Summer Is Well Underway!

I took this picture a couple of weeks ago. My little strawberry patch, after a lot of research and work, is finally starting to produce some fruit.

Fresh picked strawberries are sooooo much better than store-bought.

We have recently returned from our week at Stuart and Emilie's camp on Shadow Lake.

Wayne, who will be a 9th grader in the fall, is taking a summer 10th grade honors level geometry class. He has to be at Lake Region at 8:00 a.m. three days a week. It really cut into that early morning fishing he likes to do, but we did manage to get out in the canoe for one early morning fishing expedition.

He also had a couple of baseball games while we were staying at the lake.

Playing 3rd base.

When Wayne was in the minor and major leagues, he liked to do some pitching. In this older, Babe Ruth League, he hasn't been able to get as much experience. In Saturday morning's game he was given a chance to pitch once again. After warming up, his teammates with approach with some good luck "fist bumps."

He did a great job and threw a lot of strikes. The next day, he said his arm was sore.

It was a hot day for a baseball game. Afterwards, Heather and I went canoeing and fishing.

It wasn't long before we saw Edwin and Elijah paddle up in the new paddle boat.

And Cole came out in the kayak.

A couple of Wayne's teammates came over after the game. That's Mitchel in the canoe with Wayne, below.

Asom caught a fish that was too little to keep.

Heather and Chantel. Chantel is Mitchel's sister. She is a couple years ahead of Heather in school, but they are softball teammates, so they know each other fairly well.

Roasting marshmallows.

One day, Heather's friend, Kelby, came over.

A dove nesting on the porch kept a nervous and watchful eye on our comings and goings.

Cole went for a run almost every day.

Wayne did a lot of fishing.

And remember those strawberries? At one point we had plenty to make strawberry shortcake.

Cole even got interested in fishing.

He is wearing contacts now and is very handsome.

I'm not sure anyone has ever done homework on this picnic table before.

Cole tried a new recipe called Chocolate Lasagna. It was very good!

We saw a loon on a few rare moments, but this little family of geese was always around.

Heather did some fishing of the A-frame's dock.

Estelle and Lena came over. Wes took them for a ride.

They did a lot of exploring...

...catching tadpoles and bullfrogs.

One evening Julie, the girls, Joanie, and Martha came over for smores.

Cole's friend Zephyr came over.

Skipping rocks in the long evenings.

Tuesday Night Trail Series

Cole has decided to become a runner. It started recently with the after school running club with the phys. ed. teacher. When the school year ended, their teacher encouraged the kids to participate in the Tuesday Night 5k Trail Series at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. Cole has also joined the Lake Region Youth Track Program which is organized by Frank D.

Below, Cole warms up for the race with a couple of other kids from school. Erica is a classmate (along with Cole going into 7th grade this fall) and her brother Caleb is going into 8th grade.

It's a pretty intimidating group of runners. Serious athletes, including Susan Dunklee, are among the participants.

Cole has been running fairly regularly during the week. He likes to use this fun running app I found for him. It's called "Zombies, Run!"  It uses GPS to track your pace, progress, and course all while sending you on missions that you listen to as you run. By keeping a certain pace or achieving a certain distance, you can rescue people within the mission or acquire food or tools that you need to survive the zombie attack. I know it probably sounds crazy, but anyone who is a fan of The Walking Dead will understand.  It's a game and running app rolled into one. It's very popular and Cole seems to enjoy it.

Here is Cole coming to the finish. I don't know what his time was yet. They don't really tell you but post it on their website the next day. You can click here if you want to track his progress. As I write this, they still have last weeks results posted and he missed last week's race so you won't find his name until later today (Wed). Points are awarded to participants and at the end of the series, there is a pizza party award night. 

Cole's friend Erica finishing. I didn't get a good picture of her brother, Caleb, at the finish line.

Cole and Caleb. Erica and Caleb are also on the LR Youth Track Team.

Mr. Auclair, their phys. ed teacher also participates in most of the trail races.

Cole is doing a great job. We are very proud of him and happy that he has found something to enjoy.

Lake Days

By now, everyone has probably heard the news that Joanie acquired a paddle boat from a friend of hers on Shadow Lake. Yesterday, (Sunday and Father's Day) Wayne, Heather, and I met Martha and Chris to retrieve the boat and bring it over to the red camp.  We decided the best course of action would be to walk to the camp where the boat was located and let Wayne, Martha, and Heather pilot it back. We had momentary trouble finding the Rainbows End camp, and walked past it once or twice.

 Once we successfully located the camp and the boat, getting it into the water was no problem.

 They received a quick lesson on maneuvering the vessel and were off.

 Chris and I walked back to the red camp on the road and were able to glimpse the paddle boat from time to time.

 Here they come pulling up to the red camp dock.

 Later, after a barbecue with Paul, Peter, Jeanne, Katie, Wes, and Cole,( and of course the original boat retrieval crew) the gang took turns  touring the lake.

 Watch out, there are a few spiders living inside the hull and they like to come out and try to scare you into the water.

 It was a hot, hot day and the water, although quite cold, was refreshing.

 In other news, speaking of spiders...I usually do not like them at all, but I found this one on my cherry tree. I think he might be taking care of the aphids that were troubling the foliage, so I'm trying to accept him as a friend.

 And it looks like we might actually get a few blueberries this year! Not a lot but it looks like things are turning around.

Softball Tournament

The regular softball season is over, but Heather's team played a tournament today. The weather was nice but the sun was scorching hot. Below, warming up.

 The tournament was right here at the GREC field. Below, the team gathers before taking the field.

 Heather waits for her turn at bat.

She got a good hit here.

Second base.

 Later, makes a good play in the outfield.

 High five from one of the coaches.

 They came in second place in the tournament. They did a great job and had a lot of fn as a team this season.

And nothing to do with softball, but here is a photo of Cole relaxing in the hammock in the shade of the pear trees. 

Wayne Says Good-Bye to Glover School

The beginning of Wayne's middle school career is a little hazy for me. Some people referred to the 5th grade as the start because the class moves "upstairs" to Mrs. Carbonetti's room. In some ways, 6th grade seems to begin middle school because that's when students begin switching classrooms for different subjects. In my own mind, middle doesn't really begin until 7th grade because when I was a kid, Jr. High was 7th and 8th grades.  We may not know exactly when middle school began for Wayne, but we know it ended tonight with 8th grade graduation. Most of these kids have been together since preschool.

A retired teacher,  Mr. Paul has floated in and out of their lives these past 9 years, first as an interim librarian when they were kindergartners and 1st graders, and then as a long term math and science substitute teacher. He has gotten to know this group pretty well at different times and in different ways. He had some touching memories to share about each student as the guest speaker.

 The language arts teacher, Mrs Piernot, spoke of life lessons and the things they might look back on 40 years from now.  She also talked of how she would miss them.

Wayne and his friend Asom, combined their graduation speeches for one last heartfelt memory. (Apologies for my noisy camera mechanics.)

Handing out the "diplomas."

 Friends since preschool.

Wayne and Asom

 Edwin made a good showing.

Joanie and Grammie were also able to join us.

 Friends since kindergarten.

Wayne and Ben