Deck the Halls

We had a blast helping Mom and Sammy get her house ready for the 25th. After a hard day's work, I must say the house couldn't look better. Between her gorgeous tree, nutcrackers, endless ornaments, and of course a good dose of Irving Berlin's White Christmas we are ready for the holidays. Here are a few photos of us decking the halls. Mom, thanks for a wonderful day. We love you!

Greater Portland

This weekend, Sara and I packed up the car one more time to jump up to Maine. It took all of our effort to roll out early in order to get Sydney to a new kennel (Palmer Kennels of Acton MA - which got an 5 star from us as well as Sydney) and I would like to take this opportunity to credit Sara on a new found skill of packing her things the night before to easy the morning departure.

We arrived in time to see Mom before she returned from Gorham to Bethesda. We got to see her new rug which looks terrific - so soft! She had to leave just hours after we arrived so we helped out for a few moments, winterizing the house, lowering storm windows, and pretending to be helpful.

Just down the street we did find time to relax and catch-up over delicious food and ale at the Sebago Brewing Company. With a great list of not your average beers, there was something for everyone. Northern Light - a light beer for Sara, Slick Nick, SBC's holiday ale, and I skipped the soup de jour to partake in 16oz of Lake Trout Stout - wow.

After hugs and kisses, Mom was off to the skies and we were off to Cumberland to see the Bezansons and Plettes. We found the whole crew - Sandy, Andre, Laurel, Jennifer, Nick, Nicole, Alex and even Gary to boot!

Kristin and Tim Grannell arrived soon after to drop off Perrin which brought out a total number to 11. It was quite a raiding party for that evenings dining at Thai Garden in Freeport. As usual, I found room to put in another meal within three hours.

We stayed in at the Plettes after that - playing pool and staying up late to play Axis and Allies - which Nick lead a surgical strike against Gary (who had only played once before).

Oh, and Nicole made whoopie pies. I had two. That's probably why I had no problem staying up late.

The next morning we found it tough to say goodbye. (Nick, Nicole, and Alex fly back to Okanowa, Japan next weekend). We will miss you.

Way To Go Kris!

Jerry Seinfeld famously joked that at a funeral, the average person would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy. Indeed, according to national surveys the fear of public speaking is America’s greatest fear, surpassing the fear of illness, fear of flying, fear of terrorism, and amazingly, the fear of death itself. BUT NOT OUR KRIS! Although she spared all of us (except the ever loving and compassionate Kevin) all the hours of rehearsing and fine tuning - Kris's presentation yesterday was a great success. With no room for cold feet she nailed a twenty minute prezento - no small feat! At the end of the meeting, someone in the audience said that she recognized Kris from the National Library Honor Society - who's cool now! Way to go, Kris.

An Orange Christmas

After two years without a Christmas Tree, we thought it was about time to start the tradition once again. Considering the last tree we purchased happen to be on the 23rd of December, we decided to get a jump on things this year. Needless to say, we found the perfect tree last weekend. There is only one problem - we have waited a week for it's branches to drop but haven't had much luck. Out of desperation or maybe more frustration we decorated Fraser (of course we had to name the good old guy) tonight. Thanks to Sheila this is the first year we have been able to hang real ornaments on a tree! We think the orange theme suites us well. We are still debating about incorporating our original ornaments (finger puppets). So far I think the verdict is out...we would rather spend our days hunting for more orange ornaments than trying to deal with finger puppets.

Welcome Home Bezansons!

We had the best time seeing all of our family and friends over the past couple of days. One of the many highlights was the time we spent with Jay's Big Brother, Nick (they have been friends since birth) his wife Nicole, and 22 month year old, Alex. Since our wedding the Bezansons have been living in Okinawa, Japan where Nick is currently stationed as a Marine. Life hasn't been the same without them around. Nothing could ever replace the time we spent together. We hope to get in some more visits before they leave for home in mid-December. Here are a few images of the most beautiful family around.

Treadmill Anyone?

When in Maine, Jay and I managed to fit in some time to walk Baxter Blvd...it only took us 7+ years to get up the nerve to put in some time exercising across the street from Paul and Sheila's. Some way or another we will TRY to continue working on organizing a weekly "body maintenance' routine. In the meantime, we have been searching for any kind of inspiration...as it so happens we came accross this video soon after attacking the Blvd. Will one simple video inspire us? We just don't know...but we will keep you posted.

Thanksgiving in Maine

We just returned home from a wonderful Thanksgiving at Sheila and Paul's in Portland, Maine. Spending more than 2 nights in the area gave us plenty of time to catch-up with friends and family over the holiday. After plenty of Thanksgiving turkey, the Parker clan made sure they left space for 30 crustaceans the next day. I may not be a lobster fan...but I love the brilliant orange hue lobsters become once cooked.