Shades of Gray

Yep, We Made It!!!!

2009-08-16T17:51:00.004-07:00

We arrived here in Rancho Cucamonga, CA yesterday afternoon around 1pm PST. What an incredibly LONG trip but we made it save and sound with God's protection the whole way. Most days were 8 - 9 hours of driving and we were grateful for the pools at the end of those days!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who were praying for us! It was truly a blessing knowing that we were being lifted up every mile of the way. :)

Now we wait for the 'PODS' to arrive (sometime tomorrow) and then we can get underway! :)

Kevin starts tomorrow morning at 8am and is looking forward to something new. He of course, is somewhat nervous walking into a new office and all but I know he will do very well.

Well, off to collect the laundry from the complex laudromat. Have a wonderful evening.

And We Are On Our Way!!! So Far...

2009-08-11T20:07:00.017-07:00

Man alive!!! Life has gone crazy on us. Right now, breathing is first and foremost in our minds!! and yes, we are breathing!

As you all know, or you do NOW, we are moving to California!! And DRIVING across the USA!!

My 40th Birthday was spent getting all the last minute details taken care of before we left on Saturday, the 8th. We got a late start on Saturday but made it through to Hartford, Connecticut.

Here it is in pictures:

Yep! It all fit in our little truck! I mean, what we were taking with us that wasn't shipped! :) Yes Troy -- it ALL fit!

Saying 'Goodbye' to Portland, Maine.

The Connecticut State Capitol Buildings in Hartford - the view from our hotel room.

Washington, D.C. At the Lincoln Memorial. Very inspiring!

View from the top of the Lincoln Memorial looking out over the Reflecting Pool and onto the Washington Monument.

The Vietnam War Memorial.

The World War II Memorial.

I thought this was an interesting shot.

The Korean War Memorial.

And this really big, White House! :)

What EVERY vehicle needs!! A Starbucks coffee and a GPS!

This is what we came across this morning in Charlottesville, Virginia (where we stayed last night)...just NOT the same!! Nothing like the real thing! :)

Isn't this GREAT?!?! I love it!!! I was ready to ask him to share the 'wealth'!

We drove through all kinds of weather today but this is what greeted us as we drove into Nashville, Tennessee tonight.

If you look closely, you can see both rainbows. Pretty nice welcome.

And now off to bed! Everyone's asleep but me!! Now it's MY turn!!

Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts! We are definitely counting our blessings as we travel across this country. We are blessed beyond measure!

I haven't FORGOTTEN about this!!

2009-07-18T10:57:00.002-07:00

Nope! I remember EVERYDAY when I log on to the internet that I haven't posted for awhile. :)

We are relaxing right now as we house / dog sit and then into the crazy packing phase!!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!!

Grade 4 Celebration! Class of 2017!!

2009-06-13T11:00:00.005-07:00

Where does the time go? It seems like yesterday that Chelsie was this little, tiny thing that had changed our lives forever! and now, she's moving on up to Middle School!!

Yesterday, the Grade 4 classes at Pond Cove School celebrated their 'moving up'. After the celebration, the parent's association had a yearbook made of all the Grade 4's (122 of them!) with a baby picture and a current picture along with their favorite memory of school and then their future aspirations. The entire Grade 4 wing was a 'buzz' of activity with everyone trying to get their yearbook signed.

We are so proud of everything that Chelsie has accomplished this past year! She is now working at almost a Grade 6 math level (thanks to Sylvan!) and she is working up the ranks in Karate!

Chelsie (second from the left) with some of her classmates.

Way to go Chelsie!!! We love you!!

We Said 'Hi' to Nemo and the Gang!

2009-05-31T18:55:00.008-07:00

Off we went to the New England Aquarium in Boston today. What a great place! One of the many things on our list of things to do in New England. It's actually a rescue center as well for sick sea life and they even have a 'critical care' center! Who knew? But it's all used for teaching and educating those of us that don't know much about the ocean. Grandma Gwen came with us too as we wrap up her month long visit this week!

Checking out all the different sea life.

Mommy and Alex waiting for the Imax movie at the aquarium to start.

Having dinner at the 'Cheers' restaurant at Faneuil Hall after the aquarium.

Good times and good memories!

Happy Memorial Day!

2009-05-25T15:45:00.005-07:00

A beautiful day for the Memorial Day Parade here in South Portland. We headed down to Broadway Street to watch and wave flags.

After the parade, we went over to the Murphy-Swinbourne's for a barbeque. Good times, good food and good friends.

The kids are back to school tomorrow and Mom and I continue on our shopping quest. :)

Oh Yeah Baby!!

2009-05-15T18:25:00.003-07:00

Big day around here!!

Chelsie and Alex both received their Gold Belts on Karate tonight. WOOHOO!

Here they are with Shihan Andy.

Before we went to the Belt Ceremony, we went to McDonald's and Alex not only asked for but ATE chicken nuggets!!!!! For a boy that doesn't eat meat, this was an historic day!! :)

We are making progress. It's a good day!

She's BACK!

2009-05-08T06:42:00.002-07:00

Yep, Grandma Gwen landed last night and off we go! Nothing too much today but shopping is definitely in the works. :)

Kevin flies to Dallas on Sunday for a week and then Mom leaves for Nova Scotia when Kevin gets back! All these travellers! Me, I just keep everybody fed and clothed! :)

Have a great weekend!

Ok, Ok, We are Back!

2009-05-01T13:25:00.016-07:00

Yes, we made it back home safe and sound last week. THIS week just FLEW by! Why does that happen more often as the Spring and Summer arrive? My theory - we lasted through another Maine winter!!!!!!!!!

As promised, here are some of the pictures from Quebec City and then our fun stop at Ben and Jerry's Factory in Waterbury, Vermont.

Chateau Frontenac - a HUGE building. Lots of history here and the views from this vantage point were impressive. I had to keep reminding myself that we were looking down onto the St. Lawrence River - not the Atlantic Ocean. :)

From the other side!

One of the entrances into the walled city itself. Quebec City is the last city with a wall around the original footings in North America. Mexico is the closest place that has a walled city.

Taking a break from all the stairs we were climbing!

Montmorency Falls - just over 100 feet taller than Niagara Falls. And only about 12 miles from Quebec City.

And from the top looking OVER!

Here we are! Kevin, Janine, Chelsie and Alex. You can see the falls to Kev's - his left - side.

These murals were throughout the city. Any blank, concrete wall looks to be fair game. The artwork was incredible.

This is St. Anne de Beaupre Cathedral. This church was beautiful, the workmanship and artistry were breath taking. We actually arrived while a service was going on, so we sat in the back and observed. Mind you, we couldn't understand anything as it was all in French, but it was very neat to be in there at that time.

All tuckered out!

I wasn't allowed to take pictures in the Ben & Jerry's Factory, but I got these in the 'Tasting Room' once the tour was done. It's a Chelsie and Alex shake and then a Family shake!! :)

And this next one sums it all up!

We brought home some really cute B&J's ice cream bowls. Needless to say, they have been put to good use already!

Where's MY SPOON??!? :)

And, We're OFF!

2009-04-18T06:38:00.002-07:00

So, getting out of bed and getting everything together always takes more time than expected. BUT...we are off to Quebec City, Montreal and then Burlington, Vermont. :) Spring Break - got to LOVE it!!

Don't worry, I'll be taking lots of pictures!

Spring is here...I can HEAR it!!

2009-04-11T07:31:00.003-07:00

THIS is what we hear every night...ALL night! :) The frogs - known as Spring Peepers - and the Ducks are all 'happy'.

When we first moved here, it was so loud that it would keep us awake but now it's part of the ambiance. :)

Now, the Sicada's - that's another noise to get used to! When they show up, I'll attach a recording of them.

Special Olympics Swim Meet

2009-04-05T14:25:00.005-07:00

Friday was the Cumberland County Special Olympics Swim Meet. All special olympians from the entire county come and participate. All ages! It's fun to watch and cheer on EVERYBODY! and it doesn't matter what 'place' you come in - everyone receives a ribbon! I love it!

Alex wasn't too sure about going into the pool this year. There were a lot of people who came to watch and it was loud and echoic in the pool area. But perseverance paid off (thanks Betsy and Rhonda!) and in he went!

Alex swimming in the 15 Meter 'Freestyle'. He placed 5th in this race. He swam the 25 Meter 'Freestyle' and placed 3rd. The aid that swims with Alex every Friday during the school year commented that this was the FIRST time he swam the full length on the pool without any assistance! Wow!! Nice work Alex!

Chelsie came to cheer Alex on but his events were finished before she could get to the pool. So she took his ribbons back to her classroom to show off how he had done! :)

Alex and Baker

2009-04-01T17:30:00.004-08:00

Here he is!

Alex LOVES going horseback riding!! This is such a neat part of the Occupational/Physical Therapy through school.

Today was the last lesson, so the parents were allowed to go and watch. Alex saw me and wanted me to leave! So, I 'said' goodbye and hid in the viewing room so I could see him. I gave my camera to Dave (one of the teachers) to get a couple pictures so I could show all of you! The director of the center even commented how well he did this year. :) That's our boy!!

Maple Sunday

2009-03-23T05:13:00.006-08:00

We went on another 'Maine' adventure yesterday. Maple Sunday is a day when the Maple Syrup Farms open their doors to the public. We got to see the collection process, then the boiling process and then the finished product. What beats sampling maple syrup over vanilla ice cream? Nothing!!! Yummy!!

