Wild Flowers

I know it's not the kids- but look at how beautiful these wild flowers are!It was a little too dark for Brian to take my picture outside with them- you can barely see me when I'm standing in the middle with the flowers. The kids would be lost, like a corn maze. Oh-- and I kept thinking I was finding one of the kids lost balls out there-- but they're gourds! The wild, from no where gourds, are bigger than the pumpkins that we planted on purpose! And they stretch for 50 feet in all directions! They're even growing up the stalks of the sunflowers! (that are FEET taller than me!!) And all of this is where our famous bulldozer used to live! I wonder if the farmer who reclaimed his long lost bulldozer used to grow gourds?!
Hey Martha--(a.k.a.- grower of all things)-- What the heck is this crazy looking flower??!!
So many varieties of sunflowers...
...and even a green flower (on the right side of photo). I've heard of green cats, but not green flowers!! (long story short- with Brian's colorblindness, he thought that cats were green-- I guess no one ever told him otherwise!!-- so we pick on him now and then!!)

The boys went to their new school today- didn't they look handsome.... I mean..... COOL!? I wasn't even allowed to be outside when BJ's bus came- Oh my god, MOM! When Grama Colleen asked BJ for some kisses this afternoon, BJ said, "the candy is in the kitchen!" and giggled!! NICE KID!
I waited with Collin , though... and so did Grama, and Eva, and Hooch, and Oreo...
...by the time the bus came, he was ready to escape! Of course, the bus driver said, "Collin, your Mom wants a picture!!"... hence... the FACE!

They both said they had a good day and met a lot of new friends. BJ doesn't have a girlfriend yet- but he's working on it! And it turns out that Collin's buddy (the only kid he knows in the school) is in his class- Logan Roberts. They've been friends for years, and probably will be together forever!

Bromley Mountain

Well- we usually go someplace a little more... ADVERTISED... on the last day of our trip, so this year we went to another park like last year. This one was in Vermont instead of Massachusetts, though- much smarter people!!! Eva enjoyed the alpine slide as usual- and so did the rest of the kids... except we had a three out of four crash rating... you'll NEVER guess who DIDN'T crash!!!!??? Poor Zack spent the whole trip bruised and cut and black eyed, and managed to escape the injuries here!!! Both BJ and Sammi flipped their sled, and Collin slid his elbows down the sides of the track. BJ and Sammi had to go to the first aid office! It was pretty tragic for a while- but nothing a good meal and Aunt Patti reading more of Harry Potter can't fix!

Moxie Falls

Another beautiful hike...
Mommy even carried the Eva backpack for a little while (holy crap- I thought I'd die when I got back to the top!!!)

Sparklers

Our last night usually has sparklers involved in the celebration- Eva was so tired, but loved the pretty sparkles.

Riding in the Van

Again- don't worry Grama- dirt roads... no one around for miles... except the wildlife! No one fell out either!

Huge Pine Tree

The kids put their hands together to see if they could wrap all the way around the tree- it was HUGE, Tom, HUGE!

The Ugly Stump

The kids got really sick of me asking them for pictures- except when I wanted them to climb on stuff!...


...and jump off of stuff!

Feeding the Deer

We were conned at the beginning of the stay- we lured these wild animals over to us...


...by the end of the trip we realized how tame the deer were. You could be eating at the picnic table and Winken and Blinken would come over and peek over your shoulder to see what was on your plate! We found out that they all had names and they've been hanging around the cabins for 18 years! --not including the past generations of Mamas before that! Winken is a doe that has horns- so weird! ...and she has triplets.

Deer

The triplets...
...and their Mama (yes, she has horns!)

Bow and Arrows

Who needs to bring toys- the boys will just whittle their own creations!! We have dubbed this year's trip as "the year of whittling"! The kids (and Dads) made all kinds of things- mostly weapons and manly things, of course!

Cold Stream Falls

AMAZING! Every year we go, and every year I still can't believe we are lucky enough to swim in a waterfall! The kids (and Eva and I) slid down the waterfall slide. She just loved it- as you can tell from the ear to ear grin! She just kept saying--" again Mommy, again!" Then, of course, Daddy's lap was the best resting spot. I'm not sure if you can tell by that last picture, that the water comes up to the middle of the car... that's the obstacle that we have to drive through to get to the falls-- not as bad this year, as it has been in the past. Don't worry Mom- we all pile in Aunt Patti and Uncle Dave's van to make this trip every year. (Uncle Dave's a little nuts!!) I don't know how many people actually go to the falls- it's kind of our own private swimmin' hole!

Cold Stream Pond

One of the Gates family's treasured spots... Cold Stream Pond. We had to pose for a group shot on the water's edge.

Mt. Kineo

WOW!
What a gorgeous view from the top- we never thought we'd get there though. It was about a three hour round trip- not just trails either- we CLIMBED! At the top is a fire tower (a look out for forest fires) that some of us climbed too. I'm not afraid of heights at all- and it was a little tough for me... I had to focus on the steps to get up and down. Of course, the kids seemed fearless!

Family Photos

These were before our hike up Mt. Kineo... we had to take a boat to the base of the mountain and then climb up.

Boat Ride

Eva liked the "bubbles" that followed the boat!
LOOK- I'm actually IN a photo!!