Monday, November 27, 2006
Thanksgiving in Maine
Our incredibly gracious hosts, Tom and Vicki
Their son, Craig, and his girlfriend, Hillary.
Tom's parents, Clayton and Arly. Arly is Grandma Phinney's sister.
We spent quite a bit of time on Friday at the Hall Farm. (Grandma Phinney's maiden name is Hall.) It's run by Grandma's cousin, Dick, and his sons, Rodney and Randy.
This is the evaporator they use to make maple syrup -- they've got about 7000 trees they tap. Ben could not get enough of learning about all the different kinds of farm equipment.
Ben getting to know one of the younger members of the herd.
Vicki and Dick discussing farming.
We were there in time for chores -- we didn't help at all, but we watched the 30 or so cows get milked.
The smell made Rachel miss Iowa.
This is an old cemetary next to the Hall Farm. Many of Ben's relatives, dating back 150 years, are buried here.
Uncle Clayton and Aunt Arly brought lobster over for all of us on Friday night (even though neither of them like lobster).
First lobster for ten years for Ben.
First lobster ever for Rachel.
Ben's cousin Anne, her husband Randy, and their son Griffin. Griffin wasn't feeling too good the day we visited, but he let us watch the second half of E.T. with him. A great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Anne was the one relative of Ben's grandfather that we visited -- most are relatives of Grandma's.
Another great meal with the family. This was at the Chuck Wagon in Livermore Falls.
The Christmas tree
We cut our own tree on the way out of town in Maine. Rachel wanted to get it early, since we didn't have one last year and we'll be in California for the holiday.
Ben had the genious idea of putting the tree in the stand and in the house while still in its sleeve. Here he is taking it off.
Roxie has to check it all out.
Ben starring the tree.
The finished product.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Aren't digital cameras fun?
We were talking today about how many more pictures we take since we got a digital camera. Here's one Rachel took of her very handsome husband.
Backyard work
We're putting a yard around our backyard before winter really sets in. That means tearing out the bushes along our property line and building an extra set of steps into the backyard from our deck. Ben's been hard at work this week. Here he is being a real man with a pick-axe.
Who says Annie's old? Rachel picked a piece of rawhide up out of the backyard and put it on the railing of the deck. Annie found it and
wanted it.
The new stairs into our backyard.
Our incredibly gracious hosts, Tom and Vicki
Their son, Craig, and his girlfriend, Hillary.
Tom's parents, Clayton and Arly. Arly is Grandma Phinney's sister. 
We spent quite a bit of time on Friday at the Hall Farm. (Grandma Phinney's maiden name is Hall.) It's run by Grandma's cousin, Dick, and his sons, Rodney and Randy.
This is the evaporator they use to make maple syrup -- they've got about 7000 trees they tap. Ben could not get enough of learning about all the different kinds of farm equipment.
Ben getting to know one of the younger members of the herd. 
Vicki and Dick discussing farming.
We were there in time for chores -- we didn't help at all, but we watched the 30 or so cows get milked.
The smell made Rachel miss Iowa. 
This is an old cemetary next to the Hall Farm. Many of Ben's relatives, dating back 150 years, are buried here. 
Uncle Clayton and Aunt Arly brought lobster over for all of us on Friday night (even though neither of them like lobster).
First lobster for ten years for Ben. 
First lobster ever for Rachel.
Up at the hunting camp. We're all wearing orange because it was deer hunting season when we were there.
Ben's cousin Anne, her husband Randy, and their son Griffin. Griffin wasn't feeling too good the day we visited, but he let us watch the second half of E.T. with him. A great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Anne was the one relative of Ben's grandfather that we visited -- most are relatives of Grandma's. 
Another great meal with the family. This was at the Chuck Wagon in Livermore Falls. 
We cut our own tree on the way out of town in Maine. Rachel wanted to get it early, since we didn't have one last year and we'll be in California for the holiday.
Ben had the genious idea of putting the tree in the stand and in the house while still in its sleeve. Here he is taking it off. 
We were talking today about how many more pictures we take since we got a digital camera. Here's one Rachel took of her very handsome husband. 
We're putting a yard around our backyard before winter really sets in. That means tearing out the bushes along our property line and building an extra set of steps into the backyard from our deck. Ben's been hard at work this week. Here he is being a real man with a pick-axe. 
Who says Annie's old? Rachel picked a piece of rawhide up out of the backyard and put it on the railing of the deck. Annie found it and wanted it. 