Here is the 'old' way of tapping trees.
And the 'new' way.

This is a vacuum system, where all the trees are tapped with these blue tubes and then fed into a central line which collects in the blue drum. Very interesting.

The farm we went to - Coopers Royal Heritage Farm in Windham, Maine - is also a Christmas Tree farm, Bovine farm and Miniature Horse farm. They had Peacocks and a LARGE Ostrich too. We enjoyed ourselves walking around, trying to avoid the mud puddles :), checking everything out. The snow is melting quickly, which made for some tricky walking. Especially for Alex. He loves to be in and ON the snow but Mommy and Daddy had to make sure it was 'shallow' enough for him! Never a dull moment.

I love this picture!! If you double click on the picture itself, it will enlarge on your screen. Look at the detail of this peacock feather! Isn't that awesome???!!! Wow! Something else to marvel of God's creation!!

Hope you have a great day!

The Big '4-0'!!

2009-03-16T15:43:00.004-08:00

There he is...the birthday boy!! So far, he has fared well today! He's still alive! Yeah!! :)

Yesterday, our sitter (Liz) came over and Kevin and I enjoyed an afternoon relaxing at the spa and then going out for dinner. There are quite a few interesting restaurants here in Portland. It was nice to hang out together and not worry about things at home. Liz is always great with the kids.

Tonight we had dinner here with the kids and cake, of COURSE!!!

Thanks for all the cards and calls.

Here's to another 40 Kev!

P.S. Happy 13th Anniversary to Wen and Phil!

My Kids Are Amazing!!

2009-03-12T12:58:00.004-08:00

Today was 'Stripe Testing' at Karate. Both Chelsie and Alex got their first stripe!!! (That's the black stripe on their white belts.) YEAH!!!!
Alex tested by himself and he did great! Then Chelsie tested with a couple other kids and she blew them all away!!!

We are having FUN!! And watching them strive and achieve the goals set out, is AWESOME!! I am one proud Momma!

Tubin' - Maine Style!

2009-02-28T16:45:00.006-08:00

Oh yeah! We are making the best of these snow filled days and hills. Today, we went to a neighbor's birthday party. What did she want to do? Tubing!! No walking up the hills here...that's what the conveyor belt is for! You can see that on the right side of the picture.

This is part of our crew. Lots of laughs and screams! You get some good speed happening too!

You are allowed to 'link' your tubes together and at one point, we had 17 people in our group going down! What a BLAST!!

Alex and Janine after one of our trips down the hill!

Chelsie and Kevin hangin' out.

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-14T09:08:00.003-08:00

Isn't he cute? My hubbie brought me flowers!

Hope you all have a great day! Say 'I love you' a lot!!

Prayer Please!

2009-02-05T05:05:00.002-08:00

Let's just say...we need your prayers! There is so much happening here, mainly with Kevin's job.

At church, the sermons have been on prayer and now we are praying specifically for:

1) God's guidance and wisdom in decisions regarding where we are going to live and work. (Don't worry, Kevin still has a job here.) We know that we need to be closer to family and friends, for their support.

2) God's peace and assurance in those decisions.

3) Wisdom for the words that we speak.

4) That the right 'doors' will be open at the right time and in the right place.

5) Alex and Chelsie - that they would know that they are being taken care of. Peace.

So many things, but just about everything! :)

We could never tell you how much this means to us!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

J

New Skates and a Hockey Puck!

2009-02-01T13:30:00.006-08:00

Oh yeah! We had fun today!! After church and lunch, we went and bought Chelsie a pair of skates! We've been talking about this for quite some time. Alex and skates don't 'mix', so when he found some brightly colored hockey pucks, he got to choose the color he wanted - RED! A man after my own heart! :)

There is a local pond about a mile away from our place - Mill Creek - and every year when it's frozen over, it becomes the local hang out. The best part is that Kevin, Janine and Alex didn't have to wear skates to be on the ice. We took a thermos of coffee for us big kids :) and some water for the smaller ones. That kept us warm and happy while Chelsie and Alex had a blast checking out the ice and snow.

My boys playing hockey and Chelsie trying out her new gear.

My turn with the hockey stick! Chels taking a break.

My cutie pies!

Now it's 'Date Night'. Hope you all have a great rest of the day!

The Thaw Is On The Way?

2009-01-31T12:15:00.005-08:00

Aren't they cute? The kids, I mean, not the ice! Now, we'll see how long they last out there! :) It's cold!!

And this is some of what we see everyday. Like I always say, "Never a dull moment!" My truck looks so small beside this mound!

We've been keeping ourselves busy with all kinds of things lately. Chelsie started Sylvan for Math and she and Alex have started taking Karate lessons. It's fun to watch them trying to do the moves but I think it's more me knowing I'd be on the ground more often than standing!!! :)

Here's Chelsie (on the right) sparring with another little girl. Don't worry - a 'hit' is just a tap. No full on hits allowed!
And Alex with the instructor, Andy.

He doesn't quite get the whole thing about 'no hits' so thus with the instructor he will stay for awhile. :)

So, just another glimpse into our lives right now.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Hello Snow!

2009-01-19T05:57:00.009-08:00

I know some of you think we are 'crazy' BUT this IS crazy! We were snowed in for the second weekend in a row! We got about 2 feet! and trying to dig out was not fun! Oh well, we will have fun today. It's Martin Luther King Jr. Day here so we are hanging out as a family.

I thought I would share some recent artwork.

Self explanatory. :)

We are BIG TIME into Star Wars around here!!!

And we thought this was pretty impressive! THREE pieces of paper! Nicely done buddy!

Hope you all have a great day!

P.S. - Please remember to keep President-Elect Obama in your prayers. Tomorrow is a huge day here (I know you all know). Pray for God's Will to be done. Thanks! :)

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words...

2009-01-12T12:32:00.005-08:00

This is where the 'locals' go for walks, hikes, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and the like. Robinson Woods is a stunning place to take in the sights of Cape Elizabeth!!

While it was snowing earlier, I was struck by the intricate patterns God uses for His artwork. I sat in wonder as I realized again that if God planned out this snowflake, what does He have planned for each of us? Wow!!! So thankful that I am in His care.

SNOW, SNOW, and more SNOW!!!

2009-01-11T12:03:00.005-08:00

What do you do when it snows? We go outside and make the most of it!!! Chelsie's got the snowboarding thing down pretty good. I've tried but my backside is mainly on the ground! She even tried downhill skies too.

Alex, on the other hand, loves running around, sledding and eating the white stuff! And yes, it's all white!!!

Hope you are having a great weekend.

Brrr...It's Cold!

2009-01-07T17:50:00.003-08:00

Yes, that's the beach you are looking at!

We have started out 2009 on the chilly side of winter. Today was snow and freezing rain. So thankful to be inside where it is nice and warm. :)

Just been busy running around getting lots of little errands done now that the kids are back in school. It's nice to back into a routine again. Now if only my housework would take care of itself! :)

Happy New Year One and All!

2008-12-31T13:03:00.003-08:00

Cleaning up around here and enjoying the time to re-organize as I go. We aren't doing much this evening. I figured that we would break out the sparkling apple cider and toast the New Year with dinner - Chelsie will like that!

Wherever you are or whatever you are doing, here's to a wonderful year full of everything God has in store for each of us!!

From us to you! Cheers! Happy 2009!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2008-12-25T06:41:00.002-08:00

From our home to yours, God's richest blessings for today and always!!

Love, the Gray's

Disney Recap - Days 3 through 5

2008-12-24T06:18:00.019-08:00

Epcot was Day 3 of our trip. I quite liked this park. Lots of cool things to see and do.

Getting ready to see Nemo, Dory and Crush.

We ended up the day back at the Magic Kingdom.

We wanted to watch the 'SpectroMagic' Parade - everything in lights!

Pretty, huh?

Waiting patiently for...these!

Day 4 was started with us girls being summoned to the Royal Table at Cinderella's Castle!

The Royal Highnesses Chelsie and Cinderella.

We decided to meet some of the other town folk - since we were there. :)

Daisy Duck was especially kind with Mr. Alex. He was quite interested in her costume, checking out her mouth, hands and eyes. I think he might have a new girlfriend. You have some new competition Donald! :)

Then Goofy was whispering secrets to Chelsie! and writing notes in her autograph book! I don't know about that!!! :)

Another wonderful day coming to an end at the Magic Kingdom.

Day 5 we spent going back to all the things that we wanted to see or do again. And of course, meeting these two!

We had a great time and made some wonderful memories!!

Merry Christmas Eve to all! We love you and miss you!!

Disney Recap Days 1 & 2

2008-12-23T09:03:00.016-08:00

So, to follow up, here are a few pictures of our trip to Disney World.

Disney Downtown outside of Legoland - it was POURING rain!! We made a special poncho for Alex so we could see him amongst the crowds. :)

Grandpa Gray 'tempting' the witch from Snow White. He enjoyed his candy apple, with no ill effects.

One of Alex's favorite things. The castle was a daily stop on our days at the Magic Kingdom.

One of the performances that occured everyday. (Magic Kingdom)

Getting ready for our FIRST ride on Splash Mountain! :)

Should have worn the rain ponchos!! We did the second and third times through!

All the boys with one of the crazy characters at Hollywood Studios.

Alex and Chelsie playing air hockey at the 'Pizza Planet' Arcade. (You know, the one from Toy Story) :)

'Block Party' Parade - Monsters, Inc.,Toy Story, The Incredibles and more friends!

Mommy and Chelsie - once she got her 'ears'!

