My "baby" brother!

Houlton 5/6 Girls at the Bangor Y Tournament

Scenes from the Bangor Y Tournament

Tough Lady Shires! Runners-up in Bangor Y Tournament

The Houlton Lady Shires 5/6 grade team were runner's up in the Bangor Y tournament this weekend. They did a great job!

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!