June 24: Baptism of the 3 cousins in Maine

As I mentioned in the last post, it was thanks to Jane's idea that we were all gathered here in one of our favorite places on earth this summer. Generations of our family have been attending summer services at St. Anne's for 60 years, Jane and Greg were married here two years ago, and now it seemed perfect that three cousins from the newest generation would be baptized here, at the stone chapel by the sea.

All the Maxwells and Platts came, as well as Greg's family, and it was fun for me to show our special place to Adam's family for the first time.  The godparents were:

Pete - Taylor and Chris, Greg's brother
Isaac - Taylor (with a strong connection to both godsons, she kindly did double duty) and Rob, Adam's brother
Jonah - Jane and Greg

We were so lucky with the weather, as you never know what Maine will be like in June. The night before, a huge storm had blown in with torrential rain and loud thunder. But Sunday was warm and breathtakingly beautiful, with the ocean at its bluest best just in time for visitors.

After sitting through the service inside, the boys were happy to run around the outdoor chapel until we were ready to start. Here are the three boys on the altar with the minister, a Texan, former pro football player who spends half his summers here and had the perfect mix of warmth, good humor and dedication to his work. What a spectacular place to be baptized.  

Afterward, we posed for pictures...

 

and then headed home to a catered, celebration lunch that my mom had arranged.

After naps, there was plenty more time to play. Here are the beautiful house and yard...

and the beach across the street where the kids searched daily for treasures. Isaac loved having Dylan, Greg's nephew who was four years older but so kind to his little friend, to run around with for the first half of the week.
 

We all loved having Grandma and Boopa too.

The boys were so happy with rocks and ocean; they could have done nothing but this all week.

June 23: Back to Maine!

Without the house we love so much, I didn't know if I could ever go back to our Maine. We know it so well - Adam too by now - and claim it as ours, but for all my life, when we say Maine, we mean a sprawling 1895 oceanfront house full of family and decades of memories.

But thanks to Jane, we came back this year after all, to a big beautiful house just down the street. We'd always meant to get the boys baptized, and when Jane proposed baptizing all three at our beloved stone chapel where she was married and we had attended services almost every year of our lives while in town, it sounded perfect. Coming back to a place we loved that was no longer there in the same way - Sherry no longer able to open the house to all of us - seemed depressing. But with a reason, and the promise of being surrounded by family like always, coming back was just what we needed.

And it turned out that the rental house Jane found for us radiated love and warmth in a way you could feel as soon as you walked in. It also belonged to a family who loves the house and this spectacular place, but honestly, it was lighter, brighter, and came with a 3rd floor that - rather than the delightful creepiness of the third floor at the Deck House - was full of toys and was obviously made for children. We love the Deck House as much as ever, but this new house became our happy home for a week. And along the way, as I watched the boys gleefully running from grandparents to aunts and uncles to cousins, I realized that of course it's not the house that matters most, as I'd always thought. It's having all of us together.

Another bonus of the rental house was that it was right across the street from Pebble Beach, a strip of rocky ocean access where we used to hunt for sea glass as children. It had always been close enough for a treasure-hunting trip or too during our stay, but having it across the street meant that the boys could go play in the rocks and water every day. There was always some willing adult ready to take them to Pebble Beach. And that meant bags of collections...sea shells, rocks, and small bits of sea glass, which piled up on the front porch and gave me visions of extra suitcase charges at the airport...but the boys loved it so much.

May 23: Isaac graduates from preschool

It was so hard to believe, but there we were with Isaac and his dear Frog class as they walked the symbolic path from September 2011 to this day. All along the way, Teacher Anne and drawn and labeled memories and fun activities from throughout the year, ending with the words: To Kindergarten and Beyond.

The ceremony was quick - much to Jonah's relief, I think, as he'd just been to Taylor's three-hour college graduation! - and we ended with a class photo in front of the school.

In this class were Colton, Sadie and Louis, some of the best friends Isaac has ever had. They would all be at different elementary schools starting in August.

May 19-20: Taylor's UVA Graduation

This trip was a big deal for our family, because it was the first time we'd split up the boys. Jonah and I flew across the country to Virginia to celebrate Taylor's college graduation, while Adam and Isaac had a weekend on their own back home. I think it was special time for all of us.

Jonah and Pete have a strong bond now, and they were so excited to see each other again.

Jonah was his usual goofy self at dinner that night, reveling in all the attention, but for having spent all day on airplanes and then the car ride from Richmond, he did great.

I was just about 8 weeks pregnant at this point and feeling pretty nauseous, but the greatest gift in this stage is having someone else do all the food...It was a blissful weekend of not having to prepare any food, especially my own!

Charlottesville was beautiful, and we got to see all the Maxwell family plus Dorothy and Lucy!
Jonah and I loved our time together, and Isaac was pretty excited because he and Adam built some rockets over the weekend.

May 4-6: Deeda's 60th Birthday Surprise Weekend

 

When my parents came to visit us in early May of this year, my mom didn't know that Jane, Greg, Pete and Taylor would be joining us for the weekend - and that we were all heading to a cabin in the mountains in honor of her 60th. It is very hard to keep a secret from my mom, but somehow we managed it. 

They arrived Friday afternoon, and on Saturday morning, Jane put Baby Pete on the floor to play with Jonah so she would see them first thing when they came over. It really was a surprise. 

I made bagels for everyone, and then we all went to watch Isaac's last soccer game. 

 

  After the game, we headed up to Tabernash for two nights at Devil's Thumb Ranch. It was still pretty cold in the mountains, and it looked more like late winter than spring, but it was still beautiful. 

 

I think the highlight for the boys was swimming in the warm "inside pool," as Jonah called it. 

It was snowing the day we left. The boys took turns snuggling on the sofa with their cousin, and then we all headed out early to get over the pass.