Clean Fill

Jud and I are exhausted after shoveling 24 yards of clean fill to under the deck as support. The girl's dug, climbed, slid and rolled in the pile, which seemed taller than I.

When done, they stripped down and played in the pool. The girl's were devastated that we were working to get rid of the pile. When we were done, Eleanor announced, "My heart is broken".

Summer Camp

The girl's have just finished their time at camp. Gemma was so proud she could attend "mini camp" at Eleanor's elementary school.











Eleanor spent a week at the Wolfe's Neck Farm in Freeport - Taking care of sheep and goats and playing at the beach.














The camp also had a theater production of the last day. She was a confident and clear narrator for her group's "In the Barn" play.

Camping in NH with the Hartter Clan

Rain, rain and thank goodness for book sales

Our June has been much wetter than normal. There have been two sunny days since I was done with school 10 days ago. Jud and I spent much of one of those days digging to the bottom of the concrete foundation in order to seal a crack that has resulted in major flooding in the studio.

The girls are pictured above engaging in their latest outdoor interests which they pursue whenever it is not actively raining. (Notice the wet ground and rain boots).

On rainy days, it is fortunate we now have an indoor swing. The girls also love to read. Gemma feels that since Eleanor now can read independently and "in her brain", that she can as well. So she will sit with books for a half hour "reading them" to herself, or making up stories that go with the book. No pictures needed, as she enjoys text books and manuals as well as picture books.

Today we went to the library book sale. The girls had a bag they could fill with as many books as would fit. At $2 a bag, we cared little about what they chose. Gemma found a stack of books that are her "'pecial" books. She has carried them around all day, reading them and talking about them. I had to steal up to her room after she fell asleep to get the titles to share:

- A Day at a time - Daily reflections and prayers based on the "spiritual foundations of Alcoholics Anonymous". No pictures, but it is a handy 3X5 inch size.

- Calling All Girls - Girls magazine from December, 1962. Ideas for how to make Xmas gifts and recommendations about knit wool hoods, hi-fi record players, and bowling bags.

- Suenos - A level 1 Reader...Completely in Spanish

- Heroes and Outlaws of the Old West - 2 page summaries of the lives of these folks with no pictures

Better bring the books back up to her room or she will miss them. Eleanor is sleeping with three of the books she chose under her pillow.

Last Day of School

Eleanor's last day of kindergarten was June 22nd. She is now a first grader!










We wanted to go to the beach to celebrate the beginning of summer break, but the rain kept us away. The rain, however, could not prevent a trip to the Dairy Freeze where we could shiver under the awning and lap at some ice cream!

Memorial Day with the Hartter's

It has been a long time since Girlwind updates. These pictures take us back to May and a Memorial Day picnic with the Hartter's at Crescent Beach in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
It's so wonderful to have family "close" and willing to travel!

Happy Easter

What a fantastic Easter morning. The girls are so enthusiastic about everything. They were so good at sharing their finds. Notice their new hats compliments our latest trip to Dartmouth - Thing 1 and Thing 2. Mom gets to be the cat in the hat.

Indepedent Fashionista

Ms. Gemma now insists on choosing her outfits and dressing herself. If she doesn't pick the outfit, she doesn't wear it. Or, if you finally talk her into wearing it, the next time you see her, she is wearing something different. If you try to hide things so she won't wear them, she will dump everything out of the drawer until she finds it. She has even searched the trash and twice found the ratty old shirt I was trying to dispose of. Her habits lead to big messes. After being unable to walk through her room without stepping on clothes, I decided enough is enough. So - one afternoon while Eleanor was at school, we went through all of her clothes together. I held up an item. If she liked it, we put it in "her" drawer. If she didn't, the item went into a bin headed for the attic. She was extremely picky. I would hold a shirt up and she would say, "I don't like that one. It's not fancy enough". None of her jeans made the cut. Other complaints included, "That's too plain" or "That's not pretty" or my favorite "That's not stylish enough". We wound up with a drawer full of red and pink knits that she chooses from each morning (I held out the option that I could still pick clothes on church or school days or special occasions).

Here she and Eleanor are modeling some new items from Grammy. (Don't you love that belly! Thanks Grammy!

Gemma's Art and Music Show

Gemma's preschool hosts an "Art and Music Show" each spring. They rent a local church where there is a small stage. The kids sing and dance for 15 minutes, and then show parents around to the art pieces arranged on the walls. It is too cute! Gemma was a great performer and such fun to watch. I'll try to post a video if I figure out how to do that.

Havin' fun inside and out

Eleanor is having such fun with her new buddy Jack. Playing ball, chasing around, taking him for a walk. You name it!

