Konrad the Frog Appears

We have a small pond in our garden that is home to a number of goldfish, a few small koi and a voracious catfish. For the first few years after we moved into our house we also had frogs. The frogs were naturally occurring. I don't know how they found our pond in a walled garden in the center of Old Town, but they did. However, several years ago all the frogs disappeared and we have been trying to get them reestablished. We have probably put 25 tadpoles in the pond in the last four years and I don't know if we have had any frogs. I suspect the catfish may be partly to blame. This year in addition to half a dozen small tadpoles from the fish store (all gone as far as I can tell) we inherited a partially transformed tadpole from a friend. That tadpole was already named Konrad, and Cathleen believes it is the one that turned into the frog pictured here. This is a small frog, but it looks healthy and is quick. I hope it survives the winter and maybe next year we can find it a companion.

Via iPad

Posted via email from Bill's Photos & Miscellany

Lyra's First Ballet Class

Poor Lyra has been dying to take ballet for ages and it has never worked out. It was either mid-session when I thought to sign her up or it didn't work with her school schedule. I finally found a Tiny Dancers class on Saturdays. There is a new studio within walking distance of my house! She us one happy girlie. Today's story was about Tigger. I can't figure out how to email more than one photo at a time from the iPhone or I would include a photo of her in the costume too. But really, this one is cuter!

Cathleen
www.thephelpsfamily.blogspog.com
www.givingfullcircle.org

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from Cathleen Phelps

Will the Mad Bumper Car Driver at Six Flags

Will and one of his friends and I went to Six Flags today. We mostly focused on riding roller coasters, but made a short detour to the bumper cars. Will was an aggressive driver, I think I need to get him out to the skid pad to learn how to handle a car long before he is near a public road.

Via iPad

Posted via email from Bill's Photos & Miscellany

Another Off to School Shot, This Time Including Lyra's Cute Face

You could almost imagine these three are a band of angels. Not quite...

Via iPad

Posted via email from Bill's Photos & Miscellany

Phelps Trio Off to School!

Not quite the first day, but Will, Eva and Lyra are ready for school with their *huge* backpacks. I think Lyra's backpack is wider than she is (but Will's is by far the heaviest).

Via iPad

Posted via email from Bill's Photos & Miscellany

Eva has Absconded with my New Shoes

Eva's feet are now almost my same size.  Today, when I came home with a new pair of Vibram barefoot running shoes, she immediately wanted to try them on. Then Will. Then Eva. I really am barefoot now. 

I don't know that I will really run any distance in them but they are comfy and hopefully will help eliminate some of my weird foot and ankle pain. They sure do look funny!  I wish there were better colors.  I liked the mauve ones but wanted the foot strap.  There's a SmartWool version that would be less sweaty but the colors are BLAH.  Would love a pair of chili red ones.

Posted via email from Cathleen Phelps

Haircut day!

Annette pointed out that there are never Internet pictures of Will getting his hair cut, just the girls. So here ya go! Annette works miracles!

Cathleen
www.thephelpsfamily.blogspog.com
www.givingfullcircle.org

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from Cathleen Phelps

If there are French Fries in Heaven, they come from Duckfat in Portland, Maine

In Portland, Maine last week I had lunch with my 12 year old son Will at Duckfat, a casual restaurant at 43 Middle Street near (not in) the Old Port section of town.  Duckfat is one of three restaurants diagonally across the street from Rabelais Books, a bookstore dedicated to 'fine books on food & drink'.  Browsing in Rabelais I asked which of the restaurants we should try for lunch, half expecting a non-committal 'depends on what you like' answer.  The actual answer was, 'Duckfat, all the restaurants are good, but Duckfat is special.'  Duckfat was special.  

Like any 12 year old, Will eats a lot of French Fries.  He said Duckfat's are the best he has had, worth a special trip.  He said, if we go to Maine next year, we need to go back to Duckfat.  

Having recently tried poutine for the first time in Montreal, I was not satisfied to have plain French Fries.  We had Duckfat's version of poutine with local Maine cheese curd and house made duck gravy.  Will accompanied the poutine with a chocolate milk shake.  I wish I still had the blast furnace metabolism of a 12 year old boy.  The poutine was insanely good.  The fries were awesome on there own, crisp and richly flavored (I think duck fat is second only to butter in making anything cooked in it taste good).  The cheese was good, but not so strong as to overshadow the fries.  The gravy was mild, but made everything hold together.

I can't wait to go back.

  

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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First Day of School

I had to do the dump-and-go for Will so no photo of him. But Eva got to walk Lyra in for her open house day!  That was a lot of fun because Lyra was so excited and Eva was able to visit many favorite teachers.  Eva helped Lyra dress in a special and favorite outfit.  She did Lyra's hair and everything!  This was a very fun day....except for all the shots Lyra had to have in the afternoon. :(

Posted via email from Cathleen Phelps

Migis Lodge Vacation Video! Water Skiing & Other Maine Fun

Here's five minutes of video which hopefully reflects all the fun we had at Migis Lodge last week.  You can tell the kids liked the water skiing *a lot.* This was the first year Will was really able to ski and he did great, improving very quickly after he figured out how to stand up.  If you have a good internet connection, the video is best viewed at 720p (HD).

Of course many of our activities did not make the video: Eva and Cath swimming to Picnic Island for Wednesday lunch, Eva teaching Lyra the "man overboard" drill in a kayak, the liberal use of our first aid kit, Will and Bill kayaking to 'blueberry island', our trips to Portland (and lunch at Duckfat!) and Will's obsessive watching of sensational TV masquerading as education on the History Channel.

As always, the team at Migis made this a wonderful and memorable vacation.  

Posted via email from Bill's Photos & Miscellany