Cohasset Visit Summer 2008

Cohasset, MA is the town where Nate's parents grew up and where his grandparents still live. It is one of our most favorite places on earth. Here are some shots from our time spent there last summer, 2008!

The girls with Mimi, Jr. and Mimi, Sr.

Mimi and Grammy admiring Anna's cleanliness.

I got so many adorable shots of Grammy McCarthy and Anna. Photogenic-ness must run in the family!

Anna wearing a Grammy hat.

Cate eating lunch.

Cate and Abby...Cate trying to give Abby a kiss, Abby starting to back away. Cate is VERY loving.

Colby.

Colby again.

Colby and his mama.

Jane pops in for a picture with the girls. It was POURING rain when we took these photos...we were enjoying the rain on the covered bench. I miss rain.

Anna and Pop enjoying the paper.

Linda getting a few cuddles in with Anna.

Susan showing off a job well done! She built the rail for Grampa...she's so handy! And patriotic.

Danny is so cute with the babies.

Getting ready to go to the dump!

A nice swim up on the Hill.

Sara Beth, cousin extraordinaire.

One afternoon, Pat, Grammy and I went on a stroll through Hingham to see the cute shops...and randomly ran into Pat's best bud from high school! It was really nice seeing Jody and she gave Cate a beautiful rose.

Grampa, Grandpa Herms and their posterity! :)

We went to the carousel in Hull. The girls loved it. Abby loved it too much...she went into a deep depression when she had to say goodbye to her horse. The ice cream was part of the treatment to help her out of the funk...it kind of worked. She really loved that horse.

A very magical fun house mirror...changes your clothes and hair color as well as your body shape!

Aunt Janet came down for a visit. It's always a delight to see Janet.

I love crackers!

New Jersey Visit Summer 2008

This is what Anne and I would see when we looked to the backseat on our drive from MA to NJ.

One of the days we were in NJ, Grandpa Hans drove the girls and I to Liberty State park. We didn't go to Ellis Island or the Statue of Liberty, instead just enjoyed the view.

That's Ellis Island right behind us.

Since we were so close to the city, we gave Hannah and Norman a ring and they met us for an impromptu lunch, which ended up costing a small fortune much to everyone's surprise. But it didn't matter, it was just really fun being able to see them.

A nice walk through the woods with Grandma, Grandpa Hans and Cora.

Anna loves Aunt Cora!

A nice family portrait.

Aunt Cora loves Anna!

Cora and the girls.

Grandpa Hans and his little peanut.

I mentioned Summer 2008 was all about getting weird pictures of his hair for Christian. This one screamed out for a little crazy photoshop enhancements.

Bangs? Really?

A few shots of the girls with their grandparents.

Friendly Farm, Dublin, NH

Last week Pat and I took the girls to the Friendly Farm...a Maynard family favorite! The girls loved it, especially Anna who was absolutely FEARLESS with the animals.

BOOM!

This year I planned my east coast trip right...we were actually in New Hampshire for the Jaffrey Fireworks. This is honestly one of my favorite things to do EVER. If you haven't been, plan on it (happens every August). It's worth any trouble you have to go to to see the show (that's a lot of to's, but they make sense). It's SPECTACULAR. I need to go to bed (yeah, it's after 2 am!)...but this picture is just too freakin' awesome. My mom doesn't like me to use the word freakin', but I'm sorry Mom, it just needs to be used.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Cate went with us...while she got a little sleepy halfway through the 45 minute show, she loved the fireworks. When they started she was absolutely transfixed. She would see a firework she liked and say to me, "That one was magic." Magic indeed.

(more pictures of the fireworks on my food blog)

Kids at the Cape 2009

I should be working...so just a few quick shots of the kiddos at the Cape.

Abby and Cate spent a lot of time crabbing this year. Nate took them out for their first crabbing experience. It was adorable. And fun to watch childhood memories being created.


Can't decide which of these pictures of Abby is my favorite. Ahhh, those freckles. Cate was pointing out to Mimi/Pat that she has little freckles on her face, after which she said, "I wish my freckles were bigger." She really admires her cousin Abby!

Colby, post-stitches. Pat said that curl right there is Colby's "sticky spot." Gotta love this kid. No matter how tired he makes you. What a cutie. Ah, those eyes.
Don't think I have to say much about this picture...
...or this one.
This is what happens when the adults disappear. Peace, harmony and sharing. So sweet.

