Fresh Grass

Since John's accident, he's done a great job staying upbeat and positive about his situation.  He keeps reminding himself that it could be a lot worse and he knows he will get better.  The good news is that we've been able to do a lot more family stuff-- instead of passing the baton so each of us can get our solo adventures in.......  But, it's been hard for him to sit still and not be able to get out and enjoy the fabulous fall we are having.   So when he heard about a music festival in North Adams, MA that had a line up he dreams about, he made it clear that he wanted to go.  I had already committed to a birthday gathering at a yurt on Saturday night, so I told him he should go on his own for Sunday.  For some reason, he really wanted all of us to go with him (3.5 hour drive each way).  So, I woke up early from my "sleepover", met him at the Richmond Park and Ride and adventured down to Mass MoCa for the day:

We got there just in time to see Jerry Douglas and went on to see Sam Bush, Green Sky, the String Dusters, and more.

Like all good festivals, there were plenty of craft activities for the kids, tasty food, and fun music to dance to.

John was so happy to be there.  I was too, once we were there and home..... I could have done without the 7 hours in the car, but it was a small price to pay.

Hazen Takes on Mt. Philo

It's not unusual for Hazen to point out a mountain while I'm driving, saying "Hey Mom, look at that mountain".  Ever since Cally hiked up Camels Hump, he's been saying every mountain he sees is Camels Hump.  Last week, he decided he wanted to climb a mountain.  So we set our sights on the mighty Mt. Philo in Charlotte.

I haven't hiked Mt. Philo in years, but it is the perfect hike for a hearty 2 year old, a broken Dad, his sister and our dog.  There were plenty of fairy houses to look for, poppers to pop, and erratics to climb upon.

The views were amazing!  And yes, it does look like Cally has Hazen in a head lock here.

He made it one mile up and one mile down (with a 500 foot elevation gain)!  It looks like we've got ourselves a pair of hikers.

Apples

Nana and Grandpa came back to the rescue!  Tammy had told us months ago that she'd be closing for four days because her daughter was getting married.  We had some mix ups on the dates, but they arrived just in time to spend a day with Hazen and spend some time with John, Cally, and Hazen on "Mission Day" (a.k.a. Dad's Day).  The kids got to do some apple picking:

We attended the Shelburne Orchard Apple Harvest Festival-- which was a madhouse, but filled with delicious food, fun music, and "Tractor" Petting Zoo!?!?!  Hazen was thrilled.

We got to show off one of the ladies biggest eggs ever!

Nana did lots of reading:

And Grandpa was great at goofing around:

Hazen and Cally are not easy, but Nana and Grandpa are always game to hang out with them when we need their help.  They had a great day with just Hazen.  And Cally was thrilled to get picked up by Nana while Hazen and Grandpa napped at home. As John recently said when he spent the day with just Cally (because she was home with a low grade fever), "it s so much easier with just one".

There are times when Cally and Hazen get along so well-- bringing each other ice packs and animals when they other in tears, offering kisses and hugs, and playing really well together.  But there are other times, when they fight like cats and dogs.  I attempt to take the "Duct Tape Parenting" tack, but that has had limited success.  They are such sweethearts, but having a little one on one time, is a real treat these days.  Nana and Grandpa were lucky to get a little time without the bickering.

It was a short visit, but Cally was thrilled to have Nana and Grandpa see her at her gymnastics class and pick apples with her!  Hazen loved his time with them, too.  We are so lucky!

Broken

 

We were just starting to get into a groove..... Cally started school, we were getting used to the morning routine, drop offs, pick ups, etc.  I was coming up for air and actually finding time to run or exercise and John was feeling like he was going to be able to train for and ride the Vermont 50 Mountain Bike Race/Ride at the end of September.  But, as luck would have it, our boat got rocked.... John hit a hidden stump while biking on his own and broke his scapula:

It happened on a Friday morning and I got a call in the middle of teaching a class.  He thought he dislocated his shoulder, but an x-ray at the walk-in clinic revealed the break in his scapula.  Apparently, it's a rare bone to break.  He had to wait until at least Monday to see meet with an orthopedic surgeon to see if surgery would be necessary.  And so, being the trooper that he is, he went ahead with our weekend plans-- watching my cousin Hendy's son, Jackson, play in a UVM soccer game, art hopping in Burlington, and he even was game for camping up in the Northeast Kingdom.

We had planned the camping trip with our friends, the Waites, for a weekend in June, but it poured rain, so we rescheduled.  We had actually already packed on Thursday night, so getting up and ready to go on Saturday morning, didn't take much.  However, the pain of John's break had settled in and he was sort of miserable.  I recommended that he stay home, but he said he'd prefer the distraction of being around other people.  So, I loaded the car and we set off.  John took his diaudid (pain killer) and we were off.  Unfortunately, the medication made him extremely dizzy, so by the time we got to East Burke, John was so car sick :o( 

A few hours of sleep set him straight and I was lucky to have the Mahoney Family arrive right after we did-- to help me set up a bomber campsite.

The kids had a ball.  We hiked, we ate well, and had a great time with friends. 

We woke up to pouring rain, so decided to try to get back for another UVM soccer game.  The weather was gorgeous in Burlington, the Catamounts won, and we got to catch up with Hendy, Jon, and Jackson.

