Connor's 8!

Um, yeah, he turned 8 two months and 2 days ago!

But, as you can plainly see, I haven't been the best blogger this summer, or maybe this year even!

That's because I'm too busy hanging out with my 8 year old and his siblings!

Dirty hands and new friends

These are just a few "friends" my dirty handed children made this summer so far.

 Mostly it's Katelyn and Connor's hands you will see...

 Holding creatures of all kinds...

 Or even wearing at times.

 Habitats have been created, although I will have to get better pictures of those!

This guy is a "robin fish" Connor found at the beach.

 I can honestly admit that this picture kinda gives me the "eeby-jeebies"!  This frog, or toad, I don't know which, hopped right up onto Connor's face!

Maggie too is a creature finder but unlike Connor and Kate who hunt for 90% of their day Maggie only spends about 75% of her day looking!

 This was her favorite find, a hermit crab with a really pretty shell.

 These guys have been Connor's favorite find, I think, if there is a favorite find!

 Connor is in his glory when showing any of his creatures to any one who will look and listen!

Just this morning he found 2 salamanders, at the same time, which was super cool!

 They are kinda cute, I will admit!

I love happy creature hunting kids, dirty hands and all!

Trying out blogging from my phone! Using a couple pictures I took of the giant frog the kids are playing with!

The feeling of home...

I'm the child of a career army man.

My dad was in the army for 22 years and retired the same year I graduated from high school.

As most army families we did our share of moving although compared to other military families we didn't move very much at all.  However, even though we weren't moving as much as we could have people we knew were constantly moving so we were always meeting new people and making new friends.  It really shaped me to be who I am and I am thankful for that.  I am able to walk into almost any situation and feel fairly comfortable and make new friends pretty easily.  The downside is I have no life long friends like my husband and his friends.  But....  I wouldn't change it for the world!  I had a fabulous up bringing.  Our life was rich with culture and diversity among other things.  I do wish that was one thing I could give more of to my children. 

There was, however, one place, one town, that really felt like home.  That was the town my mom grew up in and my grandparents still lived in while I was growing up.  Their house and that town was the one constant from the day I was born to now.  To this day when I start down the hill heading into the town and can see my grandparents (old) house sitting on the hill across the river my inner being just melts.  It's kinda hard to really explain.  I think the best way to think about it is this...  You know when you take a very deep breath in and fill your lungs with clean, fresh air then slowly exhale your whole body relaxes?  That's what it feels like to head down the hill into town. 

When we get to the bottom of the hill the small town still looks the same as it did as far back as I can remember.  Yes, there is a dunkin donuts now that wasn't there but right across the street from that is the same gas station/garage that has always been there.  The gas station we would always stop at to fill up the gas tank before the long trip back home, where ever home was at that time.  The person who was working at the gas station always knew my parents and they always knew him, even if it was different people.

I recently went up there to visit a couple of times and this last time I decided to take a walk before heading back out of town. 

I looked at the beauty of the "common", that's what we always called it.  We spent a lot of time there as kids as it was just down the street from my grandparent's house.  In the winter there was ice skating and in the summer there were movie nights and ice cream treats.

This was the hill that lead down from my grandparents house to the common.  (A different hill from the one we drove into town on though.) Walking up and down the hill was full of wonderful memories.  I don't think I could count how many times I made this trip.  Sometimes with my siblings and sometimes with my grandpa. 
After my grandpa had his heart attack ten years before he died he would go for walks every day.  I loved watching him do his stretches before hand.  I also loved going with him.  They weren't fast walks and sometimes we didn't even talk much when we were walking but they are absolutely one of my favorite memories of the time spent with my grandfather.
My mom is the second oldest of nine kids.  The youngest of her siblings, my aunts and uncles, were only a few years or so older then me.  I am pretty sure they were "strongly encouraged" to take me with them when they would go down to the common.  I remember one day when my uncle Pat was going to be walking down and I asked to go with him.  He said I couldn't that day because a shooting star had fallen the night before right onto the common and it would be dangerous for me to go down.  I believed that story for years!  I thought he was so brave to go down there with a fallen star on the common!  He doesn't remember it although I definately do.

This was my grandparent's house although it was sold not long after my grandfather died so someone else owns it.  When we were growing up it was white with green shutters and porch rails.  Plus in the grassy area in front there was a huge tree.  The house still looks big to me but the yard now looks tiny in comparrison to my memories!

