portsmouth island

One of the things we were most excited about doing during our visit was taking a visit to Portsmouth Island. It's a deserted island (the last residents left in the early 1970s) with a preserved tiny village and beaches said to be just littered with great shells. And today was the day we got to visit! Spirits were high as we got ready to leave. There were about 10 other people on our boat, which seemed like a good number. The captain was great; the day was windy and just a little cloudy. Things were great.

Then we made our big mistake.


We had the option of being dropped off at the village, touring the buildings, then walking 3.5 miles to the beach ... or just being dropped off at the beach. The beach was the first stop, and two very smart women got off there, while the rest of us opted to head to the village first. What a nightmare! We had been warned ahead of time to bring plenty of sunblock and bug spray, along with drinking water since there was none on the island. We were told there would be mosquitoes. What we failed to grasp, though, was that there would be incredible SWARMS of mosquitoes covering every inch of us. I can't even express what a horror show it turned out to be. We went through two full bottles of bug spray in about 20 minutes, and it didn't deter them in the least. We got nets (full body nets for Max and Liam, a head covering for me); the bugs got inside the nets. They were inescapable. We hurried through the village, barely stopping to look at anything, all of us whimpering (okay, Mike didn't whimper) and miserable.

After about half an hour or so, the grassy path opened up to tidal flats, and the wind picked up, which drove the bugs away, but the damage was done. We were all covered in bug bites. Then the path that we were supposed to follow was flooded, only we didn't realize it was even the path (because it was under water!) so we set off across the tidal flats, only to realize after trudging along for a good hour that everyone else was going in a different direction. So we recalculated (just like the GPS lady says to do!), which meant we had to fight our way back through a bunch of brushy areas, which meant ... you guessed it ... more bugs. Did I mention that the only bathroom on the island was back at the village? Yeah, it was about how you'd think. Eventually, we got to the beach ... only we were on the wrong side of the island. So we had to walk some more. A lot more. When the boat dropped us off at the village, the captain reminded us that he would pick us up in four hours at a designated spot on the beach, which would give us plenty of time to get there/swim/look for shells/whatever. As it turned out, we got to the designated spot with only 15 minutes left until the boat came back. We had been hiking in the heat and sun, through mosquito swarms, over tidal flats and brush-filled dunes, and along the seashore for three hours and 45 minutes. When we finally made it to the pickup point, we all basically collapsed in the sand and waited to be rescued.

On the plus side, there were a LOT of good shells. And on the way back, the captain went by a tiny island that is a pelican habitat, and it was really neat. Too bad we were too tired to appreciate it.

animals of ocracoke

By Max

Hi, it's Max. I am on Ocracoke Island. It is pretty cool. The animals are especially cool. Here is a list of what we've seen so far.

1. Ponies: We were at the beach having a lot of fun. Then we saw that there were wild ponies in a pen across the highway. Henry tried to run into the highway. He got in big trouble, he got spanked, and he did not get to go see the ponies [Henry: And THAT'S why I'm still mad. I told you I will never stop being mad!] So me and Liam got to see the ponies. First we went on a platform to see all the ponies. Then we got to pet the ponies and feed them some hay. Mom took some pictures. They turned out cool.

2. Crab: This morning we went to the beach to watch the sun rise. It was Mom, Liam, and me. We came down the stairs of the boardwalk, and we saw something moving. It was a ghost crab! It was really cool.

3. Seagull: We've seen a ton of seagulls. On the ferry, there was guy who was feeding the seagulls potato chips. The seagulls flew into the water and dived down to get the chips. It was not a good idea for that guy to feed the seagulls. Then today at the beach there was a seagull that was flying around us in circles. It was pretty close to us! Luckily, it did not poop on us.

4. Snake: After dinner tonight, we went to a nature trail. We were on the nature trail, which was pretty cool, then Mom and Dad saw a big snake! Then we went up a couple of dunes. On the walk back I saw the same giant snake going across the path. The kind of snake is called a cottonmouth. They are poisonous [Mike: They are VERY poisonous.] Mom got a picture of its tail but it was really big.

top three places to eat in ocracoke (so far)

By Liam

Hey, everybody, It's me, your favorite poster, Liam! I know you're wondering what this is about, and here it is: I wanted to tell you the best places to eat (I ordered it by the top three).

