Low light

As opposed to highlight. Yesterday morning we went to church. Stacee was in the nursery and I thoroughly enjoyed the service. It was bright and cool and somewhat fall-like in the morning. We planned on taking a small mountain hike after church with friends and their kids but on the way there it started pouring. We decided to head into Bridgeton for Frappes and coffee at Ricky's Diner. It was a whiny ride home, Jack and Ezra both had had enough of the car and being damp. So did we. We pulled into the driveway and stopped. I helped Ezra unbuckle and Stacee was carrying and armload of stuff inside when we heard the car door slam and Jack let out a shriek...and then a wail. Put down food if you are eating it. His ring finger tip had been slammed in the door. Stacee opened it, gathered him up and brought him inside. Ezra was imitating Jack crying on the other side of the car and saying "wha happen Jack? waaaaa". That makes things better. We put it in a frozen corn bag for a while and loosely wrapped a Clifford band aid around it. After the Veggie Tales Christmas movie he cooled down. The finger tip swelled up pretty seriously though and he didn't use that hand for the rest of the night. This morning it didn't seem to hurt and although babying it a bit he seems fine. Tonight after his shower it was all purple. Jack prefers calling it grey. The nail has started to pull away somewhat from his finger. I'm entirely grossed out by this and am reminded of my cousin Dustin, who at age 4 or 5, did the same thing. Exept it was his middle finger and the tip of it swelled up like a small plum. He would wave his monstous middle finger at people and I can remember him riding his bike with his plum extended while his other fingers gripped the handlebars of his red bike. We were more interested at that age as to what the contents of his plum like finger held and yes we did find out. He had to get it lanced....gag...and he told us that a lot of black "stuff" came out. As a parent I understand better grown-ups reactions to things like this. My apologies for sickening anyone but this is my therapy. I'm getting it off of my chest. I'll let you know the outcome later...commence with your eating.

vacation highlights

Yes, most of the time at camp all blends together; the swimming, washing dishes, coffee on the dock, canoeing etc... I am not for a second saying that those weren't fantastic in and of themselves but there were a few events that will stick.
Boat Event: We rented a pontoon boat for two days. We arrived Friday and picked up the boat early Saturday morning. The boat was 20' or so in length and had a 30hp outboard. Not a neck snapper. After breakfast we decided since it was a little grey out to take a boat ride. All of us hopped on and commented how this floating patio idea was just grand and why didn't everyone own one. We headed out to the largepart of the lake in the shadow of Borestone Mountain. We had a peaceful but long trip. The next morning was a washout. We called the marina and they allowed us to keep the boat for another day at no charge. It cleared in the afternoon and we all piled back on and were thrilled that the sun had come up and dried everything out. We headed east to the narrower part of the river, took turns swimming off the boat and then turned back towards camp in the western direction. The sky was dark. We turned our sled around and raced to reach camp before the sky opened. Our chances may have improved if some of our group had hopped off the boat, hung on and kicked. A big boat with 14 people on it does not break speed records with a 30hp. At first it was a drizzle and then a nice summer rain and then it poured. For a good 10 minutes it rained hard and just as we were easing into the dock the sky cleared, and there in the distance, a rainbow. We've already submitted this heartwarming tale to Hallmark.
The Spiders: I don't know how Maine, with it's bitter winters and 2 week long summers can do this but Maine grows the largest spiders I have ever seen except for a few bird eating spiders at zoos. If anyone knows there actual breed (or species, kingdom, phylum, genus, what have you) I would love to know. Most of the more terrible ones were under the dock and would come out of a just long enough for you to go "ahhhh, did you see that thing?". They were larger, not exagerating for effect, than a silver dollar. The biggest one though was in our cabin. I opened a door and thought I saw something move on top of it. Having my experience with bats I cautiously looked at the other side of the top of the door and there it was. The biggest, fattest spider I have seen not in a zoo. One leg was on one side of an inch and 3/4 door and the rest was on the other side. I killed it.

Vacation

Anna and Ezra making mud soup

Breakfast and coloring on the breakfast porch. We were usually up an hour before everyone else and so as not to wake anyone we ate breakfast out here.
Silas shows granpa fly tying.... ok it was just for the picture


These are the cousins.














This is one of many good rainy day activities planned by gram

Hit me baby one more time....

The Story of the Cowboy and the Bee

3:36AM

I tweaked a muscle in my back the other night. It was 3:36am. Stacee woke me and asked me if I had heard something in the room. I hadn't because I was asleep.
She was pretty sure she heard something so the light went on and...Nothing. She peered over her side of the bed to check for AHHHHH. It was on the sheet, hanging upside down, and when she screamed it took flight over the bed and started circling the room.
Under the covers I prayed that God would send great wisdom and bravery to me and that the bat would have it's last breath and just die on the spot. The bat didn't die on the spot.
I stuck an eye out from under the comforter, which at the time was living up to it's name, and saw that the bat was perched on our door frame. I quickly decased my pillow, leapt from my bed, kicked the door shut hoping to crush it's head in the door, but when it didn't I swung my pillowcase with all of my might and gently dislodged the bat from it's perch. As it started it's first trip around our room I dove into bed and as I was diving tried to make my large self quite small. In doing so I pulled something in my upper back. Now we were trapped and my back was cramping up. When I raised another eye the bat was just inches above our heads and I caught it in our comforter. We bundled it up in all of the bed clothes and brought it out into the driveway. We spread the sheets on the car and the bat flew off. The chiropractor doesn't like bats either but my back is better.
A week later, in Magnolia MA, 100 miles south, my parents were trapped in similar fashion in their room by a very similar bat.