More July relaxing

Such beautiful sunsets!

Can you tell that Nellie enjoys the boat? I think she likes it even more when it isn't tied to the dock and she gets to go for an actual boat ride.
Beautiful summer feast, lots of fresh, local, organic goodies on this table: green beans, beet greens, beets, peas & potatoes

Having a wonderfully peaceful and quiet July here in Maine. Pretty low key - enjoying good friends & family, fresh produce & flowers, and of course the lake! We had a really lovely visit in Benedicta last weekend too, though for some reason I am not very good about getting my camera out during our visits! I will have to get better about that! Danny has been home and there was also the burgess family reunion - you can imagine the fun that was had there! My father is one of 7 so the annual reunions and holiday celebrations are very festive! Also snuck in a quick trip to the beach in lincolnville yesterday with Mom, Em, Lizzie, Stephanie, Maddie, Mike, Laurie, Char, Tom & Bullet -what fun!

A Burgess Wedding

My cousin Nick was married to his long time partner, Sarah, this past weekend. It was an absolutely beautiful evening to celebrate!

John & Susie
A Colby Alum (Aunt Mary) and future Colby alum (cousin amanda)

Aunt Barbara and baby Avery get to know each other

Cousin Allison and her son Nate have fun

Some of the Burgess clan visting, Aunt Polly, Uncle Paul, Uncle Yusef, Dad, Uncle Sherood, Uncle Arthur, Mom & Cousin Ben...

July Relaxin'

A lunar moth makes itself at home on an exterior coach light at the office....

John and Nellie hang out on the boat, one of their all time favorite things to do!

John filters vegetable oil, which he will then use as fuel for his disel van. This is a constant project for John, he is forever filtering! His hard work and dedication mean we haven't put actual disel in the van in 9 months! go John!

Lizzie is all smiles these days, she responds to all those silly voices and faces we make - so fun!

Nellie is pretty laid back these days. She spends the vast majority of her time plastered to any cold surface she can find.

Lovely July!!!

Em and I made strawberry jam last weekend - yum!

Maddie McLean playing during our 4th of July Picnic

Mike and Great Uncle John 'deer' hang out on the hammock

Cousin John gets a turn with Mike on the hammock

Ryan relaxes at camp with brinkley

John and Mike put the boat in the water with the trusty subaru!

A recent sunset at camp with loons in the water

Nellie 'helps' with the last dock section

This hydrangea plant was bought for Eric & Cindy's wedding last August - so beautiful and brings fond memories of their wedding!

I love the plant 'hens and chickens' and its many varieties. Recently Gary and Cyndie Dorman shared some of their hens and chickens with me, including this one below which as bloomed!

A photo of Lizzie and her Grampy during our 4th of July picnic at camp with the dickens clan.

one year ago this week....

One year ago this week.... Poor doggie! Though she looks as though she is recovering from chemo, this is not the case. We had to shave her because of skin troubles. She did not like being hairless!!! The pillow she is laying on is an old one of John's that she rescued from the garbage - she still uses it today! It looks like she may make it through this summer without a buzz job.

Welcoming lizzie

Well, we finally held a proper baby shower/ welcoming party for baby Elizabeth. It was a beautiful day filled with family and friends. Unfortunately I failed miserably at capturing much of anything on camera. Here are a few pictures before and after the party where nearly 60 people showered love on Lizzie:

The day started with a great visit from Caroline, Garrett, girls Meredith and Adelaide and Grammy and Grampy Kus. We visited with the pigs and had an overall farm tour:) It was great to have some time early in the day with these long time friends.

Auntie Angie decorates for the party...
'Mimi' Parker did so much to for the party, she brought so many goodies and beautiful decorations!

Grammie Suzie cleaning up pre-party

Just a glimpse of the decorations:

Emily begins to go through and enjoy the many generous gift lizzie rec'd.
Here are Lizzie and I trying out a baby sling she rec'd that day. I think she likes it!

Happy Birthday Dad!

We held a belated birthday celebration in honor of our Dad last night at camp. After a brief rain shower, we enjoyed yummy lobster feed!!! There were presents to be had and homemade icecream for desert.

Dad gets a birthday 'diddy' from Danny which explained his gift of floor mats. Very creative and funny...

Mom enjoys the celebration, relaxing a bit after all the hard work of preparation!

John looks on as Dad rips into his presents.

Lizzie's first 'napkin' gift! My parents started the 'napkin' gift tradition when we were young and we were jealous of the gifts others were opening. Thus we all got one small gift at each others birthday parties in an effort to keep the peace. These gifts were generally wrapped in a napkin or paper bag and included candy.

Happy Birthday Dad! I hope this year is the best one yet!