1. Eduardo's Tacos: I loved the shrimp taco. It had shrimp (of course!), double shell, mango salsa, mangoes, and green mole sauce.

2. Howard's Pub: The clam strips were very good, and so were the scallops. Henry got his dinner on a frisbee, then he kept dropping it on the floor. He also fell off his chair.

3. Candyland: They had waffle cone bowls that we filled up with ice cream, then we went to the condiment stand and got a bunch of condiments. I didn't eat all the ice cream because I didn't like the condiments, but I ate most of the waffle cone.


 Sorry Ocracoke Coffee Shop, you would've been in third if mom bought me some coffee.

on the road again

Hello from beautiful Ocracoke Island, North Carolina! Mike and I have been planning and scheming for a while to plan this vacation, and we're finally here. Well, it probably doesn't seem so much like "finally" to the boys, since we didn't tell them we were going on vacation at all. We dropped them all off at school/daycare on Friday, then rushed back home so I could work a half-day and Mike could take the dog to the kennel, pack everything (well, everything I hadn't already stealth packed), and load up the van. Just before noon, we picked Henry up from daycare, then signed Liam and Max out of school. We told them we were going on vacation, told them where we were going, and they reacted with ... blank looks. Really. It was like they just couldn't process what was going on. Five minutes later, on the way out of town, I asked Henry if he knew what was happening, and he said no. I told him we were going on vacation, and at last got a suitable response: "VACATION? THAT'S AWESOME! BUT WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST SAY SO???" That kid.

Anyway, it's been a long two days of driving. The first night we got to our hotel in Lewisburg, West Virginia, right before midnight. And yesterday we thought we would get to Ocracoke before dinner, but it was pushing 8 pm by the time we crossed Virginia and North Carolina, hit the ocean, drove all the way down the Outer Banks, hopped a ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke, then drove down the length of the island and found our cottage. Happily for us, the cottage owners left the keys for us since we got here after hours. We took a short walk, got some dinner, unloaded the van, and everyone crashed out. This morning Henry and I ventured out to Ocracoke Coffee Company, which was packed but funky and friendly. And now we're off to unload our bikes and take a ride and check things out.

As part of an ongoing attempt to entertain the boys on our misguidedly long car trips, this time I busted out a camera and handed it over to them. The results were mixed: a lot of shots that highlighted dirty windows with blurry scenery behind, but also some really neat things that caught their eyes. Check it out.

go fly a kite

It was almost bedtime last night, and the boys and I were in the living room hanging out when we heard a voice from the back of the house call out a hello. The boys raced back to my office to find ... Uncle J. Oh, the excitement! The jumping and barking and screaming with joy! The dog was pretty excited, too.

But wait, it gets better. As if a surprise visit from their hero wasn't enough, J brought them kites! So off we went to the big field behind the school to try them out, lack of wind and impending bedtime be damned. They got a couple of good flights, too, along with a LOT of running around. There were collisions, tangled strings, and frustrated exclamations, but the boys don't even remember them today. Go ahead, ask them about their night. But you might want to protect your ears first from the piercing shrieks of UNCLE J TOOK US TO FLY KITES AND IT WAS SO AWESOME AND WE JUST LOVE HIM SO MUCH. Seriously, don't say I didn't warn you.

model weekend

We had a pretty great weekend, the best one we've had in a long time. What made it so wonderful, you ask? (I know you are dying to know!) Nothing special, really. We didn't go out of town or do anything totally out of the ordinary, just had a good weekend hanging out with the boys, and the boys had a good weekend hanging out with each other without fighting too much (a factor that cannot be overestimated). On Saturday, we split up to run errands and get school supplies (yes, already!) and groceries. Liam and Henry went with me, and when we got home, we found Mike and Max working on bike riding, a skill Max has been just on the cusp of mastering for a very long time. And right then, it clicked for him. He was positively beaming as he figured out that he could do it on his own, and it was really something to see. And luckily, through the magic of the iPhone and about an hour spent trying to figure out how to get the video from phone to computer to upload it, you can!

