Grandma Visits

Grandma and Grandpa Nick came to visit over the long weekend. They're not used to the "cold" weather and they must have thought they'd landed in the Arctic. Although there was still some ice on the river it actually got up to 50 degrees that day. We thought it was almost a tropical heat wave -- it rarely gets that warm in the middle of January -- but tell that to the snowbirds!


We simply couldn't waste such a beautiful day indoors so we took everyone out to Roosevelt Island. This is the marsh on the lower end of the island near the Interstate bridge. It looks so much different in the winter. Everything in the background is green at other times of the year including the tidal mudflats that are filled with cattails and swamp grasses. It looks barren and empty in January.

Grandma spent most of her time in a sweatshirt and under a blanket. Luckily Sean was there to snuggle up for extra warmth.


Nate couldn't let Sean get all the attention, though!

Getting Out of the House

Thanksgiving is over and, after sitting around for two days stuffing ourselves, we had to get out and about. We walked over to some of the local parks. The first one we visited is known by Nate and Sean as "spider web" park because of this interesting climbing object.


Dad even got in on some of the action, climbing to the top along with Nate and Sean. It was kind of crowded up there but nobody minded.


Nate also brought his scooter along. He's gotten really good at zipping around on it, and he showed off so dad could take a picture.


We stopped at another park, too. This one featured an interesting sculpture that doubled as a climbing tower. Nate and Sean played "alien invasion." Notice that Sean is dressed in an army outfit complete with helmet. He's been wearing that almost constantly the last few days.

The adventure concluded at the local chili restaurant. Everyone warmed up before heading back out into the cold for one more park on the walk home.

More from Maine

Our next journey was a ferry ride from Rockland to Vinalhaven Island, several miles and a world away from the Maine coastline. It took about seventy-five minutes to reach the island on the boat and we saw all kinds of great scenery along the way. It got chilly on deck so Sean spent most of his time in the cabin.

We walked around Vinalhaven Island for a few hours and took a ferry back to the mainland. This is Nate at a little park on the island where we stopped for awhile. There were a bunch of things to see and do but it wasn't a tourist place. Vinalhaven is a real working town catering not to visitors but to the lobster industry. The harbor was filled with lobster boats. We sure ate a lot of lobster on the trip!

Back in Rockland, we visited another lighthouse called Owls Head that protects the southern approach to the town. It's part of a park that includes a rocky beach and picnic facilities. Here we are enjoying our lunch on a beautiful outcrop next to the ocean. The fog rolled in and it sure got cold!... hard to believe it's August.

Back on the Owls Head beach, Nate enjoyed some rock climbing as well as hunting through the tidal pools for more sea creatures. Nate had no problem getting to the top of these massive boulders but he forgot that he also needed to find a way down. He figured it out without too much difficulty.
Here's a rare photo where dad actually got in front of the camera instead of behind it. The building in the background is for the lighthouse keeper. Everything is automated today so now one of the Coast Guard officers stationed at nearby Rockland lives here. We don't know how they could stand the loud foghorn sounds that resonated throughout the harbor every few seconds!

Grandpa's Visit

Grandpa came to visit today. It had been awhile because we'd had opposite schedules lately. Nate and Sean always need room to roam around and we didn't want them to overwhelm grandpa so we went to one of the local parks. Here's grandpa teaching that young whippersnapper a lesson! Don't worry, it was all in good fun.


Nate likes to snuggle and he sensed an opportunity with grandpa who was more than willing to spoil him. Nate would run around the playground, climb up the structures, and then come back every few minutes to spend some time with grandpa.


We returned home after about an hour. We were pretty worn out after running all over the place so mostly we relaxed.


Sean wasn't having anything to do with any inactivity for long though. This was his chance to find someone else to play Star Wars with the light sabers. Grandpa was kind enough to play along.