Daddy and Alex after one of our 'fries' break.

Grandma and Grandpa Gray waiting for Fantasmic to begin. And trying to stay warm!

Hard to get pictures of this show but worth the wait.

Well, those are the first couple days. I'll post Days 3 through 5 tomorrow.

Have a great day.

Good Morning Winter!!!

2008-12-22T05:17:00.006-08:00

This is what we got yesterday!! Lots of snow fun to be had here!! 18 to 24 inches!

We know that it is snowing everywhere, it seems. Drive carefully but have some fun too!!

P.S. - Kevin's Green Card came in the mail on Friday! We are all official!!!

Greetings from the 3 Newest Psuedo - Yankees!!!

2008-12-15T15:58:00.002-08:00

Well, we had a chilly week here in the North East. An ice storm that came through left us without power for 38 hours and a whole lot of food in the trash (not happy about that!)

BUT...in the end it was worth the wait...Janine, Chelsie and Alex are now 'Permanent Residences of the USA'!!!!! AHHHH!!!

Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts for us as a family!!! We are still waiting for Kevin's card to show up as there was more paperwork for him than for us but we are trusting God that that too is on it's way. :)

Wow! What a sense of relief! And a little jig danced once the envelopes were opened!! :)

It's a HAPPY day!!!!

**More Disney pics coming soon.**

It's not Cool, IT'S COLD!!!!

2008-12-09T14:00:00.004-08:00

The snow is beautiful BUT it is chilly! Last night, Kevin and I went for a walk and it was 13 degrees F (-10 degrees C for the Canadians out there!). Needless to say, our walk was rather short and then we decided to take the CAR for a walk! :)

The kids love it though. The snow that arrived Sunday was not much but this is what we ended up with today.

Enough to make snowballs and the start of a fort. The only problem is that it gets dark so earlier here. So we make the best of every minute.

Have a good evening! I've got apple cider simmering on the stove - YUM! (Thanks for the mulling spices Camille.) :)

We're Back and Just in Time!!!

2008-12-07T18:23:00.003-08:00

For the snow!!!!!! We got back yesterday afternoon and then this morning we woke up to SNOW!!! The first of this season. And we know it won't be the last!

Florida was great. We had a wonderful time and walked and walked and walked some more. Magic Kingdom was our favorite, with Epcot in second place. We got autographs and pictures galore! I'll post some later this week.

Marg and Wayne are here until Wednesday - Wayne's first visit here so we are hitting all the 'hot spots'. L.L.Bean, of course!

We will try and stay warm. Greetings to all from Mickey!

The Happiest Place on Earth!!!

2008-12-04T08:38:00.007-08:00

We are having a BLAST here!!!

Actually, we are just headed back to the Magic Kingdom right now but I thought I'd show you a couple things...

Our first day - just outside of Splash Mountain (where Janine and Alex got SOAKED!!)

The SpectroMagic Parade

The Fireworks from last night AND...

Alex's response to them!! He LOVED it! We all loved it but it was neat hearing and seeing his reactions.

Chelsie, Grandma and Janine went to the Royal Palace this morning for breakfast with all the princesses. I'll show pictures later of that.

Have a great day!! We will!!

And Away We Go!

2008-11-29T07:44:00.001-08:00

We are off today to 'the HAPPIEST place in the World!' Yep! Disney World - here we come!

We'll send pictures!

Happy Thanksgiving - American Style!

2008-11-27T10:12:00.002-08:00

Well, our 2nd American Thanksgiving is upon us. (Even though one of the people in the picture isn't too happy!)

We are headed over to our friends' house for dinner and celebration of this day.

And YES we are getting excited about Disney World this coming week. It will be a fabulous break for us as a family and to create some new memories.

Hope you all have a wonderful day and weekend!

Gettin' Crafty!

2008-11-20T15:19:00.003-08:00

I love getting things ready for the holidays. I thought I'd show you one of the things that I just finished.

It's an advent calendar/box that I got last year after Christmas. It's fun to be 'creating' things again. (So busy moving things!)

Have a great weekend!!

Gray + Brown = Geniuses

2008-11-13T05:42:00.005-08:00

We decided to go out on one of our adventures this past weekend. We drove down to Providence, Rhode Island. This is also the home of Brown University - one of the Ivy League schools here in the North East.

We have a similar picture of the kids at the doors of Harvard too. :) Who knows? Maybe we need to start saving our pennies now(haha)for tuition!

We enjoyed time at Dave and Buster's - a glorified Chuckie Cheese - where we ate dinner and played LOTS of games. And the pool is always a hit with our two and since they both have been taking swimming lessons, it's good practice and for showing us what they know.

The following day, we drove down to Newport, RI. A gorgeous day, in a beautiful place right on the water. There were so many sailboats out - chilly but sunny. Newport reminds us of Deep Cove, N. Vancouver or Gig Harbor, WA.

It was also a great time for me to practice more of my photography. Here's a couple shots of what I got ---

Cute, huh? :)

Well, Kevin is down in Massachusetts yesterday and today for work meetings. He should be home tonight. It's always great to get him back. :)

A New Mr. President

2008-11-05T14:43:00.004-08:00

Yes, I'm sure the entire world was watching as Barack Obama accepted the President-Elect position yesterday.

We have been in a unique position of living in a country where we do not have any 'say' (vote) in the ultimate outcome. We have observed much and tried to take it all in.

But the one thing that I have been overwhelmed with throughout this entire process is the fact that we, as Christians, are called to pray for all authority figures. God knew Barack Obama would be elected and this is all going to play out for His will.

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

Yesterday a new President was elected but I know who the KING is!!!

Praise God that HE is in control of all of this. I know that I will be praying for President-Elect Barack Obama.

Happy Halloween!!

2008-10-31T16:45:00.003-08:00

Here they are! The 'Kimono Princess' and our Jedi Knight.

We had a great time getting ready and going around 'treat or treating'.

Hope you all had fun too!

Sweet Success!!

2008-10-12T12:42:00.005-07:00

THIS is what we picked yesterday!! Yum!

Well, after a late start, we went on one of our adventures. We love it here in the fall with all the leaves changing. My favorite is when you find a tree that has green, yellow, orange and red leaves! It's so interesting to watch the transformations daily!

We found a new orchard to pick apples and we got what we wanted. I even learned something new! Macintosh apples (the skin) have freckles and Cortland apples have stripes! Who knew? Probably alot of you but that was a first for me! Each of the baskets that are pictured are called 'a pec'. So, we picked 3 pecs. We had a couple of them at dinner and then to day we made Apple Bread. The recipe was given to us by the owner of the orchard. We thought we would give it a try.

Super moist and goooooood!

We went to church this morning - we've been attending the South Portland Church of the Nazarene for the last month or so. We love the music and the people are friendly. Close to home too! And this afternoon has been relaxing and hanging out together. And LEAVES!!!

Those are our two rascals!! Hope this brings you a smile!

It's Official...

2008-10-10T13:45:00.003-07:00

Fall has arrived!! Isn't this beautiful?!

I think we might go apple picking this weekend - hopefully we'll get lots to make yummy things!!!

The other official thing is that the sale of our house is final and we are very happy that that is all done! Many thank you's to Judy Singer - our property manager and realtor. If you need a house sold, she is fabulous!! :)

So, the OTHER thing is that we are moving (across the street!). LITERALLY!!! We are renting a condo that we know will accommodate our needs better than where we are right now. And that all starts on Wednesday, the 15th. Busy, busy, busy!

Our new address will be sent out by e-mail (to everyone on our list) and the phone number will stay the same.

Still nothing on the Homeland Security front. No news is good news, right? :)

Well, have a great weekend. Happy Canadian Thanksgiving and Happy US Columbus Day!

On The Other Side...

2008-09-30T10:04:00.002-07:00

We are back from Homeland Security. All our fingerprints are now on file, more paperwork, and pictures taken.

Now we wait.

Not sure how long, only God knows that one. :)

Thank you to everyone who had us in your prayers today. Once there, we were calm and collected. It all went smoothly.

So the kids get to play outside for the rest of the afternoon (rough life having to miss a day of school) and then we're off to swimming lessons later.

And I need a cup of coffee!! Time to wind down.

We Made It! Now the Next Big Storm!!

2008-09-29T16:54:00.004-07:00

Yes, Tropical Storm Kyle came through but to be quite honest, it felt like we were in Vancouver! Just tons of RAIN!!!! :) Thank you to all who were praying for our safety and for all your e-mails. We took it like true 'West Coasters'!

I know you are wondering what the next big storm is though, right?

Tomorrow morning, we go for our Immigration interviews. Alex is at 11am, Chelsie at 12pm, Janine at 1pm and Kevin at 2pm EST. So that's our next big thing. If you remember us or we come to mind during that time, that's where we will be. Not sure what all will take place during those 4 hours but I will let you know.

Love to everyone!

Happy B-Day to Alex / Hurricane Kyle

2008-09-28T06:02:00.008-07:00

Hard to believe that our Alex is 8!!!! And to celebrate, he decided to give himself a haircut! A few strategic spots here and there!! So Kevin 'finished' for him last night. :) Just goes to confirm the old adage...when it's quiet, it's not always a GOOD thing!!

We didn't have a birthday party yet, although we did go out for dinner and open presents and cards sent by family and friends. We'll probably have one in the next couple weeks - I wanted to get kids from school to come and being so close to the beginning of the school year makes it hard. Good things come to those who wait. :)

On a different note, I'm sure some of you are following Hurricane Kyle's path and yes, we are in it! So far, just lots of rain (not unlike being at home!) and nothing really more. But we will keep you updated too.