Sunday morning, Max wanted to take his newfound skills on the road, so we all five rode out for a leisurely spin through the cemetery (which is big and has lots of paved paths). Then we came back home and hung out while Henry napped. Bethany and Klaudia came over and brought us carrots, potatoes, onions, squash, zucchini, and peppers from their garden (so awesome!), and after they left, we headed out to the dog park so Charlie could work on his social skills and Mike and the older boys could work on their frisbee throwing. After a while, Henry and I got bored and decided to take Charlie for a little walk on the Greenway trail, so we headed down and went over a couple of bridges and took Charlie down to the riverbank, where we discovered that although he won't take a drink from the doggie water fountain at the park, he'll wade right in to slurp up some river water.

Back at home, Mike made us a most excellent dinner (grilled tuna steaks, spicy pasta salad, and grilled asparagus and zucchini) and everyone was full and happy. And then the boys went to bed with nary a complaint, leaving us plenty of time to spend an evening just being together. Seriously, it's just the kind of weekend I could get used to -- and I hope I have a chance to!

pool party!

A great time was had by all (look at little Elly throwing diving rings for the big kids!) plus it was an excellent opportunity for me to test the capabilities of my zoom lens.

more from michigan

We did go to the beach, but I didn't take my camera. Also, it was chilly and windy and there was a storm coming in, so we didn't stay too awfully long. But there were still plenty of good times for the weekend, including a visit to a giant wooden playground, a stop for coffee that turned into a trip to a meat market for some homemade sausage and spicy mustard, lunch at a fancy tavern, pizza for dinner, and a birthday breakfast for Liam from the Swedish bakery. But the real highlight was our visit to Fernwood Botanical Garden, where we tromped around through the woods, visited a railway garden without having Henry cause a major catastrophe, navigated a plant maze, sampled from the herb garden, and got up close and personal with a bunch of turtles. Check it out:

liam at nine

We've started an unfortunate (for our pocketbooks!) trend this year of going away for birthday weekends. Liam's birthday fell on a Sunday this year, so we decided to celebrate by spending the weekend at Barb and Kevin's cottage in Michigan (hospitality for which we and our pocketbooks are profoundly grateful). We took the dog (his first trip with us) and we had a great time exploring the area and just hanging out together. We came back Sunday afternoon, which was a workday for Mike (inconvenient holiday schedule!) but the boys and I went to Hacienda for his birthday dinner and were joined by my parents, J, Loni, Bethany, Joe, and Klaudia. It was quite a meal to top off a pretty incredible weekend.

Our Liam is kind of at a tough age. He's old enough that I can trust him to be pretty responsible, but still young enough that he constantly ignores his responsibilities in favor of whatever fun thing is more appealing. He's old enough to ride his bike alone (within set boundaries), but still young enough that he doesn't always come home when he says he will. Yes, I know, these things will get worse as he gets older, but I'm hoping there is a sweet spot in there somewhere -- kind of the calm before the storm of the teenage years.

Right now, Liam is a blur of activity. He's spent his summer playing basketball, baseball, and tennis, and swimming. He got a new bike from us for his birthday, and has been tearing around the neighborhood. He has so much energy, and hardly sits still, though for the past couple of weeks has been spending his afternoons totally engrossed in reading. 

Liam's the elder statesman at home, and when school starts, he'll be in the highest grade (fourth) at the elementary school (next year, he moves up to intermediate school). Sometimes he tries to set a good example, but (and I totally get this) it's just so *hard* to be good all of the time. That part has been a real challenge for Liam (and his brothers!) lately because he wants to be good, but fighting and running and arguing are just too tempting.

For the third year running, we had a party at the local pool for Liam's birthday. This year, a whole bunch of kids came, and everyone (except for the kid who mysteriously got a bloody nose) was perfectly happy splashing and swimming and diving and horsing around. I am pretty sure that Liam's face hurt by the end of the party from all the smiling he was doing. And that, my friends, is what it's all about.

Happy birthday, Liam! We love you ... and we hope that you spend every birthday from here on out smiling until your cheeks are sore.