August Recap

After another long break from blogging, we have a lot of catching up to do. August, in short:

At the tail end of July, the family drove north for Darrell and Kelly Glaser's wedding (congrats!) in Freeport. A fabulous time was had by all, and Lizzie got to see many of our closest friends from grad school, some for the first time. She was adorable at the wedding (am I allowed to say that? but really, she was!), wandering around greeting everyone and taking just a couple of short naps on the dance floor.

After the wedding, we headed to Heron Island for Lizzie's first visit. (Not counting the trip in-utero 2 years ago.) She jumped right into Heron life -- blueberry pancakes, walks on the rocks, blackberries from the bush, romps in the casino -- and bonded with her "Ober" (O'pa) in a most remarkable and immediate way.

After leaving the island, we drove to NH to visit Lizzie's extended family -- O'mama and O'Pa Furstenberg; Grandma and Grandpa Blanchard; Aunt Sarah and Uncle Steve and (of course!) beloved cousins Livvie and Maddie. We also enjoyed quick visits with Great Grandpa Jim, GiGi (great grandma) Thorndike, and the Gould second cousins.

Lizzie clearly loved her time in her grandparents' houses. She "helped" with gardening, canning, gravel spreading, and apple and berry picking. She even got to try out the John Deere and the Kabota. (But not when they were running!) She met chickens, horses, goats, cows, cats, and dogs. From the porch in Lyme, we saw deer and a black bear, and from the bedroom window in Orford, we watched the turkeys march across the field each morning at dawn. We threw acorns into the pond and collected flowers from the field (and grandma and O'mama's gardents -- sorry about that).

It was hard to come home -- especially to the 90+degree weather, humidity, and whirlwind of a new semester -- but Lizzie seemed relieved to get home, too, where she could relax back into her old routines and familiar territory.

I'll write more about all of that and more in my next post.