More Maine Bugs

I posted my black fly encounter so I thought it fitting to also post about my tick encounter. We have seen many ticks here in Maine but we have never actually had one...well....attached. We visited some friends on the coast this weekend and went tromping around in their woods (not really thinking that the ticks would still be out so late in October). I woke up this morning and bumped my leg on a toy (very typical) and it hurt more than it should. Of course, I had to look, thinking it a little odd that I would bruise that easily. Sure enough, there was a nasty tick enjoying a snack. Alan had to pull it out with Tweezers...they do not give up easily. And now, I have a very sore leg complete with frequent burning sensations (although it is getting better). We had to keep the tick and freeze it just in case...to check it for lyme disease. Anyhow, I will not post a picture (you don't need the image). Just another reason to move to maine!!!

Summer Re-cap

I cannot believe that summer has come and gone, and we are in mid October. I have been a little delinquent in posting new pictures and updating the blog. I hope this post makes up for it! (Although the pictures will not be in chronological order, you will still get some idea of what we have been up to).

We enjoyed visiting grandma Ruie and Harold. The kids exhausted Gizmo (grandma's little dog) running her back and forth outside!



We spent the summer traveling here and there. We made it out to the West Coast for 3 weeks this summer. We spent time in Washington visiting family and friends, taking an exciting sailing trip(complete with rain showers and sunshine) with my parents up to Hope Island. Beautiful day trip. We got to see an old wind mill, play with jelly fish, and tons of little crabs (thanks mom and dad).














































Here we are at Mason Lake (thanks Marsha and Ron for a wonderful weekend). We spent the weekend with Alan's aunt, uncle, and cousins. We even had a day just us to kick back....so I took a picture. :)


Jumping off the dock into the relatively cold water.....even though their lips were blue, they would not admit they were cold.



Brother and sister snuggles. Okay, now we're cold!
Beach chairs are cool!
So are carseats and water jugs.

We also celebrated Alan's 28th birthday out at the lake. It was a surprise; he loved seeing all his buddies and their kids. It's amazing how quickly we multiply. Check out the boat.
FUN ON THE JET SKI!

Kaylynn enjoyed having a sleepover with Apryl and Emylia.

We had a great time with Aunt Angie in Portland. We took the public transit system (the kids loved going "underground") to the Portland zoo where we enjoyed a day of looking at some cool animals and an amazing dinosaur exhibit.

Wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley.


Kaylynn's reaction to the T-Rex at the zoo. He was really loud.

And Jeremie's reaction to the T-rex.
Have you ever been this close to a dinosaur?
Kalli...sleeping anywhere she can.



We then traveled to Idaho to visit my grandparents and aunt and uncle. We enjoyed trap shooting, 4-wheeling, thrift shopping, exploring uncle Mike's property, talking to the cows, climbing hay bales, swimming, and more tea parties. Thanks Grandma, Grandpa, Mike and Roxy for a wonderful time! We look forward to doing it again!

Kaylynn enjoyed organizing tea parties all vacation long. She is very thoughtful and creative.


Everyone took a turn on the 4-wheeler.







Then to the family reunion in Astoria, Oregon where we saw a cool sunken ship, a WWII re-enactment at Fort Stevens, had the first annual Clay-Colby children's Olympic games (all the kids have t-shirts and trophies), jumped late into the evening on the big bouncy thing (yes, even the adults), and spent our nights eating S'mores and catching up. The girls even busted out with Achy Breaky Heart during karoke night. (I bet you're sad you missed that Candise....don't worry there's always next year!!!) I think we ate too much and got too little sleep. It was wonderful; can't wait for next year!


Kaylynn got in on the karoke at the family reunion to.
Can we say, next "American Idol?"

Our trip home was an adventure. We spent two nights in Kentucky because they could not get us a flight home. We wound up the second night in a beautiful hotel, swimming all evening then enjoying a nice dinner (on the airline) and then home!

After our West Coast adventures we took some time off to just hang out at home. Kaylynn learned to ride her bike with no training wheels, Jeremie learned to hold his breath under water, and Kalli became infatuated with any and every type of bug...exclaiming "WoW!" whenever she saw one.

Then off for a camping weekend up north in Maine. This was quite an experience...no sign of any civilization for miles. I saw a moose walking along the road. We drove through a small town Jackman where all the parking lots were full of....not cars and trucks...but 4-wheelers! And apparently in the winter, they drive their snowmobiles. We camped at this wonderful place right on the lake...which Kalli made herself quite comfortable in the first morning (as you can see in the pictures). We had full access of the canoes and paddles boats the whole time we were there. We spent the days in the water or looking for cool bugs or watching another kid fish. We spent the evening catching the biggest bullfrogs I have ever seen. The sky was crystal clear, and the star shone so bright...the last time I remembered seeing stars that bright was when I was in Mexico in high school. The place was family run and very quiet, exactly what we needed. They even provided free firewood which was a blessing because we forgot ours at home!


More smoke than fire, but the marshmallows were still good.We simply cannot keep Kalli out of the water!


Fall has been as busy as summer. I am homeschooling full force this year which has been a blast! We have enjoyed learning all about caterpillars. We have caught and observed three monarchs...yes, the full progression from caterpillar to butterfly. VERY COOL! If you have never seen, please make the effort to next year. You will be blown away. We found tiger moth caterpillars, a bed straw hawk moth caterpillar, and a few others that I have yet to identify.

Kaylynn is reading chapter books and writing little stories every day. She is extremely creative! She LOVES tea parties so we are learning a lot about afternoon tea times and the history of "tea parties." She is enjoying another year of ballet and keeps talking about being the prima ballerina. Kaylynn is a very good example to her younger siblings and really enjoys being the big sister. She tells Jeremie stories anytime we take a car ride. The names of her characters are always very interesting. The latest name she gave for Jeremie was Jericho.

Jeremie is learning to write his letters and numbers and loves singing songs about anything he can think of. He is a fast little guy. He literally RUNS everywhere and is so fast that I have a hard time catching him sometimes. He is very interested in football and baseball so we are teaching him what we know. He tried gymnastics for a month but didn't like it so we took him out. His favorite thing to do, though, is play legos. He would literally play legos all day long if I let him. He builds ships, planes, wagons, anything he can think of.

Kalli is such a cutie. Everywhere we go, people comment on her smile. She LOVES animals. All summer we worked on a farm, and she was ectastic with all the animals. She carried the cats around, chased the dogs and chickens and tried to climb in with the goats! She loves to dance and will bring the keyboard to the older two to have them turn it on. Kalli is talking a bit but seems to not care too much about it. She care more about hiding things around the house. The latest was earlier this week....I heard the phone ring but couldn't find it....it was in the garbage. She was very proud of herself. Two days ago I couldn't find the soap for the bathroom so I asked Kalli. She went to the cupboard in the living room and pulled it out for me. She makes us laugh every day!
We have enjoyed apple picking, going to fairs, and playing in the cool fall weather.
We are getting ready for winter. Our wood stove is in and most of our wood is cut and split. We are just waiting for the snow. Hopefully this 70 degree weather will hang on a bit longer!