Family Vacation: Maine Part 2

Day 10: More Fun!

Nana and Grampy came to visit on Wednesday. We spent all the day on the beach having fun...they even came in their party shirts!

Kaleb went knee boarding, he's such a pro...he got up on the first try! Cornhole was played, the doggies sunbathed, Kaleb went on a kayak ride with his crush. I'd say it was a great day! Everyone was exhausted super early!

Day 11: The Puppies
After a morning of golf (the guys,) and breakfast (the girls plus Kaleb) we spent the rest of the day on the beach. The weather was perfect but spending all day everyday on the beach made the puppies super tired. Miley spent most of the day hiding under a chair!

Day 12: Friday!
Even on vacation I still look forward to Fridays! The day was spent on the beach (of course!) with a new toy...Dad's new jetski! And for the for time all week...the puppies went swimming!

   Friday night Chelsey came over to watch Kaleb and the dogs...while us older kids went to the casino! We were all so excited, we were looking forward to it all week! I guess we would have had more fun if someone actually won, instead...we all left with our heads hanging...and I came home with a 17 cent voucher. Bummer!

Day 13: Sandbar!
Even though we were in Maine all week this was the first time that everyone went out on the boat! We anchored out at the sandbar and hungout in the water for hours. It was such a fun day!

Day 14: Almost the End...
Thanks to Kaleb, everyone's weekend ended with a good laugh!

Then, we packed up the cars and made our way back to Massachusetts for one last night. Danny and Dad went golfing, Mom hungout with Kaleb, and I had dinner with my college roommates. After a few hours of hanging out it was time to hit the hay for one last night of vacation!

Day 15: The Roadtrip Home
We left Massachusetts at 3AM, which I still think is the best time to leave! We didn't even hit traffic going over the GW at 7AM...we totally lucked out! When we finally made it home we had a huge pile of mail waiting for us...thank goodness most of it was free samples and giveaways!

 I'm so happy to be home, but I always hate leaving my parents and sister. I swear it gets harder every single time. I usually can't talk about my favorite part of vacation for a while without tearing up because it makes me miss them more. I'm crossing my fingers that they get to visit soon!!

 

Family Vacation: Maine Part 1!

Day 5: Back on the Road!

 Atleast this trip was shorter! We headed up to my parents house in Maine for the rest of our vacation - think..total relaxation. The second we got there Kaleb was in his swimming shorts, in the water and having fun! And, in true Maine fashion, we played UNO...all night.

Day 6: Christmas in July

I don't know if you guys know this, but my Mom is amazing. Saturday morning we woke up to a decorated tree, a Christmas breakfast, and presents. Instead of stockings we got sand buckets full of goodies. Seriously, Mom of the Year (past 26 years actually.)

Saturday was pretty much awesome. Me and Mom went grocery shopping while everyone else hungout on the beach. Me and Mom can do some serious damage when we are grocery shopping (and I'm not talking about the fact that I totally wiped out in the grocery store!) We picked up some delicious lobst-ahs and steam-ahs. Oh, I love New England!

Day 7: Beach!

  This was my view all day Sunday. Danny, Dad, and Steve spent the morning golfing. Kaleb and Michelle built sandcastles...me and Mom just relaxed. It was so nice. Later that day, the jetski broke, it was a sad day!

Day 8: New Friends

  Growing up there were no kids my age around our camp. So I was super excited to find out there would be tons of kids for Kaleb to hangout with! He spent so much time swimming, tubing, and running around with his new friends. He even told a girl he thought she was cute...they were so cute!

Maine is exhausting for everyone! By 7 every night everyone was lounging in the camp, ready to rest and get more energy for the next day!

Day 9: Soda and Wine Tasting

Tuesday we left the beach for a few hours to head to a local winery in Naples. At first it was just going to be me and Danny, but then I found out they also do soda tasting! So, we rounded up Kaleb and a family friend, Chelsey, for some fun.

It's the first winery we have visited with fresh hard cider, which was delicious! I liked it more the wine. The kids loved the soda. We picked up our favorites to have on hand for the rest of vacation! 

Check back tomorrow for the rest of our adventures! 

Girls & Guys Weekend

This weekend was absolutely fabulous! We packed up our suitcase, headed to Raleigh, and boarded a plane to Boston! See, I told ya I couldn't wait for the fall weather to come to me....I had to go to it!