Last night, the girls and I went to a concert by a local kids musician who recorded his latest album at Jud's studio. They adore "Mr. Matt" and had great fun dancing along with Eleanor's friend from school

Rockin' in year #6

I cannot get used to the fact the Eleanor is 6!
She was able to have her birthday party on the actual day of her birthday this year. She requested a "Rock and Roll" party complete with guitar cake. We set up a stage, decorated some guitars, added hats, hair extensions, and sunglasses and - Presto! An eight piece band self-titled "The Rockers". It was extremely entertaining for us parents. Check it out!

Delightful moments

Another snow storm, another day without power, Gemma had to stay inside because she has a fever. I know it sounds like a drag, but those two kids are just too much fun. (The shoveling from the biggest storm of the year, however, was not as fun, so I was grateful for the entertainment).

Gemma put on a pink cape and rode around backwards on her inchworm calling herself "Pinkalicious superhero". She "saved" both Jud and myself several times.

Eleanor went shopping in the play kitchen. She made lists of items she was to purchase, rolled her shopping cart over to the bins, placed her items in the cart, and crossed them off her list. After each trip, the lists went in the trash and she started all over.

Jud warmed special soup he and Eleanor had made for Gemma because of her cold. They had included what Eleanor called "love onions". He was also able to do grilled cheese over the fire.

At nap time, Gemma asked me seriously "Where do dreams come from?" After a short discussion she decided she had lost some of her dreams, but might find them again when she fell asleep.

At bedtime, the whole family snuggled under the comforter on our bed while Jud read the story about Piglet and the heffalump. It was too cozy.

I must say, I do love snow days.

Gemma's Dreams

"Mama, where do dreams come from? I think I lost some of my dreams..." - Gemma at naptime

Gemma turns 3!

We can't believe that our little one is three! What a big girl. She received many nice gifts for her birthday including a Wes Welker jersey and a swim cap and goggles.




She had a great time with her friends at a party she shared with her dad. Here she is in her birthday chair first thing in the morning with her birthday crown! She really enjoyed being the birthday princess for a day.

A trip with Jude to the NH children's museum

We made a trip down to visit our cousin, Jude, who has grown so big! The NH museum was great. Eleanor enjoyed dressing up and being part of a German Dancing festival. Gemma loved driving the trolley. Jude was great at peek aboo.
The girls also took a rest in the submarine after doing some fishing. We definitely will have to go again!

"I Saw You" by Elea

Eleanor's first poem (she says "When I grow up, I am going to be an author, as well as an illustrator")

timeis
ritad
itballs
around.

(pronounced:
time is
rite aid
it balls
around.)

Merry Christmas!/Not that Song!

We tried to get a recording of a Christmas carol for you folks abroad. Both of the girls know quite a few. But as you can see, they could never agree on the song...

The Old Times

Eleanor is doing a painting "from the old times."

"In 2002. There were Indians alive. And some Pilgrims. This is in New England. That's where the Patriots are from. But they weren't even born yet."

Vote 4 Eleanor

When we got home from picking Eleanor up at the bus, they wanted to play outside. I had just seen a hunter go into the woods across the street from the bus stop, so I thought maybe we shouldn't be out playing in the yard right then -- and I told Eleanor that they might come onto our land because we hadn't put signs up saying they couldn't. Obviously, as soon as we went inside, El wanted to make "No Shooting" posters, so I got out the paper. At some moment when my back was turned, they changed from "No Shooting" into "Vote For Eleanor." I guess she's swept up in the moment... Gemma, however, is having none of it, even though her sister made her a poster, too.




Our house is now decorated with campaign posters. She made a few last-minute, get-out-the-vote calls as well. Poll results aren't always an indication, but 3 out of 3 people called have pledged their imaginary vote...

Leaps and Bounds

Gemma's language and thinking has developed so much over the past month that she still surprises me with what she says. Here are some conversations and sayings from Gemma yesterday...

In the morning, as I am making a fire, she pulls out one of the newspapers, sits down and opens it up, saying, "Hmmm. I wonder what there is to worry about today".

As we are in the car traveling down our dirt road, Gemma comments that "The road is very bumpy". She's so right. Several minutes later, I hear her from the backseat say, "This road is smooth. They must put smoothing cream on it".

We were walking into Eleanor's school and talking about "things" when Gemma out of the blue says, "Walking and Talking. That rhymes."

At the school sock hop, Gemma acted clingy and I thought she might be tired. The gym was crazy busy, but when I tried to get the girls to go, Gemma wanted to stay, "I want to dance to the music". When I finally convinced them to leave, Gemma noticed the music coming outside through an open door and said, "We can still listen to the music and dance". Then, in the car we had a near meltdown, with Gemma crying, "I want YMCA music RIGHT NOW!!!!"

Eleanor loves talking about words and sounds while we are riding around in the car. She was talking about the spelling of a street we had past when Gemma chimed in. "Eleanor, be quiet please. It's my turn to talk to momma. I spell the word like this B...R...W...Y."

I don't know if this translates to a blog, but coming from the mouth of a two and a half year old, it's constantly entertaining.