Survivor! Cousin Fest 2008

Boys in bed, laundry done, dishes done, mother's special medicine poured (of the red variety), rest of house sorta disaster area...but we will let others worry about that. We ruled the Adirondacks. Truly, having 4 genuinely nice boys who get along great is easier than 2 sometimes. They paired off, had enough for cards, baseball etc. I was laissez-faire on cleanliness and nutrition, to say the least. They slept in tents for 3 straight nights and as they cleaned up the tent this evening, I was fairly horrified at the debris that was hauled back. C'est la vie. I would kinda remember once in awhile that i hadn't seen any teeth brushing and would remind, or could convince one or two at a sitting to wash themselves. Other than that, it was a herd mentality. I'll let the pictures speak.

Cousin Fest Day Three

Indeed there were tired boys this morning. I heard murmurings of prank calls, streaking, whipped cream consumption.... I decided to not ruin my life by forcing a hike and allowed them a lazy wiffle ball morning. After that, we decided to finally go for it and do the bobsled run, which we have talked about everytime the Fabulous Bower Boys visit. We then tackled some mountain biking at High Peaks at Mt. Hoevenberg. Pizza for dinner, Starsky & Hutch and now back to the tents!

Cousin Fest Day Two

Rainy day yesterday. We started the day at Blue Moon ( god I love that place) and then i dropped boys at Wall-E while I did grocery run. I asked the teenager at cash register if I had enough junk food to last the week with 4 boys. He literally scoffed and rolled his eyes "em....no....". The amount of food being consumed is fairly alarming I must say. I am not used to things like entire blocks of cheese, gallons of milk, pounds of lunch meat just disappearing in one sitting!

For rest of the day, we made it to Donnelly's (finally!) and back to house for evening hors d'oeuvres and wiffle ball. Because the weather was so conducive, I roasted a turkey for dinner and watched in wonder...

The boys decided to sleep outside in tents and have just arrived back at house, looking like there was not a lot of sleeping but a lot of frivolity. We are supposed to hike today so let's see if they can pull it off.

Cousin Fest Day One

The boys were fabulously patient with me as I attended to some business today before our fun began. We headed to Wilmington Falls, to our favorite swimming hole. While the Bower Boys were fit to be tied that I (and their mother via cell) would not let them jump from highest ledge, everyone had a fabulous time. And then of course, it was time for ribs and excruciatingly painful live music (no Blues Noir on Tuesdays I guess.

Mea Culpa

Yes yes, I really am here. I went back to NYC yesterday to pick up my boys and the fabulous Bower Boys and now we have arrived back, after surviving a car break down and a puking cat. But we are here, damnit. The boys jumped from the car and just started running around the property. Within seconds, the basketball was out, the flashlights were out. Heaven. Now, Goonies is on the big screen upstairs and the root beer has been poured.
The best is that for the last 2 hours, all they have done is reminisce about the fabulous times they have had here. This is what I dream about when I dream about the barn. We've only owned it for a coupla years and the memories for them are deep and rich. Christmas and skiing, and hiking, and ice cream... I hope that whatever else they remember about these years, they will understand that I have done everything I can do to make this place magic for them.

You and Me Both

So I had anticipated great tails of outdoorsiness to share but unfortunately, my client, who I was officially finished with on Friday, thought otherwise. I have another 2 week engagement with them and have been tied to the computer and excel. Nevertheless, not too shabby working with the windows open, in a barn. I am running out right now to Hot House (is that the name? I always forget.) to see about some flowers. I have gotten a few good runs in. Man, I had forgotten what it's like to run hills. Lil ol' McKenzie Pond Rd. is kicking my butt. Other than that, hermitville around here - I haven't even had Donnelly's yet (!)

The Saranac Lake Hillbillies

I know it had been awhile since we've been to the barn, and those April -June months are pretty dramatic, but when I pulled up to the barn, I was fairly horrified at the state of affairs. Grass a foot tall, trees down, weeds where there was supposed to be a garden, a random garbage bag on side of house, wheelbarrow askew, fire pit full of debris. Being solo on this trip, I was more than a little intimidated but am tackling a bit at a time.
The storm here was very dramatic and most are sure there was some sort of tornado-type event. I guess we were lucky but we have a few trees to deal with. As much as I am tempted to grab the chain saw, I decided to call Dave the neighbor, who I think was born with a chain saw in his hands (Bill the neighbor calls the sound of chainsaws "Tupper Lake Mating Music"). I tackled most of the lawn, before the rains came again and am now pulling weeds in hopes of planting something. Given the insanity of these last months, I am letting go of my vegetable dream garden and am just going to enjoy a little color and a few herbs. If i need a real garden fix, i'll walk down to Dave and Joanne's..not a garden....small farm?

I am enjoying the solitude and the quiet...and the wine. I now know with certainty that I could happily be a hermit if I could get good coffee and wine delivery. I will need to remember this zen-like state, as next week I will have four boys here. Yikes!