Many Changes ---

Since last posting Eliza has joined Ella Grace at the Regional Multi-Cultural Magnet School and has been loving it. It's Eliza's first year there and Ella Grace's last. Ella is enjoying being in the senior class and has taken Eliza under her wing so that Eliza has quickly befriended many of the teachers that Ella has come to know.

Ella spent a week at Nature's Classroom which she enjoyed. She camped out for a week in Iverton, CT, learning about nature and conservation.

Daddy has started a new job, he got a promotion within the company. It has been a long and stressful first comfortable months there but things are coming along slowly but surely.

Mommy has been auxiliary pioneering for the last two months and has been greatly enjoying it. She has had great participation in the current campaign and has been putting in more hours per month than is required.

The family has been spending a lot of time with cousins Emily and Dillon and invited them to come along to the Special Assembly Day last weekend. Though it was only a one day assembly, we left Friday day to enjoy Saturday and Sunday up in Natick, MA, using the swimming pool and relaxing in general.

Vacation at Poland Spring Resort ---

We spent a week at the beginning of the month relaxing and doing as little as possible aside from having fun, thanks to Daddy Poppie and Naughny. Poland Spring of Maine was the perfect place to do so. The Resort was built by the founder of the Poland Spring bottling company, Hiram Riccar, as people used to travel far and wide to come to Poland Spring to buy the water there. There's a lot of history at the Resort, which we enjoyed learning about.

There was a lot of overcast weather while we were there but that didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves. The girls got at least one day of sun in the pool which they enjoyed. Even when it rained, however, it was still nice to just be able to sit back and not worry about anything. There were game rooms, arts and crafts, and a variety of entertainment to be enjoyed. The all-you-can-eat buffets for breakfast and dinner were also wonderful.

Ella Grace and Eliza took to the place and we received a lot of complements on what good children they are! Daddy enjoyed teaching Ella how to play pool, she picked it up quickly. In the "cottage" we stayed in (it was more like a house, to be honest) we found a small library of old books, including a couple printed by the Society back in the 50's and 60's. We also found an older version of the Gideon Bible that still retained Jehovah's name in it's proper place.

The congregation in Poland Spring is very nice and friendly, and Daddy Poppie enjoyed telling the family how much they had seen the congregation grow in the last 13 years they've been visiting. In that time they watched the Kingdom Hall need to be replaced by a larger one that still looks brand new after almost 10 years. We received several invitations to visit with our brothers and sisters the next time we visit, as well as a couple of jars of preserves prepared by one of the local brothers.

Eliza found a giant mushroom she enjoyed looking at every day until it was mowed down close to the end of our visit. Ella Grace enjoyed being able to play board games with the family every night. Daddy bought a book on the history of Poland Spring and enjoyed not have to think about work for a whole week, but was ready to get back to it by the end of the week, a vacation of perfect length.

On the way home we stopped at a local amusement park right on the coast. Ella Grace spent almost all day on the log flume ride, Eliza loved the kiddie rides (the log ride not so much), and Mommy and Daddy had a lot of fun being able to act like kids for a day!

Pictures are here.

A Month of History ---

Ella Grace, Eliza, and Daddy got to dress up for a gathering for the children at the Johnson's. Mommy spent a lot of time putting together their costumes which was greatly appreciated. Ella Grace represented King Solomon, Eliza played Pharaoh's daughter (the one who saved baby Moses), and Daddy was young Timothy. A great time was had by all.

Pictures here.





Ella Grace and Daddy got to spend a day together at Plimoth Plantation where they learned a lot. There are no real exhibits at the museum, the characters simply go about their lives as though it were the 16th Century and will answer questions if asked.

Daddy chaperoned for five students, including Ella Grace, all of whom enjoyed learning about the time and feeding the goats. Daddy and Ella found Bible's in all of the homes among the settlers and where even able to find Jehovah's name in one, spelled Iehouah, at Psalms 83: 18. We also learned that among the Wampanoug people there was no specific age when a child became and adult, nor did they specifically give their children chores to do. The children chose which chores to take on so as to enjoy the rewards of their work. When a boy had taken on enough responsibilities he was then considered to be a man, regardless of how young or old he was.

Pictures here.

This last weekend we enjoyed Uncle Bob and Aunt Delorma's 50th Wedding Anniversary. We took a weekend trip to Brattleboro, VT and Richmond, NH. In Brattleboro we stayed at a motel where the kids enjoyed playing in the pool and went to the Kingdom Hall where our friends Maureen and Kyle attend, though we saw neither as they were out of town that day. We had a great time with the friends anyways, and Ella Grace made a new friend.

After the meeting we headed over to Richmond for the anniversary and had a great time with the family. It was nice to catch up with family we had not seen in awhile, and to get some of our family history. We particularly liked one gift given, a copy of the New York Times that was printed the day of Uncle Bob and Aunt Delorma's wedding.

Pictures here.