OUR SUMMER 2001 POSTCARD!!
We’ve been busy!
April started as a busy month! On the professional front, John passed the PMP exam at the start of April and is now a certified “Project Management Professional“!! Stick THAT in you curriculum vitae!! We headed out that same night in a Limo (after the boy’s checked it out!) to celebrate our buddy Joe’s 40th birthday at Boston’s Medieval Manor. We had a hoot of a time celebrating with our great group of friends!
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The following morning, empowered by the king and the royal feast, or perhaps fogged by the royal grog, John ran his first ever Orienteering event with the New England Orienteering Club at Brooksby Farm in Peabody. He didn’t win, but considered his first-ever results on the beginner’s “Yellow” course a personal victory!
Having been to visit the Grandpas at Christmas, we celebrated Easter at home for the first time in several years. We had a number of friends in for a traditional buffet with a dozen or so kids to scavenge the back yard for Easter eggs!
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Just after Easter, we celebrated Joshua’s 6th birthday at a “Jets” party in our backyard with a dozen or so junior pilots. We made and painted balsa planes, pinned the jet on the target, had flying contests and a tug-of-war, and mom made an awesome jet cake! Happy Birthday Joshua!
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Enhancing our family interest in hiking, we took a on the brand new sport of Geocaching this year! You can see a report of the buried treasures we’ve found and hidden on our new Geocaching Page! If you like techno-toys and hiking in the woods, this sport is a gas!
Grampa spent a weekend with us at the beginning of May. It was a busy one! We kept him busy working in our yard - even sent him off to purchase a flowering tree that we then planted as a surprise Mothers’ Day gift for Shawn! (See below!) It’s always a great time when Grampa visits!
That same weekend, John ran his second Orienteering race with the New England Orienteering Club at Horn Pond in Woburn. He ran an intermediate “Orange” course this time and was thrilled by the challenge and his almost competitive result! He’d go on to run his third event on a still more difficult “Green” course in early May at the Hale Reservation.
On May 7, Shawn’s company was sold by McGraw-Hill. She still has the same job - in fact she has some additional responsibilities - but there’s a new name on the top of her paychecks.
We celebrated Mother’s Day with Grams. We took a picture with our new “Mother’s Day Tree” that we’d planted with grandpa. This could become a tradition!!
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Later in May, John ran his first full length, full difficulty orienteering course, again with the NEOC, this time in Saugus’ Breakheart Reservation. Though his time on the “Red” course wasn’t all that competitive, he was excited that he was able to finish the course without getting lost!!
Near the end of May, we had the chance to climb Mount Major near the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. A beautiful day gave us a great hike and gorgeous views across the lake!
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| That same weekend, we also got to do some ice skating at the Skating Club of Boston with some folks from John’s office. We were treated to a pizza party, an exhibition by some great national champion Novice and Junior skaters, and some time on the ice to try out our own dance moves! |  |
On May 23, Joshua lost his first tooth!
Grampa did another world tour with the Young at Heart Chorus this summer. This time, the first stop was Bergen, Norway for the “Bergen International Festival” where they met the King, the Queen, and the US Ambassador. The Northampton newspaper reported that “tickets for the chorus’ four nights of performance, in a 400-seat theater, sold out in seven hours.” Grampa’s funny hat even landed him in the Bergen newspaper! From there, it was on to Montreal, and Cape Cod.
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Just before Memorial Day, Joshua graduated from the Puddle Duck Kindergarten class. Grampa was able to be there with us for the festive event! Joshua’s class put on a graduation show where Joshua spoke about the Olympics in Australia and read from a book he had written about his place in the universe. Next year, when he goes on to first grade, he’ll miss all his good friends at the Duck!
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We had TWO Memorial Day weekends! Shawn and Jacob went to Florida to help surprise Papa on his his 70th birthday! Shawn’s brother Scott flew in as well and together they floored their dad! In addition to the big surprise bash, they helped Papa and Grammy Susan get ready to move to a new house on June 1! Jacob had fun helping with the tag sale, chasing lizards, and keeping the deck swept clean.
