Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great Memorial Day weekend on the Schoodic Peninsula. We were fighting off black flies and mosquitoes, but the weather was perfect and we had good company with the Ellis family. The Schoodic Woods campground in Acadia by far has some of the cleanest camping facilities I've used. And, per usual, the kids all slept relatively well. Amity slept very well, especially since she had just slid into a streak of waking up in the middle of the night multiple nights in a row. Madie brought her friend Anna as well. 

The kids favorite camping dinner is hot dogs, chips, followed by s'mores. Without fail.

Amity was a good little camper and actually did not get very many bug bites. 

Madie and Anna got along very well, and it was Madie's first 'sleepover' with a friend. We don't usually allow sleepovers of any type. But this was sort of a special circumstance. Anna was pretty excited for Madie to have her first sleepover, while Madie was excited for Anna to have home cooked meals. Anna has convinced Madie that she suffers by never eating home cooked meals, so they kept saying "Anna has to take advantage of this while she can." Hope those hot dogs with factory processed chips were an impressive home cooked meal!

We hadn't been to Schoodic for a couple of years, so we decided to tour the sites we had previously visited, such as playing on the rocks at the peninsula, seeing the Schoodic Institute. We also decided to hit a trail to explore the woods a bit, something we didn't do the last time we visited. 

The rocks were a huge hit. The waves were fun to watch, and the kids had different games in their heads as their imaginations ran wild. Finn found this little slot canyon to climb around in. 

Amity was a good little hiker and enjoys being outside. Especially when she can be attached to Mumma. 

Oh yeah, and Elvis came with us. It cracks me up because Madie had been complaining that "Elvis always sleeps on my sleeping bag!" Which is true for the most part. At about 2am, I woke up to hearing Anna whispering to Madie to wake up because she was rolling into her during the night. In an effort to prevent everyone from waking up, I tried to help Anna get situated. Then I saw what had transpired in the last 4 hours of sleep: Elvis had taken over Finn's sleeping bag, Fin was now perpendicular to where he was sleeping with his feet on Petya's pillow, Petya was sharing Madie's pillow, and Madie had been squished between Anna and Petya. It was quite the scene, but funny to see how these little critters move when they are all sleeping next to each other. 

It was a successful trip, particularly since we found a Taqueria in Milbridge. It was literally the most authentic Mexican food in Maine we had found so far. Good salsa, decent Horchata, good carne asada. It's good to know it's there when we need it. A great way to kick off summer along the coast of Maine!

Sunny forecast...what could go wrong?

Sometimes, I entice the kids to go on hikes or go rock climbing during less than ideal conditions with snacks or sweets. If I took them without snacks, I worry they will have a bad experience and will shy away from that activity in the future. Even though there's a 20 degree windchill with (40mph gusts) on the side of Mount Champlain, we can always say "Hey, at least Dad brought donuts." And yes, I was packing on this blistering morning. Even Amity was phased. I carried her up in my arms the whole way because I couldn't get the carrier to work. Probably best that I did, she was extra warm inside my jacket. The kids had good attitudes. At the very end, Petya began to break down because it was so chilly. We found a warm area touched by the sun and sheltered by the wind and enjoyed our hard-earned donuts. I know the kids won't remember all of these experiences, but I'm hoping it will make them tougher over the long haul.

Also, look who made the front page of the Mount Desert Islander!

Temple Run

I'm torn. There are so many great things about living in Maine. Even having to drive 5 hours to go to the temple is a blessing. Anything that requires you to lay something on the alter and sacrifice time or money (arguably two of the most valued things in todays world) is going to bring great significance to your life. Although I may seem a bit optimistic about having a temple 5 hours away, I certainly will not murmur if one was built close to us. In the meantime, we will enjoy our excuses to visit Boston and the great history that area offers. 

Mal booked an entire home through AirBnB in Ipswich, MA for Friday night. I think she has had it with me booking cheap hotels that house people on edge (see our Portland Motel 6 experience from summer 2017 trip out west). It was awesome to have an entire home to ourselves. We headed for the temple first thing in the morning. We went with Richie & Candice Roberts so that we could take turns watching each others kids. 

Afterward, we found a legit taqueria that filled my soul and stomach, and took our time driving back home. Boston is such a cool place, I can't wait to explore more areas. The kids did great traveling. A road trip with our van (built in TV/DVD player) is so awesome. We only use it for drives >2 hours, but it's so nice to lean on for those drives. 

Tongue

It's not a giraffe tongue, but it is busy busy busy.

Fall, in Review

Since Amity was born, Petya has been hit with the hardest with adjusting to the changes in our family dynamics. She loves Amity, and wants to take care of her, but has also been regressing with potty training and in behavior (most likely for attention). We have really had to push and remind her that she is a big girl now, and she needs to act like one. We've changed the plates and utensils that she eats with, we have given her some other responsibilities, and have tried to spend some more one on one time with her. It's all been helping, and she is back to progressing...for the most part. I took her on this hike up Parker Mountain on a beautiful Friday afternoon. 

She still enjoys hiking in the backpack, but if there are some challenging rocks to scramble, she wants out. My kind of girl. 

On a cooler day in September, we decided to fire up the stove. Too cozy not to!

We also made it up to Grammy Haskins a few times. We took Elvis with us one of those times, and explored Dover a bit. 

Hanging out at the old Mill property down the street from Grammy. 

One thing I wish we had in our neighborhood was a sidewalk. It's so nice to be able to use walking as a mode of transportation. That's one thing I really liked about Livermore, we literally walked everywhere! We really didn't need a car, except for excursions to Yosemite or somewhere else off the beaten path. 

Some outside time with Mumma and Petya. 

Amity was happy hanging out with Grammy in her nice warm blanket while we watched General Conference. 

Madie and Amity share a big day

Madie's big day happened on Sunday August 27, 2017 at 7:30 am. Leading up to her baptism, she wanted to be baptized in the font at the church. Mal and I kept trying to persuade her to opt for a pond or the ocean for at least the last year. She can be pretty stubborn. But then, Mal suggested to Madie that it would be better for the earth if she was baptized in a natural body of water. That's when Madie decided that she was okay being baptized in a pond! She chose Lakewood Pond, in Acadia National Park. Madie is now officially on the short list of people that have been baptized in a national park. Amity was in attendance, but she was sleeping in her car seat the whole time, so she didn't make it into any of our photos. Both Grammy and Nana gave opening/closing prayers, Papa gave the talk, and I did the ordinances. Leading up to the confirmation, I asked Madie who she wanted to help confirm her a member. She told me Robert Baird, Bishop Erickson, Papa, Jeff Waldrop, and myself, of course. Thank you to all that made this happen! The photos were taken by Jason Barrett, and were quite spectacular. They looked like moments from the 19th century. So cool!

We left for church shortly after the confirmation, and after the social time. Amity was blessed during sacrament meeting. Those that stood in the circle with me were Craig Rand, Mike Riggs, Papa, and Bishop Erickson. She was very calm during the blessing, which is her personality. Mal and I did a special musical number during sacrament meeting, "I'm trying to be like Jesus", with the acoustic guitar. It was the Watkins show at church.