misc

It's been warm enough to do a little biking

He's a bed hog.  But oh, so sweet.

Gabby really wants to be an outside cat!

lake

I feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful place.  And that my boys have the lake and the woods to play in daily.  Lucky, lucky us.

gabby

Gabby has certainly made herself at home and has become a wonderful addition to our family.  She and Gilbert love to wrestle and snuggle, and both the boys enjoy picking her up and snuggling with her.  Gabby puts up with a lot, and she is a very loved girl.

snow storm, take 2

S & I trudged up the unplowed driveway to meet the bus

boys got pulled home from bus stop on sleds

S kept falling over (on purpose) in the snow

Ben has been awesome about taking the bus home a couple/few days per week & Spencer and I enjoy walking up to the end of our road to meet the bus.  Two times recently we've taken up the sleds so the boys could be pulled home from the bus stop in the new snow.

Spencer's 3rd birthday party!

at the table with brother & cousins

He got his pink cake!!!

getting help putting the blocks together

this opening presents thing is pretty fun!

Spencer turns three tomorrow (!!) and we had his birthday party over the weekend.  Spencer thought the whole thing was pretty cool- especially opening presents.  He woke up the next morning and asked where "his people" were, wondering why the party had to be over.

harley

This dog was my comfort on so many occasions.  When I was living alone, a friend of mine came to my house (very unexpected) late at night & Harley sensed danger, so he climbed on top of me while I was in bed.  He laid all of his weight on me and emitted a low growl towards the door. I have no doubt that he was protecting me.

Another time, when Jay and I were renting a house one winter, a storm blew the front door open in the middle of the night and the cats escaped.  Harley came into the bedroom and nudged me with his nose until I woke up and followed him out to see that the door was open.

He rode cross-country with us when we drove to California, and flew from CA to ME back to CA (that last leg included a delay that caused the airplane to turn around, back to the airport so Harley and I could get off the plane-- we were 47th in line for take-off and the airline didn't want Harley to be on the plane that long...) What adventures!

Sure, he got into porcupines, and he was Houdini when it came to escaping, but that dog made me so happy for 13 years- even when he went to live with my parents once our boys came along.

Three years ago today we said good-bye to Harley-Man and I miss him every day.

Love you, Doggie. 

more from our snowed-in weekend

Spence made a play Doh plow on his truck

Ben made a silly putty beard on his face

Enjoying cookie dough.  Such good helpers!

Serious SORRY! tournament happened

Cookies

our day vs. Jay's day

The "mountain"

The right side is Jay's side.  Yes, I shoveled that.  Yes, he owes me big time.

Spence tried to enjoy it outside, but it was just too windy!

Jay's view this morning.

This is what Jay was doing while I was shoveling his side of the barn.  Yes, he owes me.

There's quite a difference between our little haven in Maine and where Jay is right now-- Clearwater, Florida.  He had to make a short, impromptu visit there in order to be prepared to start his anesthesia rotation there next month.  So, while he was strolling the beach, the boys and I were braving the craziness of this storm to plow a swath big enough so he can drive in the driveway when he arrives home tomorrow!  His flights were originally scheduled for today, but he was able to change his reservations easily enough to tomorrow.  Let's hope he gets home safely and quickly tomorrow so we can go on with the plans for Spencer's THIRD birthday party tomorrow afternoon!

and let the snow begin!

Wheeler in the snow

This was yesterday- on my 4-mile walk

This is today, waiting for the school bus on an early-release day

Getting pulled home from the bus stop

Apparently this is the storm before the storm...  It wasn't supposed to start until this afternoon, but it was snowing enough for school to announce an early release day before the school day officially started.  It is light and super-fluffy snow, so has been fun to plow and shovel (which is good since Daddy is in Florida in 80 degree weather).  As I look out the window, the snow flakes are getting smaller (they were BIG, FLUFFY flakes this morning), but accumulation has been amazing.  I'm glad to have two of my three boys home and hunker down for the weekend.  I have plenty of supplies for some baking and making-of-Valentines this weekend!

