Penguins!

Every since seeing the movie Happy Feet, the girls have been acting and dancing like penguins. Mackenzie was especially fascinated by them. So after going to the library and getting books about penguins we decided the next thing to do was to go visit some real penguins at the New England Aquarium in Boston. I convinced Dom to take a day off from work (It is school vacation week) and we invited our good friends the Beikmans to join us. Unfortunately Tom couldn't get the day off from work but Annie and Audrey joined us. We had a great time and learned lots of stuff too!

Just outside the aquarium is a huge tank with Harbor seals and we arrived just at feeding time, so the seals were very active. Several kept swimming right in front of us upside down! We later learned they do that so that they can see whats underneath them. We also saw a interesting presentation on starfish. Did you know that starfish can actually throw up their stomachs to eat something and then swallow them again? Or that not only can they grow back an arm if they lose one but they can grow back an eye too?? Very cool! Then there was of course the penguins which were a big hit. Some of the penguins were very noisy and one kinda sounded like a donkey! There were rockhopper penguins like Lovelace, if you've seen the movie he's the one that has the funny feathers sticking out of his head. An several other kinds of penguins. The touch tank was a big hit too. The girls got to pick up starfish, sea urchins and snails. It was lots of fun!

Riders on the Storm

So it has been a crazy couple of days here. It was very much like the Mother's day floods of last year but I think it was actually worse. It started out with about 3-4 inches of snow on Sunday and then during the night turned to torrential downpours which turned into major flooding. Our road is washed out in both directions though with four wheel drive it is passable. Dom had gone out with the Focus yesterday morning and couldn't drive it back home because the roads were that bad. They had school yesterday, but I kept Becca home because the road was bad in the morning and I knew it was only going to get worse. They ended up closing school early and today there is no school. The National Guard was called in too. Many, many roads and bridges are closed in Farmington as well as all over the state. These pictures are the road in front of the house.

We did lose electricity for a short time. Our phone was out for several hours too, as well as cable and internet, so for a short time we felt a bit isolated. No cellpone reception out here either.

The snow did cause the water to back up in front of the garage and begin to leak inside but once we cleared the snow out of the way the water was able to drain.

Easter & stuff

The Easter bunny was very generous this year and the girls enjoyed hunting for eggs and candy. The Easter bunny hid everything inside because outside it was reaally chilly! After having our easter fun at home we headed to Gloucester to have dinner with Dom's folks. The girls hunted for more goodies and got big baskets with lots of goodies and new clothes. It was lots of fun. This weekend we will head to Grammy and Grampy's for more Easter fun!

In other news we have begun some home improvements. We are finally finishing the room behind the garage. I never know what to call this room. We tend to refer to it as a basement but it isn't below ground. Our house is a t-ranch with an upstairs and a garage underneath. Behind the garage is a room that we never finished. Once it is officially finished it will be a family room. We intend to do most of the work ourselves and we are off to a good start. Dom has framed in a room for the furnace/water heater and also a place for a closet and 1/2 bath. We also decided to put down some dri-core on the floor as added insulation rather than just lying carpet over the cement. The next phase will be electrical and heat.

On the top you can see where the furnace will have it's own little room. That little corner with the window will be my little craft nook when the girls decide they don't want to share a room anymore and I get kicked out of the extra bedroom. In the bottom picture the closet will be where that chair is. To the left of that will be a little bathroom. It will be a cozy room when it is done. The girls are having a blast right now with it just being a big open space. Especially since we got more snow yesterday!

Thanks

Thanks to all of you who made a case for the best place to live in the comments section of the previous post. We are really feeling the love but have no plans to move. We have everything we love here- mountains,ocean, lakes,rivers and the change of the seasons. We'll have to be content with visiting!

Also a big thanks to Aunts and Uncles who sent Easter goodies to the kids everything was a huge hit!

April showers bring....

SNOW BUNNIES!

April snow showers that is. Yes we woke up to 10 inches of snow this morning. School was cancelled and we made the best of it by making a big snow bunny. Isn't it cute?