Last Friday Richard and Patsy sailed in from Canada on the Crown Princess cruise ship. I took the day off of work and we drove up to Mt. Desert Island Thursday evening. It was very nice to see both of them. We walked around Bar Harbor, ate lunch at Geddy’s and enjoyed each other’s company. It was a nice few hours.

When they got back on the boat in the afternoon we drove up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain where we took pictures and ran around the rocky slope.

Jenna Loves Whales

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My paradise would be a world in which there was general peace, unlimited clean renewable energy, no religion and ubiquitous internet. It wouldn’t be free from struggle and work, because those are the things that make life enjoyable. I would spend most of my time with people I loved and pursuing many research interests. And I would create. And explore.

I’d jump out of airplanes often. And pilot them more often. To cities with libraries and museums.

There are other things my paradise would encompass, but this is a family blog.

Yesterday was a brilliant Maine day. Temperatures were in the upper 50 °F with partly cloudy skies. Perfect. Kirsten had to work so the girls and I headed out to explore and enjoy the big outdoors.

First we went to nearby Saco Heath Preserve, which is a short 3.6 miles from our house. The hike through the woods and out into the heath were ideal. Skye and Hayley took copious notes on every sensation they experienced, including smell, touch, see and hear. They frequently stopped to sit on the boardwalk to search for frogs or to snack on the trail mix they had each prepared prior to our departure.

Jenna explores the Saco Heath Preserve

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The past few months I’ve been going through the process of becoming a member of the Scarborough Fish and Game Association. It’s a 177 acre facility with many ranges across many shooting disciplines. Tuesday evening the membership finally voted me in as the newest member. Wednesday evening I took Skye down to the club and shot a paper target on one of the utility ranges. We both had a lot of fun.

Skye was very safe. She listened intently as I briefed her on safety procedures, range rules and firearm operations. She primarily shot with my Ruger Mark III Hunter .22 pistol. When that got heavy she switched to my Glock G26 9mm, but she didn’t like the harder recoil.

Her shots early were high and to the right. After discussing techniques to improve her accuracy she was able to shoot a loose grouping around the center of the target. I was quite proud.

We had a great time. She says she wants to go again, which I think is terrific. She’s an excellent shooter.

Skye was very excited to shoot guns for the first time

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Yesterday the girls and I spent some time at Fort Williams while we waited for Kirsten to be moved to a proper bed on the sixth floor. We had a great time climbing on the rocks and playing wiffleball.

Supra-Orbital Craniotomy
Kirsten Uhler, Cogitations, August 23, 2009

We climbed on the rocks before playing wiffleball

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This past Saturday we headed out early to Lisbon Falls, Maine where we watched the Moxie Festival parade. After the parade we spent several hours at Fort Williams State Park where the girls played on the rocks while Kirsten and I read and talked.

We’ve had so many rainy days this summer it is almost a requirement that we spend non-rainy days engaged in outdoor activities. :)

The Moxie Festival Parade in Lisbon Falls, Maine

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Jenna and her second grade teacher, Miss Holland

I was shy before on the first day. On the first day I recognized some of my friends from last year. They were all second graders. We were still multi-age.

When weeks strolled by I started to get to know my class. We celebrated lots of birthdays, did fun stuff on holidays, and we went to lots of field trips (our first fieldtrip was to Snell’s Apple Farm).

Being a second grader is not so difficult, at least, for me. My teacher was Ms Holland. Mrs. Duffy is the school counselor in second grade. I did more things with Mrs. Duffy. She even asked me to be pen pals with her! I knew I’d love to be in second grade.

I spent lots of time with Bryn, a girl in my class (B-r-i-n, you say it like that).

One of my favorite parts of the year is when we went snowshoeing at school. We had about five pajama days! Guess lots of people love wearing p.j.s!

I got good reports every time of year.

I liked going to the art museum next to Dyer Library in Saco. I was so impressed with the art.

At the end of the year I liked going to Burns and meeting my teacher for next year, Mr. Goff. I will be in room number 1. This was my last year at Fairfield. I learned a lot.

Kathy Longacre

My mother is tops, for sure. She has never–even once–given me reason to question her love and devotion. She hasn’t just given all she has to her kids, she’s found a way to get for them what she doesn’t have. There could be none better.

My mom grew up in Anchorage, Alaska with her four younger brothers. She lives her life to the fullest extent possible and doesn’t let anything get in the way of achieving her dreams. She lives most of the year in Denver, Colorado where she likes to go out dancing and to ski. She also loves to travel and does so whenever she can. During the summer months she lives at her cabin in Wasilla, Alaska.

My mother is an inspiration. Her love is unconditional, as every parents’ should be. She lives life for all the right reasons, loves her friends, pursues her dreams, and uses her resourcefulness and tenacity to achieve her goals.

She blogs (kathylongacre.com), too. :)

I love you, Mom.

Yesterday Kirsten and I had the opportunity to visit Hayley’s kindergarten class for an end-of-the-year beach party. It was a lot of fun. Mrs. Arnold’s pupils went through their usual morning routine before reading to us a book they’d written and illustrated. Then Mrs. Arnold played for us a slide show that was absolutely wonderful (a tear jerker). She is an extremely talented photographer and was able to capture not only the activities of the students, but their personalities as well.

Kirsten and I feel very fortunate that Hayley had Mrs. Arnold this year. She has great command of her students and exudes compassion for them.

Hayley was Star of the Day

Hayley got to sit in the rocking chair

Hayley reads her book to Kirsten

The Flying Dog, illustrated by Hayley Danler

The slideshow was phenomenal!

Hayley's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Arnold

Today Kirsten and I had the opportunity to visit Jenna and her classmates for an “Author’s Tea Party”. Jenna read to us a non-fiction book and then a book she wrote titled, “All About Wildlife”.

She did a fantastic job writing and illustrating her book. She discussed classes of animals, geology and the environment, dietary requirements, evolution, extinction and predation.

While reading her book she skipped the following sentence so as not to offend her classmates or their parents:

None of anything is made by Mother Nature or God. It’s all called Science.

After each pupil read their book the group was allowed one comment and one question. After one boy read about “little stars” Jenna asked, “How do you know the stars are small unless you’ve seen one up close?” Brilliant question, I thought.

Jenna listened as Miss Holland addressed the audience

Jenna read to us a non-fiction book

Jenna read to our group her book, All About Wildlife

Jenna likes the science section best

Jenna and Thomas, a past crush

Jenna and her second grade teacher, Miss Holland