If you copy and paste the below link, you can read all about it!

http://www.weatherstreet.com/hurricane/2008/Kyle.htm

I Guess It's About Time I Got Writing!!

2008-09-24T13:09:00.017-07:00

Well, welcome back to all you faithful readers...you are going to be rewarded with a new submission in this blog of mine. :)

Family - Wedding - Visiting

The Grandbabies on the Scott side (in birth order, of course):)
Austin, Calvin, Chelsie, Fraser, Alex and Emma

The Grandbabies on the Gray side (again, in birth order)
Chelsie, Alex, Sydney, Taylor and Emily

The first two days in the greater Vancouver area, consisted of family get togethers and lots of pictures - one of my favorite things! Lots of good food and great conversation, catching up with everyone and making the most of our time together.
My Auntie Kathy was visiting my Mom too. Good to see her after a couple years.

The rest of the week was wedding events - left, right and center!! Oh yeah, and dress fittings! In the end, we had a whirlwind week of family, friends, wedding, visiting, etc.

Here is a pictorial of the week:

Girl's Night Out - looking out onto English Bay! Nancy (the bride) and Bobby-Jo

The other girls there - Wendy and Tess

Okay, yes, those are bags (one for each kid!) of Smarties!!! (FYI- M&M's are the equivilent here in the USA.) This was a 'gift' from Auntie Tess!!! A VERY long story - e-mail Tess if you want to get the straight goods :) And they gobbled them up like it was Thanksgiving! Only it wasn't! and it was about 9pm!!!! Many thanks Tess!

The Rehersal

Nancy and all of her crazy girls!

Gerry (the groom) and his kids: Jennifer and Philip

Nancy and her Mommy, Irma

Mr. and Mrs. Gerry Werner

Our gang! Glad there's just the four of us to keep track of!

The happy couple! :)

The day after the wedding, we had breakfast at White Spot (one of our favorite restaurants!) with Grandma and Grandpa Gray before we drove back to Seattle.

We flew home the 31st of August and succeeded in leaving a suitcase behind - let's not go there! But the moral of that story is that I will NEVER forget a piece of luggage AGAIN! It was found and Sara - bless your heart - is sending me the contents of said suitcase.

So that was that trip! We were glad to get home and back into a routine here. I'll write in the next couple days about what has been happening since being back.

Love to all!!

We're Back!!---We SOLD!!!!

2008-09-11T11:53:00.002-07:00

Yep! We've been back for a week and a half, school has started and our house in Cloverdale sold!!!!

So we have had a whirlwind of a month - starting with the journey home and a wedding to be in. Then our adventure home, school beginning and now the offer on out place going through.

We are very excited and I'll have to post pictures of our trip but wanted to let you all know that we are house free!!!

Leavin' on a Jetplane....

2008-08-19T04:07:00.002-07:00

We're off to Seattle today - myself and the kids. Kevin will fly out on Friday. We are very excited to see family and friends AND to celebrate with our friends Nancy and Gerry at their wedding!!!

Can't wait to see everyone!

Have a great couple of weeks!!

Happy Birthday to ME!!

2008-08-07T10:02:00.005-07:00

Yep, today's the day. Just taking it easy and cleaning up things around here. Lots of phone calls from friends and family. :) Chelsie has a friend over and Alex is drawing sidewalk chalk, so they are keeping themselves busy. :) Kevin has been down in Massachusetts and Rhode Island for the last three days - he should be home tonight.

Maybe I'll do some scrapbooking later...got to get going on my New York pics.

We trekked up to the Maine Wildlife Park on Monday. Sun, rain and wind but we kept going.

Hope you all have a great day...I know I will! :)

Happy Sunday!!

2008-07-27T13:19:00.002-07:00

Well, Happy Birthday to my Mom!! Hope you have a fabulous year! I know you will :)

and Happy Bridal Shower to our wonderful Nancy!! Have fun girl! Take lots of pics!

The Latest...

2008-07-23T15:02:00.003-07:00

Hello to one and all. This summer sure seems to be flying by - literally. I can't get over how quickly things are going along.

We have made the most of the summer we have had so far. Janine and Kevin learned how to BOOGIE BOARD!!! What a hoot!! I'll gladly go again ANYTIME!! Soaked up the rays while they have been out and filled out a lot of paperwork!

Yes, that's right - paperwork. We have decided to apply for our Greencards here in the States. We went for our physicals today (all four of us) and Kevin and I are now known as human pin cushions! Well, that's what is feels like. But we all survived. Actually, the kids did GREAT, especially Alex. Please pray that these Greencard applications will be accepted for all of us. I think that's our biggest concern right now. We know that we can only leave it in the Lord's hands so we are asking our friends and family to remember us as well.

We also have listed our townhouse in Cloverdale. We had come to that decision a few weeks ago and then it became a necessity. So, something else that we are asking prayer for. We know that God has brought us this far and is leading us through this too. All part of the process. So, if you know anyone looking for a great townhouse, let us know. :)

Otherwise, we are all well. Alex has discovered that cutting his own hair can be quite exciting until Mom and Dad find out!!!! And Chelsie is enjoying learning how to 'build' things at summer camp. (She made a bedside stool/table last week - even used power tools! Cool!!)

Kevin has been very busy still at work. I'm always impressed at what he is learning and how quickly he adapts. He'll be at more training at the beginning of August and then in September too. Busy guy!

As for me, I've been just trying to keep myself busy. Always little projects going on.

Hope you are all well. We are VERY excited about coming to Vancouver in 3 1/2 weeks!! YEAH!!

Fantastic Weekend! Good Memories Made!

2008-07-07T13:37:00.003-07:00

This is what we did this weekend:

She looks like ours, right? But she's not. Her name is Malley and these three were as thick as thieves!!! They wore each other out!

We house and dog "sat". We enjoyed the B&B atmosphere without the hosts or the price tag. :) We sat, relaxed, walked, slept, played together, went for dips in the hot tub, watched 'Finding Nemo' (a couple times) on the big screen TV, ate, etc. We didn't go anywhere, not once did the phone ring, we just hung out as a family. What better way to spend a weekend! The move here has definitely taught us to slow down and relax together. And we have fun doing just that!

Hope you all had a great weekend.

The kids are in day camp week #2 so I'm finishing up with Canadian taxes (don't get me started!) and starting our Greencard applications.
Once again, never a dull moment.

Talk to you soon.

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T07:22:00.002-07:00

Well, here we are on our second Independence Day in the good ol' US of A. Cheers to one and all!!

We are 'dog and house sitting' this weekend so we are heading out this a.m. It's not too far from where we live but a) they have a dog (something we have wanted for some time) and b) their house is HUGE with a large lot, play set, and hot tub (couldn't forget that part) :)

I'll post pictures next week. Happy weekend to everyone.

Happy CANADA Day!!! Eh?

2008-07-01T14:53:00.001-07:00

All the best to our family and friends back home! We love you and miss you! See you soon!!

...the Sun is out again :)

2008-06-27T15:59:00.001-07:00

Here we are 2 1/2 hours later and the sun is out. All is well.

THUNDER!!!!!! Let the good times roll!

2008-06-27T13:53:00.002-07:00

WOW!! There is no doubt about it! The NorthEast has the BEST thunder storms going!!! I LOVE IT!! Our day here started off beautiful & sunny - muggy too and now here we are huddled up inside listening to God's rock and roll concert!! These storms come in so fast that they are right above us and then they do their thing and then move on. We are in the middle of this one though. :)

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend. Chelsie's party is on Sunday afternoon - hopefully minus the thunder and showers! :)

Happy Birthday Chelsie!!

2008-06-23T09:06:00.003-07:00

The BIG '9'! Wow! Never in my dreams did I think we would get here this fast!! But here we are. We're just hangin' out today and having BBQ for dinner with chocolate cake! YUM! 9 candles too!

Kevin arrived mid-afternoon Saturday from his travels to St. Louis. He wrote his 6 Sigma test again on Sunday (yesterday) and PASSED!!

So lots of celebrating going on around here!

Oh yeah, another thing to celebrate...Alex has been eating more food and a variety of things as well. We're on a roll baby!!!

Welcome SUMMER!!!!

2008-06-21T07:36:00.002-07:00

Boy, it's been awhile since I last wrote! School is finished and summer vacation has begun! Where does the time go? Yesterday was Chelsie and Alex's last day of Grade 3 and 2 (respectively). Hard to believe! And Chelsie will be 9 on Monday!!! Now THAT'S just crazy!!

Kevin has been in St. Louis, Missouri all week with his second week of 6 Sigma Training. As I type, he is stuck in Chicago waiting for a flight home. After being delayed LAST NIGHT and not making his connecting flight to Portland, he stayed in Chicago and now his flight home today is delayed! He just wants to come home and we want him home too! All the flooding in the Midwest has caused flight problems everywhere but at least, he is safe and not where the flooding is. We are grateful for that.

We have been having beautiful sunshine here - much needed after our long winter and very short spring. We will take it all!! :) The kids are signed up for daycamp this summer from 9am-2pm for four weeks. That should keep us all from getting 'bored' (as I'm told by a certain someone in our house) :)

As for myself, I've been busy with re-organizing all the paperwork around here. First was US taxes and now we are finishing up Canadian taxes. LOTS OF FUN!!

Hope you all have been doing well. Write to you later.

