This weekend we did something I never thought I could do, never mind Savannah and Cassidy! We participated in the swim for life, an event that raises money for organizations in Provincetown. It is a 1.4 mile swim from long point to a beach across the harbor. Here is Cassidy getting ready at Papa's house.
Waiting for the swim to start.......we got these really cool swim caps when we registered. They write the swimmers number on the cap and on each persons arm for check in purposes - they want to make sure everyone is accounted for at the end of the swim.
Savannah is ready to start. Her and Christopher finished in just over an hour.
Here we all are after the swim........still standing up. Savannah , Cassidy (hiding), Christopher, and me!
Cassidy was cold.......so they made her come in on a Kayak. She made it more than half way though! What a great job. I thought she would be frightened because the water is so deep, but she did fine, not scared a bit. After she was brought in, I was left out in last place all by myself.......well, with the kayak and stand up paddle board people staying with me for safety. It was kind of peaceful floating around all by myself! Definitely something I am looking foward to doing again.

Here is a random picture for you. Jadzia likes to involve the dogs when she is playing. Althoug Buddy would rather be napping, he doesn't seem to mind having a blue skarf around his head.
We saw these turkeys crossing the road on the way home from the swim. I was taking Cassidy to see the house she will be staying in for a week this month with her classmates (seashore trip).

First day of school and other stuff.......

We have been trying to get some work done on the addition. Here I am working on the new bathroom........it will be upstairs in our new bedroom.
Trying to line them up just right.....
This is Rhino our new bunny. The girls wanted a small pet so we adopted this one from the shelter. He is good.......litter box trained and he will let us hold him. His favorite place to hide is the toy box.....he blends in well and can be difficult to find.
Let's celebrate the second day of school. I couldn't find my camera for the first day (yesterday) so I snapped a few pictures of the kids at the bus stop today. Cassidy really likes her new teacher.......she says 5th grade is "fun" so far. Her class will be the first of the year to go to the seashore. For those of you that don't know what that means......many 5th grade classes on the cape spend a week sleeping in an old coast guard station. They have nature themed lessons and activities for the week. When Savannah was in 5th grade she loved it.............I have not heard of a kid that didn't like it. During one of the hikes when Savannah went the naturalist had just made a comment about the fact that people usually walk their dogs on the seashore land.....and out of nowhere came a black dog........and then my brother. It was totally a coincidence.....we never could have planned that. Savannah was very excited to see her uncle.
Getting on the bus...........soon she will not want me taking pictures of her.

Cassidy's Birthday

Here is a picture of most of the guests........it was hard to get them in one place at one time. We started the party with games and a cookout. By 9:30 all of the boys and the girls that were not sleeping over had gone home, but the rest of the girls were still awake at 4:00 am! I woke them all up at 9:15 for breakfast and they were picked up at 10:00ish. There were a few squabbles but for the most part it was a great birthday party.
This is a favorite birthday game..........we play it every year. Two teams, two kids on the ground holding 2 liter bottles on their face......the rest of the team takes turns filling a small cup with water and running up the yard to put the water into the bottle. The kid on the ground ends up soaking wet............and laughs the whole time they are on the ground!

This is Cassidy with her friend Kiley. Kiley and her family live out of state and come to the Cape for a couple of weeks every summer. They met at the sailing club that Cassidy and Savannah go to in the summer. Kiley and her sister came to our house for the party.......it was great having them. They are really nice girls.
Savannah and Kiley's sister, Avery.................wearing goofy glasses.
The "ha" game. Everyone gets on the ground and puts their head on the stomach of the person before them. The first person says "ha", the second person "haha", third "hahaha" and so on......the game stops when someone busts out laughing..........which doesn't take long. I called this game "the laugh chain" when I was a kid.

Double Digits for Cassidy!

I am having trouble getting my pictures on to my computer.........but I have great pictures from Cassidy's birthday. Cassidy turned 10 on August 12th.....in the Belmore house that means you get a sleepover! As soon as I can get the camera/computer problem figured out I will share the fun with you!

