Amy, Jay, Hank & Soldier

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2012-06-30T05:01:00.003-07:00

My mom's birthday is July 3rd and I can't wait to celebrate! The whole family is heading down the to cottage for the week and I have seven, SEVEN, days off in a row. Although I'll probably end up working at least one of those days, if not two, since work is so crazy.

But anyway, here's to my mom's 62nd birthday! We're going to have a Full Moon Party on the beach the night of the third with yummy food and birthday cake. I can't wait!

Here's my mom when she was a little girl. Looks just like my sister Jessie!

My mom and dad down camp, where we will be celebrating!

One of my favorite pics of my mom and dad! Getting ready for a ride!

Am I Not Adorable?

2012-03-23T04:33:00.001-07:00

Last night I found myself doing two very mundane chores. First, the fridge is so empty that I took 15 minutes and washed every shelf and drawer. Boring, but it looks good now.

The second chore was to tackle the most horrible (debatable) closet in our house. Jay's been nagging me for a while to get it done so I dived in last night. I found a lot of junk, but a lot of treasures too. I think I forgot that this picture existed! I love it! I compared it to my neices Thea and Delaney, but they don't look like me. The back says that this was summer when I was two years old. Am I not adorable?

Off to do another mundane chore - food shopping. Ug.

An Indian Birthday Affair...with lots of wine!

2012-03-20T03:42:00.002-07:00

Today's adventure: Indian Cooking Class!

I signed my best friend Jami and I up for an Indian Cooking Class in celebration of her birthday. We arrived a bit early to have a glass of wine in preparation for the class and found out all the wine was included in the class. That made the night beyond awesome!!!!!!

We enjoyed our wine at the cooking area which was all set up ready for the class.

Jami enjoying one of the wines.

These two guys spent about and hour and a half cooking about 6 different recipes for us to taste. I don't remember much about it because I was too busy enjoying all the wine and laughing with Jami!

Our glasses were never empty. These guys know how to put together a kick-ass cooking class!

The marinated mushrooms were the best thing of the night. I can't wait to make them!

This chick pea flour bread was okay, but the honey-ginger naan was to DIE for!

Getting our giggles on! Nothing like a good friend to share in an adventure!

After the class, we were served dinner. We sat with some interesting folks. The guy on the right with the tattoo arm - very, very odd. To say the least. Everyone else was pretty funny, although I kept having the feeling that Jami and I were the only normal people there!

Enjoying the spread and, did I mention, the wine!

Yum!!!!!!

They found out it was Jami's birthday, so they brought out a birthday cake and we all sang the song. It was a fun, fun, fun night and I wish it went on forever.

An Adventure A Day!

2012-03-19T12:54:00.005-07:00

I've decided to resurect this blog. I miss posting about what I've been up to. My plan is to try to post something a few times a week, focusing on an adventure I've had. I want to put 'adventure' into the mundane. So I imagine that much of my posts will be things that I have planned or regularly do or visit or whatever. I'm sure there's a great quote out there somewhere, but basically my life is my adventure, right?! Well, here goes!

I won two Old Town Kayaks last fall and we haven't had a chance to use them. Yesterday was 70 and beautiful, so we loaded them up and headed to Long Pond. We had a great 2-hour paddle. We went through a marshy area, then onto the Pond which had waves like the ocean, and then on a smooth, calm section of the Pond.

We stopped at a small secluded beach to take a rest so I took some pictures.

Here's the view from my kayak!

The best view of all - Smiling Jay!

We saw a ton of red-bellies sunning themselves. Look how far up these guys were able to climb!

Right Now

2011-11-10T05:40:00.000-08:00

Right Now:

Watching: My puppies cuddled up next to me.

Drinking: Tea with Splenda and milk

Wearing: My 'Night Owl' pajamas

Reading: The Sookie Stackhouse Companion by Charlaine Harris

Listening: To the news

Avoiding: Packing to go to New Hampshire

Wishing: Jami could come with us to NH.

Feeling: Very excited to spend three days in Jackson, NH with 12 amazing women!

Missing: One of my favorite necklaces - can't find it anywhere.

Thankful: For a wonderful husband.

Craving: Some new technology like a smart phone, e-reader, or tables. The budget does not permit it, though.

Wondering: Why I have no willpower!

Weather: Getting ready for rain.

Needing: Some new winter clothes.

Thinking: About my fun weekend ahead.

Dreaming: About paying off my student loans!

Loving: The three guys I live with!

Bebies Down Camp!

2011-06-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

Babies!!! They love camp! Here's Griffin taking a walk on his own - see ya later!

Poor Mr. Isiah took a face plant into the sand!

Miss Thea played in the sand. She made sand cupcakes and gave me the biggest one because, as she said "Auntie Amy is fat!" That girl!

