At camp- finally!

Whoa! Is that a Greek ship captain ready to cruise the Kennebec in a Boston Whaler!? :)

So Mom and Dad are here for good now and slowing getting settled- well, until their house is built and they have to move it all again! But they have all their belongings in a storage unit, they have a P.O. Box, they have insurance, their construction loan is nearing closing, and they got their building permits. Their lot is being cleared, and it won't be long before structures start appearing on their property!
Sad as it is, we went up to camp for the first time all season this past weekend. The weather here has been gross this summer- so much rain!!!- and with our house on the market (including 5 showings in the past 5 days), we just haven't made time for it. But now with Mom and Dad here, we finally got there.
Some people can never just relax on vacation and feel the need to work constantly! I guess Cate had some business calls to tend to while chilling out in the Adirondack.
Big Sister Zoe always enjoys camp, and it's a guarantee that she'll be good and worn out at the end of the day!

Visit at Uncle Jon's

Since we were in Philly for Chrissy's baby shower, we decided to go down to Maryland to see Uncle Jon and family. Rick and I used to spend many a weekend at their house when we were in DC, and now we so rarely get to visit them- they had never even met Cate! So it was good to get back there and eat some of Aunt Christine's good cooking!

My cousin, Christopher, who will be a sophomore in college this fall. Hard to believe he was in elementary school when I moved to DC- yikes! Erika was gone for the weekend, and we were sorry to miss her! :(



Somehow, I never got Aunt Christine in any of these pictures. I think because she was in the kitchen cooking up a storm the whole time. But Cate sends her a big thank you for the juice boxes- something I had never bought for her before but were a huge hit! They were also a crucial survival tool for the drive home. I don't dare admit how many I let her drink..... :)

"Hey, Uncle Jon, when are those kabobs going to be ready?"

So cute.

"Uncle" Dennis, good and long time family friend happened to be staying at Uncle Jon's the same night we were. He also had not met Cate yet, but Cate ran to him with open arms when she met him (???). She has always been attracted to odd men. hee hee hee :)

Aunt Chrissy's baby shower

The weekend before last we were in Phoenixville, PA, outside of Philadelphia, for Rick's sister's baby shower. She's due next week, so now we're just waiting for the good news!!

Our baby gift to them was an Ergo baby carrier, and the evening after the shower, Nate decided to try it out, using Parker as a baby-substitute! :)

Parker also likes bags, and the morning we left, she perched herself on top of our toiletries bag. I think she was just trying to keep Cate from leaving.

Sorry these pics are backwards in order, but above, you can see that Cate took an active role in the opening and exploring of gifts. Her Aunt Chrissy said that she was going to search Cate's bag for stolen merchandise before we left!

Below, Cate made friends with the Fink's granddaughter, Tashi. The girls had a good time together!
Look at that outfit! It was a shower outfit sent to Cate from her Gr. Aunt Chris, Gr. Aunt Tish, and Nana Davis.
Before the party started, Cate was already putting her own baby in the baby bathtub.

Sorry, Chrissy! Couldn't resist the profile shot!! You looked great! :)

Cate entertaining her Gr. Aunt Tish and Marie.

We only wish that we would have had more time to spend with family- including Nana and Grandpa Davis. Hopefully we'll see them again soon! xoxo

Would this be classified as a temper tantrum?

I feel mildly guilty for filming this episode, but I think it's sometimes fun to record some of Cate's not-so-perfect moments. This went on for a good 10 minutes or so, and the rolling around on the floor occurred in the living room and dining room also. I think it all started b/c we wouldn't let her play on the laptop, and I finally had to take her outside to distract her. Can we say, "Terrible Twos?" Oh wait, she's only 18 months. Uh-oh!!

