The first day of school and Mitchell Family Fun Day

I have no idea why these pictures are in reverse order, but I'm too lazy to fix it.....So we'll just start from the most recent, shall we?

Ian started first grade on September 6th, and I don't know if ever there was a happier boy on the first day of first grade. We are THRILLED about his teacher and so excited that so many of his friends are in his class!

I thought it was nice that his cubby was the first one after the classroom door.

You can see Ian's lime-green backpack in line with the rest of his class.
Have I mentioned he was excited?

Blake had an awkward moment with the stroller, though.

This is Ian's first experience with his very own desk and special pencil just for him.

Day 1 of 181 walking to school with Dad, Blake,  Mr. Adam, and Jacob.
On the first day, the moms and sister, Catherine, joined along.

Oh, how we love neighbor Jacob!!
(Have I mentioned we won the neighbor lottery? Cause we did.)

New this year: The Back To School Fairy!
She came and left some fun treats for the WHOLE family to celebrate!

For the past decade+, we have been gathering each summer for Mitchell Family Fun Day! This mostly consists of eating grilled food and playing outdoor games. This year, we missed Aunt Becky's family by a couple of days

New this year: Ian spear-headed a family bike race. Notice he's barefoot. We changed that quickly.

The three-legged race was great--especially after Kelsey just picked up Ian and RAN. =)

Also? There were potato sacks.

Blake liked the Ride-On-Dad's-Ankle event post-badminton.

Ian and cousin Andrea are best buds.

Ian was.....addicted....to this whistle.

Blake wanted to play badminton....but only on Dad's hip.

Joe had a BLAST splitting wood for Grammy. I think he was feeling especially manly.
I mean, really. Splitting wood in MAINE? Hello, lumberjack!!

Blake loves Mom's chickens. He was so excited that he got to let them out of their coop and run. 

Ian and Papa had to dig the potatoes for that day's potato salad.
(Notice the chicken coming over for a peek.)

Pratt Camp and Minnesota

Long time, no see, right? Tonight is our big catch up on the blog...hopefully you won't get too bored. =) 

During the first week of August, Joe took the week off so we could go to Pratt Camp---a week reserved every year on Scott's side of the family. This year we had the aunts/uncles/cousins from both Colorado and Mississippi and it was DEFINITELY a great, relaxing time. 

Joe was SO excited to get the sailboat out. (Ian was equally as excited.)

Joe got MANY hours in the boat--and he's really become quite an impressive sailor!

Blake spent a lot of time on the dock. Sometimes this was more exciting than others.

...one minute Blake is on the dock, the next he's riding point-man in the canoe. After a brief heart attack, I had the wherewithal to grab the camera and take a picture.

LOTS of fishing happened this week--including with sticks. 

Also? Mini Golf! Blake thought his putter was fun for about a minute...then he realized that he needed to feel dejected because he didn't have a taller one. Regardless, he was very serious about his putting.

Hole in one! (No, really! A hole in one!) He was VERY excited to share this news with Great Papa Pratt, who is our family's resident daily golfer.

Mmmmmm. Chowder on lobster night at camp.

I love Maine. With all my heart.

Blake is spotted on the dock once again!

Joe took the boys geocaching one afternoon and they came back telling tales of all the blackberries they found...

....so Joe and I went back and got a whole bucket-full. Mmmmmm. Antioxidants.

Blake REALLY enjoyed the spoils.

I dare you to tell me this is not adorable.

On the last day of camp, Ian got to learn to row by himself--and he did a GREAT job.
He can steer, he can go forward and backward...he's a natural New Englander!

Fishing with Uncle Andrew was a special treat.
(Thanks, Uncle Andrew, for being the point-man on the fishing!)

Not more than a week after we got home from Pratt Camp, it was time to head to Minneapolis. Joe had a paper accepted at and was presenting at a conference there, so we took the bait and tagged along to see his sister, Shara, and her family.

Who loves airplanes? MY boys love airplanes.

Thank goodness for boys-who-love-airports when a layover is 3 hours long.

One of our first stops was to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden--it was beautiful!