Cats

Gabby being frisky, or as Spencer says:  "risky".

Gabby cuddling up with Gilbert

She made a nest

Ben and his kitty

Gabby has been a super addition to our family- she keeps things interesting and keeps the energy level up!  Spencer and Ben both love to pick her up, and she tolerates it so well!  Gilbert tries to escape her frequently by going outside, but he also gives her baths and plays with her often...

Winter in Maine

The Jewetts on the ice on an ICE COLD morning!

Spence loves the tractor

Our broken chair serves a different purpose- on the ice

Spence hiding in the culvert.

It's snowing outside today.  Like big-time storm.  We have had some super cold weather, but not a lot of snow, so we were able to do some ice skating and walking as well as exploring through the woods.  Spencer and I went for a walk the other day- around "The Loop" (from one driveway, up to the road, over to the other driveway).  An adventure that should have taken about 20 minutes turned into an hour of fun because Spencer decided he wanted to walk the entire way.  (I'll tell you what:  he had a GOOD nap that afternoon!)  I ran back into our house to switch hats when we first stepped outside the house, and when I came back, literally 20 seconds later, Spencer had found an awesome hiding spot (and I almost had a heart attack when I couldn't find him)- the culvert in the driveway!!  He was so quiet and the spot is basically surrounded by woods and lake, so I started to get nervous.  When I finally found him, I was afraid he was going to crawl all the way back in where I would just have to wait until he decided to come out.  That wasn't the case, and we were on our way.

Impromptu snowshoe session

Ben saw his snowshoes outside the door when he got home from school and it led to a walk along a fresh snowmobile track on the lake.  It was cold, but beautiful!

fast feline friends...

Frisky kitties are really good pals now.  :)

proud of this guy

having lunch during a Mountain Magic day at the 'Loaf

waiting for his flu shot

his FIRST ride home on the school bus!!

Ben is becoming such a big kid-- where did my baby go???  He's skiing like crazy (when he can) at Sugarloaf this winter and is really doing well.  He's willing to try all sorts of new things-- like ride the bus home from school (see previous post about having to wake Spencer up from naps to pick Ben up at school)!  Yesterday was his first ride home on the bus & the photo is blurry, but I had to hurry up and get the photo before I embarrassed him too much!  He got off the bus with a big smile and asked if he could ride the bus home again tomorrow.  I didn't tell him, nor have I led on, how nervous the bus makes me, but I'm just so proud that he's willing to try new things and has been successful with them.  I kept giving him high fives and telling him how excited I was for him and he smirked and said, "what?  it's just a ride on the school bus."  But I could tell.  He was psyched.  Proud Mama...

spence outside

headed out for a walk/nap

tasting an icicle or two...

king of the mountain!

and bundled up for a nap

Now that the holidays are over, and the excitement of the hospital is behind us, we've been trying to get back into some form of normalcy.  But, oh wait-- there are nasty colds to be had, and stomach bugs to be sick with, and that throws a wrench into the whole nap thing.  But here's the thing-- I love naps.  Not my own as I don't take them anymore, but I love Spencer's naps.  He.  Must.  Take.  One.  I insist.  And when he's not super into it I get a little bit desperate.  There is a fairly short window of opportunity for Spence to get a decent nap in before we have to leave to get big brother from school (and he's a real crank-puss when I have to wake him up from the nap that I wrestled him into first!).  But don't get me wrong, he NEEDS these naps-- he's always tired and sleeps pretty well and is in a much better mood for having had them.  So, when he refuses to take the nap, I bundle him up, strap him in the BOB stroller (thanks, Helki!!!!) and go for a long walk-- sometimes 4 miles.  He gets in a good snooze, I get my exercise and Vitamin D, and we're both the better for it.