I kept thinking that the summer would arrive and I would get a chance to breath, a little. That notion was quickly dispatched, partially of my own accord and partially of plain circumstance. Upon finishing off the school year, I was under the gun to make some serious progress on the housing front. Ali’s mom was to be arriving the following Sunday. Apart from the heavy-duty cleaning that our place needed, there were things like babyproofing and making our half bath more than simply functional. So most of the week was spent either watching Hadley so Ali could get something done or trying to finish off a short list of tasks to make the house more presentable. Then it was off to entertaining. Oh, and along the way, Hadley got to go to her first birthday party. Congratulations, Sid!

While the in-laws were here we covered a lot of ground. What’s most amazing is how easygoing Hadley was for the whole trip. I mean we went on a Duck Tour and walked the entire Freedom Trail in a single day. Not a peep from our sweet child. She was as good as one could hope, really quite stunning. From there it was trips to places like Salem, Gloucester, Rockport, even Manchester (by the sea) so Ali’s mom could take in some more family and spend the afternoon with her brother. It was a busy week to be sure.

No sooner did they leave and I was set to begin my month long stay with the Boston Writing Project, which just wrapped its first week. Part of the National Writing Project, it is a professional development program that is dedicated to improving student writing K-16. That’s right, kindergarten through university with teachers from across the spectrum. It is pretty awesome actually, but makes for a full day. I am on the 6:53 train into Boston and work my way to UMass-Boston on the harbor, in Dorchester, not usually getting home until 5 or 6 PM. It’s like being at work still. Needless to say it has delayed some of the other tasks around the house. However, I am still hoping to make some progress with the exterior of things.

Of course, this coming week will mark Hadley’s baptism, so even more family will be arriving any day now to help celebrate. That should be great fun. My family has not visited since right after Hadley was born, surprisingly enough. However, my brother David will be making his second trip out and this time it won’t be shortened by any work related rubbish. Plus, he is bringing his significant other, whom we’ve yet to meet. Unfortunately, she was out of town when we made our last trip west. So there’s even more looking forward.

Apart from all that rot, have a look at the rest of the pictures. Some of them are great.