a special time.

We got back one week ago, but it has taken me forever to sort through the 500+ photos that we took while we were there. Some of the photos capture a little of the flavor of how great the trip was. But like always, they don’t even really do it justice.

Among many, this year’s highlights included:

  • Meera’s first ‘real’ summer NH trip (last year doesn’t really count since she was only a few weeks old and pretty aloof!)… sharing it with her and seeing her LOVING IT as much as the rest of us was a major high.
  • MorMor and MorFar’s brand new motorboat!!! While the boys weren’t riding on it (with Kyle spending countless hours fixated with watching the wake) they were hanging out on it docked.
  • Sadie joined us for most of the week at the cottage and we (especially K & O) savor our time with her! We have been able to spend a lot of time with our niece this summer and we feel very blessed for that.
  • The annual pilgrimage to Storyland! This year it was MorMor, me, and the “big kids” – Sadie, Kyle, and Owen. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a camera with us, so we have no shots from that fun day. But it was fun fun fun!
  • A beautiful day in Maine for the J-M’s to visit Auntie Stina and Sadie at their house!
  • K & O had one of their dreams come true — being able to do real, actual mowing, like with a real, actual lawnmower. MorFar can’t mow while recovering, so Braydon and the boys mowed for him. This was a serious treat for K & O.
  • Waterskiing for the grown-ups for the first time in many years. Braydon was a superstar on the waterskiis. Heather and MorMor… not so much. The boys loved watching us try it, and they can’t wait to waterski themselves (we told them they have to wait until they are 8 years old to try).
  • Re-connecting with Maria. Our special, special, special girl (who is now 20!?!!!??!!!). Braydon and I had her with us every-other-weekend for 6 years while we were in graduate school living in Boston (from the age of 5 to the age of 11). She’s now all beautiful and grown up and lovely and it was just so, so, so good to spend time together after many years (we hadn’t seen her since Christmas 2004).
  • Red Sox… being in New England definitely is refreshing for our two little Red Sox fans (who normally are surrounded by Yankees and Phillies fans). They got to watch the Red Sox on t.v. with MorFar, they got to talk Red Sox with MorFar ’round the clock, they got to look at Red Sox baseball cards with MorFar, and everywhere we went they saw Red Sox things– which is very exciting. Also while there they got resupplied with Red Sox clothing, stickers, etc.
  • Eating lobster and catching crayfish. The boys had lobster for the first time. Kyle wanted nothing to do with it. Owen couldn’t get enough of it. While kayaking one day, we found some snorkelers who had found crayfish in the lake. They gave one to the boys. Owen couldn’t hold it and play with it enough. Kyle could not be bothered with the thing. They both noticed the striking resemblance between crayfish and lobsters and didn’t quite know what to make of it all.
  • Trips on the boat to get the mail in Alton Bay, to get ice cream in Wolfboro, to get morning pastries in Center Harbor, and to ride out to get up close to the “Ship Mount Washington D.C.” (!).
  • A night out (dinner at Ellacoya), alone (!), for Mama and Papi— a rare and wonderful treat courtesy of the most trustworthy babysitters on the planet!–MorMor and MorFar!
  • Lots of good playing
  • Lots of good bonding
  • Lots of good eating

Yes, it is a long drive… 8-10 hours depending on how it goes… (and we show no mercy in plodding along as fast as we can with as minimal interruption to the drive as possible). But don’t feel sorry for the three bambinos for even a second. They take their road trips in style… and they love every minute of it (seriously.)… Photo below exhibits their luxury (pizza and videos in the back seat somewhere deep into the drive!— they also have now come to fully realize -and maximize upon- the vast number of Dunkin’ Donuts throughout all of New Enland… many “chocolate frosted” and “pink frosted” donuts were consumed by two boys in the back seat).

Lots of pictures in the three posts below (click here, here, and here).

For the sake of my mom, and anyone else who might be crazy enough to want to look through a huge slew of our trip photos… you can click here to see them.