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. 

Winter: That's a Wrap

Old man winter is loosening his grip over the state of Maine, and warmer days are ahead. Those moments where you look forward to a 40 degree day! Here are a few highlights from our winter:

The kids have been hanging upside down on the bunk bed a lot lately. Somehow, I was able to convince all of them to turn their face toward me for a quick photo. Madie usually resists any sort of paparazzi-type of treatment. 

We went for a fun hike and explored the ice. Finn has been very curious about peregrine falcons and birds of prey, so he is geared up for some wildlife. 

 Always good to check the guide book!

One highlight was building an igloo and taking the three older kids camping in it. I had been waiting for a good dump of snow, and it finally came! Conditions were perfect for making it, but I only had one night to do it. The following day, temps were going to drop significantly. Unfortunately, I didn't get a roof on the igloo during that narrow time slot. I threw a tarp over the top and called it good. Temps got down to 13 degrees that night. With windchill, it must have been close to zero. Being in that shelter made all the difference, though! Great experience for the kids.  

That's what survival looks like.  

 Mal and I got out to xc ski 2-3 times. It's probably my favorite winter sport, and makes for a great date night. My favorite type of ski date is under the dark night sky that is littered with stars and no head lamp. 

And hey, I was even able to get Madie out on skis. Her first time out, she went a whopping 4 miles! She is tough when she chooses to be, and I'm glad she chose to be tough around Eagle Lake this day. Way to go, Madie!

Petya and Friends

It's fun to see Petya really come into her own now that she's the big kid at home. For a while after Finn and Madie started school, Petya would keep asking if we were going to see our friends, "Logan and Caroline." I kept explaining those were actually more Finn's friends than hers, and that they were in school now too. 

"But," I'd say, "we will see Viv and Emily!" 

Finally talks about her own friends and is excited to see them when I say we're going anywhere. The cutest kiddo to see her with is Emily. These two are wicked sweet together. I came around the corner to get Petya ready to go and found them sharing a bean bag and looking through a book together. 

They are like this all the time. It kills me.

Sugar Cookies

For Family Night last night Madie had the treat. I think every Family Night of the summer that Mike or I weren't in charge of treats we had ice cream. Finally, half-way through October, when Finn said that he wanted ice cream for Family Night and Mike rolled his eyes at me, I realized we had achieved the previously-thought unachievable: Mike had grown tired of ice cream. I mean, he still ate it, but he took to listing all the other treats we were missing out on:

"Pie, short cake, brownies, blondies, pudding, clouds, cheesecake--come on man! You could have anything you want!"

But Finn wanted ice cream, so ice cream we had.

Last night though, Madie finally broke and chose sugar cookies she saw in the Hannaford food magazine. She asked Petya if she wanted to frost them for the activity (which was Petya's choice this week) and she agreed, which was great for me!

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. 

Spring

After a very wet few weeks of spring, we are finally enjoying some sunshine. Along with that sunshine, we have been at defcon five due to some recent fox attacks. A few weeks ago, we had one chicken drop dead out of nowhere. A week later, a fox took our five of our hens, leaving one lone survivor. It was an all-out rampage, all while Mal and I were at Reel Pizza and a babysitter was at home with the kids. Our neighbors came home to witness part of it, and actually saved one chicken for us. Stripey had a chunk taken out of her back and had an injured leg, but somehow survived. She was definitely the smarter hen. After that attack, we got Stripey a rooster. Chief, a polish, has enough wits about him to breath. I don't know that he can handle much more than that. He is a Polish, and repeatedly runs into walls when in fight or flight. Well, Mr. Fox returned on Friday morning. I had just let the chickens out in the morning, then went to get some breakfast. About ten minutes later, I heard Stripey freaking out in the front yard. I ran to the glass door and saw the fox chasing her! I ran out, yelling and chasing the fox. The fox was so close to finishing the job, but ran off as I approached. I think we are all in agreement that we need to trap that fox. Should be an interesting few weeks coming up.

We have been getting out as much as possible, as weather permits. There is so much we want to do outside, but so many projects need to get done around the house. It's difficult to balance between the two with such a short summer season. We already have so many fun things planned this summer, between Yellowstone, Idaho, and Utah.


Yesterday, we helped out with the Bangor Stake service project. We were cleaning up the carriage roads in Acadia. The kids (even Madie) mentioned a few times how much fun they were having. Even Petya was wielding a rake and getting into the action. It's a good experience for the kids to get involved in activities like these.


When I came home Friday night, the kids had constructed a fort out of lava lavas on the front deck and were eager to show it to me. Obviously, very proud of their engineering. Madie asked to sleep in it with Elvis. I considered it, but then wasn't feeling so warm and fuzzy about it. Mal suggested doing it in the back deck. Easier for everyone to access, hear if there are issues in the middle of the night, etc. The kids were so excited about the idea, they immediately began moving everything back there! I decided to help them create a new fort with a large tarp, which would offer better protection. We also set up Mary Poppins in there for them. Petya and Finn both fell asleep before the end of the movie, but Madie was awake the whole time. I decided to sleep out there with them just in-case they needed one of us for something. Madie was pretty insistent on keeping the fort up for the rest of the weekend. She loved reading out there Saturday afternoon, enjoying some fresh air. I'm sure we will do some more of that this summer.


