ONE LAST HURRAH

My children go back to school tomorrow.  I'm in mourning.  We have had the most beautiful summer to play, and it never feels long enough.  It was 90 degrees today so we headed over to our beach for one last swim.  There are no lifeguards on duty anymore, so the kids had free reign of the lifeguard chair.  And YES mom...I went in and it was most refreshing.  After swimming we stopped to get some last minute school supplies and topped it off with icecream.  I'm going to miss those children of mine...

KALEB'S SLEEP STUDY

Last night we headed up to Dartmouth for a sleep study for Kaleb.  They hooked him up to all the electrodes right away and then promptly sent him to bed.  That meant lights out for me too.  They watched Kaleb on camera, listened to him via microphone and observed his brain waves for the whole night.  Because he doesn't have a severe case of sleep apnea, just mild, they kept us for a nap studay today.  It consisted of 5 naps in the course of 10 hours.  They would tell him to nap and then see how long it would take him to fall asleep.  As soon as he was sound asleep, they would wake him up again.  It was quite irritating.  We won't have any results until later in the week.  Here are some pictures of our most exciting day.
(any guesses as to which book I'm reading?)

GILFORD OLD HOME DAY!

It's pretty much my favorite day of the summer.  I look forward to it every year.  We go first thing in the morning and stay until after dark.  Lot's to do and see.  This year we were fortunate to have my brother's wife and their three girls join us.  We started with the parade.  See these happy go lucky parade watchers?  Nothing like a 'slurpee' and parade candy at 9am to jump start your day.

The theme this year was "Fall Harvest".  There were plenty of great floats on display in the parade.  After the parade we hung out in the Village field where there are plenty of vendors, activities and entertainment going on.

Stevie wanted to spend her money HERE.  She's a monkey and loves to climb.  They even had a time challenge.  If she could make it to the top in 25 seconds, she would win $20.  (cost $10 for 2 climbs)  20 seconds earns you $40 and 15 wins you $75.  She did her first climb in 33 seconds. The second she was right on for 25 seconds but fumbled when she reached the top and missed hitting the button that stops her time.

She made a valiant effort and I was proud of her.  After her climbs and lunch, we stepped away from Gilford Old Home Day for an hour or so to cheer Steve on at a Laconai Police Department fundraising game against the Patriot Football team Alumni.

The game had already started by the time we arrived.  I noticed the police department did not have any subs.  At half time I walked down to the bench to say hi to Steve (#55) and jokingly ask if they need another player.  (Steve actually wanted me to play but I wasn't sure if I wanted to miss Old Home Day so I declined)

Thank goodness Stevie was wearing socks and sneakers because the whole team was thrilled that they would be adding another player (sub) to the roster.  I was not really dressed for flag football, but I rolled up my jeans, threw on the sneakers and headed out to the field.

I hadn't played since college...and that was 18 years ago.

These boys were HUGE and seriously fast.  (and quite funny)

It was interesting to say the least considering we had never practiced before playing.

Our awesome captain was literally calling plays on the fly.  He'd draw the play on the front of his shirt and we'd follow his lead.

We only ended up losing by 4 points.  Not bad for a make-shift team.

Here were all the players and cops that couldn't play because they were on duty.   As soon as the game was over we headed back to Gilford to finish up Old Home Day.  We watched dance competitions, participated in egg tosses, pie eating contests, ate lots of food and had fun playing with friends and family.

Stevie was the brave soul to enter the pie eating competition.  The flavor was blueberry topped with lots of whipped cream.  

She dove into that pie like there was no tomorrow.  

She made her Momma PROUD!  Ended up with third place.  Well done Stevie.  LOVE the face.

I didn't see much of Kaleb today.  He was running around with friends ALL.THE.LIVING.LONG.DAY!  And when I say run...I mean ALL.DAY.  (he's top right, pushing some friends on a fun swing)

Along with her cousins, we had some of Kayla's friends hang with us since we had all the good food and even better company.

The night was capped off with BEAUTIFUL fireworks.  This picture doesn't do it justice.  It was a perfect ending to a perfect day.

TODAY'S PICTURES...

...brought to you by THIS child.  She has a love for the camera. :)

I love that she has so many interests in life, especially photography.

We went blackberry picking today.  It's a little late for the season but the ones in our backyard did NOT do well this year and we were desperate for our blackberry freezer jam.  It's Kayla's favorite so she was more than willing to sacrifice her body to reach every last berry.

Yes, Benny came along with us.  Actually, he mostly resides IN my backpack but said photographer wanted him OUT for this particular journey.  Hi Benny!

I told him to HANG ON tight.  We were foraging some treacherous bushes.

Saw a few of THESE along the way.  GOOD GRAVY!  The spider was the size of a golf ball.  I almost stuck my hand right through the middle of it.  Check out the funky thicker web right down the center...crazy stuff.

Kayla thought it would be funny to chuck a few of THESE...aka "Hitchhikers" at the focused blackberry pickers.  They stick to you like glue.  It was all fun and games until she chucked them into our HAIR.  Not a pleasant experience pulling them out.  Quite painful and we might have lost a few hundred strands of hair in the process.  If you look carefully, you can see the hitch hiker she threw at my hair, top left of my head.  SEE IT?

Stevie's hair up close and personal.  Note to self...hair and hitchhikers are NOT a pretty combination.

Unfortunately we were not too successful in our blackberry pickings.  I felt like the workers in the field that were allowed back after harvest to pick whatever was left for themselves.  The pickings were slim BUT we at least got enough for one batch of jam (about 3 1/2 pints worth) and the best part was that it was FREE.

Scratch that!  The best part was being with my girls!  We may not have LOTS of berries to show for but we sure had LOTS of laughs in the process.  It was time well spent with my daughters.  Thanks for the pictures, Stevie!