Family Day in Rockland

After a very scenic ride in the car

we stopped to eat before

attempting to walk the mile long pier.

 

Walking to the restaurant for lunch

We ate sandwiches & salad on the upper deck

Ava & Momma

It seems like just a few years ago I was braiding her Mamma's hair.

Ava

Amanda & Henry

Momma & Michael

A little bird joined us for lunch, much to the kids delight.

The view look down from the upper deck.

The view looking out from the upper deck.

On our way back, Michael decided to take a detour

I'll stop here and tomorrow I'll post pictures of the gang on the pier. 

Gardening in Maine

There is a gardening gene on my father's side of the family

and at least two of my daughters have inherited it from me.

Although, Amanda was pregnant last summer and claims

her flower beds are a mess, they

were still very enchanting to my eyes.



Forget-Me-Nots

A Poppy getting ready to open

Lungwort

Lungwort is a strange name for this beautiful plant. 
I have a similar variety that used to be my grandfather's
it is also called Bethlehem sage.
The leaves on mine are much larger than this more dainty plant.



Blueberries

I tried to post this picutre last, but the blog wasn't cooperating

this morning.  While not a flower, I'm probably

the most jealous over this plant.

We tried for several years to grow blueberries, but

even with measuring the ph and making soil amendments

it wasn't favorable for blueberries here in my garden.

It looks like this one plant alone will
 provide 1/2 quart of berries.


Columbine

I have a columbine fairy statue I used to put under my columbine.
That brings back some sweet memories, perhaps I should hand it down to
Amanda and she in turn can pass it onto Ava who is another flower lover and
possible inhabitant of the Hose family gardening gene.

 

Coreopsis

Doesn't that yellow just grab you and make you think of sunshine?
If the bugs weren't so bad I would have loved to pull some
weeds and help Amanda tidy her flower beds.
My own flower beds have been scaled down dramatically
over the past five years due to lack of energy
and a strong dislike of hot muggy weather.
When I was younger I'd be out in the garden for four to
six hours at a time and my kids would beg
me to come in and cook something for them to eat.
Times change, but the beauty of flowers is everlasting!



Yes! We Made Them & Yes He's Cute!

Us girls, yes Ava too made these cute cards while I was in Maine.

Amanda & Ava actually learned to make them at a Mom & Me class.

We put together many, many more one afternoon.

They turned out adorable.

In hindsight I should have taken pictures with

some of them opened, so that you could see what the inside looked like.

Take my word for it... they were equally as cute inside the purse.

Ava was very proud of her creations.

She did her own cutting, taping, chose her own

paper, ribbon & flowers.

I gave one to each of the other two secretaries in my office.

One is putting hers on her office door and the other has

someplace she wants to hang hers at home.

They were a huge hit!

Speaking of a huge hit.....

This little guy was a super duper hit with Gramie.

He was so easy to photograph,

just smiling away....

I didn't even have my portrait lens on

and managed to get these great shots of him

playing.

"Hen Hen"  "Hengry Housin"

Whatever name you're going by today.

What a sweetie you've turned out to be.

I Wish!

I wish my youngest daughter, would have

stuck with blogging.

She started a blog once, back in the day

when she only had pets for children.

She has the knack for taking a picture

and adding something to it to

make it really stand out.

Can you believe that this picture was taken in the

backseat of her car, probably with her cell phone?

It really wasn't that great of a picture to begin with..

it was sort of out of focus and foggy looking.

And now I love it!

Here's another one.

It's so cute, with the border matching her

flower on her hat.

Audra just seems to be talented in this area.

Another picture of success. 

I love the squiggly sun!

New Mexico is a VERY sunny place indeed.

Keep up the good work Mommy or

should I say Audra.

And by the way, you have a super cute baby for your model.

These Two Guys

I just love this picture of Henry & Derek I took

while we had lunch on the upper deck of a deli

in Rockport Maine. 

They even have the same look on their faces.

I don't remember the name of the place but,

I will never forget the Pineapple Macadamian Nut Bar, which

Amanda splurged and bought us for a treat.

