Writer in Residence

We are really enjoying Annabel these days.  Our not-so-little first grader has such a zest for life, and she enjoys being challenged at school.  Just last week, her class finished a study of E.B. White's Charlotte's Web.  They studied pigs and spiders, read the book, and then they were assigned the project of building a barn.

If anything, Annabel is a Lentz (with a capital L).  She and her Daddy decided that they were going to make a proper barn.  As bed time came and went with no word from the workshop, I was beginning to wonder if  they'd had some sort of nail gun incident.  Not them.  They were just finishing up on the last touches of their project.  A bit over the top perhaps?!?

She continues to devour every book she can get her hands on, and she aspires to be a writer one day.  She loves art, too - maybe she'll be an author/illustrator?

While she's definitely a "girly" girl, Annabel still enjoys a quiet evening of fishing down in the brook.  

Unexpected Visitors

Wow - this has certainly been the week for surprise visits.  A few hours after Uncle Randy & Aunt Joy left, I received a phone call from long family friend Pastor Guy Duff.  Pastor Duff and his beautiful wife Sandra were planning to drive through town and wanted to stop by for a quick visit.  It was wonderful to see them and catch up on news from the last few years.  Later that night, we joined the Duffs in Ellsworth, where they got to meet Jordan and the kids.

What a wonderful treat!

Michiganders

We just enjoyed a very special time with my Uncle Randy and Aunt Joy, who stopped by for a visit from Michigan!  It was such a wonderful treat to get to spend a few short hours with them yesterday and this morning.

Uncle Randy & Jordan have a lot of common interests, and they had a great time talking "shop."   (Woodshop, that is!).  Aunt Joy truly lives up to her namesake, and I can't begin to tell you how much fun I have when I'm with her.  The kids remember them from our visit at their home when we moved out west, and I'm fairly certain that Annabel & Thane think that they now have a third set of grandparents. 

Uncle Randy & Aunt Joy had to get back on the road way too soon, but we cherished every moment.  We can't wait to see you again!

Mother's Day - Maine Style

We have decided to spend a few days in southern Maine at the end of this month, where we will officially be celebrating Mother's Day at a lovely little french bakery in Portsmouth.  But we couldn't pass up the opportunity to indulge a little before hand.  So we called a local take out joint and ordered the famous "Monster."

It's a fresh fish fantasmagoria!  One pound of haddock, a pound of muscles, a pound of clams, a pound of scallops, a pound of shrimp, a large side of fries and onion rings, enough cole slaw for 4 and all of the fixin's one could possibly wish for.  The scary part is that the kids are slowly growing accustomed to seafood, and there was barely any left!

It's all good though.  I loved spending my day with this dude, who absolutley insisted that I eat my breakfast in bed.

 

I very much enjoyed my time with this sweet girl, who woke up early and then kept Thane busy building me a rocket ship out of a cardboard tube, tape and construction paper.

And lastly, I always love my weekends with Jordan, who made it all happen.

Life is good.  No, life is GREAT!

Treasure Hunt

You never know what you're going to find when you buy an old farm.  Take ours, for instance.  In walks around our 14 acres, we have come across several old dump sites that previous owners used for trash.  In these areas, the kids have found countless old tin cans, metal pots, broken pieces of china (alas, nothing too cool), chicken feeders and various other pieces of equipment - not to mention cars from various eras (5 and counting).

Last weekend, we found half of an old wagon wheel:

Yesterday's find was even better.  As Jordan and I were pruning trees, I tripped over and dislodged a stone.  Poking out of the hole left behind was a metal object:

The  kids are absolutely convinced that it's buried treasure from an old ship, but we are fairly certain it's an old car or wagon axle.  They'd like to dig it up, which is just fine with us.  Whatever makes them sleep well at night!

We'll keep you posted.