Winter is here.

Its cold in Maine, relatively speaking. Ask anyone out here, and they'll tell you that December has been frigid. I'd probably agree with them, if I hadn't just been in Wisconsin, where it actually IS cold. Maine is balmy by comparison. People don't always believe me when I tell them what the weather is like in Wisconsin.

The first big storm of the winter last weekend started as rain and then ended with snow. All summer long I'll wish we had gutters on our house, but in the winter I'm glad we don't. Without gutters, we get some of the prettiest icicles.



















Its snowing again tonight, and another storm should be here on Tuesday. I'm really hoping we get completely buried in snow this winter. Its been a good start. I'd love to see six feet in the back yard, which I've heard isn't uncommon in Maine.

Wisconsin Visit

Our flight home to Maine landed just in time last weekend. We left Wisconsin as the snow was ending there, and landed in Maine just before it started here. Our trip was pretty smooth (other than the actual flights, which were quite bumpy), given the circumstances. There were many people in Detroit who were not as lucky, trying to find a way out on already over-crowded flights. Our timing worked out to be perfect.

The trip was wonderful. It started out exactly as I wanted with a Packer game and Thanksgiving dinner at John and Leslie's house. A few weeks before our trip, Mike asked me what I wanted to do for Thanksgiving, and I told him that if I could do anything, it would be to have dinner at John and Leslie's, even though that wasn't an option at the time. I enjoy dinner there more than almost any other place. Its all so warm and happy, with all the best people in each room. I was very glad that in the end, thats exactly what we did.

We saw a huge number of people this trip, from the Fitzgerald Thanksgiving at the very beginning to Grandpa Halberg's funeral at the very end, and friends and my family between the two. I feel very caught up. We were able to spend a lot of time with Jim and Monnie as well, and that was really nice. Its kind of funny to think the next time we see them they'll be parents. And I'll be an Aunt for the first time. Claire has been giving me some 'lessons' on how to be a good Aunt, just like Monnie.
"An Aunt is like a Mom, except she doesn't live at your house with you. She gives you hugs. An Aunt plays with you and takes care of you and bakes cookies with you. Or bread. Or cake. An Aunt also sends you letters and packages, like a box of dominoes, or some candy and stickers. Or a dollar or two or three."
Sounds like I better start saving up my dollars. Its going to be fun.

Camden, Maine

Last week we drove up to Camden for a bit of hiking. Lucky for us, we were able to borrow a kid carrying backpack that Claire actually fit in, letting us finish a hike we wouldn't otherwise be able to. The carrier worked out perfectly, Claire slept just about the entire hike, and then woke up at the summit.














We planned on doing a second hike that has been recommended by a few of our friends, but some serious looking rain clouds kept us from doing it. However, we found out we could just drive to the summit, so we decided to do that, and then cook lunch at the top. It worked out perfectly. We took our time and the rain held off until we left. I'm sure we'll be back for more next summer.

Carving the Pumpkins

Wednesday night is Trick-or-Treating night, and we have our pumpkins carved and ready. I didn't buy any candy, though. Claire will be out begging for the stuff herself (as Diego), and really I think one or less people will ring our doorbell. When I was younger we were never home to answer the door for the trick-or-treaters, so we'd put a big bowl of candy out with a "Happy Halloween, Take Some" sign. It was always empty when we got home, the entire thing dumped into the bag of the first kid to come by without supervision, I'm sure. We lived in a pretty rural area, with maybe eight kids to the neighborhood. Maybe I should just set out an empty bowl and tape a "Please Take One" sign to it. Just kidding. Kind of.

Anyway, the pumpkins. Claire was very excited about carving pumpkins all day. Then when we finally got down to business, she discovered that the process was messy, and by the look on her face, downright disgusting.










































That scoop was as close as she got to touching any of the insides. So she compromised by just drawing what she wanted carved right on the pumpkin, and then supervised Mike and I. They turned out pretty well. Mine is the traditional Jack-o-lantern, Claire's is the 'guy with glasses', and Mike's is the tree and bird.














Then I roasted the seeds. I've never done it before, and it turned out to be pretty easy. I'll definitely buy a few more pumpkins just for the seeds next time around. The three we got this year didn't have very many, and I think they will be gone as soon as Mike discovers them.

