Memories

Today, I was inspired to make a few memory collages, after looking through old photos for Father's Day. I grew up in a small town in Maine and by looking at the photos, you can tell most of our activities involved the great outdoors. I remember doing lots of hiking, swimming, gardening, and playing outside. My Dad always loved spending time outside and never understood the point of video games or watching TV. As I look back at pictures now, I appreciate the fact that we were encouraged to use our imaginations and play outside. One of my favorite things when I was little, was having pretend tea parties in the woods, with acorn caps as cups and flat rocks as plates.

This picture describes my childhood perfectly. I have no idea what we were doing, but it sure looks like we were having a good time. I have a rock in my hand and my sister has crazy hair and a funny expression (which, if you know her, describes her perfectly too).

This "Garden Way Cart" was the epitome of our summers. Seriously. I would run around with my siblings and our neighbors in here... I think all day. Every day. I would make them stay in there while I would go make them popcorn and tea. Then they would enjoy their snack in the cart. This is what you do when you have 3 fuzzy local TV channels and no electronic games. For that, I am now grateful.

Here we all are on a hike (siblings and cousins). As you can tell, we were very stylish. Maine will do that to you.

I was brought up around a lot of animals. We always had dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, and other random animals. My first pet was a rabbit. Her name was Velvet. My mom cut ear holes in doll hats and I would dress her up. Now you understand why Lilly has her particular lifestyle.

Thank you Dad, for giving us all an appreciation for the outdoors (even if I do still scream when I see a mouse and am not the biggest camping fan). Thank you for carrying Me, Trina, and Cookie, when we got tired on hikes (Cookie was my Cocker Spaniel- There is a picture somewhere of her getting carried in the backpack too... if only I could've found it). My love for animals and my slight "granola" tendencies definitely have something to do with the way I was raised. Thank you for helping me appreciate the simple things in life... even more now. Happy Father's Day!