Busy Weekend! Baseball + Memorial Day

2008-05-27T13:44:00.008-07:00

(Thanks to Troy for the great picture!)

Well, what an absolutely gorgeous weekend we had here in Maine!! The sun was out the entire time and we wore ourselves out going from here to there and back!

Kevin flew home from St. Louis, Missouri on Friday evening. He was there for 'Sixth Sigma' training (he gets to go back for another week in June), so we were glad to have him home. Saturday was just a lazy day. Sunday was church and then off to the Portland Seadogs Baseball game. The Seadogs are the 'farm team' for the Boston Red Sox and they are GOOD! This was Chelsie and Alex's first time at such an event and they did quite well.

Yesterday was Memorial Day here and we went to our first American parade! We had fun watching the military planes fly overhead - tipping their wings to say 'Hello'. We were with friends who have a brother that's a firefighter - he was marching in the parade. So we became part of the official cheering section as he marched by. :) And to finish off the afternoon, a BBQ! Yummy! Kev and I got to go out on a 'date' last night too. Always good to just hang out with your best friend!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

More New York

2008-05-18T12:56:00.015-07:00

Wow! It's hard to believe that we've been back from New York for two weeks!! As I said in my last blog, "I'll write more tomorrow", you all know me well enough... :)

This is Times Square!!!

There is no shortage of lights during the day or at night! So much to see that you could just stand there for some time and TRY to take it all in.

Friday night was a trip to Broadway!!! We saw 'HAIRSPRAY'!! So well done...I had to keep telling myself that I was at a BROADWAY show!!! AHHH! I would definitely go again! The energy that those performers exude each night! Wow!

Saturday, Mom and I hopped on the Gray Line tour again to get down towards the World Trade Center Site.

This is the view from the World Financial Center across the street from the WTC towers site. This building was damaged quite extensively on September 11, 2001 but was restored as part of the tribute to all that happened that day. Quite sobering to stand there and see the enormity of the site itself, and the tributes at the church on the other side of the site. I remember 9/11 well, watching from the safety of our living room in greater Vancouver and actually saying to Kevin, "Is this real?", "Is this really happening?" Seeing the site itself has given me new perspective. Never will I be able to fully comprehend what happened but as we walked around New York, I found myself asking "where did these people run to or hide?", "how would you know which way to go?" Such tragedy and devastation but yet miracles happened that day too.

The United Nations (appropriate after the previous picture)

And just to keep the peace between our two nations, we SHOPPED on Saturday!!! Oh yeah baby!

Dinner in Times Square at Charlie'O's Bar & Restaurant & Bar :) (No, that's NOT a type-o.) I even had a Times Square Blues! Yummy!!

Sunday, we got on the Subway train to Harlem to go to church. The first church we tried, we did not have a reservation - I'm NOT kidding! so we went back to another church where we were welcomed openly. We rode the subway back down to Central Park, had a small picnic lunch and then walked through about half of the park. It was a beautiful sunny day. We came across this...

Significant to those of us from British Columbia because it's a Dogwood - the provincial flower of B.C. in the middle of New York. Beautiful, huh?
The following is the Jacquie Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in the middle of Central Park.

The one thing that impressed me about being in Central Park was that you could NOT here anything other than the birds, breeze and tranquility that existed there. For a city without much greenery anywhere else, this was an oasis in the middle of it.

Monday was another day of walking and trying to see everything we could cram into the few hours we had left. Grand Central Station was on the list.

The New York Public Library was on the way, so we stopped in there too. And Macy's :) and Papyrus - a paper store and, and, and, you get the picture.

So that's it in a nutshell.

There is so much to see and do, that I'm sure the next time I go, I'll have different adventures to report. And yes, I would go again. :)

We Went, We Saw, We Conquered...My Feet Hurt!

2008-05-07T07:20:00.005-07:00

Well, we did it! :) New York is an AMAZING city! and we 'covered' a good portion of it.

Mom (Gwen) and I flew into JFK in the afternoon May 1 and got our stuff to the hotel. We figured we better take advantage of the clear skies that we had as it was supposed to rain ALL weekend in NYC! So we went up the Empire State Building and did the tour up there. We could see for about 15 miles into the distance (on a sunny day, you can see 80 miles!) and took lots of pictures from the bird's eye vantage point. COLD!!!! though with the winds whipping around you constantly. We came down and found a great Mexican restaurant for dinner then continued on exploring.

I forgot to tell you that our drive from the airport into the city was about 1 1/2 hours and we had to 'stop' for fuel. Never before AND hopefully, NEVER AGAIN will I be IN a running vehicle, in a garage gas station, while the fuel is being pumped!!!! I was sitting there praying the entire time thinking "I came all this way only to have it all end right here!!!!" but that's the New York way.

I complained in the title that my feet hurt. Oh MAN! Did we walk! We forgot to take a pedometer with us but we figured we walked at least 4-5 miles/day. Probably more! Truth be told. :)

Friday was a city tour on Gray Lines (yes I know, we have to stick with 'family'). Anyone going to almost any big city should invest in one of these tours. We got on in Times Square and rode it all the way around and then we knew where we wanted to get off later that day or the next. Plus, the tour guides have LOTS of info and can give you tips on the best places to see whatever you want. Included in our tour was a 'water taxi' out to the Statue of Liberty. :) And here are the THREE lovely ladies: :)

I'll continue tomorrow with more stories of our adventure.

New York! Here We Come!!!

2008-05-01T04:21:00.003-07:00

Well, we are off to the Big Apple today!! :) Can't wait to see all the sights and just 'experience' the city that never sleeps.
Don't worry - I'll take lots of pictures too.

Have a great weekend in whatever corner of the world you are!

She's HERE! :) Grandma, that is!

2008-04-26T06:36:00.003-07:00

Yep, Mom arrived just after midnight (our time) Thursday evening. Her flight through Chicago was delayed two hours because of a broken seat - which never got fixed incidentally! But now she has to get used to the time change. Yesterday was a relaxing day of watching the kids show off on their bikes, scooter, roller blades, etc. - even got a bit of a sunburn! Crazy! Time to break out the sunscreen!!

Today we are headed up to L.L.Bean's (Mom's new favorite store :).

Hope you all have a great weekend!

When Life Gives You Spring Break, Sell Lemonade!

2008-04-22T15:55:00.003-07:00

This is what we did today. Yes, even Alex helped. And a good return (money wise) for the 3 1/2 hours outside. :)

It's supposed to be up around 75 degrees tomorrow!!! I say - Bring it ON!!!!! :) Happy Tuesday to all.

I Believe We Have DONE It!!!! + Horseback Riding

2008-04-21T07:33:00.009-07:00

So, the latest update on the squirrel feeder, I mean, BIRD feeder :) situation is: we have outsmarted the little guys!!!!!! YEAH!!!! So to answer the question from the last post, YES, we are smarter than the squirrels!! Whew! Oh the victory in the little things! Happy! There were a few 'attempts' at trying to get down onto the pizza pan, but since there was nothing to hang onto this time, they had to jump to the closest tree. A feat in and of itself to watch! So now we can watch the chickadees, mourning doves, cardinals (beautiful!) and many others as they can eat in peace. The squirrels have taken to the seeds that have dropped on the ground below the feeder thus making the score the GRAYS - WINNERS! and the SQUIRRELS - well, you know. :)

Not sure if you can see him but on the branch above the feeder is the culprit - or ONE of them! (If you double click on the photo, it will enlarge on your screen for a closer look.)

Last week was the last of Alex's therapeutic horseback riding classes. All the parents were invited to come and see what their child had done while there. He did so well that we are considering having him do this during the year.

Grooming Firefly before the Ride

During the Lesson/Preformance

A blue ribbon for great participation!

Mommy and Alex

Well, the kids have this week off of school, so we are busy getting ready for Grandma Gwen to show up on Thursday. We are cleaning up and trying to keep the house clean! Good luck to ME!

Hope you all have a great week.

Current Score: the Gray's 0, the Squirrel 2

2008-04-13T11:13:00.005-07:00

Yes, Spring has finally decided to appear here in the Northeast!!! So we thought we would get into the spirit of the season and hang up a couple bird feeders. You know...to feed the birds. Yeah, NO!! More like feed a couple little chickadees and BIG squirrels!! They can clean you out in no time flat!!! Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not opposed to feeding squirrels BUT this is ridiculous!!

We are smarter than the squirrel, right? That was rhetorical! You also need to keep in mind that these little bird feeders cost us a 'whopping' $12 - including the feed. :) SO, at the 'Swap Shop' (a fabulous little place here at the transfer station - I'll have to write about it sometime), I found these wicker plate holders that I figured would keep the little monkey - as we call him - at bay. This too was short lived. We watched as he crawled up the tree with much curiosity...NEVER have I seen such a display of the 'flick the tail dance'! And THEN, he figured out how to get to the feed once again! AWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!

At present, I can hear my husband down in the basement hammering and tinkering away to devise the PERFECT fix for this "problem"! I love it when a plan comes together!

We'll keep you updated on what the score is! :)

Happy Spring to one and all!!

You have got to watch this!!!

2008-04-01T16:12:00.002-08:00

I'm not an Oprah watcher anymore BUT tomorrow, April 2, she is interviewing two Christian families involved in an extrordinary situation. The Cerak family was made known to us over a year ago when we moved to Maine and started attending the Evangelical Free Church. Emil and Muriel Frank are a lovely, elderly couple who welcome new people and make a habit of saying 'Hello' every Sunday after that. (They have just recently relocated to Michigan to be closer to their family.) Emil told me one day about his granddaughter, who had been in an accident that apparently had claimed her life. All to find out that 5 weeks later, once out of the coma, Whitney was NOT dead but she had been mistaken with another girl in the vehicle!

