Family Mellmann

We have a long-standing family tradition that when Papa travels, it snows.  This tradition dates back to when Patrick was a baby, and we have continued it pretty much every year ever since. We are honoring that tradition today with a snow day, including a school cancellation. There are two significant differences between when we began this tradition and now: now we have a snow blower, AND children who can help!!   Snow continued falling throughout the day so we took a second run with the snow blower before calling it a night.  We'll see what tomorrow brings; perhaps another snow day.

  No school today...so I put Patrick to work.

Sunset over Lake Champlain, at raptor rescue this evening.

After weeks...and weeks and weeks and weeks...of running at half power (that walking boot really slowed me down), I am finally getting caught up on things that have gone undone...like website updates. :)  Our whole summer has gone by and not a single picture made it to the website.  I have finally remedied this.  Check it out .

We are loaded and ready for School Camp! Three boys in the car for three-ish hours as we drive in a convoy (6 cars) to New Hampshire. What could possibly go wrong? ;D

First day of school (8th and 4th) Erika Sent from my iPhone

We didn't spend as much time at the Pump House as expected.  Patrick tried all the activities and then got bored with having to wait in line.  Joerg spent quite some time running the tubes with Katherine and the "lazy river" with me. I couldn't keep up with Katherine (who could climb the steps for the tubes pretty fast), but Patrick was kind enough to move slowly for me so that I could take a few pictures. Here's Patrick taking his first stab at stationary surfing. This is his second try.  It lasted a bit longer, but what was really fun was watching the water spray around him when he lost his balance and stepped off the board.  It would have been fun to capture a picture, but the lifeguard instructed him to sit, allowing the pressure of the water to push him up and out of the way for the next person, and because this was an easier exit that fighting the water pressure to walk to the edge. Eventually, Patrick came back and tried the surf ride again. 

We have a tradition in our family that each year, in the days leading up to school starting again, we come together as a family and do fun things. On occasion we can squeeze in a whole week of fun visiting parks and going to beaches, but this year we have one weekend. So today we started at the Jay Peak Pump House.

After class, we took some shots on the shooting range. Erika Sent from my iPhone

Erika Sent from my iPhone

The walk is completely down and the surrounding gardens are ready for compost/soil (almost...I had to give up on account of the ravenous mosquitoes). Tomorrow the edging will go in, hopefully the sand filler will go down (everything has to be completely dry for this step and there's rain in the forecast), and the compost/soil will get dumped.  That will conclude the work that our landscaper has to do.  The planting and dirt spreading is on me; me and my plant wish-list are ready. Also on the schedule for tomorrow, assuming we don't have any lightning, is the pressure washing of the house to get rid of algae and mildew (all that ugly stuff under the windows).  The house faces north, and we are surrounded by trees so moss and other damp low-light dwellers do well here.  The lift arrived today and Joerg has already gone up to do some tree pruning along the east side of the property.  There's more to do, but he got a good start on it this evening. Things are really shaping

Dinner is over and the landscaper is gone, but I'm starting to see what this is going to look like.  And I like it!

The front steps are in and the paver stones are going down. This is what it looked like at lunch time today.

It has taken seven years to get to this point; not for any good reason, it just has. Plans change, money finds other priorities, it's just the way it is.  But we're here now and it's real.  I know it's real because 1) my front step is gone and something has to replace it, 2) there's a big truck out in front of my house with the materials for our new walk, and 3) I just cut the deposit check - it's always real when there's money involved. :)

This morning, we loaded up the motorcycles and took our first longer ride of the season. It is the first time that schedule, weather, and energy all lined up to get us on the road together. We stopped for lunch at The Bridge Restaurant, and then Jörg and Patrick had to race back to Chittenden County for a birthday party that Patrick was headed to. Katherine and I lingered behind to have a little ice cream and enjoy the beautiful weather and scenery before continuing our journey home.

You know you have a teenager in the house when… you get to find new uses for rice. Patrick put our spare cell phone through the laundry. Nice move...NOT!

We are back from our short vacation to San Andres and have a few pictures (and videos) to share.  I hope you enjoy them.  Click here and I'll take you there.

Patrick and his buddy, Calvin, tapped our sugar maples today. Now all we need is some sun!

Vacations from school are awesome. Hanging with friends is fun. When you put the two things together, it's just too good to be true. :)

Tonight Katherine tested for, and achieved, her Green Stripe in Taekwondo. She wasn't so sure she wanted to go tonight (nerves kicking in), but she stuck it out and got it done. For those who have known Katherine since she was little, you will understand what a fantastic accomplishment this is for her. Congratulations, Katherine!

Since many of you follow Patrick's blog, I won't repeat the story here.  Instead, I'll just tell you how proud I am of Patrick's growing interest and skill in music, and direct you to his page.  Read more about Fine Arts and Academic Competition here .