Today was not the day I had hoped it would be. It started out fine enough — Grace and Tess burst into our room at "seven-zero-zero," with marker on their faces, and hands… and feet. They were "mouses," and they sang a little song that went like this: Pitter-pitter mouse,We love you.Pitter-pitter mouse,You can be…

Last Saturday, we went to a spring celebration at a local farm, and we took Grace's buddy along with us. They had baby lambs and chicks, face painting, sheep shearing, weaving, crafts, music, and seed planting. Oh, and a touch tank with lobsters, of course! Small town Maine is pretty cool.    

  Finally, the weekend we've been waiting seven long months for — Toots Ice Cream reopened! We continued our tradition of being there on opening day (and closing day) each season. Grace and her friends have been excitedly discussing this for weeks now, and had made plans to celebrate the opening together, making the day…

Alright, I know I'm going a little overboard with the whole beach thing, but those of you who live in places where winter is not the longest season can't imagine how wonderful, how amazing it is to be able to spend whole days outside without a winter coat on. This warm spell we've been having…

It was rainy on Earth Day here in Maine, but we celebrated as best we could. We made coffee filter flowers, which Grace quickly fashioned into hats for her animal friends (and for Tess!).  Grace drew grass on a crown for herself because, naturally, she was Queen of Earth Day. Then she helped me start…

What have we been up to this week, you wonder? Oh, just flying kites at the beach… learning how to apply make-up, blowing bubbles, and hiking by the ocean. We love having family come visit!

Only in Maine do people flock to the beach in 50-degree, partly sunny weather. But there's something exciting, and a little romantic, about splashing around in your rubber boots and winter coat. Or standing barefoot at the water's edge until your toes freeze, then burying your feet in the warm, dry sand. It means that…

  Today was Maple Sunday, one of our favorite Maine traditions. All of the state's sugarhouses open their doors to visitors to celebrate spring in New England with pancake breakfasts and syrup samplings. After waiting for 45 minutes outside in the cold, the pancakes — with fresh syrup, of course — tasted especially good (just…

I think their faces say it all… There were birds singing, and flowers blooming! Texas was wonderful, and it was hot and sunny for the second half of our trip. We even got to go swimming — outside! We all needed a good dose of the hot sun, and now I'm just hoping it will…

  Mother Nature finally had mercy on us and gave us the gift of warmth this weekend. It was in the low 50's on both days, and sunny — and it felt like the best weather ever, in the entire history of mankind. We celebrated by taking a long walk in the park, leaving plenty…