Roosevelt Island

We took a walk on Theodore Roosevelt Island, a park located on the Potomac River in Washington, DC. Here we are on the swamp trail that goes from the southern tip of the island along the tidal wetlands that penetrate into the interior. Nate and Sean both did great with all the hiking. We brought an all-terrain stroller along for Sean and he used it some of the time but he kept up with Nate the rest of the time. We figured that Nate probably walked about four miles all together, so we think he'll be able to join Mom on a 5K fun run/walk later this summer.

There is a large pavilion on the north-central highlands with a patio, fountains and a giant statue of Theodore Roosevelt. We stopped here for a picnic lunch. Nate and Sean enjoyed feeding one of the local ducks that paddled around in a concrete reflecting pool.

The hiking was fun but the animals were the highlights for the kids. In addition to all the ducks, we say a snapping turtle, a skink (a type of lizard), colorful butterflies, unusual insects and all sorts of birds.

It's been unusually cool with low humidity lately. We just had to get outside and enjoy the day!

To the Park

Nate was invited to a birthday party at a local park. It was just far enough away to make it inconvenient to drop him off and then pick him up when he was finished. So while Nate attended a theatrical performance, got lunch and ate cake, the rest of us spent time in the park and had a little picnic. The rangers fired up the antique carousel at noon and Sean was ready.

Here's a rare photo with daddy in it. Mom didn't feel like being flung around in circles so dad got the honors this time. Sean thought the ride was the greatest thing ever even though his horse didn't go up and down. He got mad when he had to leave once the ride ended. He doesn't yet understand the whole ticket concept.

Later in the day we caught up with Nate again. He got to ride the carousel too, and then it was time to head off for another birthday party. That's our Nate, Mr. Popularity. He has more events on his calendar than mom and dad combined!

Sean & Dad's Excellent Afternoon

Dad needed to get out of the house and stretch his legs. Nate wanted to sit on the computer and play his Head Sprout reading game so he didn't want to go anywhere. Sean was up for it as long as he could bring his little 3-wheeled scooter along. So Dad and Sean headed out on their adventure down to a nearby park. The two of them don't get a whole lot of one-on-one together time (with nobody else along) so this was a rare treat. They walked a paved path through the woods and stopped by a creek so Sean could wade out into the cool waters to collect pebbles.


Further into the park they stopped at an outdoor stage where the county holds theatrical performances on summer evenings. Sean pretended he was an actor while Dad sat in the audience and clapped. On the way home they stopped at a playground where they swung on swings and built sand castles.

I bet Nate wished he'd gotten away from that computer!

Visit with Grandpa

We met grandpa for lunch last weekend. Later we all went to a local park on the outskirts of town to get rid of some kicks and wiggles. Nate and Sean sure enjoyed visiting with their grandpa, and of course, grandpa was just as glad to see the kids too.


Nate is getting a lot more adventurous as he gets bigger and increasingly athletic. He used to just enjoy running around. Now he's climbing over everything, even with it makes mom and dad a little nervous, or maybe especially when it makes them nervous. He has no problem showing off in front of a crowd.


Sean is following in his brother's footsteps but at a much earlier age. It's downright tough getting a decent photo of Sean because he won't pose for the camera. We take picture after picture, and have to delete most of them because they show nothing but a blur. Every once in awhile by sheer chance we snap one while he actually happens to look in the right direction.

Afternoon at the Park

Nate and Sean went with mom and dad to a local park yesterday afternoon to visit with some friends and to have a little cookout by the lake. It was the same park dad used to go to when he was a little boy, and it was still pretty much the same all these decades later! It has a small train that meanders along the lakeside and through the woods. Nate didn't like the tunnel very much but he thought the steam whistle was pretty cool.


Next they went on the carousel. Mom got to ride along while Nate and Sean went up-and-down on their horses. Mom thinks that maybe next year Sean will be big enough to not require parental supervision so maybe this is her last ride! She seemed OK with that.


After all that fun it was time for ice cream. Sean mastered the "no drip" technique but he still has a way to go on the whole clean face concept.