Howie Wowie

This dude is such a total goober.

He's got the craziest anxiety I've ever seen (don't even let him near a marching band unless you want a full-on freakout) BUT he is such a little love.

He gives the best welcome-home greetings (it's like he's been waiting just for me all day!) and he loves to snuggle. He adores Lola, though the feeling is not exactly mutual.

Howie's a lot smaller than we were expecting him to be, so we're having to get used to being little dog owners (noooo! we're those people now!!) But... Rocco is really loving having a smaller guy that he can manage on his own at least most of the time.

Every so often I bring Howie to work with me at SPACE. As you can see in these photos taken by one of my coworkers, he is appropriately adorable at work. (if only he'd stop crying every time I leave the room...)

New Addition

Brought a new someone special home with us on Patriots' Day last week... meet Howard the Duck (yes, it says that on his registration papers, too!) He's a rescue from Forever Home Rescue New England, and we are already in love!!

Summer Lovin'

We just got home from our annual week in Vermont. This year Mom and Dad came for the week, too, and it was great fun! We had such a relaxing time there without all the distractions of TV, internet, cell phones. They don't even have a landline hooked up there! There was fishing, though mostly on Dad's part. Rocco did catch a sunfish in a net by tossing english muffin crumbs over the edge of the dock-- no hook or line involved, but it still counts.

Mom, Dad, and the boys went to nearby Fort Ticonderoga for a good part of the day on Friday while Skip and I just hung back in the sunshine-- swimming, reading and eating our lunch without fear of an onslaught of boys swooping in and swiping it out from under us. It was heavenly. Lola loved camp, as usual, and Mom and Dad brought Molly the goldendoodle, who enjoyed swimming in the lake. (Sometimes voluntarily, sometimes not.)

Rocco's big catch

Rocco 'n Molly: fishing buddies

Mom, Dad + Molly (not sure how helpful Mom + Molly were with luring the fish in... haha)

We don't see this smile in the middle of a video game session... sheer nature-induced joy. :) 

Big, beautiful Molly

Oscar- our firestarter for the week

bunnies everywhere!

campfire! 

taking advantage of Daddy's snoozing... 

The new RAV4 quarters aren't nearly as roomy as the minivan for roadtrips to Vermont, but they were still smiling... 

Sunset Lake excursion with Papa in his boat

our sweet, sweet girl, miss lola

a squirmy catch

fun at the VT Country Store

Owen chillaxin' on the dock

canine camp cuties

sponsored by coca-cola

one of many lakeside catches at the cabin

back home again! (but i really detest the "open for business" part of this sign that our governor insisted on tacking up there when he took office. counting the days...

we peeled rubber on the way out of VT so that we could get Owen back to Portland in time for his gig at Portland House of Music

Keytar wizard

It's Summer Already?

So, I guess I haven't posted here since the end of last summer. Huh. I'm not sure if this is the new way things are, but it could be, so I guess the lesson here is to just not set our hopes too high. I'll post when I think of it, but sometimes juggling multiple tasks just isn't my forte. Don't get me wrong, I can juggle. It's just that updating the blog is pretty low on a long list of priorities. Nothing personal, but getting Rocco to take a bath more than once every three weeks is always gonna be higher up there than sitting in front of the computer.

But I'll try.

Today the five of us are headed to the Weezer & Panic! at the Disco Summer Tour show. Four of us are pretty pumped about it. (Rocco is ambivalent. We haven't been able to get him amped about too much more than Weird Al... yet.) Skip and I have seen Weezer in concert before, and it was quite possibly the best concert ever. Honestly, they were playing with Jack Black and Kyle Gass' band Tenacious D and that's who I was more interested in seeing at the time. And they were awesome. But then Weezer came out. And. Totally. Rocked. It. If you get a chance to see them in concert, just do it.

So, lest I forget to mention, Oscar is now officially a high schooler. (what??) He'll be a freshman this year and Owen will be a junior. Meanwhile, Rocco will be king of the elementary school as an incoming 5th grader. They won't stop getting older, much as I've tried to prevent it. Here's a side-by-side of Oscar on his first day at Mahoney (as a 6th grader) and then again on his last day (as an 8th grader.)

