Thursday, August 18, 2016

Summer Part 3 - Goodbye Cape!

We are back home in the swamp now, sweating our your-know-what's off in the 100 degree heat.  Can't tell you how much we miss the cooler temps of New England and all the relief that a beach down the road and pool in the back yard have to offer!  We had an awesome trip though and for that we are grateful.  It was both relaxing and busy, but in the best possible way.  We counted up all of the friends, family and kids we saw while were on the Cape and were shocked to realized it was close to 50 people!  What a treat to be able to visit with so many old friends in such a beautiful place.  Til next year....

Gus outside his cabin at camp

Daddy and the girls in the pool

Another stunner

Henry, Gus, Hank and Benson

Gus

Randi and me...


The annual lobster race

Gus' birthday party





June and Charlotte at a pool party

Dylan checking out the chicks in the coop


Peace out

Attempts at our annual family photo...




Me and my girls
On the way to the beach

Kings of the castle

Sort of synchronized jumping

The morning meeting

Serious Dylan

June at the piano

On our pirate cruise


Heart shaped rock collection 2016





Sunday, August 7, 2016

Gus is 4!

We celebrated Gus' 4th birthday yesterday, as hard as it is to believe.  It feels like just yesterday we welcomed our little muffin into the world.  I remember being so worried about how the addition of another baby would change the dynamic of our family, about whether Hank would be able to handle the change with grace and ease etc.  Now, I cannot imagine our family without Gus.






He is Hank's faithful aid, always by his side ready with an echoing, "Yeah!" to whatever Hank says or does. Ask Gus what he wants to eat, and he looks at Hank before answering.  I have checked on Gus in the middle of the night and he has rolled over in his sleep to ask if Hank was still in the room. He opened birthday gifts yesterday and dutifully handed toys over to Hank immediately when he said he liked them.  A more devoted little brother does not exist.  This is not to say that they don't get into frequent and vicious fights.  And when that happens, Gus does not back down.  Hank will hit Gus, with all of his force, and Gus will taunt him by saying, "that didn't hurt." This, of course, drives Hank crazy.




Gus is also a (mostly, or should I say, reformed?) loving big brother to his little sisters.  He favors June and is often very gentle and loving with her.  He "hates" Dylan and has had a history of being quite rough with her, but I've recently noticed a new effort on his part to be affectionate with her as well. Trouble is, she is very weary of him after his history of abuse so she tends to start screaming whenever he comes near. He takes it personally, and then takes it out on her.  Its a vicious cycle! I'm hoping that all my talk of how 4 year olds are gentle with babies will help create a permanent shift in their relationship!








As Gus has approached four, I've noticed a rebellious streak emerging from our normally very compliant child, which is between you and me, very cute.  He clearly feels like a badass when he is doing something he knows he shouldn't do and the look on his face and his pronouncements of "I'm the man!" are priceless.  He is a genuinely sweet and gentle kid who is so generous with his affection that he is just a pleasure to have around.  Matt and I often ask each other if he is for real, he's just so dreamy sometimes.  Gus, you are the man!  Happy birthday buddy, we love you.








Friday, August 5, 2016

Summer 2016 Part 2

We are in the middle of our annual trip to Cape Cod and enjoying every minute of it.  We arrived July 9th and the past three weeks have just flown by.  It's been a very busy stay up here so far with lots and lots of visitors and activities to fill our days.  Beautiful weather, amazing scenery, friends and family, good food and wine and lots of memories made.

Dylan and June

Hank and Gus - 1st trip to the beach

Dylan and June

Ahh, pool time

The first week here was spent the with the extended Mailloux crew.  My sisters Chanel and Whitney, their husbands, Chanel's 3 kids, my mom and dad, and two diffrenebt uncles and their significant others were all here at one time.  Lots of playing on the beach and in the pool during the day, followed by big dinners by candlelight and salt air in the evenings.  The cousins had a blast seeing each other for so long (usually the best we can do is squeeze in a weekend here or there during the year), and all of the grown ups really enjoyed hanging out as well.  Hopefully we can make this an annual tradition moving forward.

Dylan and June, beach babes

Hank with Aunt Whitney

Dylan, Henley (Chanel's youngest) and June

Me and Whitney

A jubilant Hank in the arms of his Nana

Gus, Hank, Hayes and Greyson get reacquainted after a long time apart.  Uncle Grant chugs wine in the background after his day of traveling with the family. 

The whole crew.  The faces on Hank and Hayes are priceless.

Silly pic


I won't bore you, ahem, I mean make you too jealous, with all of the glorious details of our daily lives up here, but suffice it to say the routine revolves around spending a few hours at the beach, a few more in the pool and maybe the odd trip to the lake for a change. Sprinkle in some mini golf, outdoor theatre performances, adorable free concerts on the town green, lots of ice cream, bike rides and you get the idea.  And we've had too many visitors to mention - check out the photos below to get an idea of what we've been up to....more pics to come in a later post. We are the luckiest!


Hank and Gus at the Cape Cod Sea Camps


Just another drop dead gorgeous sunset from our patio.  No filter needed. 

June and Dylan at the Natural History Museum.

Dad and the boys

Rauntie and Jess

Gus and Daddy

The seal tour we took with Gus' bestie, Walter, who paid a surprise visit to the Cape with his Dad. 

Hank, Walter and Gus

Getting ready for a bike ride through Nickerson State Park