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Left behind in North Reading, Joshua and John had all kinds of fun! They took in the Red Sox game on Saturday followed by a trip to see the street performers festival at Quincy Market. On Sunday, they watched the Indy 500 and went to a big cookout and on Monday, they marched in the town parade with the Cub Scouts and then canoed to an island picnic on a local pond! By Tuesday, the whole family was burnt out!
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On June 2, John ran his first ever official road race in the Wakefield/Reading YMCA World’s Largest Race 5k. He’d set a goal of finishing under 25 minutes and beat that with a result of 24:13 in the pouring rain!! |
On June 10, we set off on a hot air balloon adventure that had been planned in honor of Shawn’s 40th birthday but postponed from last fall due to weather. This time, the weather was perfect! And despite having to leave home at 3:20 AM to prepare for the sunrise meeting, we had a grand time! We were joined by our good friends Toni & Joe, Cyndi & Charlie, and Nancy and Kjartan. We floated over the woods and farms of central Massachusetts under the expert care of Dick Varney and his crew from Aerial Adventures. We then settled down into the field of a horse farm where we shared a champagne toast and celebrated our flight! What an experience!
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Grampa made another visit on his return from Montreal, where he once again starred as Carol, and this time he got to sit by the pool and play with the boys.
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On June 16 we set out to bag our first family four-thousand footer. Unfortunately, two miles from home Jacob’s fruit loops reappeared so he was sent home to battle the flu with mom by his side. Joshua and Dad continued on to their rendezvous with Nancy and Kjartan for the black fly infested ascent of Mount Osceola. Despite the buffalo gnats’ attempts to carry us off, we conquered the summit, enjoyed a post hike swim at Russell Pond, and had a nice dinner in Concord on the return trip. Joshua’s got one down and 47 to go!
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Late in June, Jacob and Joshua got to go on an overnight camping trip with the Cub Scout pack. The did well keeping up with the older boys and helping dad with all the camping gear! Joshua is looking forward to joining the cubs in the fall! Shawn’s Uncle Cleon and Aunt Ellie spent that weekend with us. While dad and the boys were heading out for camping, Shawn and Grams and Cleon and Ellie made the trip down to Foxwoods for a day of gaming with Shawn’s pall Toni and her mom and aunt as well! On Saturday, we took in Red Sox loss at Fenway, and got to do some touring around Boston! It’s always fun to have relatives visit!
We began our 4th of July by participating in the towns athletic events. Jacob ran in the relay races while Joshua placed third in both the Long Jump and the 50 Meter Dash. John ran the 5k race, finishing the hilly course in a satisfying 24:48. Our beach plans were scrubbed by a forecast of clouds and rain so we had Noah & Dylan (and their mom) over to our place for some backyard fun on the slip ‘n slide. We caught the local fireworks at the Ipswich River Park on both the 3rd and the 4th - thoroughly exhausting the boys.
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Over a couple of weekends at the end of June and into July, John used his square-challenged carpentry skills to erect a treehouse for the boys in the woods behind our house. We had a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception and the “Intorcio Treehouse” is now open for use! The boys are having fun decorating and climbing all over it and we’re taking bets on how long it takes for them to climb onto and/or fall off the roof! They’re already planning the addition!
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In Mid July, accompanied by Shawn’s niece Sarah from North Carolina, we took off to Perkins Pond in the Sunapee Lake region of New Hampshire. We swam, we played, we barbecued. We hiked to the summit of Mt. Sunapee where we planted the Mt. Sunapee Geocache. We ate out, we exercised, we drank beer, we sat on the dock. One night, Sarah even baby-sat so Shawn and John got a night out on their own at the Anchorage! All in all, we had a fun relaxing week and we’re ready for another vacation!
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We held our annual Summer Bash at the end of July. We had perfect weather and a great crowd - kids everywhere! We barbecued chicken and ribs and dogs and burgers and… It was great spending time with all of our friends and neighbors! The following morning, despite being a bit depleted from the party, John led the service at our church. He had fun taking the challenge of leading the worship and giving a children’s lesson and sermon!
We’ve got more summer plans for the month of August but this postcard is getting full so we’ll get it in the mail and include our late summer activities in the Christmas postcard! So… Enjoy the dog days of August, drop by our place if you’re in the neighborhood or drop us an EMail if you’re not, and have a fantastic Autumn!
