A curious walk

As Sarah and I were walking in the village last week, we came upon the Episcopal church in an unusual state...


"Preserving our legacy, building a new foundation." You can say that again. There is a huge hole below ground level and the sanctuary is about 6 feet higher than the rest of the church. Crazy! I hope to be around when they lower it back down. Calling Osterville home is a wonderful adventure!

Green bean win

Here is our first green bean crop! Since this photo, we have had another picking about the same size. Our little row has given us much joy.


Now we are waiting for our huge tomatoes to turn red!

Emily's Birthday

Last year was, in many ways, the best birthday Emily will ever have. She had just come home from the hospital with our new baby girl, and we got to hold one of our greatest gifts. But in other ways, she spent it napping, never really sleeping, learning to nurse, and recovering from a live birth. Needless to say, it left us both wishing it had felt a little more birthday-like.

So this year I decided to surprise her with the exact opposite experience: a non-stop, exhausting day-trip to remember. It was supposed to be a surprise, but I made the mistake of giving her one guess and she randomly picked the exact plan!

It all started with an early 4:30 rise. A quick breakfast, teeth brushing, and peeking in on Sarah and we were off!

We drove to Boston and took the first flight out to one of Emily's favorite places. . .

A subway ride from JFK, and we were in the heart of Manhattan. Our first sight, before we even walked outside, was Grand Central Terminal.

 

We walked around outside for the rest of the morning, through Times Square and Rockefeller Center, all the way to Central Park.  

At the Corner of Central Park, there is a very busy Whole Foods, where we found a picnic lunch to eat in the park.

After spending the first half of the afternoon in Central Park, we took the Metro to Battery Park to board the Staten Island Ferry.

 

Upon return, we walked the financial district, seeing the rising new World Trade Center

By then it was dinner time, so we took the Metro to Brooklyn and ate at a famous pizzeria under the bridge.

That gave us just enough time to ride the train back to JFK, where the last flight back to Boston was waiting for us. We arrived back at our home at 2:00 in the morning, well worn out from a great day.

There were two very fun things for me in this trip. One was seeing the excitement on my wife's face around every corner. It seemed there was something she loved at every intersection. The other was seeing that this huge city somehow functions. Millions of images of God walking throughout the city, and somehow the individuals and government have figured out how to make it all work. There are exactly enough pizzerias, the streets are just wide enough, the trains go to just the right places, and all the goods get distributed to the people. A big city really is amazing. When you see it, and you long to be rich enough to live there and buy whatever you want there (because they have everything for sale), it really is hard to believe the riches and the glorious city that Christians are headed toward.

Until then, I'm glad to share many birthdays with my dear wife, who has been a more surprising journey and is a more beautifully complex creature than either of us saw that day.

Mike and Jacki's Visit

Sarah got a great little birthday present this year: a visit from Auntie J and Uncle Mike! They came to town right on her birthday, just in time for her party, as part of their New England vacation.

They took most of the pictures you've seen from Sarah's birthday party, and together we had quite a lot of fun on the Cape. They were also kind enough to watch Sarah for a day while I took Emily off for a birthday trip (which we'll talk about later). About the only other thing we photographed, though, was a nice trip to Long Beach for desserts one night, which you can see here. 

My current favorite picture of my girls

Jacki did the processing on this one

Thanks for coming, and being part of our lives up here on the beautiful Cape!

Grandma Lynda's Visit

Of all our guests this summer, nobody's burned more elbow grease than Grandma Lynda. She asked for a project when she came, and boy did we give her one!

We've been wanting to paint the trim white in our new home for a while now, and we decided that would be the perfect project for us while she was here. So we cashed in our credit card points for gift cards, got the supplies, and had everything ready when she got here. Four days of sanding, stripping, taping, priming, painting, painting, and painting later, we had a greater part of the first floor done.

I think Grandma worked harder than any of us, showing she'd painted a few things before in her time. But aside from that, it was great to have her here to enjoy her company, keep Sarah's family familiar to her, and hear of her travels throughout New England. Thanks so much for coming, Grandma!

Who loves her great-grandma?

Grandma's garage workstation, painting the doors

What'cha doin?

It's been a while and the trim project is progressing more slowly. By the time Jacki and Mike came into town, we had all the common areas of the house done. We decided to take a break then until all our company and travels are done, and start again in September. But the house looks very different already!

Village Day / Sarah's Birthday

Sarah's birthday was an action packed one- and this year Osterville even recognized it as a village holiday! They never actually admitted that it had anything to do with her birthday, but this year Sarah turned one on the biggest day of the Osterville year: Village Day.

The church likes to make Village Day into a big outreach event, so we spent the morning administrating the volunteers who handed out hot dogs, snow cones, drinks, balloons, and popcorn to the 1,200 people who walked through the church parking lot. We also did crafts and played games with the many children. There was even a dunk tank. And just after 12 noon, we all sang "Happy Birthday" to our little one!

Our Head Deaconess hands out balloons to children as they enter.

A band playing outside a shop across the street.

The Fire Department hoisting a flag over downtown.

Worn out.

We tied a lot of balloons that day.

Things didn't end there: we went home and put the final touches on Sarah's 1st Birthday BBQ. We had a few families over for burgers and hot dogs, fun fellowship, and lots of cake. Look to facebook for even more party pictures!

Sarah and Lexi playing

Emily made cake pops

And a great collection of cupcakes

She wasn't sure what to do with it . . .

...but eventually she got it, and loved it