Ian was especially captivated by these HUGE boulders that were covered in metal.
(It reminded me of fillings...) =)

But more exciting than sight-seeing was spending time with cousins Jackson, Nathan, and Noelle.

Blake really WAS enthused about Minnehaha Falls, I promise.

Did I mention Uncle Ben flew in, too? UNCLE BEN FLEW IN! Oh, how we love Uncle Ben.
My boys could NOT have been happier to have him around that week!

Just over the river from where we were in Minnesota was the lovely town of Hudson, Wisconsin.
Joe grabbed a geocache there (to add in another state to his belt), and I hoped to get some fried cheese curds.
We were 1-for-2. My belly betrayed me and I got sick.....DARN BELLY!

Guess who else came!! Grandmama and Grandaddy and Uncle Spencer!
And we celebrated with a LOVELY trip to the St. Paul Cathedral. Blake only injured himself a LITTLE bit. 

Deep Sea Fishing with Uncle Kevin

At the end of Pratt Camp Ian and I went out with Uncle Kevin on his fishing boat, on the hunt for some tasty Codfish.  I ended up registering for a salt-water fishing permit ($1) which covers me within 5 miles of the shoreline or something like that, but Kevin said we'd be farther out that that.  We went out to the West Cod Ledge.
View West Cod Ledge, 2012 in a larger map

The Captain and his First Mate.

You should have heard Ian giggling the whole way out!

I don't normally see the Portland Head Light from this vantage point!  It was neat!

Ram Island Light.

Getting down to business.

Getting lessons.

Mild course-correction.  "Watch those buoys.  That's where our fish are."

Once we reached there, the heave of the water started to get to me.  I left the fishing up to the professionals.

Ian danced the line for the bottom-feeders.

Literally a minute later, he had a bite!

He did quite a bit of the reeling in, but found it a bit tiring.

Look at that little cod!  We're in the right place!

Kevin thought it a bit small, so we threw him back.  (Little did we know he'd be the only cod that morning, and the rest weren't good for eating.)

Yeah.  So.  Um, the reason the next picture is from heading back in is because I couldn't keep my wits about me, and I got a bit seasick.  Yeah, it's true, but next time I'm taking Dramamine!

Isn't she beautiful?

Ian said he didn't feel very well either.  I thought he was sleeping, but he promises he "just had his eyes closed".  Riiiight.

The calm of Casco Bay.

Our Captain had nav charts, a GPS, a fish-finder, the works.  Fun to be at sea!

Kevin, Ian, and cousin Troy (Terena's son).

Kevin, Ian, and Joe.

Swabbing the deck.

 The next round of adventure was going up to watch the tuna boat haul in its catch.  Amazing.  They were holding a tuna tournament, and were going strong.  We watched them weigh in two fish, 248 lb, 78", and 299, 81".  Amazing.  Those are going to bring some good $$$ to the fishermen at sushi prices!

Ian's classic adventurous look.

Fish #1 on the crane.

Isn't she a beauty?

I should have had Ian take his shirt off.

They only take the fish off the ice once they buyer has arrived, then they put it straight into the shipping truck, on ice.  If it's high quality, it'll go straight to the airport to fly to Japan.  If it's okay, it'll stay in the US and go to New York or stay locally.

After weighing, measuring, and gloating, the buyer cuts off the head/tail/fins to leave a nice chub of tuna to take away.  The fisherman kept the head and tail.  As prizes?  To scavenge a bit of meat?  I can only assume.  A small sample was taken for testing at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.  Finding his cousins, no doubt.  Tough way to keep your genealogy.

Here's number two.  Note that when they pack it on ice, they  first cut out the organs and stuff the cavern with ice.  I guess that helps keep the fish fresher for longer.

The real crew.

The fake crew.  And yet, it was AMAZING to see such a huge fish, caught by rod and reel, and hauled into the boat BY HAND.  (To meet tournament spec, of course).  The state record for Bluefin is like 819 lb, and if anyone beats that record, they win the grand price of $50,000.  Otherwise, you settle for a paltry $6,250 and the price of the fish at like $30 a pound.