I guess we really like the number three.  We have three children, three cars, three chickens, and now three dogs!  After deciding to adopt a rescue pup we picked out a shepherd mix boy pup who would soon arrive from a Mississippi-based rescue.  But alas, there were seven puppies in the litter...and being the dog people we are, we ended up giving Truman a brother and a sister.  Charlie and Taffy are wonderful additions to our family and already love hiking, running, and playing at camp--although the first time they saw snow they acted a little shocked.  You could almost read their minds--"Maine is nice, but where is the warm weather and the bayou?"  Of course the girls and Jack are crazy about their new canine friends and Taffy has quickly become obsessively attached to John just the way our shepherd Heidi was.

It's a busy time of year for everyone but we're pretty strict about taking time out to play.  The snowshoes and cross-country skis have taken the place of the inner tubes and canoe in the barn and we're trying to not miss summer too much.  This is likely Jack's last year giving Santa credit for his presents so we're making sure to do the annual Santa's Village trip in a big way.  He just got straight A's on his first big-kid report card so we're happy to celebrate with him!

We just had a week's vacation at the lodge ourselves, a bittersweet once since we said goodbye to our beloved and faithful German shepherd Heidi just a few days prior.  She lost her battle with degenerative myelopathy at age ten after suddenly becoming completely paralyzed the day after Father's Day.  She was with us in spirit though, as she watched our annual Morrissey family reunion from dog heaven--I know she was very envious of her buddy Truman as he happily devoured the lobster shells (intended for the raccoons) he stole from the pile in the woods.  Poor Truman misses Heidi terribly but we're on the lookout for another canine friend for him.

It's been a beautiful, well-earned summer here in Maine and we had a wonderful time at the lodge as we always do.  Dad taught Jack how to ride his bike, they caught many fish together, shot BB guns and bow and arrows, and we loved sleeping in and waking up to coffee on the deck each morning.  Jack had such a great time with visiting friends that Dad has composed an entire spreadsheet of activities to attend and friends to invite over for the balance of the summer.  It's going to be a busy one; being the youngest of three siblings--and the long-awaited boy at that--certainly has its advantages!   

Happy first birthday to Truman, the best friend a boy could have.  Jack has literally been counting down for weeks to May 27th so that we could celebrate his buddy's big day.  We're baking a special dog cake and throwing quite the event after Jack gets home from school.  Jack thinks it's especially cool that in dog years Truman is seven...so they're now the same age.  There are some significant May birthdays in this family--our daughter Jenna just turned 22 and my Grammie just turned 98 (!) but we're happy to add Truman's birthday to the month of celebrations.  Between college graduations, Mother's Day, and the birthdays it's been a fun month of parties! 

Happy New Year!   We had a wonderful Christmas full of Legos, Transformers, Nerf guns...with a seven-year-old boy in the house, it's action figure central around here.  The girls are home from college for a few weeks so it's nice to reconnect...and now that I'm done with school myself we all get to relax and have fun together.  It would be hard to beat 2013, but we're looking forward to an even better 2014. Here's hoping that 2014 is a great year for all of you, too!

Jack just "needed" a new buddy, so here he is...Truman William Morrissey.  He's just the most adorable, lovable little Puggle boy ever!  He already loves swimming and running through the woods so he'll be a great match for our outdoor-obsessed family.  Jenna, Lianne and Dad love him to pieces, he's super smart, and of course Jack is his very best friend and an incredibly responsible owner.  And Mom got off easy...Dad really, really wanted to have another baby.  We dropped our younger daughter off at college for her freshman year last week so there's a bit of empty-nest syndrome going on, but this new little guy seems to have satisfied him for the time being.  Whew!  :)

We recently had a chance to enjoy the lodge ourselves and had a wonderful week.  We hosted family and friends for our annual lobster bake, celebrated Lianne's 18th birthday, spent tons of time in the river, and Dad and Jack ("the boys," as they call themselves) did a lot of outdoor fun activities while Mom had a chance to read and bead on the deck.  It was awesome to watch John relax and forget about his high-stress job and simply be so happy to hang out with Jack--you have to love a guy who adores his son so much that he plays with him in the river for nine hours nonstop (literally)!  They set multiple have-a-heart traps so Jack could learn the joys of catch and release "hunting"--they had great plans to capture a beaver or raccoon but only managed to get squirrels...and as you can see in the picture above, this one captivated Heidi's interest immensely.  We had such an amazing week that at the end of it, John mentioned that he couldn't wait until we have grandchildren to share the place with...but no thanks, I'm in no rush for that!

