mike and tom spent sunday doing their favorite activity (besides annoying madeline)- rockscrambling. john took them scrambling along the potomac river and they actually came back exhausted- making us all quite happy!
sarah has been home for 5 days, but this is a rare sighting, for those of us not awake between midnight and 5 am. note the sporty new haircut.
looking out the kitchen window, i see this scene of male bonding. conferring about wood chopping and football . very sweet, until i start thinking that in three years, when madeline goes off to college, i will be the only female in the house ( not counting dogs). yikes!
tom is proud to split his first log (with a little help from dad).
john has the honor of carving the turkeys-one roasted, one deep fried- for our thanksgiving feast. i think tom had the funniest thankful thought, "i am just thankful that this is the last term that george bush can be president" .
mike and tom explain their wampanoag project to grandmom mary and grandpop ben. having never seen this project, i am really surprised by how much they know about this native american tribe.
hey will, you'll be happy to see your room put to good use as mike and tom have commenced construction of the beanie baby house on your floor. note the colorful rug for the beanie babies, handwoven by mike.
john is working on fulfillling my little vermont farmhouse fantasy.
splitting the wood from a tree chopped down last spring. our stockpile of wood is growing in anticipation of the cold weather and the high price of oil.
tonight is our first frost. all the deck plants have been dragged inside and we lit our first fire of the season. tonight's bedtime story, harry potter, is read by the fireside. it is almost 11:00 and they are still spellbound while john reads. hot cocoa is finished and i think it is time for bed.
mike, abishek,tom, lauren, samantha and samuel
spend hours playing in the leaves now that fall is really here.
william and sarah come home to celebrate will's
22nd birthday. clare and bob stop by for dinner too- grilled steak, homemade mashed potatoes and salad- the big kids eat heartily, excited to get a real homemade meal. sarah notes that she thinks the dining room has shrunk in size since she moved out. i guess we will have to expand when they start coming home with significant others. it will give john something to do with his nights and weekends.
william blows out the candles on the supersized cake.
it is a good feeling to have all the kids together for a few hours. certainly lively!
