Wedding Weekend in MA

My dear college friend, Deb, found the perfect match and got married last weekend in Beverley, MA.  John and I weren't sure if we'd go down for the weekend on our own or bring the kids along.  We even had Hazen's godparents lined up to watch them up here in Vermont.  But, when we realized the wedding was so close to our friends, Matt and Carlota and they offered to watch our kids for the night, we decided to make it a family affair.

And we are so glad that we did.  We spent Saturday at Crane's beach in Ipswich.  There are these great tidal pools and a vast beach.  Cally and Hazen hadn't been to the beach since last summer and they were so happy to just dig and hang out with Skylar (2) and Boden (4).

After a great time there, Carlota and Matt brought John to what he now claims is the BEST lobster roll joint he's ever been to in his life (right in Ipswich).  We got back to the Dormer's with enough time to shower and gussy up and head out to this gorgeous venue in Beverley, MA

Hester as a bridesmaid extraordinaire!

The bride and her dad

The wedding was super fun and touching.  Carlota handled dinner and bedtime for the kids like a champ.  She texted me before 8:00pm proud to say that all kids were in bed.  An impressive feat, for sure!

We got to spend Sunday on the water in Charlestown.  The kids swam at the marina and then we went out on the Dormer's boat in Boston harbor. 

We are so lucky to have great friends who will watch our kids so that we can celebrate such a wonderful occasion with two folks who have finally found their perfect match.  Weddings always rekindle a little something in our own flame and make me happier than ever to have made the plunge with the guy who Cally and Hazen call Dad.

Mont Tremblant

 

I've been wanting to check out Mont Tremblant for years.  So, when John made reservations to stay at one of the campgrounds at the National Park du Mont Tremblant for the weekend after school got out, I was thrilled.  I was especially excited to not be the one to plan this get away.  With my nose to the grindstone for the weeks leading up to the end of school, I was happy to not have to pack up the car, get directions, and organize gear.  I was also happy to just get in the car after a long school year and explore a new area.

As luck would have it, the day before we were to leave, John's computer was stolen out of his car.  When he reported it to the state police, he found out that some guy broke into four cars parked along the Bolton access road that day (he was doing some work on the Outing Club cabin).  One of the "victims" actually heard his car windows being smashed and got the perpetrator's license plate number and reported it to the police.  For whatever the reason, the police couldn't get to the accused house for several days, and when they searched for the stolen items, none of them were there.  Needless to say, John was sick about the whole thing-- as he has never backed up his files, but has handled it like a champ-- claiming it is a "first world problem".  So true, but such a shame.

Because John's computer was missing, he wasn't able to print directions to the campground we'd be staying at.  When I came home from school on Friday afternoon and looked for the reservation information on his iphone, I noticed that the reservations were for Thursday and Friday night, not Friday and Saturday nights.  I also did a quick Google Map search and noticed that it would take a minimum of 4.5 hours to get there, and I also did a quick NOAA weather search and noticed that there was a 60% chance of rain for Saturday.  All that being said, we decided to go for it anyway.  I quickly jotted the directions from the phone's google map app onto a piece of paper (because roaming charges for cell phones in Canada are crazy pricey) and we set off at 4pm on Friday.  Our fatal flaw was not having a map.......

We actually hit traffic in northern Vermont and outside of Montreal, so it took us 3 hours to do what is normally a two hour drive to Montreal.  John had heard that Mont Tremblant was 45 minutes north of Montreal, but after a horrible Thai dinner pit stop, it took us three more hours to get to the campground.  This has to do with the fact that we took a secondary road with stop light after stop light instead of the interstate that paralleled it (had we had a map, we might have recognized this).

We arrived at the National Park gate and just opening our window to get a park map introduced a nauseating amount of mosquitoes into our car.  I don't think we've ever set up a tent as quickly as we did that night!  But, the kids transferred flawlessly to their sleeping bags and John and I were able to sit outside and sip a much needed beer.

We woke on Saturday morning to the sound of rain, so decided to just jump in the car and go out for breakfast.  We ate at a super quaint cafe where everything on the menu was in french and then decided to head up to Mont Tremblant.  The rain continued, but we put our raincoats on and explored the mountain resort.  There was a gondola to ride up and down to the base of the mountain where there were shops, an alpine slide, rock climbing, etc.

 

It was raining, but the kids didn't seem to care.  They even happily went on a bike ride around several of the beautiful lakes and villages on an amazing paved bike path.

Because we didn't have campground reservations for Saturday night, we had to pack up our tent and come up with an alternative plan for that night.  Just packing up the tent, we got bombarded with more mosquitoes, so we were actually fine with the original snafu.  We did go on a hike to a beautiful waterfall before heading out of the park, but the kids needed naps, so we headed out to find a place to stay. 

Mont Tremblant was packed because there was a half ironman triathalon on Sunday, so we knew we'd never find a place to stay there.  So, we drove twenty minutes south to a cute town called St. Agithe du mont.  We eventually found a cheap, but not inexpensive motel.  Though the room was less than ideal, there was a heated pool, so the kids were fired up to swim in the rain. 

Hazey even went down the big slide!

