Maine - the Family Photo Session

We tried (and tried!) to get a great family photo of everyone while in Maine considering we had a nice backdrop and would all be together for 5 days straight. However, even after countless tries we had a hard time picking out a good one. It is hard to wrangle 2 toddlers, an infant, and a 6 year old and then get them all to smile at a camera on a tripod! Some of the best were with us divided by girls and guys, but there was one of all of us that turned out o.k, too!

Maine- the Lake

We enjoyed many lake activities while in Maine. We all went kayaking every morning and explored rock islands, sandy beaches, fishing coves, and turtle habitats. We also enjoyed swimming, sliding off the big slide into the lake, and fishing.

S loved fishing and caught a couple fish by week's end!

J learns how to hold a fishing pole!



J enjoys the sand and his "bubble stick!"

S enjoyed the slide!


S learned how to kayak by herself!

Maine - the Hike

One day while in Maine we took a 45 minute drive west to North Conway, NH for a family hike. We went to Diana's Bath, which is part of the National Forest System. The path was a wide, smooth gravel path (just my kind!) that meandered 6/10 of a mile to the base of some neat rocks/water falls. The kids enjoyed walking in the water a bit despite it being ice cold! (I know because I had to help J get across some rocks! burr....)

J is ready to go!

J and S with their walking sticks!

J spots a tree "potty" and takes a rest on it!

Me, the kids, and their Auntie Em.

One of the waterfalls!

Maine - the Camp Fire

The house we stayed in had a large fire pit that was calling us to make smores! We were glad that Gami found large sticks just for roasting marshmallows - I guess you can buy them now at the store. Gami also found gigantic marshmallows for smores making! Jayden loved just holding the long stick with the marshmallow at the end (he's really in to sticks these days.)

Maine Vacation, Introduction

We got to spend a week with Nathan's family on a pond in Maine. Walden Pond, despite NOT being the one inspiring Henry David Thoreau, certainly evoked the feelings of peace, serenity, and calm. It was a great week filled with simply enjoying nature and each other. It was so hard to come back to "civilization" after a week and already I feel ready for another relaxing vacation (hmmm...could the reason be S and J??!!) More posts to come highlighting our activites - stay tuned!