New England Road Trip

The week before school started, we took a family road trip to Maine and New Hampshire for a week.  Since moving to Vermont, we haven't really gone on a road trip, because we are usually flying back down south for our vacations.  We were really looking forward to an airport-free trip!  It was so refreshing to not have the pressure of fitting everything into a tiny suitcase or worrying about the size of my toiletries.  The kids loved being in the car... between all the toys, books, loveys, and movies we brought, they were very content.  Brett and I could actually see everything we wanted in peace!  Here was our first stop- the town of Ogunquit in southern Maine.  We had a lot of fun walking around Perkins Cove, eating lobster rolls and ice cream, and seeing some of the little shops.  The kids were also fascinated with the draw bridge. 

 

Rolling down hills= pure joy.

Next stop: Kennebunkport!  We stumbled upon the Bush compound... so fun to see!  They were going to have us over, but we were busy. 

After Kennebunkport, we headed to Portland for 2 nights.   Our favorite activity in Portland was eating "lobstah" and "chowdah"...  I literally had a lobster roll every day while in Maine.

  

 I miss you...

 We also saw a neat lighthouse in Portland...

 

On the way to Bar Harbor, we stopped in Freeport to see the flagship L.L. Bean store as well as all the outlets.  I actually got to shop for a solid hour by myself while the kids were off with Brett.

We stayed in Bar Harbor for 2 nights... so pretty and quaint.

We spent one entire day visiting Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor.  There was so much to do there.  We had enough time to visit the beach, hike, picnic and drive some of the scenic drives.   The photos just don't do it justice.

 

 The water was ICE cold!

We treated ourselves to a nice dinner the last night in Maine.  We knew what was ahead- Storyland and theme park food.  :) 

We liked walking around Bar Harbor at night... the kids couldn't believe we got to have ice cream every night.

Onward to Storyland in North Conway, New Hampshire...

Will tried a roller coaster for the first time!  Let's just say that he tolerated it but didn't want to repeat it.  I'm afraid he's just not a thrill-seeker like his sister. 

 The Hampton Inn where we stayed had 2 giant water slides that Taylor went down about a thousand times.  They were actually very fast and kind of scary to me!  One of them was totally enclosed so it was pitch dark flying down.  This is the best picture I could get of her coming down them... she's a blur.

So after spending two days at Storyland, we asked Taylor what her favorite part of the trip was.  She said the water slide at the hotel.  Go figure.  Ahh, parenting. 

Will's Pirate Party

My Will turned 3!  And we celebrated by having a Jake and the Neverland Pirates dinner with "his friend Will" and his family.

 Taylor really helped me a lot this year setting up for the party... we had a lot of fun doing it together.

Will's favorite- Crocodile Creek

Crafts!

 

Going on a treasure hunt... they found chocolate gold doubloons, party horns, and necklaces.

 Lobster dinner... Brett is getting good at this!

 

 Cake time!

Happy birthday, sweet boy!  We love you so much!

Under the Sea Party

Here are some pics from Taylor's 5th Birthday party!  Taylor thought long and hard, and decided she wanted an Under the Sea/Little Mermaid water party.  She had 8 friends come over and they had a great time together!  I am still hearing the Little Mermaid soundtrack in my head- we had "Under the Sea" on repeat for 2 hours at the party!

 My mom and I made mermaid tails for all of the girls... they were a hit!

 We had 2 slip n slides, a pool, a sprinkler ball, and a lot of squirters!

 

 Making pearl necklaces

 After all the water fun, we came inside and got dressed up!

Chocolate sea shells and sand dollar oreos in graham cracker sand... thank you Pinterest.

I made this myself... and by "make" I mean that I went and picked it up at the grocery store!

 

 

 Playing "Pin the Crown on Ariel"

 My sweet girl told me she had a great time at her birthday party... then she said "thank you for all your work."  No lie.  It made it all worth it!