John was happy because he got to see the Bruins game and we were all happy to be out of the bugs.

On Sunday, we went back to Mont Tremblant, rode our bikes along the bike path, ate crepes and drank wine at a great cafe while the kids played on a playground and we watching world class runners finish the half ironman. And the best part about Sunday..... is that it only took us 3.5 hours to get home!

I love that even though the signs were all wrong about going up north, that we went for it anyway.  The kids were amazing travelers and adventurers.  They rolled with it and we all had such a great time exploring a new area.  Now I'm all fired up to check out the other numerous parks in Quebec.  I've always been of the mindset that you have to go far away to get to big mountains and national parks, but a whole part of the world has been opened up to me and I can't wait to plan a trip for next summer.

Chickens

 After three weeks of having the less than adorable growing chickens in our downstairs bathroom, John decided to transition them to the great outdoors.  He spent much of the weekend retrofitting the chicken coop and we nervously placed the stinky little critters outside on their own.

As you might notice, there isn't a whole lot protecting the chickens from predators in the above coop set up.  However, the worst predator of all, was our own pet, Zephy.  On day two of the chickens move outdoors, she was allowed entry into the main coop and broke through some stapled chicken wire quickly making prey out of four of the chickens as the sun was setting and John was mowing the lawn.

I was jolted from a pile of grading to the sounds of John screaming.  It was pretty awful.  John, never having been a big "dog person" anyway, was rightfully furious with Zephy.  I was tapped with the stresses of the end of the school year and couldn't let myself get emotionally involved.  I did dig a whole to bury the feathered friends and helped John lay them to rest.

The kids took the news in stride.  Cally responded by saying, "that's okay, we can just get more".  So, we did.  We drove an hour and a half away to Orwell and picked up 4 poulets (two month old chickens).  However, when we woke up the morning after they arrived, all four chickens were free ranging and we knew Zephy might make quick prey of them too.  So, John went big and created this chicken coop:

Now, there are five chickens (on of the original disappeared and one survives on).  I can't wait until we get some eggs out of these ladies, but I guess we might have to wait until the fall. 

Wild Weather

On Memorial Day, there was snow on Mt. Mansfield.  Northern Vermont had had over 7 inches of rain in a week and it was a miserable weather weekend.   I ran half the Vermont City Marathon in the rain, with a high temperature of 50 degrees and a headwind (but the conditions allowed for my speedy partner and I to have a personal best-- even if we didn't retain our Women's Master's championship).

A bunch of roads were trashed where we live:

But it meant there was lots of ooey gooey mud to play in:

To add to the fun, John and Cally picked up their chicks:

These chickens were their idea and it's something I tried to stay out of....... until John took off for a week four days after their arrival?!?!?  I've since become a well versed "sticky bottom" fixer, feeder, cage cleaner, and heat lamp replacer.  And they are getting big fast.  I have no idea what the plan is for outdoor living, but I'm trying not to make that my problem. But, John knows I'm a sucker for animals and I do love fresh eggs.......

With so much cold weather and rain,  we put in some time at ECHO and had a great playdate with Thompson:

The weather started turning towards summer on Monday, so Mary and Austin hosted a fun little gathering at their house:

The kids paddling on the pond

lining up for races

running fast like their parents did the day before in the marathon (doing various different legs)

going for it!

watching

By mid-week, it was into the 80's and hazey, hot and humid.  I'm figuring out the single working mom thing. The kids even  managed to dodge the puke bug that hit the majority of the kids at Tammy's house (so far).  Cally's class at Poker Hill had a field trip to her teacher's parents farm on Friday.  It doesn't look like she had any fun at all!

 

We had a scooter play date on Saturday morning and a great fifth birthday party for her friend Aoife on Saturday-- slip and slide, bouncey house, and great cocktails for the parents!

 

Even Hazey had a ball!

John comes home from teaching his course in Maine tomorrow.  The kids have pink eye, but I started them on antibiotic drops this morning, so I'm crossing my fingers that they will be all right for school tomorrow.  Otherwise, it'll be an interesting morning with them at school (because I need to be there for two of my classes).  We miss Dad a lot, but the kids have been really fun and it does get easier and easier as they get a little older-- entertaining themselves, helping a little more, and making sure I feel appreciated with hugs and kisses frequently.

Spring Show

Tis the season for performances!  Poker Hill's Spring Show was this week.  Apparently, Cally and her classmates have been practicing for this for some time.  All we were told was that she was a Robin and she needed to dress in "earth tones".

I was really surprised when I saw Cally in her first "show" this past December during the Senior Sing.  I was surprised by how shy she was.  At home she belts out her songs, but in that show, she hardly smiled, let alone sung.  However, this time was different.  She knew her moves, she new her songs, and she had a ball singing and dancing to "Robins in the Rain".

Even Hazey had a fun time watching his sister (and all the babies that are there-- he's a huge fan of babies right now). 

 

On another note about performances.. The little guy in the picture above.......... I think he's on the road to win "best actor" in the Oscars by 2028!  

