Good Beginnings

It's hard to believe that school is over, and that summer has officially begun.  The last few days of school were quite a whirlwind of class parties, award ceremonies and lots of plain old fun.

Both of the kids did really well, and I was really happy to hear that they received awards for being good students - and good friends!

We enjoyed a very pleasant surprise on Thane's last day of school:  one of our broody hens hatched a wee chick (only a few hours old in the photo below).

To celebrate summer, Jordan took the kids on their first ever camping trip in the "wild" woods behind our home.  Here they are, ready to start their big adventure.

They made camp, fished for their dinner in the brook, and finally settled down to a somewhat restless, but glorious, night in the fresh summer air.  It's gonna be a great summer!

Close Encounters of the Bug Kind

While cleaning a couple of days ago, I suddenly noticed THIS unsightly creature hanging on my tv cabinet.  I was thoroughly grossed out, and by the looks of its trembling, I don't think that it was super thrilled to see me either.  I almost killed it, but was delayed by a phone call.

 

It wasn't until I returned that I noticed an empty cocoon on the shelf.  Vaguely I remembered that the kids found a cocoon on the garage last fall, and we brought it inside when it didn't appear to hatch.  It's been sitting on the cabinet with an empty wasp nest all winter.

We were fascinated and watched as the bug carefully dried up and unfurled its wings, an endeavor that took most of the afternoon and evening. We were most disappointed the next morning when the moth appeared to have flown away.  (Truth be told, I was more interested in WHERE it had flown!)  Not to worry, it had only flown to the other side of the cabinet.

It even spread its wings so we could see it in its full glory. The kids want to name the moth and keep it as a pet.  Hmmm....

Vacationland

Did you know that Maine is known as "Vacationland?"  So naturally, that's where we decided to spend this year's vacation - although we did head further south (it was 40 this morning - yes, 40 on June 6th!!!)

Southern Maine was great.  We stayed at a nice condo near the beach in Wells, close to where I grew up.  It's hard to beat the seashore for cheap entertainment.  After all, there's an endless supply of seaglass, shells, dried crab & sand dollars - not to mention interesting bits and pieces of junk that washes ashore.  Trust me, we have quite the collection to prove it!

We had a wonderful week visiting with friends, and eating lots of yummy foods not readily available in our little corner of the world.  Well - and some that we'll eat anywhere at anytime:

Thane even got to ride a whale (or so he'll tell you).

The highlight of the week for the kids was our tour of this bad boy:  the U.S.S. Albacore, a decommissioned sub that is the focus of a museum dedicated to honoring veteran's who have served on these underwater vessels.  A fitting way to end Memorial Day week.