We be Tripp'in!

This may be the most bizarre post I have ever inflicted upon you.

I have some how managed to capture just how silly Ellie and I are together in this short video and a few photos.

I'm about to get Psychedelic on you all. Buckle Up!

LetterBoxing, fireworks & Friends

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend. We had a blast!!!
It was a busy one this year but we found time to have some local fun!

We got together with our friends Kjeld & Melissa. They welcomed their daughter Kira into the world 3 weeks ago. She was a bit snoozey but awake or asleep she is super cute! She's got great parents and will be well taken care of and well photographed!
It's always great visiting them.



Along with our visit to Marshfield we got a visit from our neighbor Steve. He swung over to invite us to his annual July 4th BBQ. We offered him a brew and he couldn't pass it up so he hung out on the deck and chilled out for a bit. We talked war, design and other neighborly things. Unfortunately with our weekend plans we weren't able to attend the par-tah.

With fireworks going off just about everywhere we didn't set out to watch. Every year we are able to see multiple shows from our bedroom windows.

The absolute highlight of the weekend was out Letterboxing experience.

Letterboxing is an outdoor activity that combines elements of art and puzzle solving. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly-accessible places (like parks) and distribute clues to finding the box in printed catalogs, on one of several web sites, or by word of mouth. Individual letterboxes usually contain a logbook and a rubber stamp. Finders make an imprint of the letterbox's stamp on their personal logbook, and leave an impression of their personal stamp on the letterbox's logbook — as proof of having found the box. Many letterboxers keep careful track of their "find count".

J discovered this on-line community www.letterboxing.org. Here you can look up where letterboxes have been hidden in your location. We found many in RI and a handful in our immediate area. So we headed out to a place in Cumberland RI called the Monastery. Formerly a Monastery for Monks it is now a public park with a library, a playground and walking trails. The trails are the very same trails the monks used to meditate on slow walks.

We set out to find "The Bear's Claw". Our instructions were clear. We were to take the walking path and follow the puzzled directions and if we were successful we would find the hidden Bear Claw. This was an adventure that Ellie was very excited for. She had on her 4rth of July hat and t-shirt she and Mom had previously painted. Oh, and she also had her binoculars to spy the Bear's Claw.

We were Treasure Hunters!
Ellie lead the way as Johanna read the directions. We were instructed to be cautious and not to let onto what we were doing for fear of non letterboxer seekers may remove and steal the contents.

Ellie would periodically halt the group (J & I) and ask us to be quiet. She would then peer through her binoculars to look ahead and then let us know "It's all clear!" We gave Ellie the Treasure Hunter name "Bird's Eye". Johanna was "Lady J - the navigator" and I don't think I got a nickname.

We approached our final clue. To read a plaque about 9 soldiers who were buried on this very spot. Then searched a nearby tree to find the letter box under 2 rocks and covered by wet leaves. In it we found the Bear's Claw which is the stamp of the team who hide it. Also was a passport sized book filled with other finder's who found the letterbox who dated, noted and stamped a page to record their presence.


We pulled out our stamp (A sand dollar) and pressed it into the small book to record being the ninth finder of this box. We also needed a team name. We threw out some silly one's and decided on The Forrest Fairies.... being the only man the ladies out ruled me 2-1...

As we read on we discovered a second part to the Bear's Claw. Further on this walking path was a second letterbox by the same team. We decided as brave treasure hunters to search it out!

This one seemed much trickier. As nature's land mark's might not be what they once were.
We couldn't find it... However in our search we found 3 beautiful treasure's.

As J and Ellie were looking to see if we might be close I looked further up the path and saw an reddish shape. I walked closer to get less than 10 yards away and realized it was a deer. I quickly spun to quietly alert J & Elle. They quietly approached the deer who was slightly off the path. She peered at us and seemed unfazed by our presence.

Then Ellie whispers... "There's two babies". Sure enough this mother deer was with her 2 fawns. Unbelievably close to us. They must be very comfortable with visitors of the Monastery grounds.



As I snapped a few pics one fawn came upon me through the brush.... it must not have known I was there. She paused, looked at me and sprang away. This sent the other fawn sprinting after... Mother soon followed. I timed each get-away with photo.

This was an amazing afternoon of adventure, intrigue and surprises. This has and will create many fun days for us to explore R.I. I'd encourage anyone to visit the links above and find letterboxes in their local areas or places they will be visiting. It makes a simple hike turn into a fun hunt!

Ellorie's Ballet Recital

This post if a few weeks behind but very worth sharing.

Ellie has been taking ballet lessons for about a year and 2 weeks ago her lessons ended with her recital. She and her fellow classmates were to perform 2 songs throughout the night.

It was a busy/warm weekend before the Monday night performance.
Nancy & Maurie were coming to stay with us for a few night's and my folk's would be coming down Monday afternoon and spending the night with all of us.

We couldn't be more pleased at how well they all get long. Conversation seems to just flow and they have loads in common. We're fortunate that we can all get-together and have a good time.