The Little Mermaids

I bought these swimming suits so the girls could match on our Cape Cod trip...but it never happened. In fact, we've had two weeks of swimming and yesterday was the first time they wore these swimming suits at the same time! So, of course I had to get a few pictures.

Check out those cute little tooshies.

This is Cate plugging her nose because she could smell horse poop. We've been smelling a lot of that lately seeing as how my parents are living on a horse farm. I have probably 4 pictures of her with her nose plugged before I realized what she was doing. So funny.

Cora has been hanging out with us a lot this week. We went swimming with her a few times and Cate's favorite game to play with her was mermaids. Cora made up this "la-la-la-la-la" song (the Mermaid Song) that she and cate would sing over. Anna picked up on it too, so everyone was singing it. It got to where if Cora even just said one or two "las" both girls would launch into the Mermaid Song. Cora doesn't even remember the song anymore, which is funny since it's BURNED into the girls' heads.

A few pics

I still haven't even posted our pictures from Cape Cod LAST summer, so do you really expect me to be caught up this summer? But since Nate is lonely out in California while we party here on the east coast, I'm going to try REALLY hard to get some pictures up over the next week. Right now everyone else is working hard cleaning the house while I sit here and type...Cora is preparing for her own baby shower. That makes me a bad sister-in-law, so I am just going to throw three pictures up here quickly before I get in trouble!

We went to New York City on Thursday to meet up with Hannah and Norman (whom I've been calling Norma and Hannan all week...it just comes out! I can't help it, it's WEIRD). Cora and I took the girls in on a train then took two subways before we found Han and Norm in the East Village...then we walked around, then back on the subway and train. We were sweaty, hot, exhausted. Felt like we ran a marathon. And we both decided we are NEVER living in NYC with kids. But it was FUN! Cate was a TROOPER. She walked FAR and FAST the whole day. Tia Hannah decided to help her out...so cute.

I took this picture of Cate at lunch in NYC. It's just such a classic Cate face. Love it.

Now that Anna's hair is getting longer and curlier, she is becoming a bedhead master. I think this morning was the best one yet. The bedhead defied gravity.

Postscript: I just showed Cate this post. When she saw the piggy back picture she started to say, "Who is carrying that girl?" Then she remembered what it is, after which she said, "It's Hannah. (pause) I love Hannah. (pause) Oooo, my hair looks pretty there!" So cute.

Aunt Cora's Summer Prep Course

My brother's wife Cora just sent us this email after spending the last two weeks with us. She is 37 weeks pregnant and, despite her great-with-childness, has been a very fun and energetic aunt for the girls! It's been really fun. Anyway, she just sent this email out, and I love it so much. And it's full of memories from this summer that I just don't want to forget, so I'm putting it up here on the blog for posterity.

*********
This summer, due to some employment "changes", I've had a chance to hang out a fair amount with one of my nephews and both of my nieces. It has been such a great blessing for so many reasons. Namely, it's been a great mini prep course for the arrival of our soon to be expected son. I thought I would quickly share just a couple of my insights (which I realize all of you already know).

1. IF YOU'RE CLUMSY, SMALL PEOPLE AROUND YOU WILL SUFFER.

2. IF YOU EVER NEED AN EGO CHECK, HANG OUT WITH A FOUR YEAR OLD.
-Cate to Cora, "Why are your teeth yellow?"
-After spending about a week and a half hanging out with my nieces, I straightened my hair and put on some make-up for our big trip into New York City. After walking out of the bathroom, Cate wonders "Cora, how come your voice sounds like you, but your face doesn't look like you?"

3. IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW PREGNANT YOU ARE, THE LITTLE ONES STILL THINK YOU SHOULD SHARE YOUR ICE CREAM.

4. ADORABLE ONE YEAR OLDS CAN MAKE A ROOM OF 20+ "MATURE" ADULTS DANCE AROUND LIKE "A GIANT OAK TREE".

5. EVERYONE APPRECIATES A LITTLE BEYONCE.

6. "NO" CAN MEAN ANYTHING DEPENDING ON THE INFLECTION.

7. THERE IS A MEDICAL PHENOMENON, IN WHICH ONE'S BONES PUDDLE ONTO THE FLOOR CAUSING THE BODY TO INSTANTLY COLLAPSE, THAT ALL CHILDREN SUFFER FROM UPON CERTAIN REFUSALS OR REPRIMANDS.

May all your prayers be with me....

-cora