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29 July, Dillon's Birthday, Len Libby, Boston trip From fra8164 in 'bout ye (103 days old)

Only 5 sleeps left until we return to N.Ireland and yesterday was Dillon's 16th Birthday, his first away from home, but he seemed to be enjoying himself when we popped by with a card and a pressie (ar… more

29 July, Bowling with the Heberts From fra8164 in 'bout ye (104 days old)

Hi another day with Pat visiting host families, we popped along to the Heberts for a bite to eat and a trip to Candlepin Bowling, much more skilled than regular 10-pin bowling. I introduced the Heber… more

27 July, Pat's Cocktail Party From fra8164 in 'bout ye (105 days old)

Well for those that don't know our boss Pat Morgan is over to help evaluate and celebrate the programme and it's 25 years.Last night he hosted a Cocktail Party for host families which many got along t… more

24-26 July Camping From fra8164 in 'bout ye (107 days old)

The biggest blog of the summer, lots of pix so it will take a while loading. Basically camping weather was as usual, started in rain, nice warm Saturday, then ended with rain as we took the tents down… more

22 July, Vaughan family visit to Portsmouth and Schooner Eleanor From fra8164 in 'bout ye (110 days old)

Hey another blog today, this time of yesterday's visit to the Vaughan family and the day out they took us on. Robin has been hosting for many years now (I think it's 3 million but it could be more). … more

21 July, Synagogue Visit & Flynn, Deeley, Lydon family BBQ From fra8164 in 'bout ye (110 days old)

What a busy day, and apologies for delay in blogging....we started off bright and early at the Etz Chaim Synagogue in Biddeford. Etz Chaim, which means Tree of Life, doesn't have a Rabbi, instaed they… more

19 July, Car Wash From fra8164 in 'bout ye (113 days old)

Our big, and only, fundraiser of the summer saw us all hard at work washing cars in Saco...well I say ALL of us hard at work, that's not quite true, so if you don't get to see your child on this blog … more

17 July, more soup kitchen, Rothrock family visit From fra8164 in 'bout ye (115 days old)

Half way through our stay in Maine and all is well. To celebrate Kevin (our host daddy), Lynn and I went out for brunch. We ate it all up like good little boys and girls should, I even took some pix a… more

16 July, Soup Kitchen, Hall family visit, more Claudia From fra8164 in 'bout ye (116 days old)

Last night was our first visit to the soup kitchen, there are no pix as this isn't allowed in the facility. There was a good crowd of volunteers including us and a lot of people using the kitchen for … more

14 July, Beach Party, Robin gets her collar felt From fra8164 in 'bout ye (118 days old)

Ah only MICP could do it, we had the beach party, and of course the weather decided not to co-operate after lulling us into a false sense of security by starting off looking good. Also the tide decide… more

13 July, Breaking Things, Schuyler family visit From fra8164 in 'bout ye (119 days old)

Hi, what a day, Lynn and I decided that there were just too many things that were operating normally today so we decided to start breaking them. First up was Kevin's cooker (or stove as you Americans … more

11/12 July, It's all about us...well mainly From fra8164 in 'bout ye (120 days old)

OK it's the weekend, so most of the blog is about me and Lynn, or Lynn and I to be gramatically correcter!! On Saturday we went to the Red Sox, on a big bus, us on a bus!! I took a pic of Lynn at F… more

10 July, Graham and King family visits From fra8164 in 'bout ye (122 days old)

Busy day for us as we visit two host families. First up we have the Graham family who are hosting Stephanie, they live in Limerick....no not THAT Limerick...Limerick, Maine as the Americans like to ca… more

09 July Hebert family visit, Sea Dogs game From fra8164 in 'bout ye (123 days old)

Hey all, the biggest blog of the summer so far, so stand by for a long wait as your browser downloads it. First up we visited the Hebert family....well, tribe really, as this band of natives ambus… more

08 July Strassler family visit From fra8164 in 'bout ye (124 days old)

More Blog, we're doing well this year. It was Wednesday...and still raining, so Lynn an d I set sail (literally) for Arundel and the Strassler family who are hosting Daisy. On the way I decided to… more

