Turtles

Cally, John and Hazen has the opportunity to help release 50 threatened spiney softshelled turtles into Lake Champlain.


These little guys were brought to the ECHO science center in October and carefully cared for so that they could be released into the lake. Cally may not remember actually doing this, but hopefully, this sort of stewardship will become a part of who she is:

Happy Father's Day!

Every once in while, I hear Cally blurt out to her dad, "Dad, you're the best dad in the whole world". I'm not exactly sure if her two and a half year old brain really knows what she's saying, but then again, I think she does. I hope she knows how lucky she is to have a dad that arranges his work schedule so that he can stay home with the kids one day a week, who has a sit down breakfast with the family every single morning, who picks up toys for his kids at the freecycle zone at the dump, who gets a swingset on Craigslist and assembles it, who hasn't missed a single doctors appointment for either of his kids (even when in utero), and who loves his kids more than anything in the world.




Yesterday, on Father's Day, there wasn't a lot that was done for Dear Dad. We did, however, let him sleep in, delivered him coffee in bed, and made French Toast. Cally made a card and we had some photos printed for him. It's the little things that matter to this dad. He loved it all. And he's pretty sure that there isn't a dad in the world who loves his family as much as he does.



It may be a while before Cally and Hazen realize what an amazing father they have. It may not be until they have their own kids. But I know that he is pretty unbelievable. I know how much he's put on the back burner (powder days, international mountain adventures, epic mountain bike rides, music festivals, and more) so that his kids can be front and center in his life. And I know how innovative he's been to make it so his children can be a part of what he loves and represents. Right now, the kids are too young to really understand, and I know there will be a period of time where they actually resent spending time with their family, but they will never be light on love with this guy around!



Happy Father's Day, John!

Three weeks in Review

Time seems to be slipping away. Here's a photo journalistic synopsis of the past three weeks:

Hazen turns 4 months! The stats: 14 lbs 8 oz (50th percentile) and 25.75 inches (75th percentile). He's smiling, giggling, and generally just a happy guy.


Crazy weather: We've had tons of rain this spring, combined with the run off from a big winter of snow means that Lake Champlain is at an all time high (in terms of flood level). We made it down for a wild afternoon:


Memorable Memorial Day with friends:








A fun Jazzfest weekend with a visit from the Dormers: Matt, Carlota, Boden (2.5 years old) and Skylar (9 months old) and the cousins in Stowe.






John's parenting leave is over, the kids are both with Meike for just another three days, exams start tomorrow, and I'm out of school on Thursday (just in time to jump on a plane to get down to South Carolina for Cousin Lindsay and Silas' wedding). Ahhhhhh Summer! So looking forward to it.

Congrats Dr. Abbott!

It really is official! The diploma is in hand, we are so proud of our own Dr. Abbott!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Can you believe that this lovely lady just turned 70 years old?!?!?!? I can't! She is one of the most active, fit, and fun 70 year old ladies that I've ever met and she's one darn amazing mother, grandmother, and wife.


I can't think of a better reason to celebrate this fantastic woman. And celebrate we did! The other weekend, for the first time since Hazen arrived, the entire PK Meyer brood got together to honor our matriarch. All 13 of us!


Not only is she a really hands-on grandmother, but she has equiped her house with everything an infant to eight year old might want to play with during a stay there--- bouncey chairs, high chairs, musical instruments, art supplies, puzzles, books, stuffed animals, exersaucer, trampoline, bikes, stollers, etc.



The grandkids have a ball together:



And the kids and partners do, too:


She should be proud of the life she's led, the kids she's raised, and the grandchildren she's made smile. Thanks for giving us a reason to get together and have fun!

Sun, Sand, & Surf

For the past three years, we've been heading down to Hilton Head Island, SC. Every time we go to this place, it becomes more and more ideal for our current situation. Getting there wasn't all that much fun (three hour delay in Detroit because of snow), navigating airports and staying quiet on airplanes with two wee ones, but once we got down to this beach house, we were set.


This is the modest beach home that our family has been renting every now and again for 15 years. It's surrounded by "McMansions", but this beach house has remained largely the same since it was built back in the 50's. My Uncle George would spend summers at this house with his family and the family that still owns it. We packed 10 adults and 6 kids into the six bedrooms this year.



My Uncle Dick, who lives in Hawaii claims that this is one of the nicest beaches he's ever been to. It goes on for miles, there are great waves for body surfing, hard packed sand for running and biking, tide pools for kids to frolic in, and you are never far from napping kids, home cooked food, or a cocktail.


The Characters:

The Walker Family flew in from London. Amanda & Gregg are known for their great cooking, organizing activities, and love of fine wine. Campbell (5 1/2), Zoe (4), and Damon (2) are their spawn.


The Niquettes drove down from Baltimore, MD. They came with sweet Will (he'll be 2 in July):


Bobbie and Dick Walker: The parents of Gregg, flew in from their own little slice of heaven on the Big Island in Hawaii to do some Bargain Box shopping and spend time with their grandchildren who live so far away. Here is a picture of Aunt Bobbie with Hazen:


Lindsay (and her fiancee Silas) drove down from Charleston, SC. Unfortunately, we only got to spend one night with Silas, but he joined the naughty cousins in some pool hopping, so he's now officially initiated as a part of the Underwood Clan.

The Meyers flew from Boston with Kesley, the best caretaker of younger cousins ever (age 8) and Jameson (4).


And finally, the Masters of ceremony were Sherry and George Westerfield. They not only rented the house for us all, but got us bikes, sand toys, baby bouncer chairs, beach chairs, umbrellas, pack-n-plays, did our recycling, organized boat trips and river adventures, babysat their niece and nephews children, brought kids on "ghost crab hunts", cooked, and cleaned. And, they did it all with a smile on their face (even though I know they had to be sick of all the entertaining while they could have been planning more details for their daughter's wedding). Here is a picture of Cally giving Uncle George a big kiss for introducing her to crab meat for the first time:


And here they are, 8 of the 10 Underwood Great Grandchildren (from left to right: Campbell, Damon, Jameson, Hazen, Kesley, Will, Zoe, and Cally):

We spent a lot of time at the beach:





But we also got to go boating out to Palmetto Bluff on a refurbished tugboat with Captain George Hayward:





And go fishing, crabbing, and paddle boarding at the Cram's property across from Pinkney Island:


And decorate Easter Eggs thanks to Aunt Sherry organizing everything:



And hunt for Easter Eggs:


And celebrate a four years old's birthday:



And just hang out with cousins. Something that the Underwood grandchildren were fortunate to be able to do every summer as we were growing up. And something that we all value thanks to a tradition started by Great Grandma Isabel:





And here's to Mr. H. He rocked it in the travel department, slept like a champ, and even got to enjoy a little beach time.





Vacations as we once knew them to be have changed. There wasn't a whole lot of relaxing (I didn't crack open a book or magazine for the entire week) and traveling with two wee ones is nothing short of stressful, but we had so much fun and would do it again in a heartbeat (in fact, we are doing it again in two months for LW & Silas' wedding). Seeing all those kids, parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles together creating new relationships and fostering old ones was what it was all about. There will be time to rest and relax later.