The Sam and the Sea

Call me Samuel...

A couple of weeks ago we were in Maine for Michele's sister's graduation. While we were there, Sammy had the opportunity to see the ocean for the first time. Here are some photos of the momentous meeting of the Sam and the Atlantic.

Sam searches the dunes for water...

Sam loved the water even though it was extremely frigid...

Sam and the shore...

Sam and his cousin Katelynn...

Sam inspecting his cousin Mitchell's hole in the ground...

Sam's uncle Doug, cousin Mitchell, Aunt Stefanie, and cousin Kaitlyn...

Sammy showing his mother the sand on his feet...

Sam and his mother before he takes an after-the-beach-bath...

Sam the indomitable...

EMERGENCY!

Early this morning Paul's sister Diane awoke with severe abdominal pain. She phoned her boyfriend Grant who rushed her to the hospital. She was immediately admitted and surgery was scheduled today. On hearing of his Aunt's medical emergency, little Sammy insisted we rush up to his aunt's side immediately.

Diane had a somewhat large cyst removed. Apparently it was ready to rupture. The size of the cyst is hotly debated in the family...the physician said it is roughly the size of a baseball while some are approximating the size to larger sport balls such as a volleyball. In any event, the physician believes Diane will be OK.

Today was Paul's nephew Brian's birthday. As we were talking to Brian it occurred to him that he has a new sibling (the cyst which Diane "gave birth to" in surgery). He seemed to be OK with the fact he will have to share his birthday with his "cyst-er" Cybill.

Grant melted all our hearts when he answered the question, "Is Diane just as attractive to you without the cyst as when she had it?" To which he responded, "Yes." We are grateful Diane is on the mend.

Sammy spent a good deal of time flirting with the nurses. He also spent the better part of an hour being chased around by an older woman...a three year old girl. We're not sure who he inherited his charm from.

Sammy inspects the hospital bed for safety...

Sammy tells us to be optimistic while we wait the surgery to finish...

Brian looks forward to having a little "cyst-er" to share his birthday with...

Sammy sings, "Tomorrow" to encourage his Aunt Annie...

Sammy is elated with the results from the operation...

Sammy giving words of encouragement to his Aunt Diane...

Sammy's first year pics...

A few months ago we had portraits taken of Sammy for his first birthday. The photography shop is part of a chain, and for a small extra fee you can buy the digital images...you just have to wait a few months to get them. We picked up the CD today and here are a few of the pics of our little boy...

PS-Paul's parents have not received their prints that we ordered yet because they are sitting on his desk still un-mailed.

Sammy joines the...

French Foreign Legion. A member of the 1st Regiment Etranger Parachutiste, he is exiled from France to the dunes of the Mideast. Here are some pics of him as he searches for water...or more likely this is Sammy a week ago on the shores of Maine.

Did someone say Perrier?

Hearing the voice of Sgt Markoff...Sammy jogs away...

Sammy's new sandals...

In preparation for a trip last week to Maine, Paul's sisters Anne and Diane went shopping to get Sammy things he'd need on the shore...such as SpiderMan(TM) sandals and sunglasses. Sammy really enjoys wearing his sandals, but he enjoys seeing his Italian aunts even better!

Aunt Annie 'n' Sammy...

Aunt Diane puts on Sammy's SpiderMan sandals...

Sammy and his sandals on the move...

Sammy showing his dance moves...

Sammy...you really should consider wearing pants...

Houses near...

Here's some pics we took on the wagon ride in our street and the neighborhood behind our house...

A white house...not ours...

An out house...not ours...

Another house...not ours...

A golf course a few blocs from our house...
...we don't play golf...

A four-square(?) house...not ours...

A charming house...not ours...

A green coloured house...again not ours...

A house with a basketball hoop...
...not ours...

A nice white house...not ours...

An old red house...we never see any lights on there...
...not ours...

A big yellow house...too nice to be ours...

A nice Cape Cod...ours if it goes on sale...

A yellow house...not ours...

A house with a nice lawn...not ours...

A nice house...one of a kind?

...look at it's twin just a few doors down...

Back to our street...

Our house...in the middle of our street...

Wagon ride...

As we had previously reported, a fellow is running a wagon ride through our neighborhood. Our street is a boulevard with flowering trees in the middle., and apparently he's heard alot of compliments about it. This past weekend Paul's sisters were visiting so we all decided to take a wagon ride in our neighborhood with Sammy...

While on the ride, Paul took some pics of the other houses down the street and behind us. We'll follow up with a separate blog entry for that.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

The horses stop to give Sammy a ride...

The wagon readies to depart...

Sammy and his Aunt Annie...

Michele, Diane, Anne, and Sammy...

Sammy practices his waving skills...