Reunion

The first week of August I had my high school reunion. Although I was excited to see old friends, many of whom I had not seen since graduation, I think my parents and Ellen and Larry (parents of Lindsay, one of oldest and dearest friends) were even more excited about the big event -- the reunion meant that they would have Addie and Oliver to themselves.

Here are pictures that were taken of the big event...

The Good Old Days

Aunt Elizabeth is a list maker. The other day she left her list out on the table and Davis looked at it and commented - "It seems like there is a lot if bring stuff here. I am guessing that here is Elizabeth's house and that the there - where the stuff is coming from - is our house." I looked at the list- he was right. Hmmm. No wondering she is always popping in and out. (We asked Elizabeth about the list and she replied that she is a hunter and gatherer.)

Thankfully last week Elizabeth was able to pop in and stay for a couple days. Jessica was on vacation, Oliver was sick, and I had to work. Oliver, who is usually very sad when Elizabeth just pops in and out, was very happy to have two whole days of Elizabeth and Pippa (he calls her Ditda).

Elizabeth and Oliver began their day on Wednesday with a good dose of Motrin and an ice cream sundae (I administered the Motrin and happened upon the sundae for breakfast bit). And then headed to the lake. As it turns out this combination was a perfect antidote. They did much the same on Thursday. Over the course of the two days Davis and I received a lot of "Picture Mail." Here are some of our favorite shots:

Boston Light Swim: More Pictures

Boston Light Swim

The Boston Light Swim is the oldest open-water swim marathon in the US; it has been an annual event since 1907. Race participants begin the race in the water at Boston Light on Little Brewster Island and continue past George's Island and Rainsford Island, under the Long Island Bridge, around Thompson's Island, finishing 8 miles later at the L Street Bathhouse in South Boston.

On Saturday Davis braved Boston Harbor water (which was between 59 and 62 degrees and had seas between 1.6 and 2 feet) and became, as the race organizers termed the participants, "a small, extreme, crazy, group of swimmers." Davis did an incredible job - he finished the 8 mile swim in 3 hours and 42 minutes. Not only was this an amazing time and a very respectable finish, but Davis was also the only one of the finishers who ran (most people stumbled) across the finish line and then broke into the beer cooler. We think this means he is well prepared for the Channel swim next year.

Andrew, Davis' friend and coach took a ton of spectacular pictures of Davis swimming, I've narrowed it down to a few:

Davis swimming by the Light House:

Davis with Boston skyline:
My dad greeting Davis at the finish:
Davis, Oliver and me:
The night before the swim we had a dinner at the Boston Harbor Yacht Club. In order to participate in the swim the swimmer is required to have a pilot boat - and many swimmers, Davis included, don't meet the captain of their pilot boat until the dinner. Oliver, my mom, and I were outside playing during the start of the dinner - I looked up at one point and saw a large boat towing a very small inflatable, arrive at the dock. From the big boat emerged a middle-aged man and a kid on crutches. Ah yes, Davis' pilot boat and captain had arrived -- Emmitt, a fourteen year old kid with an 11 foot Zodiac, nine stitches and a pair of crutches was Davis' captain. While many people would have been scared off, Davis was psyched - not only did Emmitt remind Davis of himself, and his brother Tim, but, with some imagination, Emmitt was a peg-legged pirate captain!

Here is a picture of Davis, Andrew, Emmitt, Oliver and me:

Davis has already contacted his peg-legged captain and secured him for next year.

Car Pool

Unfortunately our Jetta, lovingly nicknamed "the Yetta," appears to be dead. It appears that it may have caught a VW disease that is going around the neighborhood - something similar to Dutch Elm - our neighbor just had to say good-bye to his VW last week. One other neighbor has a VW - when she gets home from work today we are going to warn her and maybe her Jetta will be spared (perhaps if she parks a few streets over for a few days?).

Yesterday morning Davis laid out all of our "necessities" before we jumped in the car to deliver Davis to work.


After bringing Davis to work, Oliver and I continued on to Gloucester where we visited Lucy, a friend I had not seen in years. Oliver and I had a wonderful time catching up with Lucy and playing at the beach.

Oliver was exhausted after the beach so we jumped in the car to head back home. The sleepy little boy became a loud little monster once we were back in the car. So we stopped in Beverly and had Davis take us to lunch. Apparently lunch with Davis and Sophie was just what Oliver needed. As soon as we got back in the car he was asleep.


When we got home from visiting Lucy (and lunch with Davis) I realized that I had inadvertently taken a copy of her novel which she had just had published. Although I felt horrible I was also very excited and somehow managed to read the entire book last night. The book, "Waiting for Rescue"(http://www.amazon.com/Waiting-Rescue-Novel-Lucy-Honig/dp/1582435278 ) is amazing and I would highly recommend it. Congratulations Lucy!

Davis was supposed to take the train this morning, but I am realizing the time as I am sitting here writing this and realizing that my boys are still sleeping upstairs and that the train is long gone. Looks like the car pool rides again.

Anyone selling a car?