07 July, Hanley family visit, Sea Dogs rained out From fra8164 in 'bout ye (125 days old)

Hi all from a very wet Maine; I blame Lynn, she packed umbrellas!! Anyways we packed our wet gear and went off to South Portland to visit the Hanley family who are hosting Mark C. Mark has been ha… more

04/05 July Independence Day Celebrations From fra8164 in 'bout ye (127 days old)

Ah the 4th of July, the day the Americans celebrate their independence from the nasty British Imperialists....hang on is that us they are talking about??? Anyway, Lynn and I made our way up to the … more

03 July Stawberry picking, OOB, Claudia fishing From fra8164 in 'bout ye (129 days old)

Well it's the 4th of July here and while the locals celebrate I blog on yesterdays activities!! I received some pix from Susan King who is hosting Ryan and Niamh, they had been strawberry picking, … more

03 July Hebert Message From fra8164 in 'bout ye (130 days old)

I got some pictures and a message from the Hebert family this morniong. They are hosting Claudia so here's an update on what's happening at the Happy Hebert Home (I love that title). Howdy there! D… more

01 July Host Family Picnic From fra8164 in 'bout ye (131 days old)

Yes there is a lighthouse at Fortwilliams, Cape Elizabeth but you won't see it in any of these pictures. To say it was cold, wet and foggy would be an understatement...its was COLD, WET and FOGGY!!… more

We've arrived!!! From fra8164 in 'bout ye (133 days old)

Suitable clad in 'bout ye T-Shirts courtesy of Tayto, we have arrived in Maine....not much to say except it's raining here...a lot...we're wet!! So here we go, the group left at stupid o'clock in t… more

We're on our way!!!!! From fra8164 in 'bout ye (148 days old)

The Class of 2009 Be afraid Maine...be very afraid!!!!… more

24-26 April Ballintoy Residential From fra8164 in 'bout ye (156 days old)

Hey the blog is back, and here is a bit of a preview before we leave for Maine. We held our second residential in Ballintoy on 24-26 April, we stayed at Sheep Island View Hostel and here we are on th… more

25 September Gemma's Jars From fra8164 in 'bout ye (411 days old)

The group met up tonight for the first time since our return home, unfortunately only 9 could make the meeting but that didn't stop it being a useful session.Next Tuesday it will be 3 months since Gem… more

4/5 August, Returning Home From fra8164 in 'bout ye (459 days old)

At last I get to update the blog, I'm having weird jet lag, one night I'm sleeping for 14 hours, the next for 3, now back to 14!!!!Anyways here are the pix of our damp departure from Maine and our eve… more

02 August, Lobster Cruise From fra8164 in 'bout ye (464 days old)

Well today is our last Saturday in Maine for this summer, so our host mummy and daddy (Frank and JoAnn Griffin) took us to Portland for the day and we went on the Lucky Catch which is a Lobster boat t… more

02 August, Blog Extra From fra8164 in 'bout ye (465 days old)

Well I promised you a blog extra and here it is, sorry if my typing and grammar are more disconnected than usual. I was at the Red Sox game last night and it went to 3 extra innings so I didn't get ho… more

31 July, Farewell Party From fra8164 in 'bout ye (466 days old)

It's hard to belive it's that time again, the Farewell Party is our chance to say a huge thank you to the host families. It is a little early this year as we fly out on Monday and St. Max Church Hall … more

30 July, Gemma (AWWWWW), Jordan in NY From fra8164 in 'bout ye (467 days old)

Hi all, it's time for another AWWWWWWW blog as we visited the Boissonneault home to get our regular dose of Gemma. She is now over 6 and a half pounds, which is great and she feels so solid. Unfortuna… more

28-29 July, Lake Sokokis stayover From fra8164 in 'bout ye (469 days old)

We had the wonderful opportunity of 2 days at a summer house in Lake Sokokis organised by Steve Beaudette who is a longstanding member of MICP. The summer house is more than a house it has 12 separate… more