Oh, and for those of you who don't follow me on Instagram, here's a pic of Owen driving at his last driver's ed session, while Skip and I ride in the back. Crazy!

Also, you should follow me on Instagram.  (@spcial_k) You can also follow Nacho, our lizard, who has his own account, of course. (@nacho_ordinary_dragon) Lola says she is not into social media, however.

Photo Credit: M. Haley for Maine Today

We have already been packing in the fun this summer... Oscar is now in braces (and seemingly loving them)... Owen, Oscar and I ran in the Color Run on Sunday... We saw the Barenaked Ladies in concert at the Maine State Pier last Friday night... and the weekend before we had a great time watching the PRIDE parade downtown.

Hurrah for sunshine!

Summer Recap... in pictures

JUNE

Owen and Oscar/Boy Scout Troop 37: Last Meeting of the 2014-2015 School Year

Tooling about the Old Port after the Barenaked Ladies/Violent Femmes show at the Pier.

Pool Party at Cousin Jimmy's!

Pre-Color Run with my running buddies (it was soooo rainy that day-- we were soaked)

Post-Color Run

JULY

4th of July in the backyard

Lola-- enjoying a summer evening at the Brown School playground

Oscar, the frog whisperer (at camp in Vermont)

Don't let the boat coat fool you-- she's a true water dog. (ha!)

Roasting marshmallows with the Gradys in Vermont

End of another summer week at the awesome Vermont cabin

Vermexican with my guys at the taco stand!

Ozzie's bday

Teenager!!

This is how you rock a family session of Hip Hop Abs in the living room.

AUGUST

Jammin' down 16th Street with Owen (in Denver)

Drinking Shirley Temples at cousin Nick's August wedding with Owen (How cute is my date, btw!?)

Trying on hats at Overland Sheepskin Co. in Denver. This was Owen's fave.

I LOVED this hat! (But not for $359. Youch.)

Oh, yes, we did! My most favorite restaurant on earth-- Casa Bonita in Denver.

Owen-- riding the light rail through Denver like a boss city dude

Walking over the Casco Bay Bridge to Portland for dinner at Rivalries the night Owen and I got home from Colorado

Owen rockin' the 'stache at Eli and Sadie's 12th bday party in August

My 4-1/2mile run with Owen to/from Bug Light... He talked me into it.

Dropping Oscar off for a week of summer camp! This is his happy place. :)

Owen's room: BEFORE

Owen's room: AFTER (he picked the paint.)

With my guy at Fenway Park xoxo

Chillin' at Fenway... This was the first time for both Owen and Rocco! (But Oscar has been before)

They WON! (wait, what??)

Some of the haul from this year's garden

We have cukes coming out our ears

For his 9th bday, Rocco requested breakfast in bed.  (I thought that was supposed to be reserved for moms on Mothers' Day!??)

Mill Creek Park for Rocco's bday (He always asks for corn dogs in Mill Creek Park for his bday dinner.)

9 years old... I am not ready for double digits next year. *sigh*

Crescent Beach with Eli and Sadie-- last hurrah before school starts next week!

Hanging with my homegirl at the SeaDogs game (Bark in the Park night!) She got to walk around the field at the beginning of the game. She LOVED it. 

Dinner at Elsmere on Labor Day weekend. Oscar was practicing his "emo" look. He has the bangs down, but thankfully he is forgetting that the emo look does not include a nice smile. (PHEW)

17th Wedding Anniversary! Skip and I walked over the bridge to Portland for a mini pub crawl...

1st Stop: Central Provisions

2nd stop: MAPS. This cake was TO DIE FOR. Soooo good. (And only $4) The wine was pretty good, too, plus we had a blast chatting with others at the bar and playing 45s in the jukebox.

On the crawl back home...  Skip bought me this sweet cap for $1.95-- I love it!

~

No. I'm serious. DO. NOT. GO.