Showcase #10 - Portland, Maine

Labor Day weekend was coming up and Jeremy found out he had two free nights of hotel stays to use before the end of September.  We originally planned on going into NYC for the weekend, since the kids have been asking to go back.  But, we decided to do a little exploring in the North East instead.  Jeremy has been into Maine for business but the rest of the family had not, so we decided to head north 2 1/2 hours and check out Portland, Maine.

Traffic was Cuh-RAZY on Friday night as apparently EVERYONE in Mass. had the same idea as us! So, it took us an hour longer to get to Portland and with the sun setting earlier, it was dusk by the time we made it to Cape Elizabeth and the Lobster Shack.  Cape Elizabeth has the most famously photographed lighthouse in the world - the Portland Head Light Lighthouse.  Here you can see it in the picture behind the family.

Obviously, Maine is known for it's lobster.  So, we HAD to have it for dinner.  We ate here at the Lobster Shack and ordered 2 lobster dinners, 1 lobster roll, 1 bowl of clam chowder (or clam chowdah as they say up here) and 1 cheeseburger - - - for the less adventurous.

Here are the kids checking out the area before heading to our hotel in Brunswick, ME.

On Saturday, we headed to downtown Portland and had breakfast at a little cafe called Morning in Paris.  It was good, but the kids all agreed that they'd much rather had Grandma Z's cinnamon rolls!!  We then headed to the Casco Bay Ferry.  After several recommendations from locals, we decided to visit Peak's Island in Casco Bay for the day.  Lincoln LOVED the ferry ride!

Here we are waiting for the ferry to arrive.        

Family photo on the windy ride over to the island.

Just enjoying the 20 minute ride.......and the view.

And here is the dock.

The island is only about 6 miles around the perimeter, so we rented bikes for four hours and toured the island while taking lots of breaks to play in the water or climb the rocky coast.  

Jeremy dared her to walk over to that little rock island but it got too deep without a swimsuit on and the boats going by were making too big of waves...So she made it half way and then had to come back.

A little different "beach" scene than what we're used to seeing - - - so beautiful though!!

A little tidal pool to get our feet wet and to find kelp snails (we think), shown by Lincoln.

We ate lunch at Peak's Island House, which overlooked the bay.  

We returned the bikes, rode the ferry back across the bay and then headed to Freeport, ME to visit the headquarters for L.L. Bean.  If you need anything outdoorsy - this is the place for you!  It was huge!!

Welcome to L.L. Bean!

Here are the kids popping their heads up into a huge fish tank.

And here's one of several moose we saw in the store.

We then headed to our hotel to shower and get ready for dinner.  We decided to eat at a place called Sea Dog Brewing Co. in Topsham, ME for dinner.  

The restaurant was in the neatest setting - the deck overlooked a beautiful rocky river.  See Fiona's face - it is one of concern.  While the scenery was gorgeous ..... we were unable to enjoy it due to spiders.  Seriously, as I type this, my stomach has knots in it from remembering the FEAR we lived in as we tried dining here!  I'll save you the nasty details...just know that we moved tables three times - twice out on the deck and then into the restaurant.....Scarlett was in tears at one point.....our waitress killed one swinging in midair......and well, let's just say that we all had the hee-bee jee-bee's that night!  Bllahhhh!!

Moving on.....Sunday was a rainy and cool day.  We ate breakfast at a little diner and then headed back into Portland to do a firetruck tour of the city.  Again, Lincoln was SOO excited for this!  We were thankful that the firetruck had a little roof so we were able to weather the rain and get to see and hear the history of the port city.....very interesting!

A pink fire hat for Scarlett, how perfect was that???!!!

The rain came and went so we decided to just walk around the city and visit some of the local shops.  We found a little toy store so each of the kids picked up a souvenir of sorts - - Lincoln got a Blue Angels Airplane, Scarlett got a bracelet and Fiona got a puzzle of the Head Light Lighthouse.  We ate lunch at a pizza place on the bay called Flatbread Co.  It was delicious!  Here the kids were watching our pizza cook in the brick oven.

We made one final stop before heading out of town....Mt. Desert Island for their famous homemade ice cream.  Fiona had blackberry - Scarlett had vanilla - Lincoln had cookies and cream.

We came home Sunday night.  Monday was Labor Day so Jeremy made pancakes and Fiona did a little church service for us.  She read the story of Jonah and then had coloring sheets for us.  We then sang a couple of praise songs and closed out our service in prayer.  Oh how precious this time was!

Showcase #9 - Last Weekend of Summer Break

It seems like just yesterday that we were unpacking Fiona's backpack and putting everything away for the summer.  In the blink of an eye, we are pulling the backpack out again and reloading it with fresh, new school supplies.  Scarlett has now joined the "packing party" and getting her backpack ready for kindergarten.  My baby girl is heading off to full day kindergarten, what in the world??!!!  When did that happen?  As we walked down the hall to meet her teacher last Thursday, I had this wave of emotion sweep over me and about "lost it" right there!  Both my girls are growing up way too quickly!!

