Mini Maine Vacation Part 3

Our final day was the first day of less than perfect weather. It rained in the morning and then was much cooler for the rest of the day. We decided to stay in Freeport and look around in the shops. There are tons of outlets there, best known for the LL Bean store and outlet. We had to make a stop. There was a giant boot out front and tourists we were so pose we did!

Inside there is this aquarium where you can duck your head into this bubble thing and have the fish swim right around your head. All of us got a kick out of it!We managed to escape LL Bean with out sharing our credit card information. One store down, 25 to go...

By accident we found a place called Wicked Whoopies. I had seen this store on Oprah, famous for their Whoopie pies. I had to get one for us to share. I think the kids liked it, eh?

The lady in the store laughed at us as we kept returning for more pies.

Since we couldn't possibly fill up on Whoopie pies and Harry and David samples we stopped at a little shop for our first Lobster Roll. Good thing we waited till the end of our stint in New England because those things are good...and expensive! Oh look, you can see all of our Whoopie pie boxes in the stroller! We hit a few souvineer shops but our only souvenier from them was this picture of Annabelle wearing a lobster claw headband. And these pictures of a beautiful tree outside of a jewelery shop. After spending the afternoon shopping in Freeport we headed back home. I am so glad we got a chance to see some of Maine. It is beautiful. No wonder it is the vacation state.

Now that we are back here we will be working on planning our move out west. Only a couple more weeks left here in Rhode Island. It has been a great year and as much as I hate our nasty rental, I'm sad to have it coming to an end.

Mini Maine Vacation Part Two

On our second day in Maine we headed south to Portland. We hopped a ferry to one of the small islands of Maine called Peaks Island. Since it is the off season not much was open, well there's not much there anyway. We took to the island by foot and found a gorgeous beach to walk. At the end of this steep walkway was the beach.Here's the view from the path.We spent most of our time there picking up beach glass and climbing on the rocks. It was so peaceful. I braved handing my camera over to a stranger to get a picture of all four of us together. After walking the beach we went to a little restaurant that was feeding all of the island's visitors. I don't think they were expecting so many people but the day was so beautiful I think a lot of people did the same as us and just ventured out. MJ and Annabelle got nice cold beers aka Captain Eli's Blueberry or Strawberry soda. OK, Annabelle just got a sip after which she shivered and made a funny crooked face and went back to her water. After lunch we headed back out to explore the island further and found another rocky beach with more glass to find and rocks to climb.

Annabelle is on her feet more often. Walking still isn't her method of choice 99% of the time but she's getting better at it. She had lots of chances to practice this weekend

As he did on the day of his birthday party, MJ stripped his shirt and went for some exercise. He loves to run shirtless on the beach. He then drops to the ground for some push ups. I had to get pictures this time. I was so bummed to have missed this photo op last time!

The sun was setting and it was beautiful. I trusted more strangers for another family picture. And then I trusted MJ for some pictures of just Mike and I. It was a bit scary to see MJ holding my camera and for those of you who have seen it with the flash attached you know it is almost as big as he is. But he was THRILLED to have the chance to use it. I was relieved not to have to make a claim to insurance on it.

We caught the ferry back to Portland at sunset. It was beautiful both looking back at Peaks Island,

And looking towards Portland.

I have done nothing to these photos, this is exactly what it looked like when we were there. It sure would be fun to sharpen them up and saturate those colors!

On our way out of Portland we stopped at Whole Foods to try and find some of that Captain Eli's Soda "beer" and ended up making dinner out of it. The kids were so tired there was no way we were going to make it through a sit down dinner at a restaurant. Once we got back to Brunswick Annabelle got a quick diaper change and in the bed she went never waking up. MJ on the other hand had to be encouraged a little...we had 10 minutes to get him to fall asleep so Mike and I could have a date with hot chocolate and barely audible Desperate Housewives. :)

Mini Maine Vacation Part One

Since living in Rhode Island both Mike and I have sworn that we wouldn't miss the chance to see the state of Maine. Well we both heard the clock ticking away and decided this was our weekend to go. So did everyone else. We couldn't find a room in any of the areas we wanted to stay but the base had room and it was $26/night. Well the room was perfect so hooray for us! We drove up Saturday morning and I took a bunch of blurry pics out the window of the breath taking fall colors. Well first there was the bridge in Boston. It's just cool looking.

