We made it!

For those of you who read my post from earlier today...

Noah had a great day at school. I expected him to get off the bus exhausted and grumpy. Instead he bounced off the bus (forgetting his backpack) and spent the next 30 minutes telling me about his day. I hope he will always be as communicative about his day (it may have helped that I had freshly baked cookies waiting for him in the kitchen which kept him seated for an extended period of time).

Hooray for a good first day of school!

Noah's 1st Day of School

I can't believe that my little guy is old enough to go to Kindergarten! Here is a recap of this morning's send off...

Noah and I spent a few minutes in his bed this morning discussing how he felt nervous about going to school. He mentioned a couple of times that his stomach felt funny and he had a few moments of anxiety over what was in his backpack, but for the most part he did a great job getting off to school. I had the camera by the front door so that I wouldn't forget to take Noah's picture as he got on the bus. Noah found the camera and took these first two pictures before getting around to the serious business of fixing breakfast and packing his lunch.

caught in my pj's

Ben didn't wake up very well this morning and spent some grumpy moments on the sofa before entering into the fun of the morning.

fixing waffles for breakfast

fixing a sandwich for lunch while Ben finished his breakfast

heading out the door for school

sad face while waiting for the bus

happy face thinking about the fun day ahead

getting on the bus

...and off he goes

After Noah's departure...

Ben and I walked down the road to check out how the other moms and younger siblings were doing. Our friends, the McCoys, were just sending off their oldest daughter.

Ben and Anna have fun waiting for the bus to pick up Jane

Ben, Anna and Kathleen watch Jane get on the bus

Ben took a picture of me walking back to the house feeling a little sad

Ben's teacher, Mrs. LaPrade, came by for a visit to help Ben get ready for preschool. Ben will be starting school next week. This morning he played very well by himself and seemed to enjoy having all of the toys and mom to himself.

I can't wait to hear how Noah's first day went...

Safari Park

At the end of July I got to take a trip to a monastery in Cambridge, MA. It was a gift from my dad this past Christmas. I enjoyed my time of quiet reflection. While I was gone Drew spent time with the boys enjoying just the opposite of quiet reflection...he took a trip to the Safari Park near Lexington. Drew teamed up with Anthony Tongen for a guys' trip to the park leaving moms (me and Megan to enjoy a little quiet time ).

Since I wasn't there, I will leave the pictures to speak for themselves.

Paul and Ben

Noah and Micah

Micah, Paul, Noah, Ben and the Tiger

Paul, Micah and Anthony

This is the view out the side door of our minivan. Apparently there was some trouble getting a buffalo to remove his head from the vehicle at one point. :)

Outer Banks Trip in July

I am finally posting pictures from our trip to the beach in July.

Before we get into pictures I will have to list all the folks at the beach, so that things don't get too confusing (hopefully). Drew's family has gone to the beach with another family for the past 25 years.

Drew's Family - Bo and Pam (dad & step-mom), Carolyn & David (sister & her boyfriend), Kristin (sister), Chanon & Debbie & Emma & Jonathan & Julia (brother & his family), plus our family =14 people

Kowalski Family - Ken and Gail Kowalski, Scott and Amy Kowalski plus kids, Kate, Lilly, Eve and Graham, Mark and Kathy Place plus kids Mac, Abigail and Mary, and Amanda (the babysitter) = 14 people

28 people at dinner every night gets very exciting

The first pictures are ones from the pool. The morning schedule at the beach consists of crabbing or swimming at the pool while the grownups take turns playing tennis. Drew and I vow every summer that we will play during the year so that we will be marginally good when we play tennis at the beach. (maybe this will be our year to follow through on that goal)

Mary and Ben enjoy a poolside snack
Ben is wearing his crabbing outfit (close-toed shoes)

Noah is getting launched by Mark

Ben and Graham played with cars while the adults ate dinner

Picture of Ben after he has done his magic trick
(i.e. hiding the ball under his shirt, showing you his empty hands, then pulling the ball out and showing it to you)

Noah & Jonathan

We brought Rockband to the beach and played a few nights before dinner. I don't think we ever managed to finish a song while the kids were "helping".