Have I got you now!!! The two families have written a book called 'Mistaken Identity' and they tell their stories of how God worked through the entire event! Truly an amazing thing!

Watch it if you can or tape it. :)

Crafts and Special Olympics

2008-03-31T14:37:00.005-08:00

I LOVE CRAFTS!! Especially when your kids make something that you will cherish and use forever!!! Chelsie came home today and 'presented me' with this dish that she made. Isn't that great!!! She designed it, painted it and even had the idea of making the 3D star! Wow! I wouldn't have thought of that!!! :)

Alex had Special Olympics Swim Meet this past Friday. He swam the 25m Freestyle and 50m Freestyle (should actually be called 'Alexstyle') :) He got 6th and 5th place respectively and some of the kids from his class showed up to cheer him on! Pretty good considering it was a day off school!! I love how everyone gets a ribbon regardless of whether they were 1st or 6th! Love that! And to see their smiles! Chelsie and I had a good time cheering on everybody. Here's Alex in his tracksuit for Cape.

And with one of his ribbons.

Good job everyone!!!

Spring is in the Air...Hopefully

2008-03-15T07:04:00.006-08:00

Good morning! We woke up to more snow this morning - I have to admit that it is pretty. But I finally caved in and bought a pink hyacinth for myself. I LOVE the fragrance it gives off and the pink brightens up the kitchen. :) It makes me smile.

I've been experimenting with my camera. I like that this one has a Macro feature on it and I can zoom in on these lovely blossoms yet the background (with the snow) is blurred. I like the pictures that I get. Now I need to learn more about lighting and all those good things. :) All in time.

The following two pictures were given to me by the school - taken at Alex's horseback riding lesson. They were printed off a computer at school and I took a picture of them here. Not the best but at least you get to see him on FireFly. :)

The picture above includes the two ladies that work with Alex every day at school.

The one thing we love to do as a family is go for drives and 'ventures'. Last Sunday was a beautiful sunny day but about 40 - 45 miles/hr. winds. We wanted to see the waves crashing into the shore so off to the Two Headlights we went. This is what we saw...

Beautiful huh?

Well, have a fabulous weekend and go and take some pictures!! :)

Oh Yeah, We're in Maine!

2008-03-12T12:36:00.006-08:00

Well, yesterday and today were full days! Of 'excitement'! First off, yesterday morning, the kids got on the school bus at 8am. At 8:50am, I received a call that Alex had fallen and hit his head on the corner of a bookshelf! Thinking the worst - stitches, hospital, trying to get him to sit still for all that!!!!! Not what I had planned to do. So off I went to see him in the nurse's office at school. You know head wounds, they always bleed so much! And of course, it was NOT AS BAD AS I HAD IMAGINED!!! Thank God for that one! :) He was not happy about having Mommy wipe his face or letting me even look at it but we got him cleaned up and butterfly bandaged, good to go. So Alex spent the day lounging around playing Legos and watching movies while Mommy got some housework done. That was what I was planning anyway so all was not lost. :)

Chelsie had her final skating lesson yesterday. She has progressed considerably since we started. She will remain in the same level but she received a certificate and badge for her completion and attendance. Good job Chels!

Kevin came home last night from working out of town (down in Worcester, Mass.). It's always nicer when I know that he is home with us instead of being a couple hours away. I never sleep well when he's not here so I tend to stay up really late. Not a good plan.

So after all the housework (usual:dusting, vaccumming, dishes, laundry, etc.) yesterday, I woke up this morning and felt like I'd been through a dust storm!! Congested, headache, just plain horrible! I've come to the conclusion that I'm allergic to housework!!!! :) Just kidding! But I think I might start wearing a mask when doing the aforementioned chores. Actually, I noticed last spring that my allergies here are far worse than they were in Vancouver! :( Not happy! On the up side of that though, Kevin and Chelsie's allergies seem to have subsided here! Go figure!

THEN, it started snowing!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's the 'Oh Yeah, We're in Maine' part....
because here we are at quarter of 5 and it's sunny AGAIN!!! I give up!

Alex went to his first Thearpeutic Horseback Riding class today. They said he did quite well and was ALL smiles while on 'FireFly'. I figured he'd have a great time.

Well, I said a while ago that I'd include pictures from ice fishing so here they are enjoy!

May all your days be sunny MINUS the snow! :)

Kevin, Kirk and Jason checking the traps.

Chelsie and Alex in the hut.

Yep, I'm holding the fish and I even baited some of the hooks!

Kevin gutting our dinner - trout! Yum!

Okay, Okay....

2008-02-29T17:24:00.002-08:00

Well, once again...life just seems to be flying by. Even with this extra day in February!

We've done quite a bit since I last entered anything. We've been ice fishing - we even caught our own dinner!!! Pretty good for beginners. It was alot of fun and we would do it again.

We've survived (so far) all the snow that seems to keep coming our way. We are supposed to have another storm tonight. I am definitely done with the snow! At least the sun comes out and sort of warms things up.
We have gone for quite a few drives. Learned to relax together as a family. It's actually nice to just hang out together. And I've been doing tons of scrapbooking! There are so many pictures to catch up on! But it's fun to finally feel like I'm accomplishing something.

Alex starts therapeutic horseback riding on Wednesday next week. I think he'll like it a lot. And then both kids will be taking swimming lessons starting at the beginning of April.

Our biggest excitement is that our fabulous friend, Nancy, got engaged on February 11!!!! Yeah!!! So, that means we are coming home in August again. We are going to CELEBRATE!!!! Congratulations babe!

I still need to figure out the picture thing with this new computer. I don't have the same photo program that I had on the other computer. A good learning curve.

I'll let you know more tomorrow, or the next day....

Happy New Year!!!

2008-01-09T06:11:00.000-08:00

Hello to one and all! Yes, once again, we are still here. Oh computers! Can't live with them or without them BUT when they get a virus!! Need I say more! :(

We had a great Christmas. It was a beautiful sunny day and we took some great pictures - I'll download those later. We had fun opening gifts and making new memories here. We had the traditional turkey dinner - YUM! We spoke to family and friends that day, made us feel a little closer to home.

New Year's Eve, we drove up to L.L.Bean's to look at the lights and the ice sculptures. They had one that was 'Father Time' passing the torch of 2007 to the 'Camper' of 2008. They had carved the 3 little bears on a toboggan too, very cute. The kids lasted until 10 pm but that was it. Kev and I watched the ball in Time Square drop in 'real time' being on the East Coast. :)

The kids went back to school on the 2nd and we were all glad to get back into our routines.

Chelsie started skating lessons yesterday - she LOVES it! and Alex will soon be going Therapeutic Horseback Riding through the school. Our schedule seems to be filling up. All good!

That's it for now...

J

Oh, The Weather Outside Is Frightful!

2007-12-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

We knew there was a Nor'Easter on the way and it arrived during the night. It's about -9 degrees and the snow is at about a foot so far with no signs of stopping yet. Makes for good sledding which we will do this afternoon. Right now we are enjoying family time (church was cancelled) then over to friend's for dinner and playing cards.

It didn't stop Kevin from getting a Tim's coffee!

Hope you all have a nice WARM Sunday!

Why Did The Turkey Cross The Road?...

2007-12-16T08:52:00.000-08:00

Because Janine was chasing them with her camera!

Yep, these are wild turkeys that we saw while on our way to a friend's house! There were 19 in all. Another first for the Gray's!

Only Kevin has seen moose since being here but I am always looking for one and then I can post that too. :)

Let it Snow!!!

2007-12-13T13:10:00.000-08:00

Just came inside from sledding in the back yard. It started to snow around 2pm here and the kids always want to play after school. It's been a cold day here, thus we are 'dressed up like Eskimos'.

Our Newest Member!

2007-12-09T11:28:00.000-08:00

Well, here's the newest member of our family!!!

She waves to us every time we leave the driveway or as they call it here 'door yard'. And yes, that is a Tim Horton's coffee cup in her hand! We haven't named her yet but she is fitting in quite well. The neighbors seem to enjoy seeing her too.

Here are some other 'signs' of winter around here:

This one is up year round - kind of funny seeing it in the summer!

And we know that Santa MUST be living closer than we thought! You just never know when you might see Rudolph! Most of the signs of deer around here have the red nose so....I'm sure you can come to your own conclusion. :)

Happy Sunday to all!

When Life Gives You Snow, Go Sledding!

2007-12-03T10:39:00.000-08:00

Yep, we finally have the white stuff and today is the first of many 'snowdays'. So, no school and all play! We got together with Hannah and Eoin from next door to play, sled and build snow forts! Good times! The moms stayed inside where it's warm and the coffee was brewing!

Alex up in the 'real' fort

Chelsie, Hannah and Eoin

Hope you all have a fun 'snowday'!

Merry Christmas from the Gray's

2007-12-01T07:06:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm sure some of you did a double take when you saw the return address of the Gray's! Yes, you read correctly. We now live on the East Coast of the United States! We didn't realize how BIG Maine was until we got here. It is beautiful, with obviously a lot of history. We live in a town south of Portland called Cape Elizabeth. If you have Goggle Earth, you could type in our address and see exactly where we are.

