John 5 1" Pine Board Break - Forearm

Husking Corn!

While husking corn this evening, this was part of the conversation Caroline and I had-

Mom: "Caroline, don't bite the ears(of corn), they're not cooked yet."
Caroline: "Mom, those aren't ears, there's no mouth, they're not even people"

I couldn't help but laugh!

Christine is home!

Kadi, Madeline, Caroline and I drove out to Lincolnville, ME today to pick up Christine from her week at camp Tanglewood. Camp Tanglewood is a 4H camp that is held in conjunction with Maine Audubon that focuses on the outdoors and environment. It was so nice to see Chris again as we missed her so much! The house wasn't the same without her. Its amazing how the dynamics of a household change with absence of a person. Christine had a great time and learned alot about water and its cycle. She loved the food but then stated they ate almost no meat. She really wanted something meaty for dinner so we went out for Chinese food. Chris was tuckered out from all the hiking and was asleep by 9:00 p.m. I hope Chris has some pointers to help me in my recycling, compost, and garden operations!

Hawk on Rt. 90 West Rockport

We were bringing Christine back from her week at Camp Tanglewood and passing down Rt. 90 in West Rockport. I saw a hawk sitting on the telephone wires looking over a field. I spun the car around and headed back quickly. I had Kadi snap a couple of photos.

"Dad it's a Choo Choo"

These pictures are of a passing train in downtown Bath, ME today. Caroline loves trains hence her quote in the title!

The newest member of the Skroski Lawnmowing team deep in concentration.

Caroline: "Mom, I'm moving into your room"
Mom: "Oh no your not"
Caroline: "Yes I am, Madeline's nnoying (annoying) me. I won't sleep in your bed Mom, I'll sleep on the carpet"

This is part of the conversation we had this morning. I went upstairs to find Caroline's sleeping bag, pillow and bear all laid out in my room for bedtime tonight Caroline even packed her bags and had a pile of pajamas close by her sleeping space. Oh, the joys of motherhood!!

Today Caroline, Madeline and I went to Boothbay Harbor with our friends The Varians. We went to the Botanical Gardens there and also went to the Maine State Aquarium. The Gardens were Spectactular and the girls were thrilled to build their own Fairy Houses. The Aquarium is always a hit, especially the Touch Tank and the Shark Pool. We learned that the Lobster in the picture is 50 years old and weighs 23 pounds! We touched a Pregnant shark whose Gestation is 2 years and it will have any where from 4-18 babies. Yikes, I can't imagine being Pregnant for 2 years!!!!

Christine goes to Summer Camp!

Yesterday we brought Christine to her first overnight Summer Camp. It's a 4H Camp tucked in the woods. It's been pretty rainy here so I'm sure she is getting a little wet. She was really looking forward to a fun week! We sure do miss her and can't wait to hear about her Camp experience on Friday.

Here are a couple Pool videos from our trip to Mass! Camden is the one with the Somersault. Caroline was initially hesitant to jump off the Diving Board. She got motivated when she saw Colin and Moira (2 year old twins) do it without a blink of the eye. She loved it!

Our trip back to Western Mass

The girls and I took a quick trip to Western Mass last week. We had lots of fun visiting with Family and Friends. I even gave the girls a quick tour of Goshen where I grew up. It was fun to show them my old house, school etc.... We fit in lots of stuff in just a short time. It was a great trip!

Skroski Garden Update July 19th 2008

Well I promised you all an update on our garden we planted last end of May. Things are growing great this year. One of our Mammoth Russian Sunflowers is already 72" tall (six feet). According to the seed package it should grow 7-8 feet tall. We harvested some radishes, lettuce, and summer squash today. We have several tomatoes growing, but they are still green. Cucumber's have flowered but no fruit yet!

We're proud of this guy! I've always felt somewhat guilty that John dropped out of practicing Karate in the early 90's. After all we had just started dating and other interests took over. I'm so glad he is back into it and what an accomplishment to earn his Brown Belt! It was great watching the test yesterday- he worked extremely hard, his uniform hardly had any dryness left with all the sweating he did! Today he is having a hard time moving and is taking lots of Ibuprofen. Great Job John, we Love you!

19 Year's Later

I tested for my brown belt today after 19 years. The test was long (4 hours) and very hard physically. Four other students tested for their yellow belts. We all earned our new rank and celebrated with ice cream sundaes afterwards. My teacher Jeff Vanoudenhove a 4th dan blackbelt from Chicopee, MA conducted the test. He brought a friend of his from MA who holds black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and is a Go Ju Ryu Karate and Kobudo Weapons practioner Bill Daigle. I trained with Bill while I was in High School. He was tough then and still is now! What a test it was, never give up on your goals in life! The only person missing from my test was my original Sabum Josepi Chancellor Esq.

Oh the words that come out of the mouth of a 4 year old!

Caroline never ceases to make us laugh! Just the other day she, Christine and Madeline were playing Restaurant and she ran by me in the hall towards the Bathroom, exclaiming, "The Chef HAS to go Potty!". Today she said, "Mom, your have a big Butt" (as if I didn't know that already). Last month on our way home from Cousins weekend, Caroline had to go to the bathroom. We had to stop at an Olive Garden in the middle of Boston. As I'm bringing Caroline into the Bathroom, she exclaims loudly, "Wow, Mom there are a lot of Spanish people here". I just wanted to crawl under a chair. We need to travel to the City more often so that our kids are exposed to Diversity- Maine is just not doing it. What would we do without Caroline?!!!!

Happy July 4th!

The Kelly Family arrived Thursday night for the July 4th weekend! We had a ball going to the Parade and Fireworks. We spent lots of time at the Beach which was great. The kids had fun sleeping out in a tent and having a bonfire complete with Sparklers and Smores. I was in my glory with Lobsters, Steamers and Scallops wrapped in Bacon last night for dinner! Unfortunately John had to work most of the weekend which was a bummer but I guess that's what you get when you work for a Vacationing community. Thanks Kellys for a fun weekend, We made lots of fun memories that we'll treasure for a long time!

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