The good news is that John isn't going to go under the knife.  The first doctor at Fletcher Allen looked at his x-ray and scheduled him for surgery this Monday.  However, a second opinion, from a highly reputable doctor up at Copley Hospital was not eager to operate.  He mentioned a lot of risks and felt confident that John's scapula would heal all right on his own.  He goes back in two weeks to see if it's all healing as it should.  At that point, it won't be too late to do surgery if he has to.

Labor Day

 Labor Day weekend couldn't come at a better time.  After the rat race of getting back in the groove of school, we all needed a break.  While it is a nice time to get away, we decided to stick closer to home this year.  John and I went on our first date in four months and then visited with cousin Lindsay and Silas up at Groton Pond.

Silas' family  has a great cabin on the pond.  It was rainy and grey, but we still managed to play on the lake. 

We also had a great gathering with friends at our house.

Back in the Saddle

It's official..... I'm done with the "Summer Katy" gig and now I'm entering the juggling act of working mom life.  After 12 years of teaching under my belt, you'd think I'd have this whole transition thing down.  But, my job is is always changing and evolving.  Last year I had to tackle Google Docs and an online web-based classroom platform.  Just when I was getting used to that, they switched platforms-- which means  upload everything to a different "place", learning the new ins and outs, and just feeling lost and overwhelmed again.  The inservice days are no fun.  I have to say good-bye to the gingers-- the smiles, the snuggles, whines, fighting, impromptu kisses and "I love you's" and sit through lots of meetings while fretting about making sure I know what the heck I'm doing upon the student's arrival.  It is great to see my colleagues again and talk about how we can all educate tomorrows leaders in the best way possible.  And we actually had a great convocation speaker, Armando Vilaseca.  He is the Secretary of Education in Vermont and he was very inspirational.

The good news about inservice week is that I don't have to take much work home with me, so I can still suck the marrow out of summer by going to parades and sneaking out to mountain bike.

You might wonder why the big guy is wearing a 4th of July t-shirt...... Richmond has to postpone their parade in July, so they rescheduled it for the end of August.

A highlight of the days leading up to school starting was a visit from the Jones Family.  The kids hadn't seen Mark in over a year.  He wasn't sure if they would remember or recognize him.  When they pulled into the driveway, Cally ran out to give Mark a hug and Hazen was right behind her.  Cally definitely remembers Mark and talks about him all the time.  Hazen was clearly following her cues, but he melted into his arms like they'd always been buds.  It was a sight to be seen...... but I didn't have a camera available to take pictures :o(

The kids were thrilled to play "Chubby Bunny" with cousin Chris again.

And Cally loved hanging with her Cousin Catherine and the girls (Caitlin and Rachel)

 

When life gets all hectic and I feel frazzled, I just have to remind myself that I really do love my job.  I love the dynamic nature of it.  I have to be able to go with the flow, change with the times, but be sure to have fun doing it.  When it becomes too much of a chore, boring, or not fun..... that's when I'll make a change.

I saw this on my friend Claire's refrigerator.  It is a good mantra:

Nana & Grandpa to the Rescue

Months ago, I had this grand plan of getting a group of my girlfriends together to run a relay race called 100 on 100 (100 miles on Route 100-- a beautiful road through the center of Vermont).  I knew the date of the race, coincided with John's big Trek send off, so I needed to arrange for someone to watch the kids for at least half the day on Saturday-- and maybe more if John got pulled into a student evacuation.  When I called Peg to see if she and Art would be willing to help out, they didn't hesitate to say "sure".

As it turns out, I couldn't rally a full team of six, so I bailed on the race idea-- which was actually a huge relief because I didn't have to think about squeezing runs into my summer.  However, I told Art and Peg they were more than welcome to still come and could help me out by watching the kids for a little while so I could do some curriculum work at school.

Fast forward to four days before the race...... A colleague e-mailed to see if I'd be interested in being the sixth person on a team he was running on.  I was intrigued.  John told me to go for it.  So,  I called Peg to make sure she and Art would still be up for it and she enthusiastically encouraged me to do it, too. 

Art and Peg arrived on Thursday with back-to-school outfits and books for the kids, a meal for us to eat, and plenty of love to share.  The kids couldn't wait to see them!

Grandpa enthusiastically played ball with Hazen, while Nana read book and made cookies with Cally.  On Friday, I went into work for half the day, so they took the kids and their scooters to the playground and then hunting for books at the library.

On Saturday, John and I left at 5:30am for our various "events".  Nana and Grandpa made the kids breakfast, dressed them, and went to a great community event at the Jericho Center Green.  They made fairy houses, butterflies, and ate delicious local food. 

All the while, I was running various sections of our beautiful state.  I ran three legs (5.5, 4.2 and 6.2 miles respectively).  It wasn't easy (probably because I haven't run more than 4 or 5 miles in a single day since May).  But I did have such a great experience. 

Nana and Grandpa gave me the break I really needed in order to recalibrate my life and get ready to start teaching again.  They roll with Hazey's 2 year old irrational ways and seem to really love being here with the kids in this beautiful place.  Just when I think I'm losing it as a parent, they make me feel great about the kids we are raising and the job we are doing.  Thank you so much for loving us and being willing to help in so many ways.