Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Wrapping up the Summer

The end of summer is always so bittersweet. It marks the busiest time of the year for John and a sort of impending doom for me, but it's also usually some of the nicest weather of the summer. This year, I decided to get out of dodge for the last full week of summer and visit family and attend my 20th high school reunion.

First stop was Nana and Grandpa's. They orchestrated quite a 24 hour visit for us. They prepared a delicious dinner with Aunt Lynn and Cousin Catherine the night we arrived and then a morning at a farm and a local swimming hole the next day. Cally hadn't seen Nana and Grandpa for two and a half months and I think they were all pretty enamored by each other:

Cally gets to see farm animals a lot, but this was her first experience at a petting zoo. As you can see she was pretty much in heaven:



And after an exciting morning at the farm, Cally showed Nana how much she loves the water:


Next stop was Grandma and Bumpa's house with special guests Kesley, Jameson, Paula, and James.

We all spent some quality time at the beach, but some of the best time was spent at the house. Grandma has accrued a number of great toys for the kids and they were happy as could be playing "Animal Picnic":


playing "Restaurant":


playing with Gus the cat:

and being read to by Grandma:


And I even got to go out with high school friends two nights in a row during my reunion weekend! It was such a treat to see so many of my girlfriends and their husbands. I felt a little lost without my own wing man, but loved hearing about what folks are doing 20 years after high school.


Today, I was driving back from visiting a friend down and Huntington and noticed that some of the trees are all ready beginning to change colors. We had just been on a hike with eight dogs and three little people. We'd munched on blackberries and marched through stinging nettles. The sun came out and we took a dip in the pond. Summer still feels like it's in full swing, but like the leaves beginning to change, my life as I know it is beginning to change. Tomorrow begins the abrupt transition from "Summer Katy" to "Working Mom". I love the seasons-- the distinctions that they each carry and the transitions along the way. My job and family life is so directly tied to those seasons and transitions. It's hard to mourn the end of one, when the excitement for the other beckons over the horizon. Of course I'll miss carefree days of summer when I have no agenda and don't have juggle daily walks with Cally and Zephy with lesson planning and grading. I cherish the time that I've spent with Cally this summer, she's my little buddy, and I know that the transition back to school tomorrow will be tough...... just like stick and mud season can be tough in Vermont. But I really am already looking forward to apple picking, fall foliage hikes, biking through crunchy leaves, first snowflakes, stacking wood and cozy fires.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

The More the Merrier


Never a dull moment in the life of the Abbott's. Last weekend we headed down to Ludlow, VT for the wedding of a dear friend from my grad school days in Missoula, MT. Mic Metz was the "Dog Handler" in our wedding and decided to tie the knot with his long term partner, Lorraine. They also included their newly adopted son Brendan (age 7) and Lorraine's daughter Stephanie (age 13) in the nuptuals.


One of the best parts of the event was that the Woottons made the trek up to Vermont from Virginia for the event. Sarah also got to spend some fun years in Missoula in the EVST program and is one of the most loyal wedding attenders I know. For our own wedding, after being delayed for 24 hours getting out of Richmond, VA she hopped in the car and drove with her two small children to Vermont so she could catch the tail end of our wedding-- only to turn around the next day and drive 13 hours home. This time, she decided it might be easier to fly with her expanded brood of three (John-6, Lucy-3, and Henry-1.5) and husband. Unfortunately, there really aren't any airports near Ludlow...... so they flew into Boston and then had to drive five hours through Boston traffic only to turn around 36 hours later and return.

We rented a ski house with the Woottons and had a great time. Cally got to attend her first wedding-- all dolled up in a dress and Nana's homemade sweater. It was a very family friendly event, but even so, Cally managed to be the most vocal through the ceremony. Fortunately, the touching nuptuals were only 10 minutes long, but I cringed for my chatty daughter much of the time.........

This past weekend we were at one of the most beautiful places on Earth.


My dear friend Medora and her husband Spencer just celebrated ten years of marriage. To help them ring in the occasion, I offered to watch their kids and menagerie for the weekend (training began at 8am for the UVM Trek leaders, so John is head deep in that chapter of his year for the next couple of weeks. He was able to hang out with us Friday night, but was otherwise occupied). Addy is 8 and Tanner is 6. They adore Cally, love playing with her, live in a great place and are incredibly responsible.


On Friday afternoon we headed to the Addison Country Fair. First stop was the Children's Barn:



Next stop was the Dairy Barn:


We spotted the same pony ride operation that Cally had so adored in Bristol, VT on the 4th of July and got all fired up for Cally to ride Cookie again (she hasn't been able to stop talking about him for weeks and constantly wants to keep seeing the picture of her on him that is stored on my phone). As it turned out, Cally wanted nothing to do with riding a pony this time. She did, however, love watching her buddy Tanner enjoy his ride:



This year, the rides became a new element of Cally's visit to the fair and Tanner and Addy were so sweet about joining her on the less exciting "little kid" rides:




The rest of our weekend was spent with the menagerie-- which includes a miniature horse, a donkey, more than 20 chickens*, 4 roosters, 4 cats, and 7 dogs (plus Zephy). This is what a simple walk with the dogs looks like:


Cal and I had a great weekend with Addy and Tanner. It's so fun for Cally to get to hang out with such fun, responsible older kids. Most importantly, I know how much Medora and Spencer appreciated being able to get away for a weekend without the kids.

