I *Heart* Maine: Our Adventures

I've wanted to write the vacation recap story all week, but just havent been able to. Part of the reason is that I've been too busy.... this was a huge week of "firsts" around here... more on that later. Another part of the delay, however, is that I am having a really hard time writing this post. There is just SO MUCH I want to say and SO MANY awesome memories to share that it is HARD to pick just a few highlights to share with everyone. However, I am quite sure that no one wants to read an hour-by-hour account of our trip, so let me just jump in and do my best at picking out the "best of" this best trip ever!

Neither of our kids are really car sleepers, so we knew that for all of our sanity, it was best to break it into 2 days (with several stops along the way... including the LL Bean flagship store in Freeport, ME.... OMG... ya gotta get there, people!). So we arrived in Southwest Harbor, ME around 4pm on Sunday. The kids were ROCK STARS during the 2 day drive and we arrived with all of our wits about us. Our friends Lisa and Gordon, who own Acadia Cottages, were there to greet us and, boy, were we happy to see them! We got settled in our cottage and walked down the hill to L & G's house for dinner. What a nice night!

The next day we went met up with our friends Amy and Chris and their 3 year old son, Finn. We decided to go into Acadia National Park and do some biking around Jordan Pond, and then stop for lunch at the Jordan Pond House, which I had been looking forward to since we booked this trip. They serve up their famed popovers, and while they are seriously overpriced, they are so deliciously worth it, and I couldn't wait. The only problem was the route we chose for the bike ride. Ummmm, yeah... it was up hill.... the entire way.... until I could take it no more.... and we decided we really deserved some pop-overs.

See, before I had these two children, I could hold my own on my bike. Bike riding was something that Matt and I did regularly and enjoyed many weekends. So, I was a little taken aback at just how miserable I was on these hills and how out of shape I was. However, it then dawned on me that I had McKenna on my bike with me. And, my mom is gonna be mad that I wrote this... but McKenna is a Big Momma! At almost 11 months she is already over 25 pounds. So, you see, it was hard enough getting my own butt up those hills without an adorable Big Momma strapped to the back!

My beautiful Big Momma!

The next day we had booked ourselves on a beautiful schooner called the Margaret Todd for a sail around Frenchman's Bay. It was a fantastic way to spend a morning together! Once we got underway, Daddy, Aunt Amy, and Uncle Chris all got to help raise the sails, also. What a job that is!

The Margaret Todd

This is my family... aren't I lucky? Love you guys!

Another highlight of the trip was going on a Sunset Carriage Ride through Acadia. The horses pulled us to the summit of Day Mountain and it was such a scenic journey. The kids loved the horses and loved the ride. We packed a picnic dinner and ate on the carriage and at the summit. A big thanks to Amy and Chris for suggesting this outing. We will definitely do another carriage ride on a future Maine trip.

This is Jim and Bob. I love how they are looking all camera shy!

At the summit of Day Mountain!

Snuggling with my baby girl on the carriage ride.

A real highlight of the trip was a hike that the four of us did one morning at Ship Harbor. This hike was great because it was partly wooded and partly snaked along the rocky shoreline. It was so beautiful at every single turn. We kept saying, oh look over there... no, look over there. It was spectacular. This is a relatively flat hike and was easy enough for Maddie to do on her own. I remember this one point in the hike Matt saying "This is my favorite moment of the trip." And, I remember thinking the exact same thing at almost the exact same moment. There was just something really magical about the four of us enjoying the hike and the pure beauty and really feeling like nothing else in the world mattered except the four of us!

My hikers along the Ship Harbor trail

Matt was teaching Maddie how to skip rocks at one point in the hike. I love this action shot as she is practicing her rock skipping technique!

On Friday, my friend Lisa was able to get away from her work at the cottages to show us some of her favorite hotspots that she knew that the kids (and the adults!) would enjoy. She took us to this great spot to find starfish. Lisa found a huge grouping of starfish almost as soon as we got there. She pulled out two starfish for the kids to look at and hold. Maddie touched it, but didnt want to hold it. But, she and Finn loved getting to see the starfish up close and personal!

Lisa and Maddie with the starfish they found!

