On Sunday, we visited "Grace's island" for a walk and some rock throwing at the beach. Of course, the rock throwing lasted all of thirty seconds, and then both girls wanted to get in the water. Being totally unprepared for this degree of fun, we simply allowed Tess to remove her shoes (Grace was wearing…

Okay, so this wasn't really my idea — months ago, Adam started talking about how the Red Sox were going to play at home on the afternoon of his birthday, and wouldn't it be great if we could go. But his birthday also happened to fall on Grace's first day of school, and for months…

To the man who gave me this… and this… Thank you for taking me on this ride with you, and for always reminding me where it all started…

On Sunday we rode the ferry from Portland to Peaks Island. We walked around and looked at the shoreline, getting a glimpse of island life. The whole excursion lasted less than two hours, and ended with ice cream — perfect!

By the time we reached New Jersey, the last leg of our roadtrip, Grace was overcome with silliness caused by exhaustion, and Tess was just plain exhausted. Of course, we still had a wonderful time hanging out with family (especially Hana: the very sweet and patient, most awesome cousin ever!), and playing in (and near) the…

  What I wanted most for my birthday was to go canoeing with my dad and my Gracie. But I got so much more —fresh-cut flowers from Sheryl's garden, a wonderful visit from my grandmother and aunt, ooey-gooey chocolate cake, and a reminder of my childhood as a tomboy. Yes, for a time I wanted to…

  Pure joy and family time, canoes and canal boats – that's what vacation is all about! And that was only the first leg of our trip!

Tomorrow we head out on our annual summer road trip. This will amount to a total of about 24 hours on the road with two energetic children who don’t like to sit still and refuse to sleep in the car. It is a well-known fact that I already have only a tenuous hold on my sanity,…

Why, it’s right here, in Nana’s backyard, of course! All you need is a hula hoop, a grassy area, and two little monkeys (plus an enthusiastic coach). We’re going to make them practice their routines every day so that soon, they can take their act on the road and start earning money for college.