We wish them well and send our love, always.

The white blankets are folded on the green couch in the fireplace room. A football and a Frisbee lie on the side lawn. The washing machine whines away in the basement while upstairs two empty beds wait to be made.

There’s a different kind of quiet in the house this afternoon while I write this final blog entry. Bailey is sleeping on the kitchen floor and has had dreams with small cries and gentle barks. Maybe he’s thinking about chasing the Frisbee with the boys? We’ll never know.

What we do know is that Jan and Simon have been reunited with their families, and they have a second home here in America.

We wish them well and send our love... always. 

Where...?

Where's Jan?

Jan's Treat

As Jan climbed into the car for his trip to the airport, he carried a large bag of coins that he had collected throughout the year. 


"What are you going to do with that?" I asked. Clearly, Jan was perplexed... and in the end, he left the bulky bag in the car. On the way back home, Simon and I agreed to take the coins to WalMart's coin machine... lo and behold $50 and two meals at the Rumford Sports Bar and Brian's Bistro! 


Thanks, Jana-Banana!

Birthday Beer Delivery

Bailey delivers Birthday Guinness to our neighbor Gregory. And no, dear friends, we don't deliver beyond our neighborhood!

Gina's Bread!

Our neighbor Gina left us bread for the boys' last day together. That bread is gone, but the kindness of baking will always be remembered. 

Last night

Our neighbors the Sullivans came over this evening and so did Ben and Connie. Unfortunately, I didn't get a pix of the Sullivan family, but I did capture a great moment when Ben was reading a card that Connie wrote to Simon in cursive penmanship... plus, a pix of Jan ready to hit the road home to Germany! Oh, and someone took a picture of me.... 

Last Match

The boys enjoyed their last game of soccer this Saturday with former teammates and friends. 

Click on this sentence to see the photo album from the match. 

Packing...

Eight hours of packing down, 

and another eight hours to go? 

See a small album of packing photos by clicking here.

Farewell Party... about 40 or more kids gathered for 9 hours of a good-bye party for four of this year's exchange students hosted by Sonja Martin and her daughters. Thanks, Sonja!

Four-wheelin' with Ben

 Jan has named Ben's truck "Butt." 

Enough said! 

Might be your last ride, Jan. ;-)

"Get down, Jan. Get down."

Getting Organized and saying farewells

It's never easy organizing after a year abroad. There's packing, goodbyes, final exams, a final soccer match, parties, a whirlwind of faces and requests and airline tickets and the bittersweet ache of 'I can't wait to get home' but ... 

Not listening

Dear Boys, 


As I said, I had to go to camp to prepare for the workmen. Remember, you did not want to go. Then, I went for a run with Bailey, and I don't often take the cell phone on my runs. If they don't break down, the bikes will do you good. I hope you had fun. :-) 


Love,
Rich & Bailey. 

Water Balloon Baseball

They fill up balloons with water and then hit them with baseball bats. They also practice catching the balloons with soft hands... Jan is good at that; Simon gets wet; Bailey eats the balloon remnants. 

"Damn it! I want to play."

Spoofing Luiz

Luiz, the boys want to thank you for the use of your TV. Bailey watches Animal Planet during the day and Jan Filliesand Simon Sebastian Leonhard watch the Red Sox and seem to be throwing things at it a lot since the Sox are struggling. Only a few dings and white spots on the screen... otherwise, all's well.

More flooding pictures

We drove to camp this afternoon and the water is just under the Bridge and just about ready to crest over the brook onto the Kent Camp lawn. As you'll see, the beach is almost all the way under and in one place there's a large puddle. After several days of heavy, nonstop, tropical rain, the flooding will be worse tomorrow. More pictures by clicking on this sentence.

Flooding in Western Maine

We've had an immense amount of rain the past couple of weeks ad now with two days of steady rain with another day in the offing, we're hearing up for flooding. 

Last Baseball Game... and last American athletic event....

In their final game, the boys hit back to back singles and at the end of the game they both hit the ball but did not make it to first base. Here's my favorite picture as Simon returns to the bench while Jan comes up to the plate to bat. Congratulations to both boys for their dedication to the team and the way they learned the American sport of baseball. For more pictures from Facebook, click on this sentence. 

Playing Hooky

The good old American tradition of playing hooky from school. The boys headed off with the Rainey Family this sunny Friday morning to an amusement park called Fun Town in the southern part of the state. 

Great baseball game, dramatic ending

Jan ended the baseball game with a dramatic attempt at scoring. It was an awesome moment in the baseball season and a great memory for all of us.