Can You Guess?

Since we're private now, maybe noone is going to see this, but I just did some major updating throughout the blog, so January to May has lots of new entries if you're interested. Can you spot what is different? I'm determined to catch up on our happenings, so at the end of the year I can make a 2010 Blog book that is decently representative of our life and times. Pictures from our Cape Cod trip coming soon!!!

Miss Eliana

One of the most wonderful parts of our Cape Cod trip was spending time with Eliana. She is gracious, patient, creative, and kind. It was fantastic to see her interact with our children and we feel that we are better parents because of the time we spent with her, watching and learning from her. Her generous spirit endeared her to all of our children, even winning Lucy over by the end. We only captured pictures of her and Emma, but each of our children had lovely moments with her. She gave Isaac his first "job" sorting her miniatures and patiently taught him the importance of keeping a deal. She sang and read with Emma, and delighted Lucy with the amazing gift of her very first bike, complete with basket. Eliana (aka Miss Eliana and Lama) was so accepting and loving to all of us. Even when a quick trip to Walmart ended up taking an entire day due to a faulty GPS, she was patient and cheerful and I thoroughly enjoyed our lengthy detour together. She made the whole trip possible and spending time with her was a highlight of the adventure. Thank you Lama!!

Outings (and twirlings)

Eliana's daughter, Tera, came up at the end of the week and we had a fun day all together, visiting a charming bookstore, the Eastham windmill, and twirling in the gazebo. There is so much charm and beauty all around the Cape. The houses were so quaint and lovely, I was real estate shopping by the second day.

Emma-Girl at the Cape

Emma and Aviva (Eliana's granddaughter) enjoying a mini-pool party in the sink.

Those annoying clothes didn't last long. . .

Eliana's Son-in-Law captured these gorgeous pictures of our little cherub. Just try to resist these eyes. Not hard to see how she brings us a special sort of joy.

To the Cape!

We had a wonderful week at Cape Cod. Daman's supervisor was doing a training there and invited us up to share the house with her during the training. Her family was going to join her the next week. Daman ended up convincing Childhelp that he needed the training so that meant we were reimbursed for gas, food, and Daman didn't have to use any of his accrued paid time off. What a deal!! We thoroughly enjoyed every day, biking every day, eating ice cream every other day, and reveling in the joy of living above ground for just one week. I didn't realize how much I'd been missing windows. The bayside beaches were perfect for the kids, like one huge wading pool, full of crabs. We were able to walk out on the sand bar and that made for quite an adventure getting back when the tide came in (this happens quickly by the way). It was a perfect afternoon at the beach, which fit perfectly into a very lovely week.

"Blueberry Baby"--Emma charmed all the other beachgoers with her passionate berry consumption.

The Crocodile Hunter's got nothing on Isaac.

This pretty much captures how we all felt:

Daman went mussel hunting on the rocks and Lucy helped him collect.

The End.

Arrrgggghhh!!!!!

Ahoy Mateys! Welcome to the Sea Gypsy!!

Eliana sponsored our family for a pirate expedition out of Hyannis. It was a fantastic adventure! The guides were so entertaining and fun. There was an entire story to the trip, a map to assemble, a scalawag pirate to blast with water cannons, and even a treasure dredged up from the deep. Whew, what a day for us seafarers.

Hoisting the colors

Blasting Slash, the mutineering pirate who begged for mercy after being blasted and stealing our treasure. We finally decided to let him aboard and he showed his change of heart by offering us Pirate punch. (which tasted alot like orange soda)

Emma had a great time, and the leaders of the crew were so sweet with her. . Lucy was a different story

Emma was convinced the water cannons were telescopes, I don't think she spotted much though

This was where Lucy spent most of the voyage, pirates who are awakened early from their naps are not very happy!

But Isaac had a fantastic time, arghing, shouting, putting his hands on deck, hoisting the flag, and blasting the water cannons. And at the end, all the kids even got a fistful of treasure they pulled up out of the water. Mission Complete.