*Unfortunately, there may be a 2-3 fewer chickens after our visit. It turns out Zephy doesn't understand that these are egg layers, not meat birds for dogs :o(

Monday, August 2, 2010

The Coast

John, Cally, and I just got back from an amazing trip to the coast. We stopped in six different places in ten days. We were able to visit with some really special people, see some gorgeous parts of the Massachusetts and Maine coast, and bond as a family. Here's the blow by blow:

First we visited the Meyer Clan in Duxbury, MA:


Cally has a ball with her cousins and they treat her like royalty. During this visit we got to go out on the motor boat, hunt for hermit crabs on the beach, eat good ice cream and have a fun "adult night" out thanks to Darlene the babysitter.


Next stop was Melrose, MA, north of Boston where Cally got to see her buddy Boden. It was great to see one of her oldest/longest friends, but it turns out 19-20 month olds don't really understand how to share and play together, so a lot of tears were shed in that short visit.


On Monday, we rolled into Cape Elizabeth, ME where John's buddy from Bates, Alex and his family live. This stop has become a "summer must". In the 24 hours that we were there, we sailed in a gusty wind, had dinner at Scarborough beach, and went back to the beach for more swimming the next day. M.J. and Alex have two lovely teenage daughters (Zoe, 16 and Isabel, 14) and Cally has taken to them all. M.J. was even able to get Cally to fall asleep on a 23 foot sailboat with her uncomfortable infant life preserver on!



On Tuesday, we headed north to Camden, ME to see John's friend Hodding Carter and his family (wife Lisa, 14 year old twins Eliza and Annabel, 13 year old daughter Helen, and 7 year old son Angus). Hodding was the mastermind behind the Viking voyage John took almost 15 years ago. They live in an amazing little homestead with bountiful gardens and chickens. Hodding and his family welcomed us with open arms. Their children couldn't have been nicer to Cally and it was a real pleasure to see such a big household run so smoothly and cooperatively. John even got to go squid fishing (or "jigging") at midnight and they caught almost a dozen squid!

On Wednesday, we finally got to the destination we were aiming for: Acadia National Park. Both John and I had been there in our previous lives and had heard it was a fun place to go with kids. We had no idea just how amazing our visit would be. We stayed at the Sea Wall Campground within the park.


In order to get a campsite, you have to either call six months in advance or get there early enough to catch a "first come, first serve" site. We had heard it wouldn't been too difficult to get a spot mid-week, but didn't arrive until almost noon and felt lucky to get one of the last 5 sites in the campground.

On Wednesday, we finally unloaded the Chariot and set out for a ride along the "quiet side" of Mount Desert Island. We cruised out to a lighthouse and through a few of the picturesque towns.

On Thursday, we decided to check out the much talked about Carriage Roads on the other side of the island. We parked a car and set out on the roads. They were absolutely ideal for pulling the chariot: smooth, shaddy, and endless. We ended up riding about 8 miles out to Bar Harbor and another 10 back to the car.


Upon finishing that ride, we decided to do the touristy thing and drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain and hit the Park Loop Trail.


By the time we got to Thunder Hole on the Park Loop Road, Cally was done with the getting in and out of the chariot and/or car seat. She loved hearing the water rush into the rugged coast, so when we tried to pull her away she put up a fight. At first we thought it was no big deal, but then we realized we were in the midst of Cally's first full blown temper tantrum in a public place. We ended up carrying our kicking and screaming daughter to the car with people looking at us wondering what we were doing to torture the poor girl. I guess there has to be a first for everything!

Cally did manage to pull it together for a fun seafood dinner at a classic Lobster joint in Southwest Harbor. It was sort of cafeteria style where John got to point to the little critter he wanted and his number was called when it was done cooking in the boiling salt water.

On Friday, we headed to one of the many lakes in Acadia. Echo Lake has a great beach, warm water, and a great hike to a fire tower nearby.




On Friday afternoon, we headed up towards Blue Hill, ME-- a peninsula about 1/2 hour south of Acadia. John's friend Nicholas, from Bates, lives on a blueberry farm there with his wife and two sons (Everett, 14 and Julien, 11). Another Bates friend, Joc organized to have a work weekend at their homestead for the weekend. And so, about seven Bates buddies and their families convened for a work party weekend:




There were more than 30 people shingling, framing, trimming, cooking, socializing, and eating great feasts. Cally was in heaven with all of the loving people and animals.

She got to pet a chick:


Look at chicks:
See the piglets get fed:


Feed the ducks:

And collect eggs in the barn:

She finally got to meet her cat's namesake:

I think she was sort of confused by the whole thing.



But I think she has a better understanding of what a lobster is now.

In the end, we couldn't have asked for more during this vacation-- great company, beautiful weather, wonderful food, and good quality family time. Being around so many amazing families who opened their arms to us, especially Cally, was really special. John and I learn more and more about being parents everyday and having such great role models is important to both us and Cally.

So as we rolled across the states of Maine, NH, and Vermont over the course of seven hours yesterday, I kept thinking about how lucky we are. Lucky to have such good friends, positive role models, beautiful places, and most importantly, lucky to have a daughter who rolls with all of it, often with a big smile on her face.