After we hung out with the starfish, Lisa took Maddie and I over to a private beach to look for sand dollars and sea glass. We couldn't find any sand dollars that day, but we had a great time looking for sea glass. Between the 3 of us (or really just Lisa and I :-)), Maddie has a nice collection of gorgeous sea glass. She is so excited because Lisa promised to make her a sea glass necklace for her 4th birthday and send it to her. She can't wait!

Madison with a pretty piece of green sea glass.

So, Maine, I really do *heart* you. For these few memories and the whole host of others that I have etched in my mind and my heart, I thank you. The trip was full of family, friends, food and fun. We relaxed and unwinded and it was worth the long drive 10 times over! We cant wait to book our next trip!

Randomness

Random conversations with Madison in the last few weeks:

Me: "Madison, you are being cranky. I need you to find your happy attitude."

Madison (picking up her toy cell phone): "I'm going to call Mimi (my mother). I bet she knows where my happy attitude is!"

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Matt and our friend Chris took Madison and Finn (also 3) hiking while we were in Maine. At one point, both kids were riding on the dads' shoulders.

Madison: "Finn, you sure are lucky."

Pause....no response from Finn or the Dads. Everyone waiting to hear why Maddie thinks Finn is so lucky, expecting her to say something like he got to go on a cool vacation, whatever.

Madison: "You're lucky that I like you."

Um, gee, thanks, O Great One Madison.

Vacation: The Back Story

We just returned from a glorious, fantastic, awesome (are you getting the picture?) week of bliss in Vacationland. Vacationland? The great state of Maine is known as Vacationland, at least according to the tag line on their license plates, and I would have to wholeheartedly agree with that assessment!

My first visit to Bar Harbor, ME and Acadia National Park was an extended Labor Day weekend 3 years ago when Madison was just 8 months old. We rented a house with our friends Amy and Chris and their 3 month old son Finn. Amy and Chris have been going to Bar Harbor/Acadia for years and years, both indiviually and then as a couple. We had a wonderful stay that long weekend and Amy and Chris were fantastic tour guides. They escorted us to all of the major "must do" attractions and we fell in love with the area immediately.

Then, last April, our friends Lisa and Gordon announced that they had decided that they wanted to make a change in their lives. For several years, Lisa and Gordon had been doing extensive research and planning as they were considering purchasing a bed and breakfast. When they decided that Maine would be the perfect location for them, they started looking at properties. Lisa and Gordon fell in love with this site and are now the very proud (and, boy, they should be!) owners of the Acadia Cottages. Acadia Cottages in in Southwest Harbor, about 20 minutes outside of Bar Harbor.

We knew that we wanted to get back to Maine and we were also really anxious to see Lisa and Gordon in their new environment, so we booked our trip. And, even better was that our friends Amy and Chris were going too! We knew that seeing Lisa and Gordon would be special, but we had no idea just how special this week would be. Their cottages are truly remarkable. So cozy, clean, and well stocked. I am sure that I am biased a little, but really, these accomodations were fantastic. It was so great to have a seperate bedroom area and living space complete with a galley kitchen. It was a great place to come "home" to after out adventures each day! An added bonus??? Lisa and Gordon are very environmentally conscious in all that they do at the cottages. From the organic linens to the organic shampoos and soaps they provide, you will enjoy every bit of "green" luxury. Please, if you plan a vacation to Bar Harbor... go check out Acadia Cottages... you will not be disappointed!

Lisa and Gordon, it warmed my heart to see you both and your thriving business venture. We miss you terribly here, but it is a true inspiration to have friends that follow their dreams and have great success! Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to make us meals, take us to local hot spots, show us great starfish and sea glass collecting spots, and come on our biking adventure! We'll be back, many times over ... I have a feeling our kids will be retelling many Maine trip stories to their kids one day!

Next post: I *Heart* Maine: Our Adventures

So Much To Say...

And so little time....

I have so many things I want to tell everyone about like my birthday, our AMAZING vacation to Maine, some very funny Maddie-isms from along the way, her first day of preschool tomorrow, some awesome product reviews to tell you about, and also some fun new tips on greening your life ... I think I got even a little more crunchy (in a good way!) while we were in Maine.

Anyway, need to go unpack, prep for preschool, and maybe catch some ZZZ's. Will spend time this week trying to work on the backlog of fun posts!