We got to Boston Thursday night, had a quick dinner, and then "see ya later" to my hubby and Dad. They loaded up their golf clubs and headed to Maine for the Hot Dog Championship. Or, as you would call it, golf weekend. Every year my Dad gets the guys together for some golfing, the losing team buys everyone hot dogs. I wish I had pictures to share (someone even dressed up like a hot dog!) but boys will be boys. Not one picture was snapped! Danny and his partner, Tom, are the 2011 Hot Dog Weekend CHAMPIONS! Yep, he even has a trophy to prove it!

I had such a great, relaxing, fun, awesome weekend with my Mom. Friday we headed up to Maine for the day. The weather was amazing. The perfect fall weather....and perfect for some pumpkin spiced lattes! Our first stop was Stonewall Kitchen. I got all sorts of pumpkin, cranberry, and soup products. I'm so ready for fall it isn't even funny!

 We stopped by Walkers Point and the gorgeous St. Anne's. Then we did some shopping (more like browsing, we couldn't find anything!) and had my favorite New England meal - clam chowder and a lobster roll. I think it might have been the only reason I wanted to go to Maine for the day!

On our way home we stopped at an antique car museum, which was pretty cool. But the highlight of the trip home? Pie in the Sky. There was a fat and very happy man inside who recommended the pumpkin ricotta  streusel pie. So we bought it. A-freakin'-mazing. Best pie ever and worth the $30. (FYI: Ogunquit is a very rich vacation town, this is probably a bargain for the town.)

Every Friday my Nana and her cousins go to my great-grandmothers for dinner. So, Friday night I tagged along. We had a lot of laughs! After dinner we played LCR...with money. And I lost! I had a lot of fun, I miss nights like that with the family.

(I'll blog about Saturday-day later this week!) Saturday night me, Mom, Michelle and her friend went out for Chinese food. Seriously, whenever I go home I have to get Chinese food. When I lived in Massachusetts, I never wanted it. But North Carolina's version is nasty. And they don't have good drinks! I had a great dinner out with the girls. Conversation included placenta bears. Um, how do you guys feel about these things?!

Sunday me and Mom did some grocery shopping, visited my Grampy, and ate yummy pumpkin pie ice cream! When the guys got home from golfing we went out for the most delicious pizza. Yes, I eat alot when I'm home!

We had to be up early this morning (4:15) for a 7am flight back to Raleigh. We landed at 9, got to Jacksonville a little before noon. We did the haircut routine, grocery shopping, picked up the puppy, cleaned, put everything....and we're just sitting down! I think we're going to sleep good tonight!

Maine Vacation: Part 2

Day 6: Aquaboggin

The only thing I wanted to do on vacation was go to a water park. I wanted to go on Monday because everything is half priced...but because the guys went golfing we were stuck going on Tuesday. But it was so worth it! They had an amazing military discount....Danny got in free and me and Kaleb each saved $5 on our ticket. That's less than we were planning to spend on Monday!

The three of us went on a bunch of water slides! We had a yummy picnic lunch. And then Kaleb did a few more slides by himself. He must have done one slide atleast 10 times..he had so much fun, I love bringing him to new places!

 

Included in our super cheap tickets was unlimited mini golf. We didn't keep score but we had so much fun. It was the fasted round of mini golf ever...and I'm the only one that got a hole in one...with an assist from Kaleb!

After our fun day out we headed back to the beach. I took Kaleb frogging (he sqooshed one between his fingers!) Me and my sister used to go frogging all the time, they are super tiny frogs, I wouldn't be able to pick up the big ones!

For dinner we went to one of my favorite places, the Muddy Rudder. They have awesome clam chowder! I had grilled swordfish...but I should have had the fishermans platter, the few pieces I stole from my Dad was amazing!

Day 7: Portland

After the guys went golfing and the girls (and Kaleb!) went shopping we all headed to South Portland. My parents always go to the same bar and sit outside...this time they wouldn't let us sit outside, even when we threatened to leave! So, we decided to go to another bar...and sit outside. It was a gorgeous day in Portland!

 

After some yummy food and drinks we walked around downtown. Kaleb and my Dad got some ice cream, I bought some peach balsamic vinegar and a Life is Good shirt. We had fun navigating the streets...and trying to find a public bathroom!

Day 8: Big Sebago

Thursday we took the boat to the big lake for a day of fun! And BONUS...my sister came up for the day! We literally sat in the sun all day drinking and eating. And yes, the drinking started at the early hour of 10AM. Hey, it's 5 o'clock somewhere, right?

 

Day 9: Family Day!

