9/13/18

July

I was making something for singing time and the kids decided to do their own drawings on butcher paper.  Of course the boys were about bombs and farting.  Adam drew with Ava and made a picture of our cabin view. 


Got my sun oven fixed (it feel off the table last summer and shattered the glass).  Amazed every time I use that thing, that it can get that hot. 
Stuffed animals, and Legos, are the only toys that my kids consistently play with.  Ava especially loves the stuffed animals.  She had a tea party for them.  
Noah went on a camp out with his scouts.  He loves that kind of stuff!!
4th of July ward breakfast and bike parade.  
We hit up quite a few parties on the 4th.  Started around lunch time at the Andersons pool. Pool 2 (we swam in ours first - Pool 1). 
Then to a neighborhood party where the kids hopped from one neighbors house to the next. Pool 3.
Pool 4. 
Then went to a dinner party at the Wutkees. Pool 5. From here we went to the airport and flew to Maine. 
We took the red eye to Boston and then drove 3 hours to Mary's house.  Not sure if the red eye was a good idea.  Poor Adam was so tired.  He stopped a couple times driving to keep from falling asleep.  I thought I would stay awake looking at the scenery, but then realized that you can't see anything along the roads because it's just trees FOREVER.  I ended up falling asleep. :/  
Our first day there was super hot and humid.  We went to Belfast (cute little town on the coast about 15 minutes from Mary's) and swam in the city pool (FREE) to cool off and then the kids went rowing (FREE!!).  The kids had to be able to lift the oar up in the air and slowly lower it to be able to do the lesson and go on the boats.  They're huge oars.  They all did it except Rosie.  The kids said it was hard, but seemed to have fun.  
Belfast, Maine
Cute little Rosie.


Of course we ate our fair share of Lobster while we were there.  Wan't as cheap as we thought it would be, but definitely delicious.  Luke and Jana missed their connecting flight, so they ended up having to stay in Phili for a night, so they got there a day later than planned.  
The kids loved Mary and Min's huge pond.  They kayaked, fished, played in the waterfall, and explored all around it. 



Went to Liberty, their closest town (population 950) and ate lunch there.  This is the town where their kids go to school.  Crazy to me how small all these little towns are. If it wasn't so miserable in the winter, I would totally move here.  My type of place.  

Antique store next to the restaurant.  
Liberty has maybe 4 stores along the main road. 
Checked out the kids' school and saw their fairy gardens in the woods.  So cute. 



Hiked near their school to blueberry hill.  All that green is blueberry bushes. 

The kids were loving it. They filled up their tummy's and their shirts with blueberries. 


Part of Mary's fun yard.
Got to celebrate Grace's birthday while we were there.  The older girls made the cupcakes. 
Aunt Jana bought the boys fart shirts and the girls night gowns.  They were all thrilled with their gifts. 

They set up 2 tents to sleep in, but only a few of them actually ended up sleeping in them. 
The kids went to gymnastics with Charlotte and Freddie while Mary, Min and I went to an Amish village to buy a dog cart for Mary's huge dog Hugo.   I've always wanted to see an Amish community so it was fun to see how they live. 

Went to Popin beach (i think) one evening to let the kids explore a little. 



How many kids can we cram into Mary's suburban?!
We went to Rockport and went sailing.  When we a walked up with our 100 kids and 5 adults the guide wasn't too happy, but after the trip he said he was really impressed with how well behaved the kids were and that it was way better than he thought it was going to turn out. HA!! :)

It was really fun.  We saw a couple light houses and all the kids got a turn steering the boat.  It was a little freaky when the sides of the boat would dip clear in the water.  Ava and Noah lost their shoes overboard, because they left them on the side and when it dipped into the water it swept them out to sea. :/  It was crazy how warm and calm it would be and then instantly get cold and super windy.  All depended on the direction and distance from shore. 



Went to another Lobster shack, of course. 
Noah was super excited to order lobster bisque.  He and his friends CONSTANTLY say 'lobster bisque', really annoying, like on Studio C.  He said it was good and send a picture to his friends. 
Burning Min's giant burn pile.  The luxuries of moist vegetation.  This would NEVER fly in California. 
The kids, especially Noah, were in heaven. 
Adam was a little antsy towards the end and needed a project, so he convinced Luke to help him build a dock for their pond.  They built this pretty great little dock which made it a lot easier to get in and out of the kayaks and fish off it. 
Noah LOVED their sheep and spend a lot of time in there pestering them and 'training' them. :)


The cart they bought for Hugo.  The kids will have to be the work animals until Hugo is old enough to pull it. 
These kids did great being in the same house and playing all week.  We had very few quarrels and LOTS AND LOTS OF FUN.  
My garden progress when we returned from Maine.  Looking beautiful. 
Backyard progress as of July.  The BBQ got installed and we have loved using it and eating outside.  By moving the table closer to the sliding door, we use it all the time.  Hopefully we can get it finished before winter. 

A trip to the cabin (very few trips this summer with our busy schedules).  So sad, and once the youth activities were over the fires started up there. UGH!  We'll have to go a lot this winter. 
Enjoying the 'fruits' of our labors.  The kids have really loved gardening with me this summer.  Noah comes in every morning and asks if I want to go work in the garden with him.  When we do go out, I realize he means he wants to harvest something, not so much 'help' in the garden. :)
Playing in the kitchen this summer.  Not much cooking going on, but definitely baking and experimenting. Made lots of marinara sauce with our tomatoes, LOTS of relish with our cucumbers and peppers and a few other yummy treats like this peach pie. 
Kids experimenting with their food chemistry supplies - watermelon popping bobas. 
When my kids fight I make them hold hands with their 'enemy' for a short time.  These 2 were supposed to hold hands for 5 minutes.  It took them 2 hours and their time was increased to 15 minutes.  
A harvesting day. 
Look what I saw at Target!!!!  A caboodle!!!  I can't believe these are back in.  I remember my pink caboodle that held everything BUT hair and make-up accessories. Some things are best left in the 90's ya know. 

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