Provincetown fun

It was back to my home town this weekend for more fun. We went down on Saturday and went out for a yummy dinner at Ciro and Sal's...........great food! Stephen, Sean, Sara, Papa, Shirley, Michael, Joe, Savannah, Cassidy, Jadzia, and myself all went. Sunday we went to point again and had a cute little visitor.........this little seal. We had fun watching it until some idiots decided to splash it with water and it got frightened and went into the water. The people thought, for some reason, that it should not be on the beach (they were not from the Cape obviously, where there are tour boats that take you to look at seals on the beach). After the point it was back to Karen and Chris's house for some yummy food.
On Monday Savannah and Cassidy went to the sailing club and we met up at the wharf (pier) on their lunch break. They got some pier jumping time in with their friends before heading back for more sailing. Here is Savannah and her friend taking a turn.
Cassidy going solo...........
Jadzia and I went fishing with Karen, Chris, Christopher, Stephen and Sara on Monday. Here is a quick picture of one of the fish I caught, before we let him go. This is probably the last time I will go fishing......it didn't make the vegetarian in me feel very good. But I did have a blast being on the boat and with my family.
Jadzia is worn out after a day at sea................ok, 3 hours at sea.

Cassidy and her friends having some pier jumping fun! I never let them do this before this year, but now I am convinced that the water really is deep enough.

Happy Birthday Nana!

July 27th was Nana's 97th birthday! There is always a big cookout at Auntie's house for her birthday. We had a great time! The kids get to swim in the pool, there is always a lot of food and fun! Nana is getting more and more forgetful these days..........she remembers our names most of the time, she remembers the great-grandkids names with a little hint. Usually when I visit it is just the girls and I and she always asks "how is your husband". I have wondered during these visits if she remembers his name. At the end of the party on Sunday, as Joe and I were walking out, she said "Is Joe married". Well now I know....she remembers his name..........but for some reason doesn't know who he is married to. This makes me wonder a couple of more things.......who does she think I am married to? and how does she think Joe became part of our family?
Nana always gets lobster for her birthday dinner.
Eating is one of Savannah's many talents! And now she has a new talent.....making sculptures from what is left over. Here is her corn cob pyramid she made after having 10 pieces of corn.
Jadzia enjoyed playing with the back scratcher/massager.......here is Savannah getting her treatment.......and Papa holding her in place. Jadzia let people know it was their turn by standing in front of them, holding the massager up in the air and yelling "lay down on your belly" in a voice that let you know she meant NOW!
Cassidy waiting for food...........no one is happy to have to get out of the pool. (Sara and Jadzia in the background)

Barnstable County Fair Animals

On Tuesday July 22 we went to the county fair. It was fun, but expensive of course...........the tickets for the rides cost way too much and each game is at least $3, but you get a prize (small prize) automatically if you pay $5 for the game! We spent a lot of time with the animals. This little guy was just walking around, he is only a few days old and very cute!
The chicken area is always a favorite because you get to hold the babies. Cassidy was a little surprised when a baby chick was put on her head..........and very relieved that it didn't have an accident.
Jadzia wasn't so lucky.........."her" baby chick did poop on her hand. She very calmly gave it back to the girl, got the poop of her hand and said "can I hold one that actually likes me now, and won't poop on me". Very funny!
Here is Cassidy and her friend riding the camel. Jadzia chose to ride a pony......all of the pictures I took of her had her looking away. The pony she was on got a little spooked so the guy took her of, settled the pony down and asked her if she wanted to get back on another one.......she said, that she wanted the same one. The guy asked us if it was ok and put her back on. She started putting up one hand and waving it around like she was in the rodeo and the man running the ride had to keep telling her to hold on with two hands. She wasn't one bit afraid.
Before we left, Jadzia said "I can't wait to see the parrots". I told her I didn't think there were usually parrots at the fair, but there would be lots of other animals. I should of listened to her because there were parrots and these Macaws, she thought these were so pretty.