Kate, Emma, Julia, Jonathan and Noah
(the boys were hard to tell apart at times)

See what I mean...

Kate, Emma, Julia and Naoh work against the ocean
and try to save their wall from the waves

There was a sea cayak at the house. It was entertaining to watch different adults take it out in the surf each day. Even the kids went out once the dad's got the hang of making it past the breakers. Jonathan, Eve, Ben and Emma helped pull it up the beach at the end of the day.

This might be our Christmas card picture. :)

cousins...Jonathan, Ben, Emma, Noah and Julia

Here are the real seafood lovers who are still sitting at the table eating during Crab Night. Many adults (myself included) had already left the table and the kids had returned to scrounge for leftovers. The kids ate dinner every night before the adults.

Nantucket trip

We spent the first week of August in Nantucket. It was an unexpected trip and we enjoyed our time together as a family. It was especially fun for me because I spent the first 20 years of my life celebrating my birthday in Nantucket while on family vacation. I turned 35 while on the island this summer. Sitting on the back porch enjoying the Nantucket weather helped soften the blow of getting older.

There are so many different beaches to go to in Nantucket. Here are some pictures of different places we went.

Children's Beach
Located in the harbor and within walking distance of our house. This beach is man made and has a shallow wading area for kids as well as a couple of play grounds. It also has a snack shack where you can get coffee and doughnuts, etc. (Drew's favorite feature).

Noah enjoyed climbing on this rope structure located on the beach.

At one point Drew and I looked over at Noah and noticed that he had attracted 1/2 dozen girls to come climb with him. It is funny now, but will not be so amusing in 10 years.

Later on Ben and Noah went swimming.

Noah helped Ben when the water got too high for him to touch easily.

The Jetties
This beach is at the mouth of the harbor and has a sand bar that is almost totally exposed during low tide. I grew up calling this the "little wave beach".

Ben stayed on shore but Noah waded out to the sandbar. Drew pulled him around on the boogie board for a while.

Surfside
This is one of the "big wave beaches". The little boys did not go in the water much, but the big boy did. Drew enjoyed many hours of boogie boarding with in Nantucket. Drew is in the background of this first picture.

We rode bikes everywhere and did not bring beach chairs. I taught the boys how to dig their own chairs. Here are pictures of Ben and Noah relaxing in their chairs.

Noah decided to curl up and take a nap instead.

Drew and Ben enjoyed some time in the surf together.

Then it was time to relax and enjoy a snack.

Another South Shore beach (don't know the name)

On our last day we went to the beach with my Aunt and her 2 youngest kids. It was a perfect beach day. Drew spent hours in the water with Chad riding waves and we finally got Marshall to go out as well. My boys enjoyed playing with their 2nd cousins (or cousins once removed...however that works) on the beach.

Marshall, Noah, Chad and Ben

On the Ferry
We left Nantucket on the 6:30 ferry. It is an interesting time of departure. Closing up a house and rushing to catch a ferry (all before the hour that anyone is usually awake). It gave me warm feelings though because it is an event that is linked to wonderful weeks spent in Nantucket as a child.

Eating breakfast while waiting for the boat to leave the dock.

Picture of Drew racing to the ferry after going to get some breakfast at a nearby restaurant. He was one of the last folks to get on the ferry before it pulled away.

It is a family tradition to throw a penny in the water as you go by the light house on the way out of the harbor. It is supposed to ensure that you come back again. I threw my penny after taking this picture of the guys throwing theirs.

Ben took a nap in my lap on the 2 hour boat ride to the mainland.

It took us 12 hours to get home. The boys watched 3 movies and Ben napped for a while. They also colored and made crafts. I told a story for almost an hour. We survived the drive home and look forward to making the trip again soon.