Blue Eyes, S'Mores Cookies and Lobster

We were lucky enough to travel to Maine for the Independence Day holiday. My Aunt and Uncle have a beautiful home-away-from-home in Maine. If you'd like to check out their site and book a week please let me (or them) know.



My older sister and her family also came up from the greater NYC area. They brought the prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen, which belong to my niece, Claudia Jean. She's very lucky because her parents (and all of us) love her so much, and also her parents have lovely eyes that they have passed on to Claudia.



She tries to keep her smiles from me, that's ok. I can wait while you try a pickle, Claudia.



Also I will keep waiting for my smile while you swim in the lake.



Don't mind me, Claudia, I'll just be eating lobster and clams, and making s'mores cookies.









time for a bit of holiday merriment ...





oh yeah, Forrest was there too, relaxing.


I'm probably not going to win Aunt of the Year award with this next photo, but I find it extra hilarious. We're "celebrating" the first birthday, or practicing for the first birthday, since it technically isn't scheduled to occur until July 12. Note the "Happy Camper" bib.



But hey, this morning, I finally got my little smile. Precious.