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.