Just a nice hike we took with Farmor when she visited over Thanksgiving weekend.  Of course, we forgot to take any pictures with her in them!  The boys did some sketching along the way.

A New Sweetness in Our Life

Through my dear brother, Gunnar and I learned of The Avett Brothers.  Matt had made us a cd with some mixed music on it including these guys last Christmas. Over the course of the year I found myself playing only Avett Brothers songs and nothing else, because everything else paled in comparison to how this music made me feel. Yet still somehow in the haze of daily life we hadn't taken further investigation.    We found out they were playing in Northampton this summer and actually hired our first non-family babysitter in order to go to the show.  Well, it was indescribably amazing!!  Both of us were blindsided with the energy and passion of the live show and the effect of the music.  It was kind of like falling in love when you're not expecting it- fever!!  We came home and bought every bit of their music that we could find.  We have since been to two shows and can't wait for more.  Their music, their lyrics, their energy and their personalities are all incredibly uplifting, inspiring and addicting.  They add so much to our days.  How could we have not listened to Matt sooner?!

Halloween

Here are my Phantom and Grim Reaper.  Check out that pumpkin!  The boys' G.G. and Pop-Pop grew it and several others that large.  We cut off the top to scoop out the insides and then found that it only wanted to lay that way -so the roaring pumpkin was born.

We had a different experience this year in that James went out with friends for the first time all by himself, and Asa and I went with a couple of his friends to a very popular neighborhood in town where they go all out with the decorations.   Both boys had a great time.  James got more loot than we knew what to do with though.  Navigating the crowds kept down the amount of candy Asa and I could collect which was just as well!

Sleep Away Camp!

This was James' home for a week this July.  It was his first experience spending an extended period away from home without any family members, and he had a great time!  He says that he really enjoyed the archery because the teacher was very nice and loved the dining hall with all the food. (Eating is  a favorite for this kid!) 

He returned home in the same clothes that he left in!!  The craziness of this fact was softened by the knowledge that they went swimming at least once every day but, still, yikes!   His grin when talking about it tells me he very much enjoyed reveling in not having to keep to "home-level" standards. I'm sad to say that we don't have a photo of him in all his glory on the last day, but at least there's video...phew!

Us

Hello!  Here we are.  Becky, Gunnar, James and Asa.  Right now the boys are 11 and 7 though I won't be able to say that for long.  We are in the middle of having a wonderful summer and we are all grateful for the sun, warmth and opportunities that vacations and longer days bring.   Hopefully we will be able to share some of our adventures on this blog.