Our Beach

We're slightly obsessed.  Maybe because we've never lived near a beach before, so it still feels like a vacation.  Maybe because it's a five minute walk from our house.  Or maybe because it's a beautiful beach where the little ones can spend hours playing.  Whatever the reason, I've quickly grown to love being able to walk to the water.  It has been two weeks now, so on our morning walks to the beach, we have started seeing the same people.  Lilly and I say 'good morning' to everyone, and Jack loves showing off his wave--usually a few seconds too late for them to see, but flapping his entire arm just the same.  We walk by a golf course first, and Lilly and I always stop to look for golf balls.  So far, we've found two, and each time, the discovery has made Lilly's day.  She always wants to know who they belong to, and after I explain to her that we can't track down their owners, she proudly carries the golf ball in her hand until we get home.  We continue down to the beach, where I park the stroller and let the little ones out.  Lilly runs around, skipping and dancing and making sand angels and climbing on rocks.  It took her a few days to get over her fear of seaweed (a trait I'm pretty sure she inherited directly from her Godmother) and venture into the water.  She now walks down and collects rocks and shells and draws in the sand with sticks.  Jack, too, has become more adventurous.  He went from not wanting to put his feet in the sand to crawling around, picking up (and trying to eat) sand, and he heads straight for the water every time.  I'm tempted to let him go in and see what happens.

making sand angels

attacking Lilly's sand castle!

getting awfully adventurous, climbing on the rocks

sneak attack!

crawling with his shell 

balancing on the rocks

As we approach the beach, we see the same man every morning.  He reminds me of Dad.  He walks out of his simple house, right next to the beach.  He has a cup of coffee in one hand and his newspaper under his arm, and heads toward a picnic bench on the beach where he leisurely enjoys his morning.  He's an athlete of some sort--either a triathlete or a cyclist (you can tell by the shaved legs...a family characteristic that I am well aware of).  He's faltering in the hair department.  As Lilly would say, he's got "bald pots" just like Papa.  He smiles and says good morning to us, and I often see him just watching Lilly and Jack play on the beach--not in a creepy way--with a smile in his eyes like he's reminiscing.  He reminds me of Dad right down to his outfit...it's the same pretty much every day.  Khaki shorts and a white t-shirt.  I've only seen his sandals from a distance, but I'm pretty sure if I looked closer, I'd discover that they are Tevas.  This morning, he was doing a few laps on the beach, and even his knee lift was the same as Dad's!

The only noticeable difference between this man and Dad is that Dad would be walking to the beach with his coffee, his kindle, and with Mum.  When I see this man, he makes me smile.  I can't wait for the day when I get to walk down to our beach with Mum and Dad, because they'll have to come back from Singapore some time.  And when they do, there's a nice little room above the garage in Fairfield, CT that is calling their name.
    

We're Back!

After a long break, it's time for the Clarks to return to the blogging world.  It's impossible to try and recount the past two months into one blog entry, so I'm going to start off slowly, with a few pictures from OUR MOVE!!  It has been two weeks since we left our condo in Stamford and moved up to Fairfield.  And we love it!  We love having a house.  We love the privacy of our own backyard.  We (well, really I) love the kitchen.  I love being able to cook dinner while Lilly sits up at the counter painting and Jack plays on the floor nearby.  We love being able to walk to the end of our street and be on the beach.  We love being so much closer to lots of our good friends.  It feels like we're on vacation.  It has only been two weeks, but we're happier.  Out of the blue tonight, Jim stopped what he was doing and turned to me to tell me how happy he is.  I have said the same thing to Jim countless times over the past two weeks.

Here, in a nutshell, is our big move.

Stamford, all packed up. 

Helper #1

Helper #2

Jim's dad picked the wrong night to drop by!  (Real) helper #3!

The move took its toll on everyone

"Helping" unpack in Fairfield!

We've figured out new routines.  Jim has to leave for work half an hour earlier than he used to, which means that we all have breakfast, Jim goes off to work and the little ones and I go for a walk to the beach.  This weekend, Lilly was very excited to show Jim "our beach".  

We've been able to spend more time with friends.  I have to take some pictures of everyone next time we're all together, but we feel very welcome in Fairfield.  Mel and Jerry (and Margot) looked after Lilly for an entire day while we moved, and then made us pizzas for dinner before we collapsed back in Stamford for our last night.  Marie and Luke (and Peter) looked after Lilly the next day.  Lilly has grown accustomed to being dropped off, and now tells me on a daily basis that I can drop her off at (insert any of her friends' names here) house.  We leave at 7:55am for 8am swim lessons and Kate's house now, instead of 7:15 from Stamford.  Brien, Liz and Stella have been over for dinner.  We've found new parks.  There's not much to complain about here.

