Cape Cod Year 4

We had another enjoyable year on the Cape. We enjoyed the beach tremendously! We enjoyed spending down time with the Newton Family. We traveled to areas of the Cape we had not yet explored. We located many, many book stores...and loved it! We found a new one this year - Titcomb's Bookshop. It is a family owned store that has been in business since the late 1800's. This year marked an anniversary for the current owners, so they had 40 different authors doing book signings during the summer. Noah was intrigued to think that one of his favorite authors, Jeff Kinney, had been to their store.

We went to Dairy Queen every day. We don't have this store at home, so it is a huge treat. Most days dessert came before dinner. I think this might just be Steve's favorite part of the Cape - "The DQ"! He loves their peanut butter cup blizzards. We cooked in and ate out. We discovered and sampled some new wines and drank some old favorites. We discovered two great restaurants, Ardeo and Wicked. Two places that we will be sure to hit again in future years. We all took turns at the dining room table, which is the official jigsaw puzzle table. This year we seemed to have 2 going at all times. I find it funny that we all cram around the breakfast table (all 9 of us) for meals and not use the dining room which is much larger. Just proves that old saying no matter where you go, the kitchen is always best. Plus, not one of us would dare to disturb the puzzles.

We met up with old friends, Chris and Pam. The boys enjoyed meeting their girls Emily, Caroline, and Hannah. Owen, the ladies man that he is, was holding hands with Hannah within the first hour he met her! So cute. Chris remarked that summer romance is how it all begins! Oh, we can only hope to have it flourish for years to come. It was awesome to catch up with the Wilson's. Just like old times. We vow to not have so much time pass between our next visit.

We purchased a new game called Find It. We had to have the sports edition. I had in mind that this would keep the kids busy during some down time or during the traffic home, but I was proved wrong. I think the adults enjoyed the game more. So much so that Ron & Judy went out and bought the zoo version. This was great fun.

Steve and I took in a late night movie on our 15th anniversary. We started the evening arguing like an old married couple, but ended it laughing our heads off! Laughter does do a body good. As does sunshine...again, how we love the beaches in Cape Cod. We love to watch the kids in the sand and surf without a care in the world. We ventured to two beaches that we hadn't previously spectated thanks to our friend Angela Peloquin and family. We met them last year on the beach. Unfortunately we were unable to coordinate getting our kids together this vacation which was a bummer. But, I had many great phone conversations with her.

So next year we hope to rent a place right on the ocean. We have some feelers out for something large enough, but yet affordable. We all would really like to be able to open the door and be right there. Or, we may stay where we are and stay an extra week. Each day when we travel to the beach, it is like we are moving in with all of the stuff we have to carry for the boys age ranges. We walk past some of the families with older children, and they either tell us directly or you can hear them amongst themselves, "oh, I remember those days with so much stuff". Thank goodness for the beach carts.

Poor Isaac, he missed us terribly this time. He is having some serious anxiety issues with us being gone so much. So much so that he has jumped through two window screens this week to get to us. He has never reacted this way before. For those of you non-dog lovers out there, I am sure it is hard for you to understand our love for our dog. He truly is our second child. His love for us is like no other - unconditional. Who else would sit on your feet at 1:00 am looking at you like you are the most amazing being in the world?! I am hoping I-Z will be back to normal soon.

Grandpa Lew (Steve's grandfather) fell while we were gone and broke his leg. He underwent surgery and is doing okay. He has many months of recuperation ahead of him. He has been transferred to the Sam Keep Home this week. Pray for a speedy recovery so that we can get him home to Grandma Vi.

Speaking of grandparents, Grandma Durma (my Grandma on the Elliott side) is doing well since Aunt Connie has been away. Being that Grandma is 93, she pretty much tells you what is on her mind. She says the funniest things to family. She is rude in her own candid way...but yet, for the most part she speaks only the truth. She is a very wise woman. We are so blessed to have our children have their great grandparents in their lives.

Unfortunately, our vacations are over and we are back to life on Wright Street. Don't get me wrong, we all are glad to be home. It is just when we got home, all of our summer projects that are incomplete were staring us in the face. Actually, Steve and I were thinking about the projects on the drive home from the Cape. Yuck, so much to do! And, it is sad to think that yet another year has passed. Another year watching our boys grow like all of the weeds in our flower beds! So our countdown begins until school starts, until PTO fund-raising, until soccer and hockey seasons start, until Halloween (the boys favorite holiday)...until our next vacation!

Ethan's 4th Birthday Party

Our nephew, the Big E, turned 4 on 7/22. We celebrated his day with him while we were in Lake George. Speaking of Lake George, the slideshow is now posted below. However, while we were in Cape Cod, he had his friend birthday. Luckily Matt and Kate have a big house and yard as they had a total of 16 kids over for the party. I just say WOW...16 little boys and girls. Katie said it looked like their finished basement exploded by the time the families all left. I can only imagine!

We can't believe that 4 years have passed since we welcomed him into our lives. Uncle Steve made the invitations for Ethan's day. We were glad we were able to be part somehow. Here is what they looked like:

You can't see it very well on this blog, but on Ethan's shirt it says Uncle 'Teve Graphics.

Cape Cod Here We Come!

So this is the Cape house. This is where we will be hanging our hat for the next week with the Newton family. We can't wait to hit the beach and hear the surf!

Photos of the George Vacation

Finally, the slideshow. Sorry for the delay in posting.