Thursday of last week was about 85 degrees, and neither of us felt like cooking dinner. That's right, we start to become dysfunctional after 85 degrees. So, we went to The Thirsty Whale for dinner, and ran around Agamont Park.


Finn is doing T-ball again this year. Let me just say, I couldn't be happier with the way it's going. Last years T-ball was a big boring disaster that made Finn dislike T-ball. It involved a lot of games that were geared toward teaching a few fundamentals with baseball. But Finn is already at the stage of hitting my overhand throws, and can occasionally catch the ball with his mitt. He is more interested in actually playing the game of baseball, and not all of those "...stupid..." games used to teach you the game of baseball. This year, it's very simple. Roll out to the field, set up a T, take turns at the T, have a few kids field the hits and throw it to first base, and a few kids off to the side playing catch. And parents are involved all over the field. This is such an improvement, and Finn actually likes it. He is doing so well too. He really has a great arm and outstanding hand-eye coordination.


Madie did excellent at her piano recital. She always impresses me with her ability to read music. She is comfortable playing in front of an audience, even though she appears to be embarrassed afterward.


Finn's first performance. He is also coming along nicely! Just some simple, basic songs. I am proud of him and Madie for their performances. Mal does a great job teaching them.


Did I mention all of that rain we were getting? After a few days of significant rain, we went hiking to a few places that would offer some interesting falls. This one was the bridge at the trailhead of Deer Creek. And can I say, this photo pretty much captures the personality of each kid. Madie appearing bored (she loves hiking and running, but you would never guess it from this photo...not into having her photo taken still), Finn looking distracted (...squirrel!), and Petya happy we didn't leave her at home (anytime we are getting ready to go somewhere, she always asks "Can I go?" She is a happy girl always wants to be included in whatever is going on.)


I thought Mal would do a post on her Shrek performance, but time got away...yada yada yada, we haven't blogged for over a month. She started working on the show back in January, and stuck with it through the end. The show was hilarious, captivating, and entertaining. Mal did a great job as the wicked witch. The kids loved the show. Bravo!


On a personal note, I passed my Certified Safety Professional (CSP) exam. I had studied for that off and on for the past couple of years. After a training I went to in November, I resoled to buckle down and get it done. Every morning, I went to work to study for an extra 30-60 minutes. On Saturdays, I would go in to work early to get in an extra hour, and periodically studied in the evenings as time permitted. Having this will open up a lot of professional possibilities in the next few years, and of course offer extra job security should anything happen with my current job. I'm not done yet, though. Still have one more certification I'm already working toward. I'll really buckle down for that in October/November. Summer is approaching fast, and I live in Maine. Time to enjoy it while it's here!

The End of Winter

The past few weeks have been packed with play rehearsal and preparation. We're almost done though and with the end of the play comes Easter and spring break, so we'll have some proper time off. I'm enjoying the play, but I'm also looking forward to being done.

Nellie is getting big enough to be out in the yard by herself as long as she stays in the front (we still are having some issues understanding why it's not okay to just take off to our neighbor's without asking, but generally she's good about it). She has loved the independence, especially since it's been nice out the past few days. And since the ducks have returned to the pond. The drakes are particularly entertaining during mating season--they chase each other all over the place and splash at each other. 

Watching the chickens eating.

Before "hell week" (the last week of rehearsals before the show), I did fit in some quality bake time with each of the kids. Nell is obsessed with helping in the kitchen, and doesn't take "no" very lightly if I'm in a rush to get things done. It's always nice to have some time to really make something with her.

Macarons with jam.

Finn always asks to make the same thing: blueberry muffins. I love blueberry muffins, so that's all good and fine, but it gets a little monotonous. The problem really is he's just not thinking much beyond that. This time I insisted we make something else--scones. He wasn't pleased until I suggested chocolate scones. He was willing to settle for that.

A couple of weeks ago Madie had a half-day followed by a day off of school. Finn had a friend over for the half-day and Madie was a little bored. She's usually good to just read all afternoon, but I guess she wasn't feeling it, so I suggested we make something together since it's unusual to have time to do anything like that until the summer. She had asked for a "kids' cookbook" for Christmas, and although she didn't get one as a gift, my cousin asked me a couple days after, completely out of the blue, if we wanted one she had now that her kids had outgrown it. Yes! So Madie pulled it out and decided on chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies. We even got to use the pastry bag to shape the cookies, which was a highlight for her.

Shortbreads break easily, especially when a 7-year old is shaping them with a bag. That meant  lots of mistakes to--*wink*--clean up.