Hard to believe another year has gone by and our daughter has turned 5 already. Seems like such a quick 5 years too. One minute she's just a little baby and the next she's riding her bike and going to school and dressing up like a princess. This year she wanted a Cinderella themed pizza party, so Jen made her a castle cake and she and her little sis made themselves a dairy free pizza. Still no sign of the dairy allergy going away, but she's being tested again tomorrow so maybe there will be some positive signs to report on then. After 5 years we've adapted but hopefully someday she won't have to worry about it anymore. She's doing great otherwise though. Excelling in school, loves to dance and sing, really enjoys gymnastics and is a great big sister. Hopefully the next 5 years are as fun as the first 5, and hopefully they don't fly by quite as fast.
Mother's Day was Sunday and the girls wanted to take Jen somewhere "special" they said. Somewhere like Clark's Trading Post and Bill & Bobs to be exact was what Brooke wanted to do and then maybe some miniature golf. Those places however haven't opened for the season, so they decided Mm might like to see some animals at the Squam Lakes Science Center and follow it up with some indoor mini golf at Funspot since we were right up the road. What mother wouldn't love a special day like that?! For some pictures of both those special days you can click right here.
I've also been keeping up with my explorations of the local conservation areas and preserves whenever I have a little free time, as going for all day hikes up in the White Mountains isn't in the cards right now. I'm afraid that even though Jen is still 7 weeks from her due date I'd come home and have our new daughter greeting me. Instead I've been for a couple little walks in the area that are great for just about anyone and have some neat stuff to see. One was a sunrise walk over in Dover at the Bellamy River Audubon Sanctuary which has a trail around a piece of land that juts out into Little Bay with the river running along side it. It was a nice scenic little mile and a half walk with some deer, birds and a sunrise to see among the sights. I also did a 2.5 mile walk in the Bellamy River Wildlife Management Area, which you might not want to confuse with the other one like I did the first time, as they are similar and close to one another, but the Sanctuary is a much nicer walk. Neither was bad however and if you'd like to see pictures from them you can find then all right here.
The last little area I walked was the Brookside Audubon Sanctuary in South Hampton, which is home to a lot of birds including woodpeckers, herons, kingfishers and a pair of osprey. I spent a little while watching the osprey and taking some pictures of the threatened birds as well as their neighbors before walking a trail on the abutting Crosby Conservation Area, which has an unmarked but easy to follow trail out to a pretty little hemlock grove along the brook that feeds the marsh/sanctuary. It was about 2.5 miles overall, but the walk just to see the osprey is very short if you're interested in seeing them. I'd suggest bringing some binoculars for a better view as the nest sits maybe 100 yards out, but they fly and swoop all over looking for fish, so you may get a good show either way. If you want to see any pictures of them or that area you can find them all right here.
Well that's about it for now. Everyone and everything is good around here. Check back soon and maybe we'll have something new to put up but for now that's all.
