First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. Jenna has been waiting for this day for such a long time--she finally got to ride the school bus and go to Kindergarten! Haley was equally excited to start back, to see old friends and meet new ones.

"GO SLOW"

Henry and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary with a trip to Caye Caulker, Belize. This tiny barrier island has the motto, "Go Slow," and that's exactly what we did for an entire week! We biked the narrow dirt roads through town; read in hammocks with views of the Carribbean Sea; and snorkled with the manatee, stingray, sea turtles, and fish that live in the incredible barrier reef off of Central America. We had a wonderful time together. Now we are asking each other "Which island shall we explore for our 20th?"

Happy Birthday, Haley!

Our little girl turned 7! We can't believe how grown-up she is!

Haley celebrated at the Mud Shack and park with two favorite friends, then again at home with mom, dad, and sister.

The best part of her big day?? Her own digital camera! Smile, everyone!

Visit to Connecticut

We had a great time visiting family in Connecticut. The girls especially enjoyed playing with Grandma and the cousins.

Camping together at Prospect Lake Park is a yearly tradition full of swimming, fishing, boating, s'more toasting, and piling kids (and Uncle Hank!) into a tent. This year it included frog-catching, fairy house-building at the dam site, and dodging the rain.

We had a fun cousin-day at Six Flags Over New England, where Haley conquered some "big rides" with Hannah and Thomas as well as little ones with Julie. (Jenna opted for a relaxing day of videos and games with Pop-Pop and Grandma.)

Haley rode this one 3 times....and stayed dried until trip #3 when she got DRENCHED! You can tell by the smile (below), that the water only added to the thrill!


Another highlight of the trip was a trip to the mall with Grandma--complete with a carousel ride and a visit to Build-A-Bear Workshop.

The Blessing of the Fleet

What a beautiful day to spend by the water! We always enjoy watching the shrimp boats parade by to receive a blessing for a safe and bountiful season. We made the most of the day, both on the boat and at the club pool.



The girls had fun releasing a bucket of shrimp back into the ocean. The guy with the boat next to ours will wonder where all his bait went...."BE FREE! BE FREE!"

We found our spot to watch the parade and anchored. While we waited for it to begin, Dad jumped in to do some dirty work...scraping barnacles from the hull. On deck, the girls painted watercolor scenes.

There were plenty of colorfully decorated boats this year, both shrimp boats like this one and pleasure craft.

The kids decided they wanted to jump in, too! They had a blast floating in their life vests just off the boat.

Ahh! The pool! The whole family enjoyed a good long swim. It was hot, and we had earned it! Haley had non-stop fun in the water, playing and swimming with boundless energy. Jenna was determined that she no longer wants to wear a floaty-suit, so she started her own "swimming practice" and actually learned to swim a short distance on her own!