Claire Opening Halloween Presents

Here is a video I uploaded to YouTube of Claire opening Halloween presents.

Mike

Leaves

We had the ideal autumn weekend with peak fall colors, beautiful weather, and two batches of apple crisp. We spent as much time as possible out in the woods and up on hilltops to enjoy it all. There were many leaf collections started, many acorns planted, and big piles of leaves were raked, for the exclusive purpose of jumping into.

Seattle

Its already been a week since we got back from Seattle. I've been meaning to post a few pictures for a while now. It was much more vacation for Claire and I than Mike, since he had a conference to attend, but we all had a great time. It was really nice to catch up with a lot of the West Coast family. Claire, Audrey and George had a great time playing together, and that was really fun to see, too.

Claire and I spent an entire day at the Pacific Science Center, and we probably could have stayed longer than we did. Yet another place our Children's Museum of Maine membership came in handy. I really really love that we are a part of the 'reciprocal' program. We've made good use of it all over the country. Anyway, we were able to catch two shows at the Pacific Science Center. The first was called 'SuperCold' and we watched a bunch of demonstrations showing how cool liquid nitrogen is. The second, 'Combustion' was about exploding things (like balloons filled up with hydrogen gas) and fire. These shows were my favorite part. Claire liked the bubble wall, which is really difficult to take a picture of.











We also found time while we were in Seattle to see the Ballard Locks, Pike Place, a beach, the Space Needle, and Mt. Rainier National Park. Mike and I even went out for dessert at a place where you order S'mores and get your own personal pot of fire to roast your marshmallows over. Very cool.

Some pictures (or click here for even more):

Freedom Trail

Today is my birthday, but since Mike is on call, we did something fun to celebrate yesterday. We went to Boston and walked The Freedom Trail. Its a 2.5 mile walking tour though the city which hits a lot of the important historical sites. Conveniently, it also goes past some pretty cool places not a part of the tour, including Quincy Market and Haymarket. The tour can be totally self guided, you literally follow a red line, but we splurged and bought the audio tour. And just like at the Empire State Building, it was totally worth it. Here are a few pictures of the State House, Granary Burying Ground, Haymarket, the Bunker Hill Monument, and two photos of the line itself. I have more pictures, and a little more info to go with them if you want to follow this link.






























































































Tonight, by coincidence, is a birthday party for a friend. Works out perfectly for me!

Matt's Wedding

A great time was had by all at Matt and Jennifer's wedding this past weekend! I had trouble sending the photos through the google group, so I'm posting them here instead. We enjoyed the beautiful celebration Friday evening followed by a gorgeous day on the lake Saturday. Thanks for the sail cruise Matt!

















I'm also including a picture of our new cat George (that was his name at the shelter). He is very sweet and talkative and tends to make me smile which I appreciate.





Love you all,
Maighie

Rangeley Weekend

This past weekend we went up to Rangeley, Maine for the annual Emergency Medicine resident retreat. I didn't come away with many pictures of the retreat itself which is probably for the best, but I think it safe to say everyone had a great time. Its a beautiful spot. The weather was kind of cold, dark and stormy Friday and Saturday, as the pictures show, but it didn't stop a few people from getting out on the lake with sunfish or to windsurf.




























Sunday was sunny and just a little chilly, a perfect day for a hike. Mike, Claire and I went to Saddleback Mountain and spent about three hours exploring the woods. The mountain is by far most popular in the winter for skiing, but the hiking is great too. The trail Mike found was perfect for us. Claire was able to be our fearless leader most of the time, with just a little help over the bigger puddles. She did great, especially for such a long hike.

Is it time to leave yet?

Claire has been waiting for this day all summer. The First Day of School. Finally its here! She had her backpack packed and clothes laid out last night. This morning she got up, dressed herself and was waiting by the door at 6:30am. We don't leave the house until 8:15, and that hour and 45 minutes was probably the longest she can remember. And then, (finally!) we arrived at school and I stop her on the way in to take a picture. Annoying, I know, but I'm suppose to take a first day of school picture. And here it is. The official first day of the second year of preschool picture.

