Houlton Boys win Orrington Tournament

Jacob's All-Star travel team won the Orrington tournament this past weekend. It was a great time and a lot of fun watching all of the games! GO SHIRES!!

Sleepover at Grampie & Nana's

Well, I'm down to my last few days of school break, so the kids and I ventured to Mt.Chase for a fun two day sleepover at Grampie and Nana's house! Going to their cabin in the woods is a real treat and one of our favorite places to be We had such a good time playing in the snow, eating fun food, playing games together and laughing! Jacob and I went snowshoeing which was breathtaking after 5 inches of new snow. Liz and Max also spent the night with us and we had a really good time sleeping in one big room with bodies sprawled everywhere!! Good times we will never forget.....we LOVE Nana and Grampie's cabin in the woods!!!!

Sleepover at Grampie & Nana's

Treasure from Grandpa

My Grampie, who is 89 years old, drove out to my house today to bring me a treasured gift. This silverware set was a wedding gift for him and my Grandmother. It was given to them by his parents. I will do a little research to come up with an exact date, but we do know that they are nearly 70 years old. He has had them stored in his attic since my Grandmother passed away nearly 9 years ago. He still had the silver polish that came with them! What a priceless treasure these are to me. When I saw them memories came back to me of my Grandmother getting these out for special dinners and the fascination I had with them as a little girl. We will polish them up and they will have a special place in my dining room hutch. I would also like to use them in her memory at our own special family dinners!

Merry Christmas

We had a very special Christmas Eve dinner with 20 of our closest friends and family members to join us! It was such a wonderful evening!! We enjoyed a great meal followed by lots of laughter, games, and gift giving. We also had a pretty rowdy ping pong tournament. We are so thankful for this time of year and have treasured every minute....Merry Christmas to all of you! Enjoy the slide show of some Christmas pictures.

Christmas Slideshow

A Dream Come True

Jacob had the chance of a lifetime last night! He and his AYBL basketball team got to play at the Fleet Center, just before the Celtics played the Portland Trailblazers!!!! They had the court for about 8 minutes and then got to watch the Celtics game. Jake and Ben went together for an unforgettable Father/Son trip. They spent the night and took the train into Boston. The whole team ate dinner at the famous "The Fours" restaurant before heading to the Fleet Center. An unforgettable time that's for sure!! They were also shown on ESPN in the pregame show!! Check out the slide show below, you can see Jake on the Fleet Center court, and watch for a sleepy Jake when he got home!! A HUGE THANK YOU TO JACOB'S COACH, Marty Bouchard, for making this happen and giving Jake such an awesome memory!

Jacob Plays at the Fleet Center

It's Thanksgiving Day

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with lots of good food and fun visiting with family and friends. Both of my brothers and their families were able to come from New Hampshire, my mother and her friend Bill, and we were also blessed with 4 missionaries to share our meal with us!! We ate tons of delicious food and played lots of fun games!

Thanksgiving Day Slideshow

All In A Day's Work

Here are some photos of a couple of really long days (and nights)with 4 poached deer, 2 moose, and what was left of a turkey!! Good job Game Wardens!

Jill's 40th Party

Well, Ben really went all out on this one! Those of you who know him well will not be surprised, he has a knack for surprising me and loves to celebrate birthdays! I spent the most part of my day on campus as Mondays are one of my busiest days, I did not get home until 5:30. We started the fun with chinese for dinner from my favorite restaurant....then Ben presented me with a black rose complete with "OLDER THAN DIRT" balloon. He also had a white cake made with black roses and a wad of 40 candles that looked like a stick of dynamite! Check out the photos below, it was a foot high flame on that cake!! As we were eating our cake, Ben really surprised me with the most beatiful RED ROSES and another balloon..."I LOVE YOU". This of course melted my heart and the black roses were forgotten :)...It was such a fun evening, complete with laughing, crying and lots of hugs. Ben may have really set himself up though...he is only 37 and he has now opened the door for me in a couple of years when it's his turn!!!!!!!

Jill Turns the Big 4-0

Well, I've decided to stop fighting it and just go ahead and embrace this milestone in my life!! Yes, I am turning 40, hard to believe, but here it is!! There is a lot of discussion about this in our house because I am the OLDEST person in the place! Ben is still a mere pup at 37....he really likes to rub that in! Thanks for the BEAUTIFUL flowers Anya!!!! :)

First Day of High School

Wednesday, August 13th was Ashley's first day as a high school freshmen! She and best buddy and neighbor, Abigail, were in a very happy mood to start the day! They graciously let me snap a few pictures of them before heading off to school. Ashley reported the day went very well and she only got lost a couple of times..:) Today, the second day of high school, she will be having her BRACES put on at 1:30!! So, this has been a very big week for her! I'll have to post some new pictures of her updated smile later!!

Baxter State Park Camping Trip

We just got back from a family camping trip to Baxter State Park. What a wonderful time we all had....it really was awesome. We swam, hiked, canoed, went fishing and enjoyed the campfire. Grampie and Nana Drew came in to visit and make S'mores with us over the fire! Our favorite part was going down the natural water slides at Howe Brook Falls....it was UNBELIEVABLE!! Jacob said on the way home that it was better than Disneyland in California!! Enjoy the pictures!

Ben's New Toy!

Well....Ben really surprised me with this one! He has never really had an interest in "muscle cars" that I knew of, so I was totally dumbfonded when he came home and told me about this car he found and desperately wanted!! Can you say, "Mid-Life Crisis??" It took me a few days to warm up to the idea....BUT, I have to admit I have had a great time riding around in this beast with the windows rolled down and classic rock blaring from the speakers!!! :) It will be a fun treat in the summer months to take a step back in time to those "glory days" and a good winter time garage project. Come to think of it when Ben built our new garage 3 summers ago he insisted it be a 3 bay garage....maybe this was the plan all along...hmmmm???! :)

California Drew's Come to Maine!

Jacob is Ordained a Deacon

Jacob turned 12 on July 1st and has been ordained a deacon! He was very excited and has worked hard to reach this goal. Our Branch President (President Carter, the really tall guy in the picture! :)), has given him a few assignments over the last couple of months to study and report back to him. He also challenged him to bear his testimony on the things he has learned about the priesthood. We are excited for him and it was great to have a lot of family on hand for the special occasion. His Uncle Joe from San Diego, California...his Great Uncle Gregg from Berwick, Maine and of course, his Grampy Drew! Good job Jake!

The California Drew's Come to Maine!

Joe, Heidi, Caleb, Hannah, Joshua and Luke all came to Maine this past week for a visit! They flew into Boston and then drove up to Houlton where we were anxiously awaiting them. We had a great time all week....first enjoying the fun and festivities of the 4th of July. We watched the parade, went to a great BBQ at the Carter's in Hodgdon and then we all went into the fair and ended the day with the fireworks show there. Some other highlights of the week: going to King's Landing in Canada, swimming in the backyard pool, going to Grampie's to fish, swim and shoot guns, eating LOTS of Humpty Dumpty BBQ chips and Houlton Farms Dairy grapenut ice cream and enjoying each other's company!! We also watched some All-Star Little League baseball games that Jacob had. The cousins savored every moment together, and really had a chance to strengthen their friendships. We took TONS of pictures, some of which I have included in the slideshow! Our hope is we can all be back together again soon.