Momma Jess and her two little cuties.

Miss Delaney loved playing with the shovel and sand!

Babies go for a boat ride!

And MY baby! mr. wriggles!

I love this picture of Isiah!

Reviver Challenge

2011-06-29T13:52:00.000-07:00

First weekend in June - Becky, Jen, and I ran the Reviver Challenge at Diamond Hill State Park. It was a 2.5 mile race with 10 obstacles along the way. And it was HARD! First off, the entire course was up, up, up with a steep and scary and fast downhill right at the end. Second, we had to jump over things, crawl under things, carry sandbags, scale a 12 foot wall, and slide down a slip-and-slide! Here I am, Number 347!

Andy Becky,

And Jen!

Our three goals were: (1) Not finish dead last, (2) Not to throw up, (3) Not to get hurt. We did fine on goals 1 and 2, but Jen hurt her arm on the slip-and-slide! Nothing major, but it did slow us down a minute or two. Overall, a successful race! And we got sushi for lunch at Quan's, so it was a win-win!

Nemasket Travels

2011-06-27T17:19:00.000-07:00

Jay and I love the Nemasket River. It flows right through Lakeville and we've been spending some time this spring exploring it.

A few weeks ago, I came home from work and Jay said "Let's go for a canoe ride on the Nemasket!" And away we went...

It was beautiful - and we saw tons of turles!

Hank loved being right in the front of the canoe!

Last weekend we decided to take a ride to a historic section of the Nemasket that has a herring run and a rich history of Native American use. Of course we stopped for an ice cream and Hank drooled the entire way!

We saw a GIGANTIC water snake sunning itself by the river!

And a great blue heron stalking fish.

Two days ago we decided to go for a hike at Betty's Neck after dinner. As we pulled in, look what we saw!!!!! A Northern Red-Bellied Cooter! I love these turltes. They are federally endangered so it's very special to see one.

It was crossing the road, so I helped it across and back into the Pond. Look how big they are!

We walked through the fields at Betty's Neck. It was the perfect day.

Then traveled down to the Pond. Got a little buggy, but we persevered and made it back to the field.

Saw a cute itty-bitty baby toad.

Grant and Drew's Visit

2011-06-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

Drew and Grant had a sleep over with Auntie Amy and Uncle Jay while Jami and Andy went to a wedding. Hit of the day: watching Uncle Jay on the dirtbike or as Grant says, mo-co-co!

We were all psyched to see Uncle Jay do an ENDO!!!!!!!!

They were transfixed (and Jami, I swear they never left the steps - they were so good!)

How cute are these helmet smooshed faces!

I'm Baaack!

2011-06-17T13:33:00.001-07:00

I guess I needed a blogging break, but now I'm back. I've been thinking "Oooo...I should post that on my blog!" every once in a while during the last month or so. I think it's time.

Momma Sue (Nana Sue) and I took Thea to the circus last month. We went to the Big Apple Circus in Boston. We used to do this every year when I was younger, but I hadn't been in decades! It was awesome. Here's Thea - a grumpy Thea!

We gave her some candy and then she was happy:

Auntie Amy and Thea hung out at Government Center while Nana Sue went to Starbucks (o-la-la) to get a coffee.

Thea loved it!

It was visually stunning and the level of talent was awesome.

Grandma the Clown was there. So was Thea the Clown!

At intermission, Thea entertained us with her acrobatic routine!

My favorite - the lady with her rescued dogs, goats, and horses!
Then we went to the Common and got pickles. Yummers!
Nana Sue takes fuzzy pictures!
Hi!

"Thank You Everyone"

2010-11-03T05:08:00.000-07:00

This girl just cracks me up!

Girls' Night!!

2010-11-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

I had Thea over for a sleepover. It was awesome! Here's the cutie-pa-tootie showing off her "cool" sunglasses.

Here we are - just woke up!

Thea painted me a picture of Hank and a dog cage.

Love the bed-head.

Quite the artist!

Auntie Amy's picture and Thea May's picture -so pretty!

Fall Bike Ride

2010-10-28T07:28:00.000-07:00

Fall weather here in Massachusetts has been awesome this year! Today it actually feels like summer! A week or so ago, when the weather was a bit crisper, we went for a 12 mile bike ride through MSSF.

It's so cute: Hank runs right along-side us the entire way! He ran for 12 miles straight and probably could have gone another 12 miles.

Taking a break. Well, Jay and I took a break. Hank spent the entire time trying to get us going again! "Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" You can see it in his eyes!
The lovebirds!

Even after a long bike ride, Hank still wanted to go swimming.

My boys:

EB and Paul's MA Wedding Reception

2010-10-26T05:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday was EB and Paul's Massachusetts wedding reception! We had a blast! Here are EB's college gals sharing a good laugh.

