Otis 2006

In June we spent 10 days in Roslyn (NY) and Otis (MA). The day we arrived at mom's house was absolutely crazy. The Hotchkiss family was all present and accounted for - At the house was: Mom, Eddie, Cliff, Harrison, myself, Wendy, David, Jacob, Lacey, Hilary, Mo, Jon, Jill, Hannah, Sophia, Brad & Merryl (and that is just the immediate family). There was also Cousin Elaine, Sharon, Charles, Eric and Ellen, Ava, Will, Mark, Marsha, Emma, Jonah, Jon and Jill's friends with their son's Jack and Ross, a lady named Judy, and Merryl's parents Laura and Jim. I hope I am not forgetting anyone. If I wasn't clear, there were about 35 people of which 11 were under the age of 5. It was chaos to say the least. Mom and Eddie didn't dissapoint with the food. There were yummy sandwiches, potato latkes, sides and dessert. The kids played upstairs and down stairs. I led the boys in taking turns with the jack in the box. At one point Jon pulled out about 100 water balloons and get the kids to go outside and have a total water balloon fight which was more of a water balloon fight again Jon. I broke a balloon over Harrison's head and he wasn't too happy about that at all but I thought it was funny. (Does that make me a bad mom? I hope not)

I think everyone was gone by about 8:30-9:00pm. Which was really late because Cliff and I were up at 4:00 am for our 7:00 am flight.

The next day was Merryl's Bridal Shower. Cliff, Harrison, Eddie, Brad, David, Jacob and Jon all stayed back at the house. It was a great shower. There were about 60 people there from all aspects of Merryl's life. They played a great Newlywed game where Brad was on video answering questions about Merryl. He was really funny. One of the funniest answers he gave was to what superhero would Merryl say she was most like...and you would think Brad would say Wonder Woman but no, he said Batman...I think that is Brad's favorite superhero. Merryl got some great gifts and we all had a fabulous time.

On Monday we took Cliff and Harrison to get their Tuxedo's. Cliff always looks great in one and Harrison wanted nothing to do with putting on his. But when we finally got it on him (with ton's of bribes) it was too big. They didn't have the smaller size there but they could get it in the next day. We were then off to the mall for lunch and to play.

On Tuesday I had to pick up my dress and that took absolutely forever. They couldn't find the extra fabric I ordered but for some reason it was under Merryl's name so that was causing the confusion. We also went back tot he Tuxedo shop and we got Harrison to try on his tux again and it just needed to be shortened a bit but he did try it on with the promise of 2 "molly pops" (Lolly pops to you and me).

On Wednesday we headed to Otis. It didn't take long for us to get there at all. But we did stop at McDonald's for lunch and the grocery store to stock up for the week. It was still a bit rainey when we got there but by the afternoon it cleared up enough for us to take Harrison over to the lake. He totally dug the lake this year. He was absolutely not afraid of the water like he was last summer. He ran right in, clothes and all - all the way up to his waist. I couldn't believe it. He just loved walking/running in and out and throwing rocks/skipping rocks. We then played in the playground for a while before heading back to the house for dinner and bed time for Harrison.

My favorite spot in the house during the summer is the screened in porch. It is shaded and is always cool and breezy. There are these comfortable chairs in the corners where I just love to sit and read when Harrison is sleeping. In fact I am just yearning to go back just thinking about it.

The rest of our time there got busier and busier. The next day we went to the goat farm to see the goats sleep. Harrison was quite bored so we left after buying some cheese and went back to the playground and lake.

That afternoon Wendy, David, Jacob and Lacey joined us in Otis and Eddie arrived as well. We all had very yummy hamburgers with corn that night.

On Friday Jacob and Harrison began the morning racing each other around the living room/kitchen on big wheels. It was hilarious to watch. Later we all went down to the lake and playground to play. We had lunch there and played in the water almost all afternoon. We then took the boys back for their nap. That night Brad and Merryl joined us and Hilary and Mo came extremely late but for dinner we had a clam bake. We all dined on clams and lobsters...can I just say YUMMM!!!

On Saturday we took the kids to see David Grover in Great Barrington. He is a children's musician and was giving a concert in a park. It was a great show but it was incredibly hot. It was so hot we went back to the house right after to cool down and have lunch. Later that day was the Otis Wood Lands Community Picnic. That was so much fun but of course Harrison started it off in the Lake....in fact he bee-lined for it. We played there for about 45 minutes when somehow I convinced him to get dressed and join the picnic. He didn't want to eat while we were there but played in the playground. He also tried to do the water balloon toss and tried to watch the magic show. I even saw my old neighbors the Epsteins...that was a total blast from the past....I saw Bonnie, Steve and Jaclyn and Jordan. I hadn't seen them in over 20 years. They are all totally grown up.

Sunday was outlet day. I just love outlet day. The outlets in Lee have great stores and Harrison was in an exceptional mood so it made the outing very pleasurable. Everyone went to the outlets except for Eddie. We all had lunch at the food court, which again was great and we all got some great buys...my favorite of all was this huge beach blanket which we have used several times already.

On Monday we packed up and left. Our flight left NY at 3:00 so we drove straight to the airport from Otis. I already miss the the screened in Porch.