She's Four

Claire turned four yesterday, and since we had her party last week, the birthday itself was pretty quiet. We had a french toast breakfast with a few presents. In the afternoon we went to a wedding, where the following took place after the bride said, "Let's just be nice. I won't get you if you don't get me, alright?". Right.










It was a beautiful wedding, to say the least.











But anyway, I've sat down with Claire a few other times and asked her some questions. I don't know how enjoyable it is for anyone else, but I like to go back an see what she's said at different ages. And so, here are the questions and answers from a Four Old Claire.

What is your favorite color? Purple
Favorite book? The Missing Piece
Favorite animal? Dog
Favorite thing to wear? My green dress and pink skirt. Its the best dress in the world.
Favorite food? Spaghetti with sauce
Favorite breakfast? French toast with syrup
fruit pear
Favorite thing to drink? Chocolate milk
Favorite game? Balloon Lagoon
Favorite thing in your room? The big pictures mom put on my walls
Favorite thing to do at school? Art projects
Favorite art project? Painting
Favorite song? Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Favorite sport? Dribble Mania (soccer)
Favorite thing to do? Watch daddy play basketball at the basketball gym and also my favorite thing to do is when daddy helps me climb at the climbing gym, and I climb really really high.
Favorite place to go? Children's Museum
Favorite thing at the Children's Museum? The huge fire truck. I like to ring the bell.
Favorite movie? The one where Dora and Boots go to the Lost City
Favorite TV show? When the Packers are on.
Who do you like to win? The green Bay Packers and Brett Favre. He's my favorite Packer. He's number four. Just like I'm four now.

To be fair, I'm not sure she'd choose the Packers as her favorite TV show at another time. We just finished watching them win, so its pretty fresh. It was a special treat to watch them. I wasn't able to get the games last year, but somehow today, after spending a lot of time adjusting the antennas, I got it. Hopefully it lasts the season. One thing I noticed today, as I cheered by myself, is that I've never lived in a place where there wasn't at least one other person cheering within earshot. More than once I expected to hear a cheer or some kind of frustrated or disappointed groan from a neighbor. But in the end, it was only me.

Last week my parents (and Aunt and Uncle) were here. Since this was their second trip to Maine, everyone had a good idea of what they wanted to do. Most if it involved no schedules whatsoever, which is always nice on a vacation. As for Claire, Mike and I, we got all the benefits of being on vacation (trips to restaurants, getting to be a tourist, and a week of 'I don't have anything planned') and all the benefits of being at home. We did get to cross a few things off the 'List of Things to do in Maine' that were missed last year, such as the Bug Light. We had Claire's birthday party there last Saturday, and the park did not disappoint. It was a beautiful day. The skies were filled with kites, the harbor was busy with boats of all kinds coming in and out, and there was even a wedding. My family enjoyed watching all that was going on,














the kids ran around (mostly with Jaime),
















the Dads of the group played wiffle ball,



















and everyone else mostly watched.















There was even an obese wiener dog that kept trotting over from somewhere looking for pizza and cake.



















Definitely a successfully birthday party.

We of course had some repeats as well. A day at Old Orchard Beach, a day in Freeport, and lots of time on the Maine State Pier and in Old Port. These things were all much more enjoyable this year, since every day we enjoyed temperatures in the mid 70's and clear blue skies. Last year I think it rained all but one of the days they were here. Also on one of the beautiful fall evenings, Mike and I had a chance to go to a Boston Red Sox game (thanks again Jaime and John!). Unfortunately they lost, but I think on your first trip to Fenway Park, thats almost secondary.














It reminded me a lot of the evening games Mike and I would go to in Milwaukee. I didn't quite forget where I was, though, since I noticed that they did not sing "Roll Out the Barrel" and they did not have a Sausage Race. The entire stadium did sing "Sweet Caroline", however, and that was unlike anything I've ever heard before.

So. School starts for Claire on Monday. She'll be going three mornings a week this year, and has been looking forward to it since I broke the news that she wouldn't be going to school over the summer a week before her last day last spring. She's ready to go back. And I've been planning how I'll use the free time since I started taking pottery classes again. I'm about to see a lot more studio time every week!