Enjoying the spread, the food was so, so good.

Mom and Dad!

Annie and Rachel! Rachel flew in from Indianna as a surprise! EB was so happy she cried!

Annie's new nose ring.

My girls!

Fall foliage at its peak!

Neal looked stunning, per usual.

The newlyweds!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As the Worm Turns!

2010-10-13T16:41:00.001-07:00

Let me tell you about vermicomposting....

I read a book called "Worms Eat My Garbage" and decided that I should have a kitchen vermicomposting bin (or worm composting bin). So I got a bin that was already going from one of my Interpreters. Realized that there were not enough worms, bought one pound of worms, dumped them in, and then started feeding them all of our kitchen scraps!

Then I realized that I still didn't have enough worms (we eat A LOT of fresh fruit and veggies - seriously, we spend so much $$ on fresh produce). So I set up another bin with fresh bedding, newspaper strips, and some food: egg shells, potato skin, brocolli stalk, and a rotten cucumber. I sprinkled in some dirt from the garden and this is what it looked like:

Then I opened my bag o'worms (yup, they ship 'em right to your door! 2,000 worms just for me and my kitchen scraps!)

And dumped them in!

Here's a close-up:

Here are two pictures from my alread established composting bin. You can see all the little wormies and the yummy produce they are chewing on.

And I found a cocoon!! Worm eggs look like this and 2 or 3 little tiny worms hatched out of that! So my worms are happy, healthy, and reproducing (don't ask me about the fruit flies...seriously...I may have to be committed if I can't get rid of the damn fruit flies!)

Down on the Farm

2010-10-13T16:23:00.000-07:00

I spent the holiday at the farm! It's our annual trip to the farm in Orange for Columbus Day weekend and I love it! I do not love the drive, though. On Saturday it took me two hours to get to Jessie's. Then we got a call from Mom who needed a ride so I had to drive all the way to Springfield to pick her up and then back to Orange - three more hours! For a total of five hours spent in the car on Saturday!!! Grrrr.....

Anyway, since I had to pick mom up at the gun show, I figured I'd stop by mom and dad's tables and say hi. Here are some picks from the gun show.

Finally we made it to Orange to play with Miss Thea (she's so naughty!).

Sunday morning we all geared up for our annual ride in the parade. This was my first year in the parade 'cause I usually watch from the sidelines. But this year I figured I'd just jump into the wagon for the parade! Here are Thea and Chloe with their cowgirl hats on!

Lexi walked Hank in the parade. Hank's first parade!

Although he did spend some time in the wagon with me.

And Griffin. He did so good! I was in charge of all the little kids in the wagon, including this little one. We made up two rules: 1) Be safe. 2) Wave to all the people.

Here I am all duded up in my cowgirl hat and Dare to Dream shirt!

Here's Amy and all the little kids!

Emma and Lexi.

Mom decided she was too hot with the Dare to Dream shirt on top of her regular pink shirt, so she tried to take it off and it got stuck! Becky had to pull the shirt out of the other one! It was a laugh-riot! Then mom said something innapropriate about 'special' kids at the beginning of the parade and we had to give mom a rule: 1) No politically incorrect comments to the public!

Then we went back to the farm for a ride. Here's Thea on PJ.

And Chloe on Fiona. I actually rode Fiona, too! And I loved it and I wasn't afraid and I even trotted!!!

Thea bossing around poor PJ!

And then, will wonders never cease?!?! Momma Sue got on a horse!!!!

She a crazy lady!

Michelle and Scott's Wedding

2010-09-23T03:41:00.000-07:00

Jay's sister Michelle got married this past weekend. It was a beautiful wedding and it was nice to spend some time with the Wilmot side of the family. Michelle's husband Scott is a wicked funny guy, so glad to have him as a brother-in-law!

Here's Jay and his other sister, Lauren.

My Mr. Handsome - love him!

Me and my husband!

The cake looked good enough to eat!

Jay and his brother Mark.

Smooch!

How happy does Michelle look?!?!?!

Georges Island

2010-09-20T08:07:00.000-07:00

I had to work a special event on one of the Boston Harbor Islands. A lot of people don't know this, but there are a ton of islands in Boston Harbor - most owned by DCR and the National Park Service. You can camp on some of them and some have visitor centers and fabulous displays.

I went to Georges Island, home of Fort Warren. Last time I was there, was for my fifth (?) grade field trip! Here's the view of the Boston skyline as I took the crew boat over to Georges.

We're coming into the pier - you can see Fort Warren -it's huge. They give guided tours of the fort daily through Columbus Day (it's closed for the winter).

There were boats and peole everywhere.