To say that this year has been full, is definitely an understatement!! Last year's letter told you that we were considering a move to the States to get more help for Alex. At the time of that letter, Kevin was on his way back from Portland, Maine and the final interview process within SimplexGrinnell. He was to take on a Management position here. We decided, after prayer and too many things falling into place, that this was where God was sending us. We figured it would take awhile for everything to fall into place, from the legal and immigration side of things. But NO! Kevin arrived home around the 10th of December last year and by the 15th of January, he was here! The work visa and all other documents were done with 3 weeks!! Over Christmas and New Year's! Amazing! He has done very well with all the differences between Canada and the States and West to East! I'm so proud of his ability to soak in all this information and make a huge difference here!

We decided to keep our townhouse in Cloverdale and rent it out. We have a property manager that is great and looking after that angle of things. Then we had to find a place to rent here. First we had to do research as to the best school district to help Alex. Our consultant in Vancouver, had grown up in Maine and we asked her and her Mom to look into things for us. Cape Elizabeth was one of two places that would best suit our situation. Cape was also closer to Kevin's workplace.

So after packing our house again - two times in two year's! (not recommended), arranging movers and flights, school registration and transferring a whole raft of documents!, Janine, Chelsie and Alex flew in to start our life with Daddy on the East Coast! Even though we missed our connecting flight in Chicago, we made it! For those of you on the West Coast, you'll remember that we had snow in November and December of 2006 and that was it. So Janine was DONE with winter right? Yeah, NO! We landed to snow and started all over again!! The kids loved it and the day after we arrived, we went to Fort Williams to go sledding!

Snow came and went for awhile, right through April. Then we got to experience the 5th season around here known as MUD! Lots of fun! This next picture was taken right outside our door. We also now know the meaning of 'Snowday' - which means no school.

We had been here for two weeks when we brought our consultant from Vancouver here to help Janine with the transition of Alex into this school. Again, God walked before us and prepared all these things. Apparently, here in the States, no child with special needs may enter the school system without having an IEP (Individual Education Plan) in place. Different from Canada in that, the child may go to school until the paperwork catches up to them. We were told that this process here could take up to three months! Katie (our consultant) did more footwork for us and pretty much bypassed much of the red tape and got us fixed up for the start of March! God's provision! We were also NOT expecting to get THIS much help!!! Alex has someone with him all day (this fall, it's two people during the day). He has a Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Speech Therapist, Social Worker, Program Coordinator, etc... not to mention a regular classroom setting where the kids love him as he is. I can't explain the relief in knowing that he is getting what he needs all day! The stress level has been cut down significantly!

Chelsie settled into school quite quickly and made many new little friends. She has been on more playdates than ever before! She was even interviewed for the school newspaper as the new kid from Canada! This fall, the kids started taking the school bus (they LOVE it!) and consequently, we have met more of our neighbors around here. Alex had a harder time transitioning to a new way of doing things and a new environment. The school works hard to meet all our needs. He ended up going to summer school/day camp everyday and that helped with the transitions too. So much so, that this fall, he ASKS for school every morning - including the weekends!

April brought lots of things our way. We had been figuring things out here - very different from the lower Mainland and Canada, for that matter, when we had a 'Nor'easter' blow through. Wow! The Patriot's Day Storm of 2007 will be remembered by the Gray's as the day that the tree fell on the house we are renting!!!

Never a dull moment! The power had gone out that morning and the kids were on the main level with Janine as the tree hit. A blessing that Alex wasn't upstairs in his room playing as that is exactly where the tree landed! We stayed in a hotel that night. Mommy was a nervous wreck for a couple days! But we came through it all!

This summer brought lots of activities: Chelsie went to Jewish Day Camp for two weeks with one of her new friends, Alex had school and Day Camp too. Summer also brought visitors! Gwen Scott and Marg Gray! It was fun to show the 'Moms' around our new found places. We travelled down to Boston, Cape Cod, Kittery, Kennebunkport, Freeport, and downtown Portland. One of our favorite things to do is go down the beach. We usually go to Fort Williams where the Portland Headlight is located. (Lighthouses are called Headlights on the East Coast.)

The following was down at Cape Cod, Maasachusetts. The water was SO warm, unusual for the Atlantic Ocean! We love to collect seashells and beach glass.

This summer took us back to Vancouver for three weeks. It was awesome to see family and friends! You don't know how much you miss them until they aren't within arms-length!

The Gray's, the Jones' and the Scott's

Chelsie and Sydney Gray

We came back to start school and time seems to have flown by since then. We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving, Halloween and American Thanksgiving. We have had fun experiencing picking apples and in the spring, we want to try Maple Tree Tapping (syrup making).

Last night we decorated our Christmas Tree and so the season to remember the birth of our Lord begins.

Well, that's us for this year! We would love to hear from you all! Our e-mail address is: liven4lobstah@maine.rr.com

Love to all and may God bless you each richly in this coming year.

**The wonder of Christmas is not in the presents but in HIS presence.**

Kevin, Janine, Chelsie and Alex

I'll Have A BLUE Christmas

2007-11-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

...or should I say 'blue' poinsettia. Okay, this was a first for me. But going to the nursery at this time of year is beautiful.

Christmas letter 2007 coming tomorrow.

J

Christmas Letter Coming Soon!!

2007-11-28T08:50:00.000-08:00

For those of you who has received our Christmas card this year....the Christmas letter will be posted on December 1. I need some way of making you come back to this site. :)

J

Seatbelts Everyone!

2007-11-25T13:30:00.000-08:00

We have had a big break through this weekend!!! Alex has learned how to fasten his own seatbelt! I know this may seem like a small thing but not for us!!!!!! We have been working on this one for awhile and we have arrived! Thought I'd share....

We also saw Disney's "Enchanted". What a great movie. A combination of a few Disney classics with a new twist. A fantastic feel good movie for all. We had fun - the music was toe tappin' and the acting was fun.

Kevin and I are heading out on a 'date' tonight. :) Dinner and some shopping. It'll be good just the two of us.

Hope you all had a great weekend.

Happy Day After Thanksgiving

2007-11-23T13:47:00.000-08:00

We have officially celebrated our first American Thanksgiving! We went over to Troy and Deb's house for dinner, Hannah and Eoin (pronounced Owen) are their kids. Deb's sister Kathleen was there too. Yummy food, great company, good conversation and excellent time relaxing and playing cards. Kevin even played! For those of you who have tried to get Kevin to play cards before...this is astonishing!!

Eoin and Alex

Hannah and Chelsie

Kathleen, Troy and Deb

Kevin and Janine

It's great getting to know more people in our neighborhood.

Today we decided to go for a drive and ended up driving through Chelsea, Maine. There are a few places around the New England States with the name Chelsea. But we always notice that it is spelled INCORRECTLY! :) Chelsie is now blessed with how her mother feels about her name being spelled incorrectly. It's become a game to see how many different ways our names can be spelled. We have to look at the bright side of things! We have just been relaxing the rest of the day - it's nice having Kevin home too.

Happy weekend to all!

Baby - It's Cold Outside!!!!

2007-11-20T07:40:00.000-08:00

It's SNOWING!!!!! This is our first taste of what's to come! The Kids are happy - Momma, not so happy. Oh well, this is where we live! And we have all our gear, so we are good to go. We have this week off school as it's American Thanksgiving on Thursday. We are going to our friends house for the traditional meal. I'm sure we will have a good time.

I made it back from the Pacific Northwest, obviously. I had a wonderful time catching up with Ricki, Sara, Nancy and Wendy. What a blessing to have such incredible friends! I love these girls! We ate, shopped, talked and drank some wine, ate some more and shopped, talked, etc... It was a full weekend but definitely worth the travel time to Seattle and back. As Sara said, we have to start planning next year already. Gig Harbor has been built up more in the last year, so we had a lot to see. The weather was great - the day I left a big storm was rolling in but gave us a tailwind of 160 MPH!!! We made up for lost time!

Always good to come home though. I thought about that on the way back - six and a half hours to think - home is where your family is. Even though we are on the other side of the continent, this is where my little family is. Vancouver will probably always be home but right now, we are enjoying our lives here too. It's good to come to this conclusion.

Have an awesome day in 'no snow'!

Halloween - Come and Gone

2007-11-03T08:07:00.000-08:00

We have had a busy week with getting ready for Halloween as I'm sure some of you can understand. We were given a couple pumpkins but only one got carved. Chelsie decided that we should have a 'happy' pumpkin so here he is.

And then the costumes: Alex was Mr. Incredible and Chelsie was Lola from Disney's Hannah Montana. Yes, those are Tim Horton's treat bags. Nice to have something familiar around.

We now know the route for treat-or-treating. Alex was literally dragging his feet at the end of the trek. But we made it. :)

We are headed up to L.L.Bean to get 'outfitted' for the fast approaching winter season. We have our boots but all of us need jackets and the kids will get snow pants. You can 'feel' it in the air - those of you that have lived on the prairies, know what I mean. And apparently we have a hurricane on it's way too! I say 'Bring it on!!'- as soon as we get our jackets!!!! :)

Here's what we have been enjoying though ...

Spring Light Point, South Portland, Maine on my morning walk

Enjoying a warmer afternoon at Willard Beach, South Portland

'Periwinkles' - Empty Hermit Crab Shells

This picture reminds me of when I lived on Fox Island, Washington. You could not walk without stepping on sand dollars. Here it's these! They are everywhere on this beach! Chelsie and I found one that was still inhabited! Cool!

