Maine Summer 2013

Our summer wouldn't have been complete without a nice long trip to Maine. It was just what we needed to recharge our batteries. We were lucky enough to overlap our trip with Ashley's stay (Morgan's sister). The cousins had so much fun together!

We started out with a trip to the coast to go see one of Morgan's aunts. It was SUCH a beautiful day! We took advantage of having the kids together and snapped some pictures. 

After some time on the playground and lunch we went for a little stroll along the seaside. The tide was out so the kids (and grown ups!) went down to look for treasures.

Love this view!

The cousins also had some fun hot tub time.

 Nora LOVES her Auntie Ashley. (And for those of you who know what a bear Nora can be, she warmed up instantly to Ashley. Miracle!)

 After a couple of days Ashley and her kids went home, Andrew constantly asked about Marinn. He sure loves his cousins!

We spent some more time seaside...

Poor Nora! For the sake of safety she had to deal with the worst wedgie ever!

 Enjoyed playing with Mimi

Went to the Children's Museum...

Had lots of lazy mornings...

LOVED the sandbox!

Enjoying the carefree days of summer...

After visiting Morgan's Grandma we made sure to stop by Dutch Treat for some ice cream. (i love how little Nora looks between her dad and papa!)

 Explored Morgan's neighborhood....

The "Bat Cave"

Penobscot River...

The railroad!

Concerts at Webster Park...

On one of our last days we were able to get into the water with Aunt Kelly. We NEED kayaks! I love paddling!

We were also there to help celebrate Papa's birthday!!

 All in all.... WE HAD A GREAT TIME! We are always so sad to leave Orono. So many fun things to do and all the Mimi and Papa we can get!

P.S. It just hit me when I looked at the this last picture how much Andrew looks like Morgan's mom! I know he looks like Morgan, but man - I see a lot of Mimi in him!!

Happy Birthday to... Me!

On July 1st I turned the ripe old age of 28. Creeping closer to 30, yikes. My mom made me a delicious Whoopie Pie cake. My family came over and we had a nice time celebrating. We later went out to lunch at La Parrilla and had the honor of wearing the communal sombrero while they sang to me.

My train loving little boy.

I'm not sure if there is anything much more innocent than a little boy who loves trains. He can name every train from Thomas the Train and loves playing with his train table. I love hearing about all the adventures the trains go on.

I love how he loooves to wear his engineer hat - seriously, how cute is he?

Apple Juice

When I was a child my grandparents house was a magical place. It was a nice large home with lots of rooms. As kids it was a maze of hiding places and lots of things to discover. One thing that we always looked forward to was the refrigerator in my grandpa's workshop. In that fridge there was always IBC root beer and little glass bottles of Martinelli's apple juice. Nothing in the world tasted sweeter than that apple juice. Grandpa and Grandma knew how much us kids loved it and made sure to always have some when we came over.

It brought me almost to tears when Andrew and I were at my grandpas house and he pulled out a bottle for Andrew. Sadly the bottles are plastic now - but the sentiment is the same. I love seeing my grandparents interact with Andrew and see their relationship grow.

Happenings of May.

 In early May my cousin Michelle and her son Liam came out for a visit. Nora and Liam are about a month apart in age. It was fun to see them play around. It was so much fun catching up with Michelle!

A trip to the mall would not be complete (for Andrew) without a ride on the train.

 One of the many perks of living with my parents is the backyard! Lots of playing and swinging....

We went strawberry picking with my sister and her kids. Once Nora realized that you could eat the strawberries... she became a lean mean strawberry eating machine. 

Dan and Kim came for a visit from New Orleans. They brought lots of goodies from Mardi Gras. Nora LOVED the necklaces.

Lots of swimming with Aunt Lollie...

As well as a few attempts with the cousins.

The month of May was a good one. Nothing like summer time!