Parents Favorites at the George House

When asking everyone their favorites of our vacation, Mom and Dad said that they had more than one. Here are their responses:

Fishing and the Island the kids played on.

Relaxing & reading in the screened porch every day & night.
And of course, Happy Hour!

I am working on a photo slideshow that I hope to post tonight. Stay tuned!

Year 2 at George Lake

Only 51 weeks until George Lake, year 3. One guess who came up with that as we were leaving the driveway of 8893 Lakeshore Drive, Hague, NY - Steve!

We had another great week. The weather was awesome as was the company kept. The house fits 10 extremely comfortable with room to spare. It is so nice that we can all spread out and not be on top of one another. Each family has their own space and bathroom which works out nicely. It is a great home and area to decompress. I noticed how hard it was for all of us the first couple of days without cell service and the internet being intermittent. About day 2 we all got in the groove of being disconnected, but still scrambled when one of us mentioned that the internet was back on. Oh, how we all rely on these modern conveniences!

We introduced Matt, Kate, and Ethan to the fishing world. So much so that they went to Super Walie World in Ticonderoga to purchase their own poles and supplies. This was great fun. And, speaking of Super Walmart, this was about the most civilized excitement we saw for a number of days.

Our days consisted of waking up and lounging around until around noon, hanging on the front porch, screened porch, or backyard. The boys loved being able to run around in their PJ's outside, as did we. We all read a lot and took our turn at the puzzle board. We always have a puzzle in the works on the dining room table. Once we showered, we didn't venture far from the house. The lake is across the road, but not accessible for about 1/2 mile north. This is where we could swim and fish. There is a great spot we found this year that was pretty neat. You walked quite a ways in (all mowed by the town) to this cool sandy spot with an inlet on the right. The kids could wade out to a small little island where they hung out for a couple of hours. We visited this spot twice. Once with Matt, Kate, and big E and once all of us. The day we all went, even Dad fished for awhile. It was really peaceful.

Hague has a lot to offer. There are tons of places to hike and explore the outdoors. Downtown Hague is really neat; old-fashioned neat. The Hague Market is like going back in time with the locals. The owners combine it with Zeke's Music Shop. When you walk in, you see all kinds of guitars on your right with the wooden floor sloping to the left you venture by the counter where 25 cent candy is housed underneath. Then you pass the homemade breads, pastries, and pies (after you stop and tell the clerk what you want from the case, of course). Beyond that is the fishing tackle and coffee. As you walk through, you get a feeling for what their big sellers are. Some of the items you may have to blow the dust off. You can smell that day's specials. The rear of the store has a couple of small tables where you can grab a bite from their home-cooked menu. I had to take the kids in to show them the soda cooler and get an ice cream from their chest freezer. Speaking of ice cream, we all ventured up to the Wind Chill Factory for soft serve. This is Dad's favorite. I wonder how many times he stopped there on his work phone call runs!!

Tonight I asked the boys what their favorite part of the George vacation was. These were the responses:

Noah - the house itself and spending time with family. This really surprised me as he seems to have the hardest time with nothing to do, as he is always on the go.

Owen - the hiking and the Hague Brook. This was a spot that Mom and Dad took us to last year and we revisited. This year someone who was very artistic, built the neatest rock formations in the Brook. How they stayed put I will never know. The boys loved being able to find wildlife (minnows was O's highlight, but unfortunately the ones we captured lived all week until our ride home. Noah caught a salamander named "Newton" that has joined our family). The kids went swimming (naked or close to it) in the Brook which Owen thought was a lot of fun.

Sammy - he can't say much yet, but speaking for him I think his favorite part was the splashing in the rain puddles both at the house and the beach. The beach has a grassy area that flooded from the rain one night. The puddle water was really warm from the sun and he had a ball running through it.

Steve - the fishing. It is always fun to find new spots to cast as you never know what you are going to get. He did reel in a good size catfish, some small mouth bass, perch, and rainbow trout. Matt and Ethan caught the largest fish of the trip, it was either a large small mouth or small large mouth.

Beth - listening to and meeting the Jason Spooner Trio. We got rained out to see them in Shepard's Park in Lake George. However, the Chamber of Commerce relocated them to a restaurant where a whole 14 people showed. Fourteen included Steve, Matt, Kate, and myself. Despite the small crowd, it was a fun night spending time with my brother and sister-in-law and introducing them to some new music. The "groupies" as Mom called us even got and encore played just for us, our albums signed, and our picture taken with the band. We ended the night with ice cream and pizza and some great conversation. Dad and Mom built forts in the living room with the boys and took over the bedtime routines. They even waited up for us kids to get home. Just like old times!

On Friday we all went shopping and ate out for lunch. We did some school shopping for Noah, Owen, and Ethan down at the outlets. (Thanks Michele Pope for the Gap/Old Navy friends and family discount!) Friday was the first day that we ate out. We sure did have some great meals together! The house has a fully stocked kitchen, just like cooking at home. I loved this part!

It is great to vacation, but always good to return home. We really missed Isaac this year. It was his 7th birthday while we were gone. Noah had to be sure that we had a birthday present to give him upon our return. A parmesan moose cookie and a raccoon that squeaks. He was waiting in the middle of the driveway and smiling from ear to ear when we drove in. Of course, he went to Noah's door to greet him first! Aunt Co Co said she counted the days with I-Z and Ron said that our return day was the only day that he saw him sitting in the driveway waiting. How do dogs know these things?!

It sounds like we will be venturing back to the Adirondack's in 2010 and very much look forward to it. It is a beautiful spot to spend time together.