Good Riddance To A Crappy Rainy June!

Well June is almost over and hopefully July will bring better weather to our neck of the woods. It seems like it has rained almost every day, even though I think it was only 20 days officially, but we only had ONE 80 degree day. That must be a record of some sort. This weekend we spent some time visiting with Chris, Katie and the kids who were all down for an early joint party for him and Jason who will turn 30 and 29 the 1st and 2nd of July. She got to hang out with all her big cousins there and Olivia took real good care of her for us. Brooke had lots of fun and laughs with her at the party. Sunday morning we stopped over to say bye and she also got to visit briefly with her only smaller cousin, Cameron, who is growing fast and very cute. Brooke is already a hair taller than her older cousin Anna and soon Cameron will be right up there with them I think.Jen turned 29 on the 23rd. We all went out to dinner at Margaritas but unfortunately I didn't bring a camera and she didn't take any pictures with hers. We also went up to LL Bean again to get her a new backpack that hopefully won't hurt her back and some new boots for her quest for the 4000 footers. If you're interested we will be trying to go again the 4th of July, weather permitting of course. Let us know if you want to go. I won't hold my breath for replies though. Today we went up to the mountains for the afternoon. It was cloudy but pretty warm (70 degrees) and since Jen and I only get two or three days off a month together we decided not to waste it sitting at home on the couch. Brooke had her first Bill and Bob's roast beef sandwich. She LOVES meat, of any kind. A true carnivore just like me. I guess that's why her canines were the first to come in :-) Anyhow we went around to the Basin where she actually did a bit of her own hiking/walking for the first time and went to visit the bears at Clark's, that they now keep securely hidden behind a few fences so you can't enjoy a free peek. Unless that is you're light enough for your daddy to lift you up high enough to see over the fences. She loved the bears, got really excited about seeing them so we can't wait to take her to York's Animal Kingdom, the Gray Maine Animal Preserve and the New England Aquarium. She's going to love them.Finally there's a video here of her getting "foot loose". Check it out if you want, she loves to dance like her Mom. We think it's pretty cute. Well that's about it for now. All the pictures are grouped together here so click, sit back and enjoy!

Rainy Day Hiking Fun

We had been planning this out for a few weeks so we could get ourselves, the Griffin's and the Haas's all together for a hike. As the day got closer it became clear that the weather wasn't going to be good enough for a big mountain hike but it also wasn't bad enough to call the whole trip off. The forecast was for a 40% chance of a morning shower with temps in the 60's and getting better after that. I guess their definitions of "shower" and "40%" are slightly different than mine but armed with that information, the fact that we had all cleared our schedules for the day and feeling like we were all up for an adventure we decided to go through with the trip anyways.

We chose a waterfall hike thinking it would be good with the recent rain so we bundled up Anna and Brooke, loaded them into their packs and off we went to find Arethusa Falls. Listed at 200 feet tall and NH's highest it was a pretty easy 1.5 mile hike to the falls. We decided to add on the trip over Frankenstein cliffs which made the total trip 4.9 miles with 1500 feet of elevation gain. It rained for most of the day which got the falls flowing nicely but when we got to the cliffs it cleared just enough to give us a few views across the notch and down to the parking area. After that the rain let up for the last few miles and we headed back to the cars and then got lunch at the Moat Mountain Brewery in North Conway. The food and beers were pretty good and it was a great way to finish up the trip.

It took about 5 hours to do the whole trip, including the breaks, and despite the rain I think everyone had a good time, even the girls in the packs hardly fussed at all. Not bad considering the weather and the fact that it was Anna's first hiking trip. When we were finished they were even high-fiving and hugging each other. It was really cute. Now we know what to expect and how to plan better so if the weather ever cooperates and mother nature realizes this isn't Seattle we should be able to take a really nice trip next time, hopefully sooner rather than later. For pictures of this time however you can click right here. Thanks for checking in again.

Brooke "Danicing" In the Car

Just a quick video of Brooke dancing to her new favorite song. It's short but we thought it was funny. She sure didn't get this from my side of the family.

Look Who's Walking!

Well if you can't figure it out the big news of the day is that Brooke is walking! 13 Months and one day old and she's on her way. It was the first time she has really taken off and actually walked and not just controlled her fall for a few steps. This is real walking and it was really exciting. It's only about half a dozen steps but it looks like walking to me. Unfortunately the blog isn't cooperating so to see for yourself click here and it will take you to you tube where I posted it.
Speaking of walking Ryan and I finished the last of Vermont's 4000 footers this weekend. We hiked over Mt. Abraham for the third time this year and finally made it to the 4083 foot high summit of Mt. Ellen. It was a 12.6 mile hike and took about 7 hours to do. Now that Vermont is finished it will soon be off to Maine to finish the ones we have left there and that will complete the New England 4000 footers for us. For pictures of the hike click here.
This was the last of our Vermont 4000 footers but also the last hurrah for my old blue hiking boots. After the hike one of the soles started to come off so we took them back to L.L. Bean where even though they were almost 10 years old and well used they quickly gave me a refund to buy new ones with. If you haven't been there lately you haven't been there at all. The place has really expanded and added on other buildings. The outlet is even on the top of the new 4 story parking garage in an open air mall. It's just a huge place and they're taking over the town. We literally needed a map to find our way around. The main building now has a huge fish tank as well as the old pond under the stairs and Brooke LOVED it. Watching the fish swim around and going "inside" the tank in the little glass dome they have for kids entertained her for a long time. They also have a free summer concert series that is going to have Blue's Traveler and the Wallflowers among others. We're going to try and go to a few so if you'd like to join us let s know. Anyways there's a bunch of pictures of Brooke enjoying all that as well as a few from the playground this week if you're interested right here. That's about it for now.

Brooke is turning the lucky 13, in months that is. She's eating all kinds of new foods like the ice cream sandwich's and Oreo's in the pictures. We play around in the back yard quite a bit while grilling and she loves "Howie Dog" across the street. She's always looking for him and gets very excited when she sees him. She is starting to take steps now, just one or two and then falls to whoever is nearby but I don't think it'll be long before she's walking. We'll wait and see but I'll get some video of it when it happens. Other than that there hasn't been much going on around here. Weather permitting we're going hiking Sunday which should be a good time so check back for pictures of that soon. For now there's a bunch of pictures from the last week or so here.

Mount Moosilauke Invitation

Brooke's bug net finally came in so we can safely take her with us again on hiking trips. Hopefully the black flies will be gone by then and we won't even need it. They should be but you never know. Jen has also decided after the last big hike she wants to climb all of the NH 4000 footers too. She's at 5 right now but that includes 4 of the top 12 so she's on her way. It seems like a good plan, plenty of exercise, sun, fresh air and family time so I think that's great for all of us. Anyhow the next trip we're planning is for Sunday the 14th to climb Mt. Moosilauke. Some of you have done it before (see picture if you don't remember) but we'll hopefully be taking a different trail with some nice waterfalls along the way. Since I'll be carrying Brooke it'll be a leisurely stroll I'm sure but that's our plan, weather permitting. If the weather is cloudy but not raining we might try a different mountain. If it rains forget it all together but so far the Griffins are going with us but everyone is welcome. If we need to we'll take more than one car so don't be shy about coming along.