I usually don't bring the little man to Poker Hill for pick up.  Whenever I do, we spend an extra half hour there seeing the animals and playing on the novel play equipment.  Over the weekend, Cal mentioned that she loves it when Hazen comes to pick her up with me.  So, I decided to pick him up first on Monday and bring him with me to pick up Cal.

He immediately jumped out of the car and went running for the playground.  Cal spotted him from across the vast area.  I'm not sure who was happier to that he was there-- Cally or Hazen.  We played for a while and right when we were headed out, Cal requested "one more run on the zip line".  So we headed up the hill and Hazen was limping.  I hadn't seen him fall, but he did have a small cut on his lower leg.  When he tried to take a step, he crumpled to the ground and asked for "uppies".  At the grocery store, the same thing happened:  he'd take a few steps and fall down crying.  However, he wasn't in pain when he didn't walk.  

Being completely perplexed as to how he could have come up lame without doing anything traumatic, I called my most trusted  nurse friend, Medora, and asked her if there was a leg equivalent to "nursemaid's elbow" (a common dislocation of the elbow caused by swinging a kid from his arms).  She asked if he had a fever or tick bite, ruling out septic arthritis and Lyme's disease.  

When John saw him, he too was really concerned, so we called the doctor.  Our amazing doctor said he'd stay at the office and see Hazen that night.  As long as Hazen wasn't walking, he was happy and seemingly pain free, but he continued to crumple if he tried to walk.  The doctor mentioned something called a "Toddler's Fracture" which effects the fibula.  Because he wasn't in a lot of pain, but kept pointing at a very specific spot on his leg, Dr. Parker gave John a referral for an X-ray at the hospital and said to go for it if Hazen wasn't better in the am.

The next morning, Hazen didn't come into our room with the usual pitter patter in the morning.  He was lying in his bed and said that his leg hurt and he needed "uppies".  He didn't even want to stand at the Learning Tower when I made pancakes in the morning!  So, John brought him to the hospital for an x-ray, only to find out that his leg was not broken. 

Because he didn't seem to be in pain, we dropped him off at Tammy's and told her to just let him be the guide in terms of moving around and pain.  When we picked him up, he was playing by himself in the sandbox and not moving very much.  Tammy said he crawled around a bunch and didn't seem to even try to walk.  

That night, Nurse Medora happened to come over to our house for a gathering.  When she saw Hazen, she wondered if he was milking this and that he wasn't actually very hurt.  She was able to distract him and asked him to show her where the cat was.  He immediately marched up the stairs to our bedroom.  I do think that he had a hurt leg, but when he realized how much attention it was bringing him, he milked it!  At 2, he had it in him to fake it! 

The next morning, when he attempted to pull the same act about his leg hurting and needing uppies, I told him that the doctor told me that he was, in fact, better and he could walk.  He then got up and said, "okay" and he's been good ever since!

Are we in trouble, or what?

Benny the Magic Bunny

 

Here it is...... Cally's first stage appearance.  In January, the guilty working mom in me, asked around to see if there were any fun classes Cally could take on a Tuesday when she's home with her dad.  As it turns out, a bunch of her friends from Poker Hill had been taking classes at the "Birds Nest" in Jericho-- it's a low key (and inexpensive) little dance studio above the garage of a women's home.  When I called to see if Cally could take the class, the dance teacher was a little hesitant.  She said she could take the class, but that it was likely that she'd have to sit the recital out because they had already ordered the costumes.  We didn't care about any of that, it was more about getting out to try something new.

Fast forward five months and Miss Sue did end up ordering Cally a costume.  On the day that they arrived, John helped Cally into her outfit and she was thrilled about the whole thing. 
.

You might notice that her dad got something backwards.

Miss Sue talked the performance up a lot!  Cally couldn't wait to wear make up-- which, fortunately, only entailed getting wiskers and a black nose.

At times, during the dress rehearsal, I worried that we were headed to the world of "Toddlers and Tiaras", but fortunately, we live far from that culture.

Despite practicing this one dance weekly for four months and playing the song fairly regularly at home, Cally never seemed to show us any choreographed moves.  She jumped around a lot, but we weren't expecting much on the stage, given the gene pool (or lack there of) she received.

She definitely didn't know all her moves, but by watching her friends, she was able to hold her own.

In the end, the two and a half minute performance was one of the cutest things I've ever watched.  Granted, it was my child up there, so I may be a little biased, but seriously, they could not have been more adorable!

 

Cally had a ball!  She loved the flowers she got, having so many people who loved her show up, and she had no problem being on stage.

 

And she had so much fun with all her little bunny buddies.

And the best part of being in the recital, was having an excuse to have Nana and Grandpa visit.

Nana saved the day by doing last minute sewing of the bunny tail and bunny "cuffs"

Grandpa played with the kids

The kids got snuggles with Nana, Grandpa, and Lobby every morning

We had an excuse to go get the best cremees ever!

We visited the "Funky Chicken" Market (getting ready for our own chicks to arrive too soon)

Having someone to read, read, and read some more

We have no idea where Cally stands in terms of a future with dance, but we certainly enjoyed watching her up there and hope it gives her the confidence to perform in whatever way she chooses to in life.