July 31, 2010

A Densley girl in for the weekend

On what happens to be our last weekend in Baltimore before the BIG MOVE on August 21 Julia, a friend and roommate from college, came to visit.  We were successful in luring another roommate from college, Tish, and her family to come up from DC for some quality Baltimore time.  After picking up Julia at the airport (after she had a CRAZY flight) we went straight to the Inner Harbor to meet Tish and her 5 week old baby, O'Connor, for breakfast and a little walking around.  We missed all the other Densley girls!
Do you think Julia was having fun at breakfast amidst all the baby breastfeeding action???
On Sunday we went to DC to meet up with one of Julia's friends from grad school. The weather was great for most of the time - especially while we enjoyed a stroll around many of the monuments.  While Julia and her friends went to see the Lincoln Memorial, Scott snapped a photo of me and Henry:
Right before Julia left we went out for some wonderful Lebanese food - even Henry enjoyed some ;)

Melanie comes to town

The day after I returned from Oregon my best friend from high school, Melanie Rodman, came to visit for a few days. We enjoyed our old favorite - Rice Krispie treats
Had fun reunion-ing with Melanie's good friends from college, Lily (and her two sons the oldest of whom is in the photo) and Beth
And of course had a great time with Henry - Melanie is GREAT with kids!

July 20, 2010

Two weeks in Talent, Oregon

While Scott travels in Bangladesh for 2.5 weeks I am in Talent, Oregon (5 miles from Ashland, OR) staying at my Aunt and Grandma's house.  My sister and her daughter Kaylin joined us for the 2nd week and on the overlapping weekend other family members drove up from Chico, CA.  We had everyone from my mom's side of the family, except for my brother Joe, in town. Henry had a lot of fun meeting everyone! 
Great Grandma, Nana
Aunt Nancy with her granddaughter, my first cousin once removed, Emma:
Cousin Aaron and his daughter Bess:
Of course Henry likes being sung to by Emma, Nancy, and the dogs:
At one point Nana played a ~scrabble game with a Henry theme that ended up being a great photo op:
One day we visited the Rogue Creamery and a fancy chocolate shop:
As an added bonus, we also got to celebrate my cousin May's 30'th birthday which included a home-made pinata and a trip to Lithia Park:
Unfortunately, Sarah's husband / Kaylin's father could not come on the trip because he had to work.  Some mornings he would make a video on his iphone and send it to Kaylin.  She would giggle so much watching them; I snagged a photo one morning:
.More photos to come later....

July 14, 2010

4th of July in Greensboro, Vermont



The annual Merrill family reunion in Greensboro, Vermont over July 4th was fantastic as usual. Henry had a great time meeting his great grandparents, uncles, cousins, and so many other family members related through the widely branched Merrill family tree. Days consisted of walking to visit with family, exploring Greensboro, eating lunches and dinners with 4 generations of Merrills, and relaxing afternoons by the lake.







Scott and I enjoyed sunsets and lazy mornings on the dock at the A frame cabin built right on the lake shore by Scott's dad, brother and father so many years ago.






















The Metcalf's - cousin Leigh and her daughters Abbey and Maddie:
 Cousin Dierdre
 Scott's brother, Grant:

 Henry's great grandma, Mary:

 Four generations of Merrill men:
Playing by / in the lake:


Of course the highlight of the week was the annual 4th of July parade full of antique cars, huge tractors, and unique "performances" by a local group called Bread and Puppet. Perhaps the photos will entice you to come next year!

Packing inefficiently on our first road trip with a baby challenged Scott's car packing abilities and made it hard for me to find the baby...
Counting down the days until July 4th 2011!