Summer Kickoff!

Memorial day kicks off summer here. We had a great day hiking at Muddy Run yesterday, and finished it off with lots of time in the pool, smores, and a fireworks show. Below are some photos from our hike.

Skiing

Had a great time skiing with River and Forest yesterday in the Poconos. Temperature was 55 degrees!

Winter Fun

We are getting our fill of winter fun now that snow covers the ground and the cold has settled in. We started our new year with a surprise trip to the Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos, and have been sledding and exploring the wintry outdoors. Krem and Hirut are fully enjoying their first winter experiences. Not surprising really, Krem is an ace on the slowboard - See for yourself HERE. Click on the pictures below for a larger view.

New Years Party with the Robertsons

Pow!

Great Wolf Lodge

Great Wolf Lodge

Fun in the snow.

Just plain cute!

Merry Christmas

Seasons Greetings All. The storm in the house Christmas morning was greater than the storm we were reported to get outside. No one was more excited than Krem to open gifts, but when all was said and done, we had to explain to him that Santa does not bring EVERYTHING on the wish list. Hirut's favorite gifts were anything to do with food. If she could not eat it, she moved on to the next present. River commented 'I know it's pajamas, but I sure hope their not footie pajamas', showing clearly that he has moved on to the teenage years of Christmas excitement. Forest and Stephanny, however, were ecstatic to get full length, to the toe, fleece footies. No Christmas would be complete without 8 pounds of frosting for the sugar cookies, probably 2 pounds of which never made it to the cookies. Nate, Forest, and Krem went out for a beautiful Christmas day test of the Kayak River and Forest received, just as the snow flurries were starting to come down. To view more Christmas and Holiday pictures, click HERE.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We had a great Thanksgiving dinner a few days early so that Krem and Hirut could get the full experience of the tradition before Stacey left for Mexico to spend the holiday with her sisters family. Click on the picture above for a better view.

Seven Months

Today marks seven months since we arrived home with Krem and Hirut. In so many ways it seems like we have come light years from that remarkable day. Yet in other ways, it still feels like we are adjusting to life with 5 children. There are still challenges we are working to overcome. Here is an update of what's been happening since our trip to Maine... to round out the summer and start fall...

Forest participated in a kids Triathlon with friends, swimming 250 yards, biking 2 miles, and running a half mile. They had a blast! Stephanny, River, and Forest are also participating in fall soccer league, and we are enjoying watching their skill improve as the season progresses. River has become quite the goaltender and it's great watching Forest flash around the field.

We had a wonderful trip to Quebec City, traveling with Nate's work and a very wide collection of people from around the world. It's wonderful that our kids get the opportunity to interact with others their age from around the world. And of course the accommodations are a treat as well. The city itself was such a great
surprise. I'm sure the locals get sick of hearing it, but it's like being in Europe, with magnificent old buildings, a castle, fortresses, cobblestone streets, and of course the French Canadian accent. To see more pictures of our trip, click HERE.

As busy as life has been, I did manage to get out for a real camping trip with River, Forest, and a collection of their friends. Meric O. and his two boys joined us. It just happened to be one of the hottest, most humid, nights of the summer. Even the least strenuous tasks left us drenched in sweat. Luckily, we were camping right next to Muddy Run creek, and every minute not setting up or sleeping was spent floating around in the water. As for sleeping, the kids did alright but there were two very dreary dads hiking out of the woods the next morning.

A couple of birthdays to report as well. Since soon after coming home in March, Krem has talked about his birthday almost daily. When the day finally arrived, he was so excited! He woke up to 300 balloons in the living room, and had a great day, complete with party, pinyata, friends, and a great cake baked and built by Stacey. He wore his sparkling 5 year old smile all day!

River turned 13 a few days after Krem's big day. It's remarkable, and a little scary, to think he will be an adult in 5 short years. For his birthday he had a party with 4 close friends, and we took a trip to the local haunted woods in the big RV for a night of fright and freshly minted teenage shenanigans. To teach him what being a teenager is all about, we ended the evening throwing pumpkins from an overpass onto passing semi trucks. OK, not really.

Nate's pal Matt H. was in town for their semi-annual ultra run weekend. As usual, it was a mad dash to fit in as many adventures as we could in 72 hours. This included fishing for Bluefish on long island sound, a night in Manhattan, a mad dash to Times Square for Gyros, and oh ya, the actual run itself, a 28 miler along the spectacular trails of the Susquehanna River.

School has started again - River is in the middle school (7th Grade!), Forest is in 5th Grade, and Stephanny is in Mr. K's 2nd grade class. Krem started preschool at Fairville Friends and is overjoyed to go to school 2 mornings a week. Hirut is currently enrolled in "How to stop trying to bite your siblings in 3 easy steps" but is just barely passing. Next week we will start her in "How to not have a fit when someone takes something away from you that you should not have had in the first place."

Most recently I took Stephanny and Forest to a Philadelphia Eagles game. Despite the loss, they had a great time cheering on the local team. Check out the VIDEO.

Overall we are still adjusting to the chaos of 5 children, but one thing is for sure - we will never suffer from boredom. This VIDEO is just a sample of what you might see on any given day in our house.

Acadia National Park, Maine

We're home from vacation in Acadia National Park on the coast of Maine, where we spent a week in a small 8 bunk camping cabin in Bass Harbor campground on the very south west tip of Desert Island. Check out many great pictures of our trip HERE. Our week started with Krem and Hirut's first 4th of July fireworks show in Bar Harbor, packed in the middle of the city park among a see of blankets-in-the-grass and kids waving glow sticks. We stayed on the island for the entire week, exploring different parts each day. Our activities included lots of wonderful hikes, one of which scaled 600 feet in just over a mile, up a trail aptly named "The Ladders". All of the kids did a wonderful job hiking, which was a little surprising considering some of the hills we scaled. Not once did anyone whine about tired legs or ask to be carried. Forest and River seemed to relish taking the lead and hiking ahead of the group, sometimes a little to much for mine and Stacey's comfort. Carting Hirut up "The Ladders" in a baby carrier was like lugging a bag of cement that gyrates, jumps, and squeals for more blueberries. And of course blueberries are a pretty good laxative - you know where I'm going with this, so I won't spell it out. We also took a drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain to experience is spectacular views of the surrounding bays and harbors. We took several swims in the bone chilling waters of the North Atlantic coast, and a few in the slightly warmer inner-island lakes. Much of the area seemed familiar, being similar to Northern Minnesota, complete with lush blueberry bushes and the aromatic scent of spruce, cedar, and other evergreens. What trip to Maine would be complete without a few lobster dinners, including a memorable lobster cookout on the last evening, with bright red crustaceans cooking in huge pots over an open fire, accompanied by a 90 year old woman fiddling her heart out.