Both sets of grandparents were excited to see Ellie perform. They each received little pictures of Ellie in her costumes from J & I.

Before the show on Monday The Grandparents and I went to dinner while J and Ellorie got ready and headed off to URI. After dinner we headed straight over to URI. URI isn't far for us. We settled into our seats and anxiously awaited her performance.

Sitting their I realized my stomach was churning a bit. I knew she would do great but it was their was just that nervousness for her. Once she came out on stage my nerves were gone and warm feeling of joy as I saw her smile beaming. She and her classmates were enjoying it as much as we were. They did their routine very well. Ellie took a minute midway through to look around and check out the seen behind her which earned some laughs from the large college auditorium.

Johanna spent most of her time backstage helping with the other Mom's and keeping an eye on the kids in between performances. She would come out a song or 2 before Elle hit the stage.

We were all so proud of her! She did great. No meltdowns (on stage) and they were all just so darn cute!

This was one of those great parenting moments that you'll never forget.

Here's a few photos of her in her costume. I'll have to post some video from her dress rehearsal since no camera's were allowed during the performance.

KinderCare Graduation

Last night Johanna and I attended Ellories graduation.
In September she'll be moving to the Four year old classroom.
This night is really for the kids that will be moving onto to 1st grade.

We started the night with a picnic from Panera on the schools rolling hills.
Many of the other families joined with their own picnic dinners.
The kids ran around and got ready for the ceremony while the parents mingled.

The first to graduate was the Kindergarten class. They wore cap & gowns, sang songs and shared with the enormous crowd what they had learned. A very special night for these kids and parents. One young man claims to be Ellie's boyfriend... and we got to witness the kissing of Ellies cheek prior to the graduation... I had to tell him to calm down. HE'S FIVE! I'm not ready for that yet.

Next up was the Pre-kindergarten. They too sang songs and recieved their "diploma's".

As each class finished they were encouraged to go inside and part take in the Make your own Ice Cream Sunday's. So as each group left the crowd thinned out.

The last group to go was the Three year olds who would move onto the 4 year old classroom. Not a huge jump but a jump nevertheless. This is Ellie's class. They sang 3 songs and received a gift along with their diploma's.

The kids did a great job. All very well behaved and worked hard on their singing. I've included probably the funniest thing I've seen in awhile. The kids are singing a song about Butterflies. You'll see a very animated little girl in red who improvised some 70's dance moves in her performance. And a friendly hand hold with a new boyfriend?????? Is she already moving on?

We had a wonderful time at the ceremony. The Kindercare that we go to is amazing. We find ourselves lucky that Ellie has so many friends and teachers with her daily that truly love and care for her. In turn got to find out from other families what Ellie means to them and how she's helped them and their children.

My chest seems to find room for my heart to grow bigger than I thought possible.



We love you Elle. Your a special little girl who makes Mommy & Daddy humble with your grace, charm and compassion.

Sprinkler

It's been hot here lately. Fortunately it has started to cool off.

This is how Elle beat the heat!

The Rescuers!

Sunday morning I ran out to get us a lite breakfast at Tim Horton's. If your not familiar with them... their food is excellent. Better than DD's in my opinion.

Well on my way there on Rte. 44 I drove over a large lump. I wondered.... was that a turtle?
I couldn't quite make it out and kept going. On my way back from getting our breakfast I wanted to see what the lump was. Sure enough the lump was gone and now was walking along the curb. It was a turtle. A decent size one too. I went home told the girls what I saw and was heading back out after him to get him off the busy Rte 44.

When I returned back with "Speed" (We named him) Ellie and J got a big kick out of him.
We decided to set him free down the street at the pond down the street.

Our rescue mission begins.

As we approached the pond I saw yet another lump in the grass. Thinking it was a jacket or a bag I was shocked to realize it was a huge turtle. The biggest one other than a sea turtle I have ever seen. Incredible! We had no idea we'd be seeing so many turtles.

Was it this little guys Mommy? Nah.

We set Speed down on the grass and he headed towards the pond. He launched into the water and swam happily away.

See ya Speed!

Sunday is Funday!

Good Morn'in,

J, Elle and I spent the late morning working on a family painting in my studio for J's new home office. We Busted out the tempera paints and went to town.

We all started out doing our own thing on each quadrant of the canvas. Absolute bedlam. The artist's RAGE! haha We got lost in it for about 30 minutes... until Ellie decided painting her feet and legs were cooler. So when that happens I gotta grab the camera.

So as Elle painted herself and I snapped photo's J got to work solely on the painting. She was doing her thing and having some fun. I meanwhile have taken Ellie into the bath. When I emerge from the bathroom Johanna has created this wonderful painting. I couldn't be prouder.

I can't encourage her enough to continue this. I want to see more of this new found talent/style.
Ultimately so we can sell her work and I can live off her success.

Whadya think?
I'm going to give her all my paint supplies and pass the torch on to some talent.