My! How You've Grown!

From what I have heard many of the folks in our area are not having very good luck growing their pumpkins this year. Mandy decided to put in a small patch......mostly to entertain the kids and maybe give them a pumpkin or two for Halloween. She either has a really, really green thumb or she is having beginner’s luck, because so far her pumpkin patch is doing great! The kids picked out their favorites when they were still flowering and now it is a daily contest to see whose pumpkin is bigger.

 If the success of the pumpkin patch is truly because of a green thumb on Amanda's part.......it's safe to assume that she most likely didn't inherit it from her mother............as this would be an example of my work:

 

The New Transdermal Ice Cream

Cabbage Island Clambake

Jamie and Mandy took a day for themselves and went to Boothbay Harbor for a  a boat ride which culminates with a lobster feed/clambake on Cabbage Island. They lucked out and got a gorgeous day to go. I'm assuming that Jamie was able to withstand the boat ride and the buttery seafood since I see no sign of her "OMG! I'm sooo nauseous!" face. Hooray! Here are a few pictures from their day. Al and I got the job of amusing the grand-boy for the day. Luckily he is (almost always) easily amused! A kiddie pool, an Ice Age 3 DVD, and some cookies and milk and our job was done.

Against All Odds

Amanda has been a bird lover ever since she was given her first parakeet as a reward for making the honor roll back in grade school.  (RIP Rupert) She has had birds of varying types ever since, and has always wanted to try her hand at breeding them. She had one failed attempt at breeding cockatiels several years ago, and just recently decided to try it again. Out of the six or so eggs laid, only two appeared to be fertile. The parents seemed to be doing a good job incubating the eggs, taking turns sitting on them day and night. In addition to keeping the eggs warm the parents are also supposed keep the humidity just right by dampening  their bellies as the climate dictates. Amanda soon learned that first time parents don't always do so well with the humidity control portion of the process. She wound up having to take this chick out of it's shell using tweezers and cotton swabs dipped in warm water because the membrane inside of the egg was literally fused to the chick's skin. It took her about 45 minutes to get all of the shell and membrane removed. When I first saw it my first thought was that there is no way this thing is ever gonna survive. I was already preparing in my mind what I was going say to try to make her feel better once the thing died. As it turned out,  I never did have to deliver my comforting speech. Mia called the chick Crush because Mama had to "Crush him/her out of the egg." After several weeks of hand feeding, (the parents didn't have a clue about feeding the thing either) Crush appears to be a normal healthy cockatiel. Sadly, the other fertile egg didn't survive.

Apparently, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree when it comes to bird people.........

A Generation Later....

While looking through the pictures on the camera Mandy noticed that we had a shot of Mia and Al on a ride that was very similar to an old shot of Mandy with Al that was taken at Funtown about 20 years ago. I had to search through a few old disks, but I finally found it. It seems strange (and comforting) to think that even though so much time has passed and so much has changed, some things will always stay the same. And I have to say- the old man has held up pretty well!

Annual Funtown Excursion

Not much explanation necessary. The annual summer trip to Funtown. Poor Mia was sad to learn that she is still too little to ride with the big boys. It worked out  though because with Jamie' being PG she and Mia got to be riding partners this year. Below I pulled out a few of my favorite pics.

Drumroll Please..........

Jamie and Josh are expecting their first bundle at Christmastime. We are so excited, and looking forward to have a new little one to love!! Poor Jamie has been pretty GREEN all spring, but hopefully the start of the second trimester will bring with it some relief! Love you both and congrats!!!!!!

Fake Smile Anyone??

This picture made me laugh. If those aren't two of the most insincere, "Hurry up and take the darned picture!!" smiles I have ever seen........

Mother's Day Spa Treatment

I apologize to those of you who may have a problem with feet (ahem, Mandy) and I really apologize for making you look at mine, but I had the most amazing pedicure done on Mother's Day. So amazing in fact, that I just have to share! I couldn't have asked for better attendants. They were attentive, sensitive, and worked tirelessly to make sure to get everything just right. I will definitely be using their services many times over in the future.

They even threw in a manicure for free!!

The Butterflies That Fluttered By

Following several readings of  "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" Maddox became very interested in the whole caterpillar to butterfly life cycle. We spent many hours watching these magical transformations take place on You Tube. One day, following yet another You Tube session Amanda mentioned  that once while shopping she had seen a butterfly kit. She thought that it it's purpose was to allow kids to watch the process. I went online, found this site Insect Lore and decided to order the Butterfly Pavilion with a caterpillar coupon. Despite the great reviews, I was skeptical. Really? Caterpillars in the mail?? How on earth would that work? Surely they would  never survive a trip through the mail! Once the weather was warm enough we ordered our caterpillars. The five painted lady butterfly babies arrived in a little over a week in a self contained cup complete with all the food they would need until they formed their chrysalids. Once all of the caterpillars were in  crystalis form and hanging from the paper disk at the top of the cup, we moved them to the mesh pavilion. In a little over a week the butterflies started to emerge. The company guarantees at least five healthy specimens. We had all five emerge, one with a slightly deformed wing. We called him Nemo. Sadly, after all of that Maddox did not get to see any of them emerge. They all came out while he was at preschool. Timing is everything! It was fun, educational and interesting so we will probably do one more batch this summer. I was a little concerned about how Maddox would feel about releasing them, but he was all about it and happy to "let them go free."