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Maggie, Mara & Thomas Enjoy Camp Janet

I feel so lucky that some of my very best childhood friends also have children that are about the same age as Maggie. When we’re all in town at the same time (aside from Erin who now lives there!!) we try to make a point of it to get together with the kids. Most recently Erin and Lara came out to my parent’s house with Thomas and Maggie and we ended up going to see the cows next door and eating large amounts of popcorn.

Mara is old enough that she understands what it means to go on a walk, but when it comes to Thomas and Maggie, their still a little hopeless when it comes to directions or walking distances without getting distracted.

By the time we made it to the cows, and picked up some pussy willows on the way, it felt like we’d reminded both of them that we were going to see the cows many, many times. The cows weren’t really sure what to do about a bunch of kids staring at them, so they just stared back. Sydney, on the other hand, decided that the best thing to do was to charge at the fence, which made me nervous because there was one cow that looked like it wanted to eat Syd for lunch.

My parents have a collection of toys that stay at their house and it is always fun to see what other kids, besides Maggie, glom onto. Thomas was all over the fruit cutting station, the hammer,  a truck, and also my dad. He kept bringing my dad different things and made sure that my dad noticed it. It was all sorts of cute.

While the kids played with play-dough my mom started to pop some popcorn and by the time the first kernel had hit the bowl, nearly everyone was done playing with playdough. As the adults and kids both huddled around  bowls of popcorn, we started talking about all the different groups of people that have enjoyed popcorn at my parent’s kitchen table. It was a long, long list and it seemed fitting that Maggie would be shoving handfuls into her mouth with two of her buddies by her side.

I only wish I could have understood their conversation as they each reached for handfuls. Mara is pretty quiet, so much of the talk was between Thomas and Maggie. It wasn’t long after that both Erin and Lara had to leave, but lucky for Mags and me, we got to stay and keep eating and chatting around the popcorn bowl.

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The Moosehead Crew

Seeing as it has been almost two weeks since we rang in the new year and we finally just put most of our thank-you cards in the mail, I figure now is the appropriate time to fianlly get the pictures up from our New Years weekend.  For nearly ten years now a group of our friends have been getting together to celebrate New Years and what follows are photos of our most recent celebration at The Moosehead Cabin. We’ve gone to The Moosehead three times now and since we’re growing in numbers, either by significant others or babies,  and bursting at the seems of the cabin. Some of us wondered if this would be our last year at The Moosehead, it is time for us to find a bigger house. 

Traditionally the boys go fishing (really a booze cruise) and the ladies go to a local winery for a tasting. The rest of our time is spent playing board games, cooking, avoiding the mud during Sardines, walking to the nearby park, and lounging around. This might have been one of the first years that we’ve struggled to make it to midnight and some of us didn’t. This also marked the first year that we’ve had babies along for the ride. 

The same stories get told, but new ones get created as well, and we all can chime in on specific ones. On our last night we sat around the dinner table telling stories that pretty much NOBODY else would think to laugh at the right parts, but we were all busting our guts.  We’re definitely all adults, with adult jobs and lives, but it seems that our weekend at The Moosehead lets us all unwind and kick our feet up for a moment our two.