Arrival

The boys and I had a lovely trip yesterday, even including the 3 hour delay in Philadelphia. We left Love Field easily at 9:30, after meeting another Mom and 3 year-old who were NH bound on our flights. We stopped in Houston, but did not deplane. Then on the long haul to Philly, Quinn took a nice long nap and I was able to listen to a book and do some needlework. Griffin enjoyed some books and his DS.

We stuck with our new friends, Sonja and Jackson, while we had our extended Philadelphia layover. Sonja lives in the DFW area now, but comes from Laconia, NH. So, I visited with her, we traded off watching kids, and the time passed quickly.

While we were boarding we met another family who came from TX but now lives in VT, and Griffin made quick friends with their 9 year-old, Max. They sat together and played DS, Quinn and Jackson sat together and watched Cars, and we did alright. A storm kept us on the plane, on the runway for about an hour and a half. No liquor was served, so Sonja and I deserve a special medal.

Grampa hid behind some trees at the airport and jumped out and grabbed Griffin by his backpack, and so we began our time in New Hampshire. I'm going to have him wear a bell so that we can walk in the woods without fear of a repeat Sasquatch impression, like the fateful spring of 1978. Not that Christie and I didn't enjoy that. My cardiologist just thought maybe I should stay away from that kind of fun for a while.

This area is Boy Heaven. Grampa's house is like one big attic of tools and cast-offs from the younger Craighead children. Griffin discovered half of a tank (score!) and an old castle this morning. Oh yes, and a mouse skeleton in a mouse trap. They rode on the tractor, picked cherry tomatoes and a few raspberries in the garden. And as I type this, Grampa has taken Griffin off in search of his own corncob pipe. You know, to keep the blackflies away. So, Griffin's transformation to country bumpkin has taken 20 hours.

I'm looking out the window at green as far as the eye can see. The apple trees in the side yard are covered with small apples. The white pine between our house and the Nazer's are towering now. They look about 3x the height of the Nazer's house. The small pine that planted itself on the granite step by the pear and birch is now nearly as tall as the pear tree. You can see it in this picture above of Griffin, holding a pear.

The light is different here. August in New Hampshire is very soft and pleasant.

Wish you were here!

Love

Sarah