This is Peddock's Island - where they filmed some of the movie Shutter Island (the flashbacks to the family were filmed at another state park: Borderland State Park).

Lost Dog: Ruby

2010-09-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

I was driving home from work at about 4PM and there was a dog walking down the middle of Cranberry Road! A few people had stopped, but I was the only one with dog treats in my car. She had no collar or tags and looked very frightened. I was able to lure her into my car with the treats.

I couldn't get in touch with the dog officer, so I took the dog home. Finally the dog officer called and said that the town didn't have a shelter, so I offered to keep the dog until the owners were found. At about 7PM, the owner called. The sweet, sweet baby's name is Ruby and she got out through the back gate. They were so worried and when they picked her up, they offered me money but I wouldn't take it.

I kinda hoped no one would claim her so that we could keep her, but I knew she was someone's pet. Glad to see she made it home and I got to have a fun adventure!

Greek Festival 2010

2010-09-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was family day extrodinaire! First, I met up with Becky, Danny, the twins, Jessie, Thea, Isiah, and Momma Sue at Wrentham Day. We saw Senator Scott Brown and his wife - I used to babysit Ayla and Arrianna - and they couldn't believe all the new Nelson babies! They each held one of the twins; it was so cute. I also had some acupunture done at the fair - it was weird, but I'd do it again if it weren't so damn expensive!

Then we hit the Greek Festival at my grandparents' church - Saint Catherines in Braintree. The church is gorgeous and the food is devine! Here's Auntie Amy and Miss Thea Maya!

Momma Becky and sweet little Delaney:

The whole crew: Becky, Nancy, Delaney, Momma Sue, Grandpa George, Jessie, Isiah, and Grandma Dottie!

I got the lamb shank meal - so, so, so yummy.

Grandma Dottie also got that meal.

Megan and Thea! Thea had a blast playing with her cousins!

Momma and Grandma!

Thea loved the jumpy house. We had to lie and say she was five years old to get her in!

Montana Nuptuals!!!!!

2010-09-20T06:19:00.000-07:00

EB and Paul got married!!!!!! Here are a ton of pictures of a beautiful Montana wedding. EB was glowing, Paul had a grin that wouldn't quit, and all had an absolute blast!

Can you believe this scenery for your wedding?!?! Crazy!

Annie, EB, and Neal

The whole Henderson Family!

The proud parents!

Loving the grin!

Here comes the bride!

It's official! EB is a married lady!

I love this picture!

It's Gonzo!!!!!!!

The girls!!!!!! Some of us dressed up; some of us didn't! Actually, we were all dressed for the ceremony, but it was chilly so we quickly bundled up in jeans and sweats for the rest of the night.

Time for a party!

Jami went mud-dancing!

Me and Jami!

A Friday in Montana!

2010-09-12T05:14:00.000-07:00

Friday in Montana! It was a beautiful day. We spent the day getting ready for Saturday's festivities and tying one on. Neal and Annie took us all out to dinner that night at a Montana steak house -it was so yummmy. Here's Rachel and Jami!

And Ben and Sam.

I love how Annie is laughing in this picture - and what is Ben doing? Drinking water?

Maggie and her beau!

Annie made a heartfelt speech abou the upcoming wedding while Neal provided comic relief!

Ben being Ben!

How sweet is Rachel!

The Girls!!!!!!!!!

Paul and EB Love!

A picture with the random softball player who was smoking a cigar outside.

EB and Amy! (Before my head wound)

Then we all hopped into the hot tub for a night of debauchery! Looks like we splashed EB!

We were living the high life - the Miller Light high life!

Sam - one of us had a crush on him, but I won't say who. :)

And Bennie, who is quite possibly the funniest boy in the world!

Next: The WEDDING!

Trip to Montana!

2010-09-09T15:59:00.000-07:00

Last week of August had Jami and I jumping on a plane, flying to Montana, and kickin' in for EB's wedding! We met Rachel at the airport and headed to Belgrade to see the bride-to-be! Here are the four amigos in EB's backyard - in MONTANA!

We suited up for an afternoon on the river!

I can only imagine what EB was explaining here!

Off we marched! Down the river where we encountered not one, but two snakes!

It was so beautiful!

Here's the blushing bride-to-be! Next two days will be my next two posts!

Kids & Camp!

2010-09-07T03:07:00.000-07:00

The Lake Party

2010-07-28T05:39:00.000-07:00

We got an invite we couldn't say no to - cookout on Lake Archer with some of our favorite people!

The boys loved the water - and desert even better!

Little Miss Macie and Grant were quite the pair!

Jay and Amy under the arbor - how sweet!

Two of the best friends a girl could have - Jami and Rachel!

Here's Grant after his hose-down.

Me and my girls!