2013 was a fun year.  We did a little traveling.  Ski trips included going up to the North Conway area for a week with the Wildes.  The snow was pretty good and I always enjoy snowshoeing around Dolly Copp.

We took Bud to Mazatlan for the first time.  Fair to say he had a great time and can't wait to go back.  We started in Tucson for a couple of days then drove to Phoenix for the flight down.  

We went to Los Osunas, Goat Island, the Mercado, top of the Freeman, and enjoyed our stay at El Cid Marina.  We took a wonderful sunset cruise as well.

We rented a ski house in Maine with the Wildes, Olivia, and Karyn and Ralph.  We had a great stay.  There was a hottub, a fire pit, and snowshoe trails all over the property.  We got to bring Zdeno, which was special for me.

 

We took the guys at the shop to a basketball game.  We also got the mini-season ticket plan for the Bruins.  We had great times at all the games.  Won more than lost.

The hearth show was in Florida this year.  There was not a lot new so we blew off a day and drove out to the coast to visit NASA.  Got to meet an astronaut and and tour the museum.  Amazing!

Art and I took a vacation with just the two of us this year.  We drove up through Maine, staying at Bar Harbor for a few days, then up to Nova Scotia where we rented a house for a few days, then ultimately up to PEI.  We stayed with a fabulous airbnb host and enjoyed the beautiful weather.  The people were so nice and the views were spectacular.  This is one I could do again!  One of our favorite moments when we walked into town on Sunday afternoon to look for a pub.  We found a nice quaint place and sat down for a beer.  A rather large group of people joined together for a sit in song time for Irish music.  Amazing!

In August the family rented a house up in Campton for the week.  We had a great time hiking, sitting on the deck watching stars, and just hanging out in general.  On the rainy day we went to the local ice arena to skate.  Very fun day and great trip overall.

It was a nice getaway.   

I also took my parents up to Maine for a few days when they came to visit for my birthday.  It was a little chilly but we had a nice stay and even got to go lobstering for the day!

  Christmas was in Colorado as usual.  Great family and great time together. 

 Tuukka has been a fabulous kitten.  He is snuggly and playful and gets along great with Zdeno.  He tries very hard to be irresistible to Blizzie as well.  I think she will cave in eventually.  In the mean time she is still trying to eat all of the food to "starve" him.  I fear we will have to get into a once or twice a day eating routine instead of their choice, the 'always' feeder.

 Zdeno had a great summer being wet.  He loved going to Pratt Pond with Teddy Bear.  He would definitely settle for Heald or our backyard mud-puddle.  He had dreadlocks to beat the band.  His groomer had a devil of a time getting him shiny and smooth again.  Now it is cooling down a bit so we don't get wet as often.  This makes me happy.

 We also hosted the Sims for the weekend.  Peter brought his girlfriend to New England for the first time and we were delighted that they were able to spend some time with us.  We had good family time this summer which was wonderful.  Lobster at $3.99 all summer didn't hurt much either!

 We had ordered some late chicks in August.  Sadly, there was a problem with the plane they arrived on so only two of the ten survived the trip.  Faith and Grace spent over a month in the shower and loved to snuggle.  I held them most of their first day since they were so petrified.  They are in the big coop now but I hope they will remain cuddly and sweet.

 We took everyone to Parker's Maple Barn for breakfast.  A new England Classic.

 We also spent as much time as we could with Art's Dad.  He put his house on the market late in the summer and is under contract now.  He is sorting out the details but we are hopeful that he will consider staying in Temple during the coming summers.

I stepped out of my comfort zone and did a solo trip to NY to see Abbie.  I caught the commuter rail in Fitchburg, took the subway from North to South Station in Boston, then hopped on the Yo!Bus to China Town.  It was $20 for the bus ticket (one way) and got there in four hours.  The train would have been $140 and taken 3 hrs, 40 minutes.  I think I got a good deal.  We had a great visit.  I loved walking around and seeing Teddy at his dog park.  He is such a good pup!  We also took a boat tour around the island of Manhattan.  Much larger than I thought.  A gorgeous day for a boat ride, too.  I think I got Abbie hooked on X-files and I loved that we could order food from a wide choice of restaurants online and they brought it to us without talking to anyone or going anywhere :-D  Unheard of in rural NH.