Back to School 2015

The Sunday before the kids headed back to school we tried to squeeze in one last family hike. It was foggy and beautiful.

And this was the end of the hike. I can't look at this picture without getting a pit in my stomach. I was so stressed out! All I could see were children plummeting to the depths of the icy Atlantic. Thankfully no one did. And I really want to go back on a clear day. 

And with my parents' visit a few days later, the week just flew by. I convinced Ryan to take this picture with me. I love many things about summer but I must admit that I crave structure and routines, which both get blown to smithereens all summer long. Our days are quieter and lonelier with just Nathan and I, but luckily the kids come home each afternoon.

Full of energy on the first day of school. I love how happy and excited the three of them look. They all seem to really love their classes and teachers. Davis told me he wants to live at school, and could I please live with him there? Because his teacher is so nice and the toys are more fun there.

And now Wednesdays are spent with just Nathan and Ryan and I. Nathan loves Wednesdays. So do I.

From the Mouth of My Babe

There is a hiking trail near Ryan's work that leads to the ocean. A small part of the hike requires the use of a rope to shimmy down the side of the hill to reach the ocean. The older kids can do it on their own but our little guy needs help. Ryan asked Nathan right before I snapped this picture to give him a big hug and hold on tight and he would safely get him past the hill. I think he looks like a little koala bear.

The other day, during Davis' first week of school, there was a little rough-housing on the bus and someone pulled Davis' hair. Apparently Maddie intervened and told the other boy to leave her brother alone. They relayed to me the altercation through giggles after they got off the bus. Then Maddie got serious and said, "Davis, if that kid messes with you again, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."

Grandpa Mike and Grandma Maddie Visit Maine

My parents were in town last week and I don't think I've ever been so excited to show them the place we call home. It's not that I love Maine any more than I loved Iowa or Connecticut or Arizona. It's just that it's so different than anywhere else we've ever lived. It really meant so much to me to be able to spend a whole week exploring with them. 

We live almost two hours from the nearest international airport, and the drive to pick them up was full of excited children. At one point when we got really close to the airport Maddie started squealing and shaking her fists, declaring with a big smile on her face--I.am.so.excited!!!!

As per usual, they brought an entire suitcase full of spoils from Utah. Hello Costco, we miss you!!! Beef jerky, mixed nuts, chocolate-covered mangos, jelly bellies, to name a few. 

It's not exactly easy to travel from Utah to rural Maine and we really appreciate the sacrifices that my parents made to come visit. Red eye flights can be pretty exhausting, not to mention jet lag on top of that. But they did it without complaint. We felt so loved.

The first place we took them after they got settled and rested up a bit was our lighthouse (aka the Forrest Gump Lighthouse). It's one of our favorite spots and it's right on our peninsula. 

The first couple of days of their visit were really foggy. I personally love the fog but I was happy when it lifted and we had 5 sunny days so they could see Maine in color :) Here Nathan is watching the boats in the water, one of his favorite pastimes. 

We ate a lot of ice cream while they were here. Grandpa even treated the kids to a double scoop this particular night. Two flavors in one cone? The kids were in heaven. 

My friend Amy was kind enough to come over and teach us how to cook lobsters so now Ryan and I are pretty much professionals. Can you tell? There is something extra thrilling about throwing a live crustacean into a pot of boiling water. We thought we were owning those lobsters until Ryan noticed the one that my dad was holding up for a photo op (you know, for social media) had somehow lost the rubber band on it's pincher claw. Then we all kind of freaked out and put it back in the refrigerator (where it escaped from it's bag since there was no band on it's pincher!!!). My mom was the most freaked out about the live crustaceans. She was the one who first discovered that the one escaped. "Sara! I looked in the fridge and the one without the rubber band is just crawling around in there---outside the bag!!" "Really? What did you do with it when you found it that way?" I asked. She cried in despair, "I just hurried and closed the fridge before it could get me!!" When it was time to boil the shellfish, Ryan, being the brave soul that he is, proceeded to use the longest pair of kitchen tongs we could find to drop it into the boiling pot. 

I think they are kind of pretty when they are cooked and bright red.

One thing I learned during our feast-cracking a lobster shell is NOT glamorous. It was a full-body experience. And a lot of fun. Can you believe that a lobster is cheaper than a value meal at McDonald's this time of year in Maine? We bought them from our neighbor down the street at about $6 a piece. He pulled them right out of the ocean for us. 

