Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Sunnin' in Maine

"Who goes to Maine to get a tan?" said my cousin, Julie.
"ME!"

That can only mean one thing... there was sun. 

On our way to Maine we stopped in the Catskills for two nights and camped near Colgate Lake. It was beautiful and we found the perfect camping site, so why not stay an extra night?! 

Anyway, we were hiking (slowly, inch by inch) and we met a couple from New Jersey. Upon further conversation they discovered that we were heading to Maine, near Bar Harbor, for a week. As soon as the wife heard that we were heading there she said, "Oh, we went there once but there was too much sun. That's why we always come to the Catskills." It was then that we noticed that she was sitting in the shade, wearing a sunhat & long pants.

Well, this became our joke for the rest of the vacation. "Yeah this is very nice, but there's too much sun." Or, "You know what would make this better? If the sun went away."

And, fortunately, we actually DID have sun for most of our time there. We spoke to seasoned vacationers who own a summer cottage there and they told us we chose a great week because it was the nicest week they've had for twenty years. WOW!

So yes, I do have a "tan," but those of you who know me well know that I don't actually bronze. Thanks for the compliment, Julie! ;)

We tried new food, made new friends, ran into a college professor, hiked up small mountains with great views of the islands, sounds, and lakes, picked blueberries, found starfish, took the mail ferry to two islands, chatted with the elder of an island who wanted us to move there, enjoyed our cabin, and spent many a late afternoon at the beach.

It was a much-needed break for Jim after his months of studying and for the two of us after my injury this year. Not only that, but the location was GREAT for many reasons, but mainly because there was access to the beach (and therefore seafood!) and mountains that weren't too high or far for me to hike in my condition. Pictures will have to come later, when we have a faster internet connection.

Both of us did get some sun, even Leif got a little sunburn on his birthmark, but with 70 degrees and low 80s during the heat wave across the country, with 40 degree nights, we weren't complaining! Maine's a good summer spot :)



Sunday, July 8, 2012

Three Years!

As of today we've been married for three years!


Within this time we've:
- moved two times (Louisiana & Virginia)
- bought three cars
- worked on a week-long educational program together for 5th graders
- had one scary three-night hospital stay
- survived two years of medical school
- survived two first years of teaching (kindergarten & 6th grade) and three years of teaching total
- traveled to New Orleans, Alabama, Texas, Pennsylvania, Alaska, and we're on our way to Maine!
- bid farewell to Zeke and adopted two dogs (one aggressive one that didn't work out and Leif, who holds our hearts)
- fit in as many outdoor activities into our schedules as we could

The road's been busy and bumpy, but it's been a wonderfully full ride! I am so grateful to be with Jim. Two years of medical school have placed a lot of pressure on him and he has always made the time to be with me each day. He's been devoted through weakness, pain, happiness, and joy... I'm humbled by his love.

Maine, here we come!
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I will be taking a vacation from posting for the next three weeks. 
We will be taking our sweet time getting to Maine, 
then we'll stay near Acadia National Park for a week, 
and then we'll be visiting our families at The Pinery and in Lebanon, PA.

Enjoy your summer!

Friday, July 6, 2012

Simple Gifts

I cannot live without sharpies; I absolutely adore the packs of MANY sharpies with every color imaginable and I use them ALL the time. So, when I saw this post on Pinterest I knew that this was a project for me.

And, what better time to try it out than for a three year old's birthday!?

Materials:
- Blank mug, bowl, plate. etc.
- Sharpies
- Oven

Steps:
1) Choose your blank mug, bowl, plate, etc. For this I used a plate!
2) Layout your design on something you don't mind ruining!
3) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
4) Draw the design on the front of the plate. Don't forget to write the date, occasion, or little note on the underside/back (Like I did!)
5) Pop it in the oven for 30 minutes.
6) Let it cool!
7) Then use or wrap it and make sure to choose pretty paper or use newspaper ;) Fortunately this three year old didn't mind!


A fishy plate for a fishing birthday party!

I see many more craft projects like this in my near future. Easy and fun. Thank you to Pinterest for the idea and thank you to Hazel for having a birthday and a reason to get crafty!

Thursday, July 5, 2012

River Time


"There's no time like river time."

I had a bumper sticker that said this on my laptop throughout college. It was a gentle reminder that no matter what happened during the year, the river would be waiting for me at the end of it. And this year it was just as I remembered it and just as peaceful; there's nothing like river time.

The week and a half there was full, busy, and wonderful. I'll try to give you a few many glimpses into the time at The Pinery.

The Pinery!

Pizza-in-the-making for the earth oven!

Mmmm!

Our "hike" along Toms Creek

Playing peek-a-boo in the hammock with the birthday girl!

Jake showing the catfish a fisherman gave him.
It's the same size as Heidi! 
Hazel wanted a fishing birthday party and a cake with ALL the colors.
I think her wonderful mama hit the nail on the head here!
I mean really.... incredible!
Aunt Beth/Llamy with her grandkids 
Three of the four Krumich kids.
Me and Julie (the cake-maker)
A blurry evening campfire with lots of laughs 
The birthday girl was intent on having raspberries for the ice cream party at Grandma & Grandpa's,
even if it was raining and thundering. I think we all grabbed about a handful and ran back to the car.

Pheebs and Bailey with the loot in the back of the car.
After our ice cream party! The family's all together!
64 years of marriage! Wow! And still as cute as ever.

We returned to a sunny raspberry patch after our ice cream party and picked MANY more pints!
THIS is what I did for most of the visit. Leif LOVES the river.
He even did a great job swimming and running along the bank while Mom and I went tubing!
Daddio
Phoebe on Kodi's rock.
The structure Dad built in 24 hours to shelter the earth oven.
Decadent chocolate cake with raspberries on the top!
I think the birthday girl was happy :)
It was a great visit and it's always hard to leave The Pinery. But the time was well-spent and I am grateful to have had the time that I did. It's great to be home with Jim now. Leif's off at Aunt Phoebe's 2nd Annual Phoebe Fun Camp (as she's named it) and so the house does not feel complete without our boy, but he'll be waiting for us when we begin our road trip on Sunday!

___________________________________________________

While gone I learned that I'll be teaching third grade this year! I'm excited to begin this new journey in August. It will be my third first year in four years! (If that makes any sense... haha!?)

Health-wise: My INR was at a 2.2 today. I'll return to my family doctor on August 1st and the neurologist on August 2nd. Headaches have been present and I've had neck pain, but I did just finish an 8.5 hour drive and so that is to be expected.

Jim will be jumping this next hurdle soon and then we are off to Maine!