We celebrated the last weekend of summer with a couple of fun things.  On Friday afternoon, Jeremy took a half day vacation and we headed to Sky Zone.  This place was SOOO fun!  The kids were dripping wet by the time we left and they can't wait to go back!  Giant trampolines everywhere!!

On Saturday, Scarlett's kindergarten teachers planned a Kindergarten Round-Up for everyone.  We went to a local lake and got to meet the families, play and enjoy a potluck dinner.

Sunday was a beautiful day and evening.  We told the kids we'd do a movie night.....so we did, on the deck.  It made watching Barbie and the Fashion Fairytale enjoyable!  It was Scarlett's turn to pick the movie.....that was her choice.  I made a tray of finger foods and Jeremy made some super delicious popcorn.  Everyone got a bath, had their jammies on and settled in for Movie on the Deck.  It was so fun!  We'll be doing that again I'm sure!

Here's the set up, it was perfect!  Great idea Daddy!

When summer began, we had a little meeting and came up with a chore chart for the kids.  Each day they had a list of things to do and if they did them, they colored the chart for that day.  I told them that I would pay them at the end of summer for the work they did.  Well, Fiona was not about to let me forget my promise.  Monday, August 27th - - it was pay day!  We went to the bank and I got the cash needed to pay my little employees.  We then headed to Walmart to buy their treasures.

He picked 3 cars.  Here they are all lined up, which is how I find his cars on most days.

She's been wanting Alvin and the Chipmunks Chip Wrecked.  She didn't have enough money from her chores but broke into her piggy bank and was able to come up with the difference.

She chose a mirror compact, headband, 2 suckers and a spiral art kit.

After shopping, we took the kids to Purgatory Chasm for an hour of rock climbing.  It was a gorgeous day and the kids love this place, so do their parents!!  Jeremy tried out his new CamelBak...Awesome!

By the way, we crawled through that cave behind us and came out on the other end.  I conquered my claustrophobia this one time!

After our rock climbing adventure, we headed home for dinner and then went to West End Creamery for one final treat before heading home to an early bedtime.

And here the school girls are on their first day of school, August 28th 2012......

Showcase #8 - Visit Back Home

It's been awhile since our last post.  We were vacationing back in our hometown with family and friends for 17 days.  It was a super fun visit but it is always nice to return to some normalcy too.  Here are a few photos from the end of July - beginning of August - - - all from Illinois

It's Go Fish!  My sister-in-law found out they were coming to a nearby town so we took our older kids to see these guys.  They are awesome!!  If you're looking for fun, clean, entertaining children's music, check them out!  http://gofishguys.com/  Their motto is that they make "Great music for kids that won't drive parents bonkers!"

It was about 100 degrees out and 99.99999% humidity but everyone still had a sweaty blast at the concert! 

Fiona's cousin was gecko sitting while we were playing at their house.  After several attempts, she got it out of the cage.  It tried to escape so we didn't keep it out too long!

Big sister jumped off the high dive for her first time and little sister jumped off the low dive at the same time.

4 Wheeling at Grandpa and Grandma's house!!

Grandma Z. bought a balloon kit and the kids were entertained for hours!  When they made their appearance from the basement, they modeled their creations!  So clever and funny!

Grandma S. treated us to a day at the Magic House in St. Louis, MO.  We had never been before, such a cool place!  If you live in IL or nearby states, put this on your To-Do list.  Here the kids were climbing a contraption.

A fireplace?  No, a secret entrance to a detective room.  

After eating lunch in the cafe, we were freezing so went outside to warm up.  I think it was like 106 degrees in St. Louis that day so we warmed up quickly.  They are standing in a mini lazy river.

Nice hair ladies!

Thanks for a fun day and a new hair do Grandma!

Because she can't stand to be outdone by her big sister....she jumped off the high dive too!!

We had a family dinner at Johnny's Italian Steakhouse and the cousins all left with to-go cups.

After Keegan's baptism, the cousins posed for a quick photo.

Grandma Z. and her little buddy

Grandpa Z. and his spunky little granddaughter

Grandpa S. with the crew

While back, we attended our 20th class reunion.  Here we are the night before with fellow classmates.  Veronica just moved back from Australia, Jeremy and I are in MA, Kim lives in Mexico and Tonya (my BFF) has stayed local.

Girls Night Out group reunites once again!  Always such a joy getting to spend time with my dearest friends from childhood!  Even though half the group is now out of the state (MO, MI, MA) and one that is out of the country (Mexico) we always pick right up where we left off when we get together.    Just missing one out-of-towner in this picture.  She tried to get back but it just didn't work out.  

Lots of time was spent climbing this rope and playing in the new tree house Grandpa made!