first day of second grade

irene

So...the hurricane.  Who would have thought that we'd have to worry about hurricanes when we moved to Vermont (it may not be that unusual...I really have no idea).  Technically, Irene was a tropical storm by the time it hit Vermont on Sunday.  The actual storm, at least what hit us, wasn't so bad.  It basically rained fairly hard for about 24 hours, and it was a little windy.  We didn't even lose power (we've lost power every other storm we've had).  On the news they were encouraging everyone to get to higher ground if they needed to and stay indoors.  And church was cancelled...that seemed weird because it didn't seem to be that bad of a storm.  In fact it was a pleasant, lazy day.  We stayed in our pajamas most of the day, and made pizza and root beer floats for dinner.  It wasn't until later that night that we started hearing about all the flooding, and people with out power.

It was incredible to see how high the Winooski river (the main river in the area) was the next morning.   The berry field down the road from us was completely underwater.  Driving around town was tricky because of road closures, and all the people stopping to take pictures of the river.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures...so if your interested in pictures I'm going to direct you to my friend Sara's blog,
or my friend Erin's blog.

Southern Vermont was hit the worst.  If you've seen pictures on the news...that's what your seeing.   This video of the 140 year old covered bridge being swept away makes my heart hurt...and also helps me realize how fortunate we were.  There's nothing like a little tropical storm to help you appreciate mother nature. We hope that the people in the communities in Southern Vermont are safe and able to recover quickly. 

And on a funny, related note...the girls have been trying to figure out why they named the hurricane after their cool aunt Irene.  

question: what is the best way to spend hot, muggy summer afternoon?

 

answer:  cooling off in Lake Champlain.

 

  ...especially if you're with friends...

...and extra especially if you've got friends with an sweet inner tube and a boat to pull it with... 

 some day I will learn to sail.

 

So, I haven't visited every lake in the world, exactly...but I have a hard time imagining there is a lake more beautiful than Lake Champlain.   (Please feel free to come check it out yourself if you don't believe me).

question: what is the best place to spend a random summer afternoon?

Answer:  probably Stowe, Vermont.

i'm lucky...

...to have spent the last 10 years enjoying life's adventures with my best friend. 

nous devrions faire une tarte aux fraises...

 

...et voila! 

Montreal

Not too long after we arrived in Vermont we headed up to Canada for a quick weekend visit to Montreal. We loved it. It was especially fun because my parents were there too.