Fun with the fish :)

Today Elizabeth and I met her BFF from school at The New England Aquarium, in Boston. I hadn't been there in years, it was so much fun! Elizabeth had never been, and loved it. BFF's face is blurred for privacy.

Day on the farm

Last Sunday was a "family day" at a nearby farm,. They had Pony Rides, Hay rides, face painting, etc. It was so much fun!!!

10 years ago...

So...on 9/11/01, I was living in Portland, Maine. I was working for an insurance company, processing long term disability claims (blech...)...On that Tuesday morning 10 years ago, I drove to work around 8am, thinking about all I was going to get done that day. I had many phone calls to make, faxes to send, files to update, etc. I remember it was a beautiful day, the sky was blue, the temperature was a perfect 70 something degrees. Everything was totally normal. I had been at my desk working for about 45 minutes when a coworker named Sherry arrived, walking in with a funny look on her face. Jan, in the cubicle across from me asked her what was wrong. Sherry replied that she was "just trying to process what (she'd) just heard on her car radio", that a plane had hit one of the World Trade Centers. I remember assuming it must have been an accident, but wondering how that possibly could have happened. A few seconds later, someone from a cube down the aisle shouted that the second tower had been hit. I realized, as did everyone else, that it was not an accident. Needless to say, no more work got done that day. A TV was set up in the lobby, and we all watched in horror as the Pentagon was hit, and the plane in Pennsylvania crashed. We all wondered, what was going to happen next? It seemed that nothing would ever would be the same again. I must have called my family at least 3 or 4 times that day, just because I needed to hear their voices, and feel connected to them. I remember standing outside our office building with my coworker Jan while she smoked a cigarette as we both tearfully tired to process what was going on that day. For the next two weeks, I could not sleep well, I kept having nightmares. I could not get the images of those planes crashing into the towers out of my mind. The weekend after 9/11, I cancelled plans with friends and drove to my parents', because I needed to be with my family. As I drove the 3 hours from Portland to Blue Hill, Maine, every newly raised American Flag I saw (and there were many) brought tears to my eyes.

I will never forget that day.

A walk to the Town landing (final Maine post)

On our last afternoon in Maine last weekend, Elizabeth and I took a walk to the Town landing to see the boats.

I should just add that none of the boats belonged to my parents or me, and Elizabeth was NOT happy when I wouldn't agree to take her for a ride in any of them...

My little fish ( with video!)

My parents' neightbor in Maine has a pool, so last weekend, Elizabeth and I took full advantage of it! I've said many times, my girl LOVES to swim!! Here are a couple pics...

She begged me to let her jump off the diving board (which she'd never done before). I was nervous about it and initially said no, but finally relented, and she did GREAT! Below is a quick clip of one of her jumps :)

Blue Hill Fair

Trying to catch the blog up on our long weekend in Maine! We left Machias on Friday evening and went to my parents' place in Blue Hill. On Saturday, we went to the Blue Hill Fair, an annual Labor Day weekend event. We had a great time. E went on lots of rides, got to pet some animals (goats and sheep, mostly), and even got to ride a Pony! She loved the Fair for about two and a half hours, until she'd had enough.

Trip to Machias

On Thursday, Elizabeth and I drove up to Machias, Maine on Thursday. It's a six hour drive, so we made a few stops on the way, including one for some yummy ice cream :) And near Machias, we stopped at a gift shop/mini golf course that was shaped like a giant blueberry!

We stayed in Machias with our friend Maria Thursday night. It was lots of fun, we walked in the woods and went to the rocky beach in Roque Bluffs. The water was cold!! No pics because I forgot to take my camera to the beach...:(