These are on 95 probably somewhere in New Hampshire. There would be bursts of fantastic color and then parts that hadn't turned yet or where all the leaves had already fallen.

This pic was in Freeport, ME at a stoplight. I never really got a chance to take my time and get some great shots of the leaves, most of them were through the windshield!We basically went on our friend/neighbor's advice on things to do since we've never been and didn't have time to plan. We stopped at Wolf's Neck Farm in Freeport first. We took a little hayride around the farm. Annabelle learned a new animal and sound. Pointing at the cows it sounded a bit like this, shrieking "Dow! Boooo!"

We went for a walk at the park there. MJ got to be Survivor Guy again and rock climb. While he climbed we took pictures of Annabelle who found the joy in throwing rocks...at us. She thought this was very very funny. I attempted to take the same number of pictures of MJ but he just doesn't have the patience for the camera. I still got this shot which I LOVE!

The sun was going down on our way out of the park. On our friend's advice we went to a sushi restaurant for dinner. The sushi was fantastic and Annabelle powered down almost a whole bowl of steamed edamame! We then retired to our room on base and listened to Annabelle scream for a half hour before we all fell asleep. Part two to follow.

Change of Wardobe and plans...

...Well we can pack away our bathing suits, and pull out the rain gear. We're not moving to Hawaii but we'll be Sleepless in Seattle...Bremerton to be exact. We will be departing the Newport area in early November and making our way across the country. We aren't sure if it will be by plane, train or automobile but somehow we'll get there.

Uh Uh Bleahblha

And if you know what that means, where were you last night? Annabelle kept repeating this sound and using gestures to try and tell us something. We're pretty sure now she was saying Up Up and Away! She actually did it 3 separate times and once again this morning. It all sounds the same so we're sure she's saying something specific.

Perhaps this is where she got up up and away from...

Aunt Kristi entertained Annabelle at MJ's party. I just liked this picture and wanted to include it.

So to all, "Uh Uh Bleahblha!"

MJ turned 5!

It has been a whole weekend of celebrating MJ's fifth birthday. It started out Friday morning when MJ got to pick breakfast. We had donut holes and lattes out front as requested. These "coffee talks" (with a heavy Boston accent) have become a special time for MJ and I.

MJ then went to school where he was king for the day. He decorated his own crown and got to select a special book to read at home with us. He brought a Curious George book home.

We then asked him to pick out what he'd like for dinner and in typical 5 year old style he selected lobsters, mushrooms, and baked potatoes. So we went downtown and he hand picked out our lobsters for dinner. At dinner MJ sat, head in hands and said, "I can't believe I'm five." Clearly Mom needs to keep her bewilderment to herself! But he followed with, "I thought I was six!" I don't think he gets it! :)

Annabelle gave him a Woody doll from Toy Story and after opening it he proclaimed, "This is the best birthday ever!" He also opened his gift from Mike's mom and grandmother. He got a bunch of noisy musical instruments which he loved and so did Annabelle. He was a one man band playing the keyboard with his feet and banging on some wooden thing.

On Saturday he woke to his Gammy, Poppy, and Aunt Kristi who had flown in the night before for his birthday. We all hung out in the morning doing last minute peparations for his pizza party. The party was a success. Every kid got to make their own pizzas, decorate a cupcake, color an apron and all in all have a good time. After the party we headed to the beach and collected beach glass. It was an activity MJ has been eager to share with Gammy, Poppy, and Aunt Kristi. Chuck, Clare and Guinny met us there. MJ at one point stripped off his shirt and said he was going for some exercise. He ran down the beach and back stopping along the way to do some pushups. Perhaps I should follow his lead!

Once we finally got home everyone was pretty pooped, we carried in Thai and opened a few presents. The rest we saved for the morning. Aunt Kristi's gift overshadowed the rest. Who can resist a robotic dog that rolls over, plays dead, pees, begs and farts. It's a 5 year old's dream come true.