The Official "Best Picture of the Summer" - 2010

This says it all. Fun-loving Stella. Adoring Marni.

Or, check out last summer's photo.

My New School Girl

Our little Marni has at long last made it into the public school system (or Free-K as our wallet lovingly calls it).

Two years ago Marni was a guest Pre-K attendee as older sister Stella entered Ms. Cassen's class. Throughout the year Marni got first-hand experience of how fun Pre-K can be.

Last year we looked longingly at the Pre-K class as Stella moved up to Kindergarten and Marni entered her final year of daycare.

Over the summer we received a call from Ms. Cassens informing us that Marni would be following in her big sister's footsteps with her big sister's Pre-K teacher.

Marni's first day of Pre-K was 1-hour long and Lisa stayed with her the entire time. Day 2 was a half-day and Lisa and I both took her. Marni got a little teary when it got time for us to leave, but a kooky dance at the "goodbye window" left her with a smile.

Day 3 was Marni's first full day. After dropping off Stella at 1st grade (smiling), I hung out with Marni for 20 minutes in Pre-K. There were no tears when I left. Just smiles from the "goodbye window".

And so the moment we have all been thinking about for the past two years is finally upon us. Marni is in the public school system, in the same school as Stella. Single drop-off. No tuition!

Now Ms. Cassens will see exactly how different two sisters can be.

The Cottage's Last Days

We made a rare September journey back to Maine this year in order to prepare The Cottage to meet its maker.

Stuff was taken to the dump. Stuff was dragged out to the garage. Stuff was donated. And, when it was all over, all that remained in the cottage were the two old rocking chairs from the porch and an air mattress. And Nana and Papa Shepard.

The girls did a great job amusing themselves as we did our work. They made a slide out of old mattresses in the front yard. They took a hair-raising terror ride in the back of cousin Linda's pickup truck. And they got to meet a 1700 pound moose made out of real chocolate.

Best of all, we got one more beautiful day at the beach on Saturday. Castles were built. Holes were dug. Sand was thrown. And Stella even found her one millionth sand dollar of the season.

That was the last time either girl will see the The Cottage (soon to be called The Old Cottage). I tried to drum that into their heads a gazillion times, but they just can't understand the concept.

Maybe we will visit The New Cottage under construction in November. If not, we'll see our new summer home in May. Stella and Marni will pick out their room and, hopefully, this is where their children and grandchildren will make their summer memories.

First Grader

Last Wednesday we officially added a first grader to our family. No, I don't mean we adopted a child from Bolivia. I'm talking about Stella!

All signs were good as she bounded out of bed in the morning and excitedly rushed around to get ready. Things remained good as we walked down the street and she happily told anyone who would listen that she was heading to first grade. Things fell to pieces as she caught sight of the building.

"I don't want to go to school!"

Tears.

Meltdown continued as daddy happily met up with his long lost school chums (parents and kids). Having new teacher Ms. Strickler come over didn't help much either. Nor did friends Sasha and Elle who came over to help.

Eventually Stella cried it all out and Ms. Strickler came over and took her hand. Stella almost cracked a smile as she was led away to day 1 of first grade.

Later that morning Stella's pre-k assistant teacher (Ms. Henry) bumped into Lisa who was attending a pre pre-k meeting for Marni at the school. Ms. Henry offered to go check on Stella. When she returned, the report was good. Stella was happily in music class and gave Ms. Henry a big smile when she saw her.

And after class, Stella gave her first day at first grade two thumbs up!

(PS... day 2 of first grade, no tears!)

That's A Wrap

As I sit here in the air-conditioned, sand-free comfort of my Brooklyn lair, it's time to reminisce about the fantastic month of August.

Mother Nature made up for any practical jokes from last summer by providing us with an exceptional summer this year. Over the span of five weeks we only had three or four rain days. Luckily, the supply of summer kid-movies lasted just as long as the rainy days (Despicable Me, Toy Story 3, Cats & Dogs). Only Cats & Dogs was a dog.

This year's list of visitors is impressive:

• The Imhoff/Stefanoff clan
• Nana and Papa Shepard
• Nana and Papa Hoffman
• Aunt Carol and Uncle Norman
• Aunt Toots
• Brian, Jill, Tyler and Delia Hoffman
• Marcy and Hannah Leiman
• Martin, Jennifer, Andrew and Julia Weaver
• Laurie Shayler and Ricardo Leon (aka Sin La Ropa Interior)

And, just to spice things up, we introduced some brand-new destinations and activities:

• Portland Head Light
• Booth Bay Harbor
• The Maine Lobster Festival
• Candlepin bowling at VacationLand
• Whale watching (sans whales)
• Cliff Walk at Prouts Neck

Some memorable moments:

• Stella and Marni can now (with supervision) cross the street and visit Cousin Beverly at will. And they did!
• The girls bonded with Cousins Janet and Julie
• Stella developed a crush on Cousin Nick. So much so that one night they bid him ado by waving their underwear at him from the porch as he headed home.
• Marni singing the Enrique Iglesias song, "Baby I Like It" with her own special lyrics... "Baby I farted".
• The girls declaring that they are Shepards after I explained that Shepards do not wear shoes to the beach.
• The annual "Run into the water and play in the sand in your clothes at dusk when Tyler and Delia arrive" festival.
• Terrified parents letting their kids play with sparklers for the first time.

As always, hats off to Lisa who ran this crazy Bed & Breakfast. It's a tough job running a popular beach destination for 5 weeks with no time off.

In a couple days we head back up to Old Orchard to move out the remaining furniture. Later in the month The Cottage gets knocked down to make room for a brand new, improved, winterized cottage. So many memories. So much history. Hopefully the girls will remember the old cottage. The new cottage is theirs to start all new family traditions and memories with their children and grandchildren.

And now, what better way to wrap it all up, with a collection of photos and videos from the summer of 2010:

(This post contains video that can only be viewed from the website.)