My dad brought his selfie stick on the trip. It was awesome. We took a drive to the top of Mount Battie so my parents could get a view of Penobscot Bay. I really do love how beautiful Maine is.

 I always worry about Nathan when we have visitors. He just takes a while to warm up to people, which can be exhausting as his parents and disappointing as his grandparents. Until this trip, he never had actually warmed up to my dad. So it was so sweet to see him comfortable with his grandpa only a few minutes after picking them up from the airport. It gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, Ryan and I won't have to hold him constantly on our next visit out west.

On day two of their visit we took my parents to the Rockland Breakwater. It is almost a mile walk to the lighthouse, so I bribed the kids with ice cream if they didn't complain. It totally worked (despite Grandpa trying repeatedly to trick Davis into moaning about how tired he was--Dave didn't fall for it). It was such a peaceful, foggy day. 

At the Breakwater. The granite path that leads from the harbor into the ocean was built more than 100 years ago. It's 0.8 miles long and it's my favorite lighthouse because it's so unique. 

This schooner was passing by the lighthouse just as we were arriving. It looked like a ghost ship on the water because of all the fog. These ships can be seen all over Penobscot Bay. 

When my parents come to visit we usually try to squeeze in a small trip. In Iowa we hit up Nauvoo. In Connecticut we ventured out to Boston and NYC. And this time around, we headed North East to Acadia National Park. Davis and I are posing for a picture here at the top of Cadillac Mountain. During certain times of the year, the sun can be seen rising atop this peak earlier than any other spot in the United States.

We scored a sweet hotel right on the coast. Can you see the ocean behind those deck chairs? When we asked the kids what their favorite part of the trip was, all three older kids said "the swimming pool at the hotel!" Typical. I think Nathan agrees with them. 

Traveling with kids can be so so exhausting (Does it get easier? Please tell me it does.), but I've decided that we keep doing it over and over again because the challenges that come with it fade very quickly and all I remember are scenes like this one with Nathan hanging onto my mom's back, boldly declaring, "Wook mama! I swimming!! I swimming wif gammaw!"

Otter Cliff. As I believe my dad so eloquently put it, "Where the hell are all the otters?"

The morning that we were packing up to head up to Acadia, my parents offered to get up early and go to the grocery store to pick up some snacks for the trip. "What would the kids like to eat?" my mom asked. I told her that anything would be fine, but "Go easy on the junk. They don't need any more treats. Some fruit and crackers will be fine." She agreed. Somehow, I wasn't surprised, though, when they pulled into the driveway an hour later with bags full of ding dongs, hostess cupcakes, lunchables, fruit snacks, toffees, milanos, and oreos (both mega-stuffed and thin crisps). Oh, and 4 cans of Pringles. All my mom said was, "You know I have no control over your father, right?" The junk food came back to haunt us when Davis tossed his cookies (quite literally) late that night after eating almost an entire can of Pringles all by himself. I can't think about that story without laughing. And my dear husband, true to form, cleaned the whole thing up. 

Lobsters and ice cream. Two staples in Bar Harbor (or as the locals call it, "Ba Ha Ba) and all of Midcoast Maine.

Our kids loved Sand Beach at Acadia. It was the first time they played in ocean waves that were big enough to knock them over. We don't get very big waves at our local beach. They LOVED it. Not surprisingly, there was sand everywhere. EVERYWHERE. 

Choose the left when a choice is placed before you. 

Our last couple of days were spent going to church, getting kids ready to start school, and exploring Camden and Rockland while the older kids were in school. And just like that it was time to take them back to the airport. It was such a great visit. My kids can't stop talking about it. Saying goodbye is never easy and living far from family isn't my favorite either, but I sure do love having so much one-on-one time with my parents. It's totally the silver lining to living far from loved ones. Visits are just the best.

Life Lately

I'm not really sure how to sum up our summer so I'm going to take the easy way out and just post a barrage of pictures along with a little caption for each. We have had a pretty gorgeous summer here in Maine. It has been lonely in some respects because we are in a new place, but I'm so glad the kids have some neighbor friends down the street that they just adore. And that they have each other. They are really lucky to have each other. I hope someday they will realize that :) 

Maddie loves summer in Maine.

