Spring Has Sprung!

We are at least 6 weeks behind "home" in North Carolina, for season changes. We are just now getting Spring like weather. But we love it. I don't need the heat. Huh-uh, no thank you. And I for sure don't want the humidity. We are well suited for Maine, I guess. I'd gladly trade a longer winter for a cooler summer.

As soon as the weather changes, everyone heads outdoors. So we spent some time in Acadia National Park. These pictures were taken on different days but Samson is wearing the same orange coat so it doesn't look like it!

Samson also lost his first tooth recently. We didn't do the tooth fairy. I didn't really want to but it didn't matter anyway cause he lost the tooth within an hour of pulling it. He was playing with it on the bed and lost it. We still haven't found it. Maybe if I was a better housekeeper...

at Bass Harbor Lighthouse

waiting for the ferry to take us back home to Cranberry

testing out Mandy and Scott's new dinghy

Town Meeting

Until we lived on the island I never cared for local politics. It's easier to be more "civic minded" here living in such a small town. Town meeting happens once a year. It can be quite a day. There can be shouting and arguing and name calling. But there are two things you can count on: a great lunch and a long day. This year's meeting lasted 9 hours. Great Cranberry and Little Cranberry alternate hosting the meeting each year. This year it was on Little Cranberry.

Riding the ferry to Little Cranberry for the meeting

walking up the dock

In the meeting

OK, is this adorable small town stuff or what?! The chair you sit on upstairs for town meeting is also the chair you sit on downstairs for lunch. They break for lunch and then there is a ruckus of chairs against the floors as eveyone folds their chair and heads down the stairs.

Lunch is served!

Pinewood Derby

I know you are supposed to be a boy scout to participate but the rules are different out on the islands (there are no rules, pretty much. and there are no boy scouts. well, there is one). So Little Cranberry (aka Islesford) hosted one and Samson participated. He loved it. Racing cars with other little boys for about 3 hours. Yeah, that's just his thing. He lost two races and won two which put him in 8th place among 23 cars.

With his car

Samson, sitting track side, at his first race.

An island, off an island, off an island.

Crow Island is a very small island off our island accessible only at low tide. But you don't have much time before the tide starts to come back in and if you don't watch out, you could get stuck til the next low tide (about 12 hours later as there are 2 high tides and 2 low tides in a 24 hour period). It's never happened to us but I've heard many a story about it happening to others. Crow is very small, no one lives there, there are no structures. It's just kinda neat to get there on foot when usually it is surrounded by water. And realize it's an island off an island which is also off an island (Great Cranberry is off of Mt. Desert Island, which is a bridged island off of the Maine coast).

The red line shows our walk over to Crow.

A side view of Crow and how it connects to Great Cranberry.

It's low tide and we have the tiny little bar to walk on. Crow island is behind them.

Within minutes, the tide is coming in and starting to cover our walkway. Which Samson thought was exhilarating and scary at the same time. I think he kinda wanted to get stuck.

Emergency!

My (big) baby boy waiting to have the foreign object removed. He said it "fell" in his ear. He didn't put it there.


I kinda figured it would happen one day anyway. All little boys seem to do it at some point. And why not in the late evening when there are no more mailboat (ferry) runs. So what happened? Samson put a bead in his ear then tried to remove it using scissors (yikes!) and by the time he came upstairs to tell me, he was already upset, panicky, and in some mild pain. Poor kid. We tried getting it out ourselves but could barely see it and couldn't get to it with tweezers without pushing it in even more. So, like many island emergencies before ours, this one would take place after the last ferry run of the day. Not to worry, though. Scott B. to the rescue. His lobsterboat stays in the water year round and it just so happened that he and Ric were working out together at the gym so Scott whisked us off island. They were able to remove the bead pretty easily in the ER and confirmed there was no eardrum damage or infection and also confirmed that the boat ride over was worth it, it could have led to an infection or at least very uncomfortable swelling if we had waited til morning. Whew. Glad it's over with. And I hope that's the worst emergency we ever have to deal with.

Hero and Rescuer, Scott B. Ladies, he's a cute, single, rugged Maine LobstaMan with a weakness for southern accents. And will ya just look at that smile.

Christmas 2011

From the first present to the last present, Christmas lasted over two weeks for Samson. For a family that doesn't celebrate Santa Claus, we met him twice this Christmas. I'm probably the only parent in the state that told her kid that Santa was not real. But I let him celebrate with the other island kids and accept a present. I guess that makes me somewhat of a hypocrite.

Santa drove around the island giving away gifts.

Singing at the Christmas program on Little Cranberry.

Carrie with Katie and Elijah

Samson with Nana and Papa

With my brother Tyler

My sister Emily took him to Build-a-Bear

My sister Amber and I took Samson to the zoo.

Emily celebrated her 30th birthday while we were there. We had a surprise Hawaiian themed party.

the kids hiding under the table to surprise her

Surprise!