Speaking of Washington, I'm flying to Seattle on Thursday this coming week to catch up with Sara, Rickie, Deanna, Nancy and Wendy!! Should be fun! I'll let you know when I get back. Hopefully I won't need my 'Maine' jacket there!!! :)

J

It's Beautiful Here!

2007-10-22T15:21:00.001-07:00

My pictures are numerous of all these gorgeous trees. The weather is amazing - apparently unusually warm for this time of the year. Take heart, it's supposed to change by the end of this week. After school today, Chelsie, Alex and I went down to the beach to enjoy the weather and the scenery. Alex was right in the 'drink' and having a blast. We've got a pretty good collection going of seashells too.
We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with a small roast chicken instead of a turkey - I'm saving that for Christmas.

We went picking apples this past Saturday. It didn't take long to get what we wanted but we had fun doing it. Both the kids were into getting their bags filled. Now I am looking through all my recipes for apples! Yum!!

The end of this week is school reports/teacher conferences. Should be interesting. Also means no school so hopefully the weather will hold out for a little while longer.

Well, the kids are getting ready for bed so....

Talk to you all again soon.
J

2007-10-06T17:17:00.000-07:00

Kevin and Janine at the top of White Mountain State Park

Chelsie and Alex at the park on Alex's Birthday

PIctures Finally

2007-10-06T16:28:00.000-07:00

Fall has Arrived!

2007-10-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

We went on one of our 'ventures' today. We drove to New Hampshire's White Mountain State Park. We wanted to see all the changing leaves and we were NOT disappointed! Never have I seen so much color!! Vibrant reds, oranges, yellows and greens. Awe inspiring! God is amazing! :) Like He got out His paints and had a go at the hillsides! Cool!!!

I took lots of pictures but like anything else, it just doesn't do it justice. I'm still trying to figure out the pic thing. Working on it. :)

We took a picnic lunch as we are experiencing above average tempuratures here ( up to 86 degrees at one point today!) We'll take it!! We drove through Paris and Poland but best of all, we drove through Gray, Maine. We almost went to Mexico but we decided we had been around the world enough for one day. :)

Once we got back home, the kids wanted to make the leaves off of the trees here into a pile and jump. What fun! Who needs toys when you have nature?

Now it's time to eat some pizza and watch a movie with the kids.

Hope you all had a great day!

YES! We are ALIVE!!

2007-10-01T12:19:00.001-07:00

For all of you out there that have lost faith in this blogger (referring to Janine), we are alive and kicking! I apologize that there has been a lack of communication but, as usual, I'm trying to rectify that. :)

We arrived back here in time to start school. Chelsie is in Grade 3 and Alex is in Grade 2. Both of them have settled back into the scheme of things without any major hitches. They take the bus every day and both enjoy it very much. I'm afraid that if we ever missed the bus, Mommy would be in BIG trouble. :) We had an IEP meeting this morning in regards to Alex's programming and things are going better than expected. And we are going to start a 'food' program soon. YEAH! This means that Alex will be introduced to foods that he doesn't eat presently - which is A LOT!!!

Kevin was able to finish out this fiscal year at Simplex on a strong note. I'm very proud of everything that he takes on. Today is the official start of the new fiscal year, so we are hoping for good things this coming year.

As for me...I keep myself busy keeping things going around here. I have met quite a few people (adults) at the bus stop than I met the whole other 5 months that I drove the kids to school in the Spring! Exciting for me!

Fall has definitely arrived. The leaves are changing color - they are beautiful. I'll attach pics as soon as I can figure it out again. :(

Well, I WILL type again soon. Hope that you all have a great day.

I'm BACK!!! :)

2007-07-20T18:12:00.001-07:00

Okay Okay....man time flies!!! Too much happens around here but I know 'I'm preaching to the choir' :)

Lesson for today....lock AWAY all medicines/vitamins,etc...as even if it says 'Child-proof Lid' THIS MEANS NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!! Alex got into the kids multi-vitamins and about half the bottle was GONE! Yep, the one with the 'Child-proof Lid'! I now have the phone number for Poison Control in New England and I will put it in a safe place. :) Alex is fine and there have been no side-effects detected.

Another new rule here is: no matter the weather at the time of exiting the truck, ALWAYS...I mean ALWAYS close the sunroof. This past Sunday, we stopped at McDonald's when a big thundercloud rolled in and the heavens opened. Yep, you guessed it! We sat there watching the kids play and the rain come POURING down when I commented to Kevin that the last time this happened I was in Wal-Mart. They announced over the PA system that it was raining and if your windows are open, you'd better close them. Just then, we looked at each other and started laughing realizing that we had just done the same thing!! I kid you not, there was at least an inch and a half of water in the cup holders and everything was soaked! I've done about 5 loads of towels this week as they were all used to dry out the truck! Oh fun times! :)
One of the sayings around Maine that seems to be true...if you don't like the weather, give it a minute, it'll change.

Well, Marg was here for three weeks and we had a good time showing her all that we have discovered so far. We went shopping, of course :), day trips to Boston, went to Harvard and ate lunch at 'Mr. Bartley's' (the BEST burgers in the world), Kittery (outlet stores) and Freeport (L.L.Bean), and to the beach and lighthouses (known as HEADLIGHTS here).
July 4th was celebrated in style with our own 'sparklers' - we didn't try to find fireworks as it ended up raining that evening.

I wanted to send out belated birthday hellos to Wendy, Camille and Laurilie!!! :) And a BIG Birthday WELCOME to Taylor Gray - Dave and Natalie's newest member! She was born on the 15th and I'm sure she's just as cute as little miss Sydney! We can't wait to meet her!

Speaking of "can't wait" - we are all very excited to come home and see as many people as possible. Just to be around familiar faces and places again will be great. But before we come home, my Mom - Gwen - will be coming to check things out here and then she will fly to Vancouver with me and the kids. Kevin will come a week and a half later.

Good night to all. We are off on another 'venture' tomorrow. Never sure where we'll end up. :)

Love,
Janine

Grandma is HERE!!!

2007-06-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

Good morning! Another beautiful - HOT - day here. Summer has arrived! Yeah!!!! :)

The cable guy (literally) was here to fix the internet and phone problem this morning so I should be able to talk/type to my hearts content.

Grandma Marg arrived last night (or should I say early this morning) at 1 am as her flight out of Detroit was delayed. But she made it in one piece and now we can give her the grand tour of greater Portland, Maine. It's great to see a familiar face. We're going to have fun! :)

Here are some pictures of our time here.
Augusta, Maine is the State capital, about an hour drive from where we live.

We have gone down to Plymouth, Massachusetts a couple times. The rock inscribed '1620' is what is left of the actual place where the Mayflower landed. The picture of the ship is the Mayflower II.

Well, we are off on a 'venture' - our term for adventure. I'll let you know how we did later.
Have a great day!

J

Last Day of School

2007-06-18T05:13:00.000-07:00

Well, this is it! The kids have a half day of school and then summer break! Wow! Time flies! And Grandma Marg arrives tonight. We are all looking forward to seeing a familiar face.
I'll post more pictures later today - trying to 'catch up' on the activities so far.

Have a great day!

J

'Tis the season for Sneezin'

2007-06-17T14:52:00.000-07:00

June 17/07

Happy Father's Day to all you Dad's out there! We have had a beautiful day here - except the thunderstorm and quick rain shower that we had to run out of! :) All part of the fun! The kids got Kevin a big flying 'disc' and we went to the park to break it in. A huge, dark cloud rolled in and the rain was pouring! We made a run for the truck - killing ourselves laughing all the way and then to realize that we had left the sunroof open!! :0 Never a dull moment! A memory for sure.

Adding pictures to a blog is for the well informed: i.e: NOT US! No small feat as I discovered but now possible because of my fabulous husbands technical abilities! I wanted to share pictures of our time here so far. The picture that was added to the first blog post is of a shack not far from the President Bush Sr. compound in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Pictures to follow are: 1) all the pollen on the ground - NEVER have I seen this much pollen on EVERYTHING!! In the picture it looks like dust but everything is yellow.

The next picture is of President Bush Sr. compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. They have had this retreat for a long time and Katie's (our consultant from Vancouver)'Nana' used to be their nanny whenever they came to Maine. Cool!

Okay, let's see if this will work with posting more than one photo.

J

Just the Beginning

2007-06-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did it!!! I've been toying with the idea of starting a blog and here it is! I'm so excited!

We have been here in Maine for 3 1/2 months now - still getting used to all the differences between North and South, West to East. Sometimes we feel like fish - or should I say 'lobstah' - out of water. But slowly, we are becoming acclimatized.

We have been making the most of our weekends - going on day or overnight trips around our state and the ajoining ones. So far we have been to New Hampshire - Storyland in N. Conway and Nashua, Vermont - for dinner and to say that we've been there :) and Massachusetts - Boston and Cape Cod...all the way to Provincetown. Check these out on Google Earth. http://googleearth.com

The kids are doing well in school and enjoy their new friends. This is our last week of school and then into the summer daycamps - big thing here. It will also be Alex's first experience with taking the bus to school everyday. Should be interesting. Chelsie is signed up for three weeks of swimming lessons and then a two week day camp at Sebago Lake.

We will be coming home in August for about three weeks. We have starting putting to gether a 'wish list' of things that we want to do/places to go. But the biggest thing is to be able to visit with our family and friends! We miss you all very much - hopefully this blog will facilitate more with 'keeping up' with everyone.

Please feel free to comment, send us a line or two, even to say 'Hey'.