Hope everyone had a great week while I was away! Missed you all, internet!

Mommy and Maddie Weekend

On Thursday, Madison and I left for a long weekend trip to Charleston, SC. We made the trip to Charleston to celebrate my cousin's wedding. He and his wife were married back in February in Las Vegas, and they held a beach party on Friday for all of their family and friends to celebrate their marriage with them.

At first, we intended for all four of us to make the trip for the celebration. However, the more we thought about it, it just wasn't going to be possible for us all to go, especially given McKenna's sleep schedule. It was definitely a bummer that we all couldn't go together, but both Matt and I agree that an awesome side benefit of this arrangement was that we each got to spend alot of one-on-one time with each of the girls. So, Daddy and McKenna had a great weekend at home, and Mommy and Madison had a great weekend visiting with Mommy's side of the family, going to Ryan and Jessie's wedding reception, touring Charleston, and (Maddie's favorite part) getting to swim alot in the hotel pool!

Another highlight for Madison was the plane ride. My sister flew with us and Madison was so excited to be with her Aunt Erin and to be flying in a plane. You couldn't wipe the smile off of her face! We all stayed at a hotel together, and Madison and I got to share a hotel room with my Grandmother. I was so excited that we got to spend 3 days with Madison's Gigi. My grandmother (Gigi) lives in Baltimore and we don't get to see her as much as we'd like to, so it was a really special treat for both of us. And, of course, spending time with Mimi and Pop-Pop (my Mom and Dad) is ALWAYS on the top of Madison's favorite to-do list! They were in the hotel room next door to us, so it was so fun for Maddie to just go next door whenever she wanted a Mimi and Pop-Pop fix! In fact, they dropped us off at the airport in Charleston on Sunday to catch our flight home, and within 10 seconds (literally) of us being inside the airport, Madison said "I miss Mimi and Pop-pop".

Despite all of the fun we had, Maddie did miss her daddy and her sister. Periodically, she would just blurt out "I miss Daddy and McKenna". She is so cute. Although, it seemed whenever we had Daddy on the phone, she didn't really take the time to talk to him too much :-) Isn't that always the way? I missed Matt and McKenna too. I spotted them walking into the airport to pick us up and I bolted over to them while my sister watched Madison. I almost kissed McKenna's face off!

All in all, a great time was had by all.

Congrats to Ryan and Jessie! A big thank you to my Aunt MaryAnn for being our tour guide. Another big thank you to my parents for being our chauffeurs all over town. And, a huge thanks to hubby for agreeing to this girls getaway for Maddie and I. I had such a great time being with her!

Sun, Sand, and Sickness....

We just returned from a week of vacation in Ocean City, NJ. Overall, the trip was truly fantastic. However, there were a few rough spots that we had to get through. The highlights include spending a week with our very good friends Kristin, Ed, and Caden (who also happens to be a certain someone's Godson... love you, buddy!), seeing McKenna and Caden (who are only 5 weeks apart in age) play, babble, smile, and steal toys from each other, enjoying the PERFECT weather all week long, watching McKenna dip her toes in the ocean for the very first time, seeing Maddie ride on the kiddie roller coaster and kiddie log flume ALL BY HERSELF (gah!), taking the kids to the water park, shopping on the boardwalk, Madison wanting to go "belly skating" in the ocean with Matt, the 4th of July fireworks and best of all spending the week with Matt! The lowlights were the nasty stomach bug that went throught the house and hit most of us for about 24 hours each (luckily Matt and McKenna were spared the wrath), the one night we spent awake with Maddie because of said stomach bug, and the next night we spent awake with McKenna whose reason was unknown (teeth, cold/runny nose, diaper rash... who knows?).

Here are a few pics of some of my favorite moments:

Beach Baby

My sweet Madison

Mmmm... ice cream!

First dip in the ocean..... not too happy :-) (It was very cold!)

Kristin and Caden

My girls

And my favorite pic of all. Thanks to Aunt Kristin for snapping the pic and to Uncle Ed for standing behind the flip flops to prop McKenna up in the picture!

The flip-flop family

Now its back to catching up on life and catching up on sleep! Back to posting regularly soon... g'night.