Heading down the hill from the house to the common is the church that my parents were married in and I was baptized in.  It's so beautiful!  I remembered hearing the curch bells ring their beautiful ring every hour.  Just this past visit I realized though, that the bells are from a different church on the same street.  I always thought they were from "our church".  None-the-less, they are still beautiful just like I remember them!

At the bottom of the hill, before crossing the street to the common, stands this cannon and pile of cannon balls.  They offered hours of climbing entertainment when I was younger.  It took a little self control for me not to climb on them!! I am pretty sure I would have gotten some pretty strange looks if I did.   It had been so many years since I last took the time to stop and "visit" the cannon.

It was breathtaking to stop and walk around this town that is so familiar to my innermost memories.  Yes, I have been up there many times over then years but I hadn't taken the time to slow down and really enjoy it and "breath it in" in many years.  Probably that makes no sense to anyone but me, and maybe my siblings, but it's the best way I can describe it.

I can happily say that the town I am raising my children in also feels very much like home.  When I go away whether it be for a week, a weekend, or even just a long day, my heart melts when I drive back into our town!  Just in a different kind of way.

Mother's Day 2012

Mother's day was like a month and a half ago.  These pictures have been on a post waiting to be finished and posted for about a month.  Sometimes I just end up deleting posts that seem to old but I'm not because I want everyone to see how good my family is to me!

Maggie picked out these two little statues for me and I just love them!  Look at how sweet they are.  And, oh, how they depict my children perfectly!  The best part is that they are solar powered and when it gets dark the frog and butterfly glow!  I love them!

Chris, my wonderful and amazing husband bought and planted me a rose bush.  I was so excited and it was perfect timing because I was just thinking how much I missed my rose bush from our old house. 

In true "Melissa" fashion, I took a million pictures of the rose bush and its gorgeous flowers because I am in awe of their beauty!

The kids also brought home wonderful cards and surprises that they created at school for me.  More treasures to add to my collection from the children that made me a mother!!!!

tid bits about Maggie

Maggie is getting really close to being 6 1/2! 

She just finished up kindergarten and will be heading to first grade in the fall.  She had a great kindergarten year with a wonderful teacher who was so sweet, kind, and patient with all of the children.  Maggie met her first grade teacher already and we have heard from friends that she is also a great teacher.  She doesn't know many kids that will be in her class but has met a couple so that's ok.

Maggie just finished up her last season of t-ball a week or so ago.  She had fun but I think is looking forward to playing softball next year a little more. 
Swimming is still a big part of Maggie's days and she loves it most days!  She did take what was probably her last swim lesson last week and I was a little sad to see that part of her childhood done.  You know, cause it means she is growing up! 
Maggie has been on the swim team for a long time but it kicks up a notch for summer so she is in full swing now.  She's had two meets in the last couple of weeks and has done very well!  How very proud we were to see her sporting a first place, a second place, and a third place ribbon for the meet a couple of weeks ago!  I am guessing she will have a couple ribbons from last Saturdays meet as well!

Maggie was diagnosed a couple months ago with having asthma.  It's pretty mild we believe and her daily meds seem to be helping.  Other then that this girl is healthy!

She is still dressing herself in outfits that outwardly show what a colorful and unique soul this girl has! 

Maggie absolutely loves her siblings and wants to spend lots of time with them!  I wish the older two understood this a little more and didn't think she was always just trying to bother them though.

Soon I will have to get some pictures on here of her in her new reading glasses!  When I took her for a routine check-up a few weeks ago she surprised me by telling the tech that everything is blurry when she tries to read.  Yep, had no clue here!  After a routine eye exam and then going back to have her eyes dialated we discovered that she in fact is farsighted and needs reading glasses.  I can't help but wonder if that is why she seems to be having some difficulty learning to read.
(Yes, kids are expected to learn to read in kindergarten now!  I won't get up on the soapbox about it right now but the expectations for children are getting higher and higher and I'm not a big fan.)

Overall Maggie is still the same sweet, animal loving (note the goat trying to eat her hair), happy, kind, smiling girl she's always been!

Our backyard

As I am sure you may remember, we moved late last fall.

Our new home is surrounded by conservation land.

This is "our" new backyard.

The trails go on for miles and miles!  They are perfect for walking or biking.

They are wonderful for exploring and enjoying!

They are so beautiful and so very peaceful!

We love them and are just so excited to be able to enjoy them whenever we want.  We don't even have to get in our car!

This is "our" new backyard and we are loving it!