happiness is

Opening your inbox to find real time photos 

Of the girls you miss.

Girls Camp 2014

Raymond, NH

just in case you're not caught up

feng shui

I drove to the High School this morning to take care of some business in the office.  I just about cried when I saw the front lawn.

 All those beautiful mature trees!

Cut down.

As much as I like progress, (demolition for a new school) this made me SAD.

 However, finding this sunflower made me HAPPY.

See how it leaned right over and said

"Don't worry.Everything will be alright."

bloom and grow

It used to be that Leeli was only taller than me when I was sitting down.  Now she wears flats and I wear heels just to feel equal.  Lucky thirteen: the year when my youngest girl passed me

(and her sisters) in height. She's tall and beautiful.

Cousins chatting on Sunday

Martha's Vineyard with a friend

skipping rocks

This guy's got some pretty great talents--many of which do not get spotlighted in any way, including his ability to skip rocks like no one I've EVER met.  He's good.

He's also good at his job, and it's been keeping him away.

Which is NOT good.

Last week he spent on the sunny California coast.

This week? St. Louis.

Tonight he's headed home, and I feel an analogy coming on.

He's got a pretty firm grip around the smooth parts of my heart, and tonight his arrival is going to send it skipping across the waters of happiness. That is all.

XOXO

Night Swimming

On hot sticky nights like tonight, it feels good to take a dip before climbing into bed.  Even if all you "dip" is your toes, there's a beautiful night time sky as a backdrop.

 There's also the lounging before bed option, which is dry and easy.

 We happen to have a pool tour option, which, *bonus!* is led by a very enthusiastic and informative guide

 Lucky us.

SERIOUSLY.

Happy Summer nights!

Summer is a JOURNEY

Last night my summer pal and I were reading at bed time, and it occurred to me that once again, we were going to be partners for the day on Friday.  We made a plan, slept on it

and crossed the border.

Destination: Mount Monadnock.

From the parking lot to the summit there were about two and a half miles to cover.

Two-and-a-half INTENSE miles

straight UP.

 So we climbed.

And rested.

And whittled.

We also made some new friends.

There were three women making the climb together.

They were encouraging each other and I noticed that one of the women was VERY afraid of heights.

 They inspired me.

 And I told them so.

We enjoyed a rest together, learned a little bit about each other

and shared an amazing view.

 Complete with a hawk sighting.

New friends!

Meet Ro, Pat and Paula.

 Oh yeah: the Boston skyline.

We climbed past the treeline.

MB left a stone on every cairn along the way.

(you can see we're getting closer to the summit, but there was a LOT of U-P still to go)

It's a good thing there was whittling to be done, because I needed a few more breaks before we made it to the top. 

(Yikes! This is a crazy workout.)

 We found the summit in just under two hours.

We hung out at the top, had lunch together, and stayed until the wind made me chilly

We bumped into our lady friends on the way down.

 They were getting close!

So we paused for a photo and said our good-byes.

 I hope I'm still climbing mountains in the next decade.

 We stopped in Jaffrey on the way home for a celebratory ice cream.

With a view of the mountain we conquered.

A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

i LOVE technology.

and i LOVE being able to see these people when we talk! 

LOVE them.

adventure is OUT there! (WAY out there.)

Utah.

For soccer camp.

The two weeks is almost over.

Leeli's been having the time of her life.

keeping campers safe at the waterfront

Sweet Mesquite's got herself a sweet gig for the summer.

She's working as a lifeguard at a church-owned girls' camp in New Hampshire. She's back at it this week.

 I miss her like CRAZY when she's gone.

But I guess it's a good warm-up for her college adventures in the Fall.  Meanwhile, she's enjoying a pretty good view from her office.

they're alive and making cookies.

One week later:

These two have not only managed to survive week one at basketball camp, they've also managed to navigate Aunt Joy's kitchen: they found the flour, sugar and butter.

When you're not sure what to do, MAKE COOKIES.

A date at the beach

It's summertime. There are beaches out there.

I woke up and remembered there were only two of us at home. I felt a sudden urge to pack the cooler and drive to Maine.

So,

you know...

we did.

Footbridge Beach in Ogunquit.

It's our favorite.