HMS Bounty II

On Thursday, the HMS Bounty II sailed up the Kennebec River and will be docked at the Maine Maritime Museum here in Bath through Sunday. According to our newspaper, this ship was built for the 1962 version of "Mutiny on the Bounty," with Marlon Brando. It was built to be sailed to Tahiti for the movie, and then burned in the end, like the real one. Apparently, Brando said that if they burned the ship, he wouldn't be in the movie, so it still exists. It was also the most expensive movie prop ever- built for $750,000.
The ship's helm was taken from the ship used in the 1930's version of the movie starring Clark Gable, and the ship was also in Treasure Island, the Spongebob Squarepants movie (?) and the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. In fact, one of the crew members of the ship said that they were all extras in Pirates of the Caribbean- dressed as pirates- because they needed somebody to sail the boat. Though he did add that Johnny Depp wasn't too bad at steering the ship. :)

Inside tours of the ship are going on today and tomorrow, but we decided to check it out from the river, so we put the boat in and cruised past for some pictures. If you notice in the picture below, there's a guy hanging off the front mast (which I'm sure has a more official name than "front mast").

What a look! I think she's saying, "Can you slow down a little bit, Daddy? My Cheerios keep blowing away." :)

Picnic at Aunt Diane and Uncle Jim's

We arrived in Ashland late on the 2nd (actually, early on the 3rd), and it was only the beginning of a busy and exciting week. It was also the last visit to the family home, since Mom and Dad will be moving to Maine in only a couple of weeks. Very exciting to have them come to Maine, but sad that it was the last trip home- to our home.

On the evening of the 3rd, we headed over to Aunt Diane and Uncle Jim's for a picnic. They have a great backyard, and Cate explored every inch of it. She slept well that night!

This is Roxy, my cousin Chelsea's dog. And we all know, Cate never lets a dog get past her!

Chelsea's best friend Tia's little boy, Preston, who turned one last month. Cate took quite a liking to him!

Cate!!!!! Don't let Daddy catch you!!!

That's better. Keep your distance! haha Preston was a sweetie.

The swing was a hit!

Grandpa and Daddy playing cornhole. Cate spent a good portion of the evening trying to steal bean bags from whoever had them at the time.

Great-grandma so wanted for Cate to come sit with her, but of course, Cate wanted to be on the go. She redeemed herself at the end of the evening when she offered up kisses to Great-grandma Sprague.

Seeing old friends

On the afternoon of the 4th, we went over to the Starkey's house- the Starkeys, Kistes, and my parents have been friends since before we were born. Tim, Mike, Jen, and I grew up together and all graduated together. Today, we're all married and all have little ones, so we got together for a quick hello while we were home. So nice to see old friends!

The proud grandmas with their favorite little ones!

Jen's little girl, Emily. Isn't she a doll?

Cate in the bouncy house with Emily and Cooper.

Cate with Cooper- Cate was really interested in the box of sidewalk chalk.

Parades and petting zoos

Cate participated in the Push'em Pull'em parade along with hundreds (seriously) of other kids. We didn't have much for decorations this year, and I didn't even have a red, white, or blue outfit for her, but we still had fun and got balloons!


Later that evening, we went over to the field where all the balloon events take place, to check out the petting zoo and baby alpacas. Cate loved it, and she quickly caught on that she could rip up some grass and feed it to the variety of critters through the fence. Rick and Dad were with us, and afterwards, Rick asked if it was better now that we have Cate so that I can justify petting the animals as opposed to just being the weird 30-something person petting goats without a child at my side. Kids do have their perks. :)

Gramma met up with us at the petting zoo, and then we started to head home to get Cate ready for bed, just as the hot air balloons were beginning their fly over.

With Gramma and Grandpa

Rick and I have found that when we hug in front of Cate, she runs over to get in the middle of it. So when Gramma and Grandpa hugged in the kitchen during our visit, Cate barged in. I don't think they minded!


Cate's other grandma, Nana Davis, brought her this dress last fall, hoping that it would fit this summer- it does!! She wore it to church last Sunday and looked like a little angel.