Yummiest desert I've ever eaten, it was topped with coconut.

It was to die for!!!

While  I was in Maine I had Derek get out his baby book,

so I could see how much the two of them looked alike.

What do you think?

Sure enough Henry looks just totally like Derek

and that's so cool, because Henry is

named Henryk after Derek's Dad.

And Derek's Dad look just like one of the Beatles!

The styles sure have changed over the years.

Do you remember those baby seats?

I do, guess that gives away my age.

They were so flimsy, I can't believe we sat

our kids in those and thought it was safe.

So while Ava is just a miniature Amanda

it looks like Henry is just a miniature Derek.

Leave me a comment as to whether you agree

or disagree.

The Grand Kids

My daughter, Meghan enjoyed Wednesday's post about Bangor, Maine;

but I'm sure most of you are waiting for pictures of the grandkids.

I did not get a photo of the three of them together, but did get shots

of Ava with Henry & Michael with Henry, so

that's what I'm sharing today.

Ava Lauren will be six in July and Henry is almost 8 months.

She looks 100 percent like her Mommy

and he looks....well I'll be posting toddler

pictures of Daddy for a comparison in a

few days, and you can measure it for

look-a-like-id-ness yourself.

They look so darn cute together.

My daughter, Amanda said it's usually Michael

that holds the charm where Henry is concerned,

but while I was there Ava did a fine job

of making him happy and getting him to produce big belly laughs.

Don't worry I have plenty of pictures of him to share

with big smiles, it was the serious looks I had a hard

time getting.

Michael & Henry

Michael will be eight in August.  Holy cow!

These pictures were taken about an hour before the

trip to the hospital.

Henry was not feeling well.

The boys!

Amanda is so blessed and I so am I.

A walk around Bangor, Maine

A short vacation?

A long weekend?

A chance to reconnect.

To catch up.

It was all of that and more.

And of course I had my camera along

to document the trip all along the way.

Downtown Bangor has some beautiful architecture.

The tide was in.

The trees and flowers were in bloom.

Amanda & I ate lunch here at the Friars Bakehouse.

It is on the top ten list of things to do in Bangor, Maine.

The Friars are famous for their Lobster Rolls

and their pastries.

I've never eaten a lobster roll before and

probably will never again

eat one as delicious as the one I ate here.

This eatery is tiny,

there are only three tables.

There are no cell phones allowed

(they take this VERY seriously)

and no waitresses, just the Franciscan brothers

in their robes.

They were a very entertaining bunch.

We also ate lunch at Giacomo's, an Italian deli. 

My salad was outstanding, but what I really enjoyed

the most was my sweet potato chips.

"Food really should taste good" is a brand that I

recognize and I'll be looking for a place to buy them

now that I'm home.

I'll post more pictures tomorrow when I finish uploading my 250+ pictures

to Kodak Gallery.

********************

Please say some prayers for Amanda and family.

The night before I was to depart they had to take

Henry to the Emergency Department.

He had been sick for a couple days and then his fever

went over 104, which made everyone very

nervous with Ava's history of seizures.

They called the pediatrician and it was determined he couldn't

wait until morning to be seen.

After a chest x-ray, he was diagnosed with probable pneumonia.

Poor little guy is very miserable and can't sleep worth beans, which

means Mommy & Daddy aren't getting any sleep either.

Michael & Ava have had bug encounters.

The school nurse removed an embedded tick from under Michael's arm,

so that is a big concern.

And after I trimmed both the big kids hair for them,

Amanda let them run through the sprinkler.

Ava was ate alive by black flies, which bled like crazy, festered red

and swelled up. The itch horribly, which I can attest to myself as I have a few too.

Poor Ava is just a sight for sore eyes and she can't sleep either.

Do you recognize a theme here?

I hate to rub it in, but my bed sure felt good last night.

I cried as I down-loaded the pictures off my camera.

Yes it's good to be home, but it's so very hard to be apart from

 those I left behind in Maine.