This tree fell over during one of the storms last winter before we moved in. The kids have loved having it as their climbing spot, but our landlords had to remove it for safety reasons. We took one last picture with it this particular morning.

I rarely do crafts with my kids, and while flubber is far from crafty, it's a start, right? Our kids and their friends ended up playing with it for days and days.

Maddie taught Nathan how to plug her nose and they play this little nose-plugging game almost every time they're in the car together. Incidentally, we are in the car A LOT because we live in the country and most things are further away than they were when we lived in suburbia---shopping, swim lessons, and even the park. But not the beach. The beach is really really close to us. I'll take it.

My friend, Becca, came with her family for a visit to Maine and we got to spend an evening with them. It was so great to catch up with her and see her sweet kiddos.

Me and my girl at the beach.

Davis, Isaac, and Maddie spent a week at a day camp last month. It focused on nature and they got to go hiking, to the beach, and to build fairy gardens in the woods. I would drop them off each morning and pick them up each afternoon and they loved it. I think it might become an annual thing. Nathan and I got a little taste of what life will be like when the kids go back to school at the end of the month.

Superheroes unite!

This girl loves taking selfies with her baby brother.

You have to use your imagination with this photo, but if you look really close in that tree, you can see a Bald Eagle. A BALD EAGLE! It was just hanging out in a tree outside our library. I don't think I've ever seen a Bald Eagle outside of captivity. Ever. The librarian told me that it comes to that tree often. It flew away after a few minutes and it was huge! It seriously looked like a man flying through the air it's wingspan was so big.

Ryan and I recently started a new tradition--we cook together one night a week. We take turns choosing the menu. This particular week it was grilled thai chicken kabobs. I love this tradition. It gives us a chance to talk to one another and make yummy food at the same time. And believe it or not, it was HIS idea to start this little tradition of ours. He's my favorite.

These tiny little frogs are all over our yard. Sometimes the wildlife in Maine is really charming--like the Bald Eagles and the tiny frogs, and sometimes it's really creepy--like the skunks stinking up our yard or the mice in our basement. And the ticks. Don't even get me started on the ticks. Is it weird that I'm only partially dreading winter? The silver lining to the frigid temps is that all the ticks die. I can't wait for them to die. But I can wait for winter so I guess I'll deal with the ticks a little longer.

Ryan and Nathan walking up to a lighthouse near our home. We were able to climb up inside the lighthouse because it happened to be open to the public. Pretty cool. 

I know I already posted a camping picture but this one is a little different and Davis' face just cracks me up. I think that this is the picture that I will remember forever when I think of our first summer here in Maine. I love these kids so much.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

This past spring we were invited by our neighbors to grow a garden on their property along with their family and their daughter's family. We jumped at the chance to learn from two families' expertise. They have been very patient and generous with us since we really know nothing about gardening, except how to pull weeds. Cheesy as it sounds, I completely underestimated how fulfilling it has been to have a real garden that feeds my family! It really is a highlight each day to walk next door and see what has taken place overnight. Plus I'm learning so much about produce! Who knew there were such things as round, lemon cucumbers? Or green zebra tomatoes? Yellow beets? Even purple beans! 

A rainbow of cherry tomatoes!

Our neighbors were so generous to share their priceless raspberries with us. The kids LOVED walking to the garden to pick a snack. 

Everything just keeps growing bigger and bigger.

We have some friends with tons of blueberry bushes on their property and they invited us last week to pick all we wanted--yes please! Wild Maine blueberries are much smaller than the blueberries you buy at your local grocery store, and they are really potent and flavorful. Perfect for baking. So far we have made blueberry crisp, blueberry cream pie, and blueberry sauce for pancakes. And lots of smoothies and some popsicles. I think the kids and I ended up picking a couple of gallons of berries. 

Purple and green string beans picked from our friends' farm. They have a huge vegetable garden with acres and acres of land and they sell their produce each summer at a produce stand on their property. 

Our neighbors taught Davis and Maddie how to pull carrots out of the ground. They were so surprised to learn that they grow in the dirt. We are baby carrot people around here most of the time. 

Feeling at home in a new place usually takes me awhile---like, the-better-part-of-a-year kind of "awhile," but having a garden has just been so fun and given me something to look forward to, and in a small way it's made Maine feel a little more like home.