Friday morning the guys went golfing (again!) After that we had tons of family come up...my cousin Brian, his wife and little girl, my Nana and Grampy and two of my cousins. We hungout on the beach, my Dad took all the kids tubing...and of course we ate yummy food!

Day 10: Roadtrip!

Saturday morning we were up early packing the car for our trip home. We had a yummy breakfast and said all of our goodbyes. Kaleb did not want to leave! He said next summer we are staying for 20 days and flying up! 

We left Maine at 9AM. There was so much traffic. We sat in an hour of traffic before the GW Bridge. Then we sat in two hours of traffic in Maryland because of a really bad accident. We finally got to Raleigh at 1AM.

We stayed at the in-laws and woke up to a yummy breakfast. We were back on the road at 9AM Sunday morning and finally pulled into our driveway around noon. Longest trip ever. I'm saving my pennies now for flights next summer!

We had such a great vacation! It went by at just the right speed...not too slow or too fast. We relaxed, ate yummy food and did everything we wanted to. We've already decided that we are going to take this same exact vacation every summer...a little tradition for our family! I'm already looking forward to next year! 

Maine Vacation: Part 1

Day 1: Roadtrip!

Thursday was a long day. Danny checked out at noon...we loaded up the car, the kid and the dog and headed onto the open road. I love our car but going to Maine is a bit of a stretch for it! So, our first stop was two hours (out of the way) in Raleigh to trade cars with the in-laws. We went shopping for some roadtrip snacks, had a quick dinner, loaded up again and got back on the road. It was long...and I'll be honest I don't remember much of it! There was awful traffic going over the GW. And we only had to stop twice. Not bad for traveling with a 6 year old and a dog!

Day 2: Home!

We got to my parents at 6AM. Mom made us breakfast and then we slept. When I woke up Kaleb and my Mom were already best friends. Playing UNO, going shopping...she was totally spoiling him! When Danny woke up we went down my great-grandmothers. She always slips me $5 while I'm there...Kaleb totally got it this time. What a jip! 

We decided to stay at my parents for dinner and then head up to Maine. But before a yummy dinner there was some backyard baseball...and a water fight with my sister! Kaleb thinks my sister is a rockstar. They had too much fun together!

Day 3: Maine!

Our first real day of vacation! Kaleb was up early, put on his bathing suit and ran down to the beach. I mean...with a view like this, can you blame him?

 Me and Mom headed to the grocery store. My Mom can do some serious damage at the grocery store. I forgot what it was like to walk around without a calculator, list and coupons. Vacation groceries are the best.

When we got back to the camp we spent the rest of the day on the beach. The boys went on the jet ski, Kaleb went tubing for his first time, sandcastles were made, and Miley did some sunbathing!

The night ended with a bottle of Duplin wine and game night. Can you believe Kaleb has never played Jenga before!?

Day 4: Roommates!
Every time I go home someone disappoints me. This time was no different. My friend Gina was supposed to come up Saturday, at 1:30 she said she would be later in the day...um, it's a two hour ride. Then she said she would leave first thing Sunday morning. Nope. Oh well, I'm so over it.

You know who never disappoints me? Ashley and Veronica! Seriously, every time I go home I see them...even if it's just or a Starbucks date. I was so excited that they came to the beach for the day. Kaleb said they were very nice because they brought him worms! They must have been lucky worms...because he caught his first fish!

I sat on the beach all day with the girls. Chatted, ate, drank, laughed. We went out in the boat for a little bit and saw a bald eagle dive into the water for dinner. Such an awesome sight!

Miley loved being on the beach. She got to run, dig, be a dog! She spent all day, every day outside. Every night ended like this...

Day 5: Animal Farm
Monday was a fun and busy day for everyone! Danny and my Dad got up super early for some golfing. Me, Mom and Kaleb went to the animal farm.

 
It was absolutely gorgeous out. I had so much fun walking around with Kaleb and my Mom (Kaleb calls her Grandma, he did that all on his own!) We saw bobcats, mountain lions, moose, bears (Kaleb fe, and tons of birds. Mom spoiled him in the gift shop...hat, shirt, necklace, stuffed animal. He's a lucky boy!

When we all got home I thought for sure Kaleb would want to hangout with his Daddy. NOPE! Kaleb made a bunch of friends in Maine...so he headed out on the boat with a few of them! When he came back he even invited one of the boys over for dinner. We had the boys favorite...ribs! After dinner we hungout at the beach (where the mosquitoes were awful!) with the boys and puppy. Miley went swimming for her first time ever! She jumped off the dock three times...such a big girl!! I'm a nerdy puppy mommy...I was so proud!