I’d like to introduce our newborn nephew Justin Sydney. He is simply beautiful and we are all very excited. Justin, Amy and Joe are all doing great. Click the image above for a few additional photos from the hospital and of Justin.

For the second weekend of our vacation at the Shore Peter and Maria joined us and James and Chrissy came back. Unfortunately, the weather took a bit of a turn and the weekend was warm, but gray with showers on and off and very little sun. We had fun anyway. Peter and Maria brought an inflatable Sea Lion swim float (pictured above) for James and we all enjoyed watching James ride it, or should I say try to ride it. Peter and James played their annual game of wiffle ball in the driveway, and Uncle John joined James and Aaron for a morning game of golf at Guilford Lakes. We continued to read, swim, nap and play games. As the vacation came to an end, Aaron and I were quite sad to leave the Shore, but grateful for the time we had been able to spend there and already looking forward to next summer.

Click on the above shots to see the last chunk of the vacation photos.

James, who lives only about an hour from the Shore, was with us on and off throughout the week. On Sunday, he and Chrissy came down and stayed for a few days. It was mostly sunny and humid. We spent our days relaxing – most afternoons included both a swim and a nap. We played more games (SmartyParty, Rummikub, Agony [a card game Chrissy taught us] and more Password), read, ate at a few more restaurants (Red Tomato, Chips Pub, Quatros, Elizabeth’s Cafe/Perfect Parties) and generally vacationed from our normal lives. No internet (well I checked my email once, but only once), no television – it was fabulous. We did however, as a result, miss the weather reports predicting the severe thunder and lightening storms with high winds that hit Tuesday night and drenched the cottages…so there was a bit of clean up to do on Wednesday – but otherwise a pretty lazy week.

The above photo is of Eagle Rock, a prominent and constant element in our view at The Shore. Click on it to see the second chunk of the photos.

We’ve just returned from a wonderful visit to the Shore. We took a ton of pictures, so I will divide the vacation into several posts with associated albums to break things up a bit…here goes.

So, Aaron and I were fortunate enough to be at the beach for 9 days with my mom, grandmother, aunt and great aunt. My three siblings and their significant others popped in and out, throughout the week for shorter visits. Amy (who is in the final weeks of her pregnancy) and Joe, were there for a quick visit the first weekend. There was much discussion of all the great things about the Shore that we will get to share with “Baby D” next summer. Their visit was too short for all of us, but we managed to squeeze in some games of password and shuffleboard and dinner at Lenny & Joe’s Fish Tale. Click the photo above to see the first batch of the photos.

We’re off to the Shore (our most favorite place in the whole world) for some serious relaxing. Happy Summer!

The last time this group of four was together, they were in water up to their knees, dressed in gortex, armed with pumps and brooms, fighting a flood. This past Sunday, as a thank you for their help during the big rain that flooded Amy and Joe’s basement, Joe took Aaron, Peter and Jamie out for a morning of golf. They played nine holes at Reedy Meadow in Lynnfield. Aaron reports that they had a great time and hit a bunch of “almost pars.” To see Aaron’s photos from the outing click the image above.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love fireworks? I’m serious, I do – there’s just something about them that makes me very happy. So, to celebrate the 4th I dragged Aaron out for a picnic and fireworks at Castle Hill in Ipswich. I made us a picnic dinner and we gathered up food, chairs, a blanket, bug spray and Password (for any non-games, it’s an easily transportable word game excellent for passing time) and headed out. The estate was beautiful and although there were tons of mosquitos, our bug spray did an excellent job of staving off bites. We had a good time, the fireworks were great, and I got a glow-stick necklace. Life doesn’t get much better.

Congratulations to Peter and Maria, who have just closed on their first house! Aaron and I went over on Saturday to help them unpack and found them already settled in quite nicely. It’s a great house in a cute neighborhood. They are already charming their neighbors AND have located a good local pizza place…not to bad for their first couple of days. Here’s wishing them many happy times in their new home together.

So as I mentioned in my previous post, while in Colorado, Mom, Peter, Maria and I went river rafting with some additional family: Aunt Becki, and cousins Susie, Mike and Meghan. We had a raft to ourselves (with a guide of course) and traveled down the Colorado River, through the Shoshone rapids and Glenwood Canyon. The trip was a blast. Admittedly, I was surprised by the strength of some of the rapids and how cold the water was, but we all made it through and were invigorated by the ride. The only person to go in the water was Peter, but he went in by choice, jumping off the front of the boat during one of our breaks. I took photos during the calmer portions of the trip (when I wasn’t paddling my heart out) with a disposable camera and have scanned in the good ones. Click on the above photo to go to the gallery to see more pictures.