Coastal Maine

Today we  meandered up the coast of Maine on our way to Bangor.

What a lovely coast!

In Cape Neddick we viewed the "Nubble" lighthouse.  It was breathtaking.  I am glad the clouds were so moody in the background.

A little farther up the coast was Wells Beach.  This time the kids were dressed to play!  They love the ocean.  The beach front was a lot smaller than Hampton beach.

We had a hard time persuading Josh not to eat the sand.

The next stop was another beach.  This time Orchard beach.  In the summer there are lots of restaurants, stores, and even a carnival on the boardwalk.  It was pretty empty on the boardwalk when we were there.  The beach was littered with cigarette butts that we had to keep moving away from Josh. 

The waves got pretty decent though.

Time flies when you're at the beach.

Soon we were back on the road.  Next stop, Portland Head light on Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

The rocky coast of Maine was gorgeous!

Soon our meandering was done, and we ended the night in Bangor.



New Hampshire

We headed out on Tuesday to begin our September trip up the coast and on to Prince Edward Island.

Our first stop was in Portsmouth, New Hampshire so we could mark New Hampshire off our list.

We visited Hampton Beach.  It was lovely.  Since we hadn't really unpacked yet, and it was a cloudy, chilly day, I didn't have the kids put their swimsuits on.

My one request was that they don't get their clothes wet.

That didn't work.

In fact, Hayden face planted in the ocean and was soaked from top to bottom.  Grrr.

It was a beautiful sandy beach, and would be a great place to spend a day or two, but we had to return to the hotel and get to sleep so we could be on our way in the morning.

Good-bye New Hampshire!

Orem's Diner

Kent had work off yesterday, so we took advantage of the kid's school time and went out to lunch together with just baby.  It felt nearly relaxing!
Orem's Diner is located in Wilton, CT.  It was on my "to do" list from the beginning, but we just never made it over there with 3-4 kids.  Now that the countdown to move has begun we are ticking things off the list before we leave.  Glad to be able to cross off Orem's Diner now.

I ordered the homestyle cheese blintzes.  They came with homestyle potatoes, eggs, and toast.  Those blintzes were so yummy.  I'm so glad when I choose something new from a menu and it turns out to be good!

We leave on Tuesday to mark more things off of our East Coast list!

10 (and a half) months old

Josh turned 10 months old while we were in Boston.  We immediately turned around and left on our whirlwind house hunting trip the following week, so his 10 month post got 'postponed' until school started.
Here's what our 10 month old is up to:

Wears 12-18 month clothes.

Size 4 diapers.

Has 8 teeth.

Pulls to standing all the time and walks the perimeters he can grab hold of.

Sticks his tongue out in concentration. 

Likes to make a tongue clicking noise.

Prefers to be held over anything still (strollers, crawling, etc.)

Sometimes holds his hands up  and says "uh!" for "all done" in his high chair.

He is still so squishy and sweet and we love every minute of our baby! 

First day of school

This summer flew by for us!  I can't believe it's over.  I reluctantly sent three kids off to school today.

McKinley started 4th grade in Mrs. Swords class.  She was busy yesterday prepping everyone's school supplies and outfits.  She was still wide awake at 10:30 from all her excitement.

Sawyer and Hayden get to ride the morning bus together.  We have tried to ingrain in Sawyer that he needs to take care of his little brother.  We'll see how it goes.

Sawyer loves this shirt, so I caved and let him wear it the first day of school.  He'd wear it everyday if he could.  He started 2nd grade with Ms. Malat.  He said he was excited for school, but he only talked about the bus ride and trading Pokemon on the bus.

Hayden did not want to go to school.  He did not want to ride the bus.  He didn't even take any Pokemon.  I followed the bus over to the school to help him find his way and hopefully ease his anxiety.  He starts kindergarten with Ms. Corcoran.  The kindergarten teachers wait outside at the buses to meet all of their class and walk in together. 

I'm convinced they send these kids to school much too young!  He's tiny!  I hope he has the best day!

Last day of Boston

On Thursday, after baby's nap, we took the subway to the aquarium.

Right out of our stop we spotted this street sign and building, so we had to get some pictures.

The New England Aquarium is one of my favorite aquariums I've been to. 

This big structure in the middle is a tank with a walkway that spirals up from the first floor to the top of the tank on the third floor.  It's full of giant fish, a giant sea turtle, sharks, stingrays, and tons of fish.

Josh cried most of the time in his stroller.  He was not happy unless I was holding him.

After the aquarium we went to Quincy Market which is right by Fanueil Hall.  We all got ice cream at Sprinkles, and the boys got a soft Pretzel.  McKinley and I saved our lunch appetites for later at Wagamama near the hotel.

Then we took the subway back to the hotel.  Kent was done with work for the day, so we put Josh down for his nap in the hotel room while Kent read a book.  I took the other three to swim.

We woke baby up around 7:15 and headed out to dinner.  During our 30 minute dinner wait time, we took a stroll around here.  It was a beautiful night.

Boston Children's Museum

We started early this morning.  5:30 early.  Thanks Josh.  He got a nap from 8-10.  Then we got ready and headed out to the Boston Children's Museum.  I got a "science" museum pass this winter and it's good for different museums all over the U.S.!  We hopped on the subway, and walked a few blocks, and got in for free.

The kids loved it!

 Climbing this enormous climbing structure.  Sawyer is just left of Hayden, and McKinley is crawling in front of Hayden.

The kids powering a fan up higher.  Little did they know they were learning and exercising today!

Little Miss Muscles hoisted herself to the top.  Sawyer made it himself too.  Hayden needed my help.  It was tougher than it looked.

Leaving the Museum FOUR hours later!  I wanted to go to the Boston Tea Party Museum in the background, but the tour lasts one hour and the little guy in front was pretty much done.  Maybe Friday.

Outside of the subway station.  This was my proof for the future that I can do hard things:  Four small kids on the subway, in a new city, all by myself?  Yep, I can do that!