Respite

We all need a little respite now and then. Respite from our jobs, our kids, the demands of our busy lives. We are so blessed to have Mama Sue and Aunt Patsy in our lives. Not a week goes by that someone says "You know not everyone has a Mama Sue right?" Yes, yes I know we are incredibly blessed. She takes not the one kid that she started with, not even the two older ones but all three. And the best part? They love every minute of it. They come home raving about how much fun they had. It makes me smile just thinking about it!

Well this time it was our turn. We got to take care of these two wonderful little girls for the weekend. Boy did we have fun! The oldest called us mom and dad the whole time and the little one truth be told preferred Ava to me. We had a blast! Movie time, dancing, playing, coloring.... Even Derek got involved in our assembly line bath time and shopping. We even took all 5 kids to church and made it there on time. It was almost easier! Yikes did I say that? Easier since there wasn't much time to get into trouble or stray from the plan.

Mama Sue and Patsy had a restful weekend away but I still think we may have had the better deal!

Happy birthday baby boy!

And now he's two!

Bonfires and cool nights

Well we bought this super cool gazebo for almost free (they forgot to ring it up at Lowes). Being the proper citizens we are we pointed out the discrepancy and ended up paying the hundreds it cost. We felt good about it and everything was grand.

Babcia Julia and I set it up which was soooo confusing as the instructions were in another language (not one of her three or my one). But we loved the netting to keep the bugs out and enjoyed it for about two weeks before a huge storm blew it away. Yup, bent the frame, ripped all the netting. It was a treasure to trash kind of storm. It did not appear to be salvageable.

Derek and I refused to give up so easily and re-bent the frame and strung it back up. He found these cool lights and built us a fire pit. It doesn't keep the bugs out, and it floods in one corner in the spring but for the amount of hotdogs, kielbasa and smores we have eaten out there, the amount of quiet discussions and crazy giggles we have shared I say it is still well worth the hundreds. And I think it is beautiful and rustic and the perfect accent to our yard.

I cant cook

But I am learning. And trust me when I say it is a slllooooooow process. Most things I make are just o.k. But every once in a while I come up with something that actually tastes extraordinary! Derek and I love to eat these little fruit tarts from the bakery. But they are expensive and so they are a special occasion kind of dessert. Using a few different recipes blended together I reinvented our favorite dessert and it was DELICIOUS!!!!  The custard was creamy and a little lemony, the fresh fruit amazing. I did buy the little crusts because I couldn't find the little crust pans but I still count it as a success! Derek (my harshest critic, being an awesome cook himself) ate THREE the first day!!! That says more than words.

Who knew middle school would change me?

Some of my fondest memories are from late middle school early high school. I joined a group of Explorers. It was a division of boy scouts that focused on hiking and outdoor activities and although many of my friends thought it was cheesy and teased me it really was the best of times. And to this day I like nothing better than spending time with friends and nature, feeling the stretch and pull of using every single muscle and ascending to finally glimpse unbelievably beautiful vistas.

Lucky for me my husband, although a city boy, spent part of his youth in northern Ontario, exploring with his own set of Polish Scouts. Hiking, biking, canoeing... 

And now we live in one of the most beautiful places in the US. Acadia is the second most visited National Park, right behind Yosemite. 

Then we met Kyla, who met Dave and they love, love, love to hike. And they are adventurous! Dave is from  Colorado and is no stranger to mountains and the outdoors. Kyla has hiked everywhere - even Mt Washington and she does it with such grace. 

The Jordan Cliff Trail - although just above the Pond House involved metal rungs that you used to climb the sheer areas and some cliff hugging but overall it was a steady up and up and up.

Starting to look sweaty! Almost there!

We ended up doing two mountains because three hours just didn't seem long enough (at the time) and we worked up an appetite for a delicious lunch in Bar Harbor.

Mondays are BIG kid day

I don't work Mondays.  Every other Monday Derek is off too! We are home with the big kids and Henry goes to daycare. Don't feel too bad for him, he loves it and he only goes three days a week.

We do dentist and doctor appointments and run errands but we are always sure to sneak in a little fun with all of us BIG kids!

With all the summer birthdays right in a row it is hard to not think of summer as one great big party at our house. The kids had been to Blackbeard's before with their dad (when I was visiting Aunt Meghan, how many years ago?!). But it had been a really long time.

First we needed some pointers. Yep, I said "we", meaning mainly me!

Michael turned out to be a great putter.  

Daddy really kept score. It was hard to hear the numbers sometimes (13??? really?)

Ava was really good. She started with a birdie and two holes-in-one.

But towards the end she started "sweeping" the ball in.

Over all it was alot of fun! I think Daddy was the winner. Spending the whole day with my big kids was a huge score for me! 

Let's get our color on

Daddy daughter time can take the shape of trips to Bar Harbor, mini golf, shopping and even coloring! Who knew they both love to stretch out and work on a coloring project together. A great big thanks to Hannah for the awesome coloring book and to Daddy for taking the time to stop and color.

Oh the joys of homework...

Homework at our house can be stressful.

Not for the reasons one would suspect. Short attention span ,interest in other things, procrastination....

Nope at our house it is usually because a sibling wants to be involved. Yelling out the answers to the problems, trying to write more, calculate faster... Or just looking for some attention. Like the little guy pictured here:

You can tell this isn't Michael's first time around the block. He didn't even look. Even when Henry peeked up at him, so cute, to check if he was getting any response. 

One thing Michael knows about homework. The faster you do it, the faster it's done! 

Absolutely fabulous!!

Well I wish I could say our time with our visitors was all lollipops and rainbows but there was some stress. Meghan and Bill's car was acting up while they were visiting and ended up in the shop for a few days. This left us with a few things up in the air. These two seemed to take it all in stride as they embraced the super hot weather and ran around like lunatics in the sprinkler!

Griffin being almost exactly a year older was quite the novelty to Henry. 

Some one to copy and follow around.

Some one to watch...

And attempt to try new things...

They were adorable! 

Even if we were hot and cranky watching them.

In retrospect I think we should have hopped in too! They sure make it look fun! 

Super big boy!

Here he is messy face and all going pee pee on the potty. Every single time he has been on the potty he has actually gone pee!  Maybe he was ready, maybe it is all the modeling his big cousin Griffin did while visiting?? Who knows but he is super excited to use the potty!

Cheering for himself! Gooooo HENRY!

Lori rocks!

My buddy Lori was moving into her new house and found all of these awesome accessories for Ava Bean!
Henry got into the booty as well. There were hats (he dug his out) and purses and the best part???

Besides playing dress up...

Striking a pose...

Parading different combos...

Finding all the money! Lori left change in the purses and Ava was astounded. At first she was collecting it all to return it and then when she discovered it was hers!! She felt like she hit the JACKPOT! 

Thanks Lori!!! You rock!!

Zoned out boys

Trying to get a picture of three boys watching TV is IMPOSSIBLE! Here is a sort of good shot of David and Henry, although they both look extremely tired.

Here we are not even getting eye contact

Wait! Two out of three?

Well the big boys you can threaten and bribe at least. Best buds and the little man.  Cute even when they are zoned out!

Father's Day Gift

the finished product, a super special, one of a kind gift for dad:

Crafting with the girls, again!

Theme: father's day

Difficulty: easy

 Materials: left over 2 x4's, bull nose clips, paper, ribbon, modge podge

 Girls: Theresa, Lori and Amanda

 Most difficult parts: watching 5 kids while crafting, drilling holes for the clips

Stay tuned to see finished Father's day surprise......