Lilly and I making cupcakes in the new kitchen

Jack wants to help too.  This is how he spends the majority of his day!

Lilly and Margot all dressed up!

Sitting at the counter, ready for breakfast.

Brien teaching Stella and Lilly the art of pizza making on the grill

Our new park, and discovering a neighborhood worm.

Loving life in our backyard 

Jack pretty much sums it up, clapping his hands whenever anyone says, "yaaaay!"

And so begins the next chapter in our life.  I know it's going to be a good one.

Vacation on Lake Winnie

Family bonding.

We've been home for just a few days and already we miss Lake Winnipesaukee.  Lilly's misses her cousins, Jack misses eating the sand, Amelia misses her 'downtime' and I miss everything else.  After days of sun, beach, boating, beer and family, it's hard to adjust back to the daily routine.

We packed so much into the past week, and yet, there were so many things we didn't get to do:   breakfast at George's, chocolate milk from Moulton Farm, and fireworks in Meredith Bay to name a few.  But there will be plenty more chances to do the usual eating and drinking too much and fireworks from the boat.  This was a special year that stands out for all the 'firsts' and special memories that only come along once in a lifetime.

In our own little family, Jack took his first ride on Pop's boat.  Lilly made sure he was snug and secure in his life jacket before taking off.  At the start it was difficult to tell if he was enjoying it, but once we zipped it down a bit and Jack could breath again, he actually seemed to like it.  Although he seemed content to crawl around the boat and see how close he could get to climbing off, next year I'm sure he'll be ready for his first water skiing run.

Not Breathing.

Breathing.

Lilly spent about 80% of her waking hours in the water and ventured far from the wall that she preferred to stick near last year.  She spent 100% of her waking hours talking to everyone, including the dogs, Maggie and Blue, who learned quickly that pretending to fall asleep was possibly the only way to end a conversation.  On that note, there isn't a big enough way to say thank you to Liz for 'surprising' us midweek by arriving with AJ, Lauren and Paul.  Aside from having almost the whole family together (Duane was missed and many beers were left waiting for him), it gave the little cousins some much needed time to play and talk and run and talk and go on golf cart rides and talk together.

In really deep water but Lauren can still stand.

Racing to another good night's sleep.

Amelia and I were just glad to be in the sun, away from the office, on the golf course and enjoying the calm before the chaos of moving house in a few weeks.  There are never enough hours to spend on the beach playing in the sand and water with Jack and Lilly but we enjoyed the time we had and have many new memories to take home.

Fashionable in sunglasses.

Just 'hangin' around.

There were so many things that made the week special.  We celebrated my parents' 60th birthdays (early) with an amazing night out to dinner.  It was a small gesture for two people who have given so much and to whom we owe so much, especially for all the times we've stayed at the house!  We all reminisced and laughed, drank wine and scotch, honored Mom and Dad with their very own birthday cake (note Mom's face...) and talked about all the exciting things to come in the next few weeks and months.

So happy to be getting their own cake... with a song!

60's are the new 50's - looking good Mom and Dad.

Two of these things stand out as particularly exciting.  Sometime in the next few weeks, Carolyn and Jeremy will welcome the first Hastings baby.  There were a few rumblings midweek that made us think this might be the first NH-born Clark, but the baby decided to stay out of the heat for at least a few more days.  We're all looking forward to meeting the newest niece/nephew/cousin and are counting down the days!

Only two Hastings... not for much longer!

Equally exciting was Sarah and Ross' engagement.  Ross picked the most romantic spot in all of New England - Crayfish Island - to ask Sarah to be his wife.  It would be impossible to imagine anyone saying no in such a setting.  And since Ross was successful in holding onto the ring while kayaking out to the island, there was added incentive to say yes.  It was a smiling crowd that greeted them on their arrival back to the beach.  We couldn't be more happy to have Ross join the family, and who doesn't love a wedding!?!

Happy Couple

What else do you do with a magnum of Veuve?

All of these celebrations and firsts are a huge part of what makes the Lake so special to all of us.  And this will definitely be a year to remember.  More often than not though, it is the quiet time on the beach watching the cousins play, the conversations on the boat while anchored off Timber Island, the big family dinners followed by games of setback, and ice cream runs to Town Docks that make the Lake our home away from home, and a place we will love coming back to year after year.

Sprawled out on the beach.

The best way to dry off.

The best way to get wet.

Duane looking a lot like Dad.

Glowing - because of the sunset, or dinner without kids?

Maggie and Blue enjoy a moment of silence from Lilly.