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Early Summer in New England

Greetings from beautiful Plum Island, MA! Since Lia's daycare was shutting down for the week, we took the opportunity to rent a cottage on "Plum Lisland", as Lia calls it, a bird-watcher's paradise that's only an hour's drive northeast of Boston. The week started out cool and rainy, but as the weather's improved, we've been able to spend time on the deserted, vast expanse of beach that stretches the length of this 11-mile island. We have also enjoyed visiting with our friends, Jenn and Paul and their three kids in nearby Ipswich, as well as daytrips to Cape Ann, Salem, and Boston.

Some highlights so far:
- Our cute, two bedroom cottage that has views of the Basin and is only a 10-minute walk to the beach through the backyards of our neighbours (all kosher, so the signs tell us).
- Beating the summer crowds and having the beach and tourist traps to ourselves.
- Lobster, fried clams and fish and chips at nearby Bob Lobster (which is apparently in need of a new website designer who understands the rules about hotlinking), caught daily by Bob himself.
- Being surrounded by Celtic mania. Is there a major championship a Boston team hasn't won in recent years? Keep your hands off our Stanley Cup, Chara!
- High-speed internet access, which means I can find a way to catch the Euro 2008 games (thank you Chinese websites!) and keep up with news back home.

After several busy weeks of work travel (Shawn), single-parenting and volunteer work (Alison), and learning to sing (Lia), we've been happy to kick back and relax, with lots of time for walking, reading, and playing together. Our first solo family vacation has been a great success!

And happy birthday to my brother Colin and Mother-in-Law Brenda!

(Click on the image for our growing collection of photos)