Irene

We were very lucky at our house when Tropical Storm Irene blew threw New Hampshire last Sunday.  We received a lot of rain and the power went out briefly, but we didn't get much wind and nothing was damaged.  Our neighbors in New Hampshire's North Country and the State of Vermont didn't fair as well.  At the peak, there were more than 125,000 in New Hampshire without power.  Utility crews were responding from Tennessee, Missouri, and Ohio.  As of yesterday, 125 roads were still closed including some major routes like the scenic Kancamangus Highway where the river took a bite out of the road making it impassable.  The towns of Plymouth and Holderness were underwater.  Several bridges and dams failed cutting off communities and causing major evacuations.
  

I-93 Exit 25, Plymouth/Holderness

Route 302 in Bartlett, New Hampshire

Pemigewasset River in Lincoln, New Hampshire

Loon Mountain Bridge over the Pemigewasset River
in Lincoln, New Hampshire 

Covered Bridge #42 in Campton, New Hampshire

Campton Dam breach

Cross Road in Goshen, New Hampshire

These photos were borrowed from several local news sources.  I'm lucky that I wasn't there to witness the damage first-hand.

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The Aquarium

Last Saturday, Clara and I visited the New England Aquarium in Boston with our friends, Heather and Charlotte, and Amy and Anna.  It was Clara's first time at the Aquarium, and it was a big hit.  We experienced the sting ray and shark touch tank, and saw lots of penguins, seals, jelly fish, huge fish, colorful fish, and turtles.  It was a great day.  Clara and I had so much fun with our friends.

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Ahh...Vacation

I just realized it's been over two weeks since we've been home from vacation, and I'm just getting caught up on my posts.  We had a great summer vacation to Michigan and Ohio to visit friends and family and, as always, wish it could have lasted longer.  Here are some of the highlights.


We visited old friends with new babies:

We spent a few nights with Clara's cousins, Ella and Owen, and had fun at the water park.

Ella and Owen joined us for a few nights at Grandma and Grandpa Carlson's house.  Clara helped Grandpa Carlson mow the lawn and Mommy learn to sew.

Wherever Ella was, Clara wasn't far behind.  She really looks up to her cousin.

We had a blast at the Discovery Center.

Then we spent a couple nights with Grandma and Grandpa Ward.  We went to the beach, read books, visited their Children's Museum, and had fun re-designing the water fountain.

Just before we drove home, we spent a night in Columbus to meet Clara's new cousin, Baby Chase.  She adored the little guy and was very gentle.

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Progress!

We have paint on the walls and a finished floor in our new basement room!  My belly is expanding as I start the third trimester, yikes!  But, what I'm most excited about is this:

Not the fact that Clara was so willing to help Jared finish the floor, not the fact that it's obvious that she likes to pick out her own clothes, and not the fact that those outlets are now functional and covered.  It's what's just below that crack in the surface - underwear!  Last Thursday, Clara decided she was ready to wear big girl underwear to school.  I was hesitant to put such a burden on her teachers, but they were more than willing to give it a try.  You can imagine my surprise when I picked her up that afternoon and she was still wearing the same clothes and same dry underwear that she put on that morning!  She had two accidents on Friday, but was dry all day yesterday.  Now that's progress.

P.S. Who knew they had a mini-potty in the family restroom at Sam's Club?!  Irresistible.

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