My favorite picture of the week is this one...Jack got a new BB gun for Christmas and this was his first chance to use it.  It was incredibly hot outside but Dad agreed to take him target practicing in the woods, so they went over some rules, loaded up, and headed out.  It was so funny to watch Jack walk off with his Dad, so serious and attentive, learning about gun safety and thinking he was very cool and grown-up...while wearing nothing but his Spiderman underwear. 

June has been a very busy month!  Our younger daughter graduated from high school (with honors), our oldest came home from college for the summer, our son finished first grade, and I started an amazing internship doing exactly what I love.  And let's not forget all of the birthdays, graduation parties, and of course, Father's Day!  A lot of stuff still to come, including many fun times in the river and the woods at Two Rivers Lodge--thankfully the bugs seem to be nonexistent this year so we've been able to get over there and play a bunch of times already.

Naturally I have to give a shout out to John, one of the two best Dads that I know.  Not only is he incredibly involved in the kids' lives, but he goes way above and beyond for them.  He has a special relationship with each of the children, but to watch him with Jack is especially amazing...probably because he waited so long for a son and because Jack just idolizes Dad like nothing I've ever seen.  It's nothing for John to drop everything during a busy work day and spend three hours driving to and from the arena and watch Jack play soccer, or listen all about his day at school, or make posters of race cars and dinosaurs and dragons, or to just snuggle on the couch.  Not many Dads (or Moms--myself included) can stand watching back-to-back episodes of Curious George!

On Father's Day, Jack presented his Dad with a card written in typical 6-year-old scrawl, covered with hearts and trees and cars and tractors.  On the outside, it said "I love you Dad."  But inside he had written the most wonderful heartfelt message..."Dad, you're the best thing that ever happened to me."  Pretty much sums it all up!

Happy Father's Day to all of the great Dads out there, and also to all of the children who appreciate and deserve them.

For the first time ever, this Maine girl had absolutely had enough of winter...and actually started to doubt it would ever end.  But spring is finally here!  The lilacs are blooming, the birds are singing, the frogs are peeping, and I'm very happy winter is over.  Even happier now that our 6-year-old son Jack has been upgraded to a premier soccer league with older kids--because in addition to being a proud mom, I get to skip baseball (and the ensuing blackflies, rain, and mud) this year in favor of an indoor soccer facility complete with free wireless and a sky bar.  :)

The lodge will be the site of lots of fun and parties this summer--Lianne's graduation from high school, John's father's day celebration (according to Jack, the best Daddy in the world should have a whole week, not just one day!), our annual family reunion, and an end-of-school party for all of my nurse friends.  Here's hoping that we have a summer of beautiful weather like last year...and that winter holds off for a while before coming back.

We're winter people.  Honest.  But it came too late this year...we're already looking forward to spring in the midst of all of this snow.  Between school, family, and work commitments we just haven't had much time to get outside to play in the white stuff.  Jack is turning into quite the little soccer star, which means that travel to leagues and games on the weekends is a must.  So John took advantage of a free Sunday and suggested that we do some family hiking and sliding...and it was wonderful.  I had forgotten how quiet it is during a snowstorm, and how darn fun it is to go sliding--despite the fact that on the very first trip down the hill I did a backward somersault face-first into the snow.  Not on purpose.  Of course Daddy won the "who can slide the furthest" contest, but Jack got him with the biggest snowball.  It was a great reminder of how lucky we are to experience winter in Maine!

I thought I would share one of my favorite pictures of Two Rivers Lodge, taken by our friend Alan who stays here every autumn.  He takes the best photos, and was so kind as to send me a DVD of them this year.  I'm also working on including the amazing close-up picture that one of our guests, Rob, took of the bald eagle that makes his nest right in front of the property.  Looking through the beautiful foliage pictures made me wish that it was October again!