A Morning Hike and Family Night

For family night a couple of weeks ago--and in honor of Pioneer Day (a day celebrated by members of the Church of Jesus Christ and people who live in western states settled by American pioneers)--we decided we would play an old-timey game. I explained the rules to Blind Man's Buff, and we pushed the couch and table off to the side of the room to have plenty of space to play. It was a big hit with the kids and hilarious to watch even when I'd been caught. 

Just as a warning: the pictures are quite blurry. People were moving so quickly it was hard to get any clear shots.

Petya couldn't wait her turn to play. She was so excited watching the rest of us with the blindfold that she kept jumping in asking for her turn. She turned out to be really quite good!

Madie was hilarious. She is a bit of a cheat when it comes to games--it doesn't help that her Aunt Alexa encourages it during games of Battleship at Grammy Haskins' house. But Dad kept tricking her by dressing Elvis up as a babushka--Finn is on the couch because he's out and Petya is covering her mouth trying to stay quiet.

Finn and Dad were the funniest to watch by far. Finn was in charge of the activity, so he got to go first. These two were the last in this round, and they played cat-and-mouse for a while before Finn finally caught on that if he could find Elvis, Dad must be on the other side.

Dad has backed himself into a corner--rookie mistake.

This is just before the downfall of Daddy-O.

And this was Dad's revenge in the next round.

Earlier that day, while Madie was a camp, the younger two and I ended up on a hike we hadn't really anticipated, but we enjoyed nonetheless. I wanted to check out a trail I had never noticed before starting at Otter Cove. We parked and started on it. It said it was only .3 miles to the Ocean Path, so I figured we'd just walk to there then turn back. I was wearing less-than-ideal sneakers and hadn't packed any water or snacks because I thought it would be more of a walk than anything.

Posing in front of Old Soaker--which Finn is blocking entirely.

It wasn't long before we ran into the Gorham Mountain trailhead and, although I'd warned him I didn't come prepared, Finn urged me to take them to the peak. It was a great day for a hike--cool and overcast. Petya hiked the entire way up herself, but by the time we summited--1.7 miles later--Finn was grumpy and Petya was not going to make it back down by herself. I did happen to have a sandwich in my bag Mike had made and forgotten at the house, so I let them split it and that seemed to perk Finn back up a bit. I did have to carry Petya about half the way back down, and she was so happy to be back in her car seat that she talked about it the last little bit past Otter Cove.

At the summit.

Otter Cove from the peak of Gorham Mountain.

Rugosa roses on the side of Otter Cove.

Summer

It was fun visiting family and Yellowstone, but it is very nice to be back enjoying our summer inMaine. We have somewhat limited time to hike and swim before Baby Girl comes, so we have been trying to get it all in, with varying success. I'm at the point where I often don't sleep for half the night, which means my energy has flagged significantly during the day, but we've managed to get out and about a little bit.

We returned just a day before the 4th of July, so we were busy all that week with Alexa, Sean, and Eden who had come to visit for a couple days. Eden stayed on for about a week and a half before she returned to Dover to get ready for EFY in Albany. While she was here, we hit up Asticou Garden (the picture for which, for some reason, isn't coming up, so just imagine Eden walking Elvis through a beautiful garden), Wild Gardens of Acadia, part of the Jesup path, and Lakewood. 

Eden, proud of the accomplishment of going under the (warm) pond water,  particularly before Madie, who had been egging her the entire time.

After Eden was gone, we were busy with friends--we caught up with Jen and her girls for a walk along the Ocean Path,

Petya waits in the shade for a bus back to town.

we met with Trish and her kids at Lakewood for an afternoon swim on a hot day,

Abby and Brinly were giving the little kids pushes through the air. Finn loved it, and talked about it  for days afterward. "Abby let me climb on her knees and then she'd throw me into the water. It was so fun. I kept going under the water. It was so fun."

and we joined Aunt Rinda and my cousins in Belfast for a Sunday lunch and strawberry shortcake.

Finn, Lottie, Petya, Thomas, and Pip playing in the sprinkler.

Enjoying some shortcake on the deck.

Madie has been participating in Summer Festival of the Arts this summer. It's a three-week long day camp, and we miss having her with us on our hikes, but she has loved it. Their last day is tomorrow and they will showcase all their work. 

Showing off some experimental pipe-cleaner puppets she made in a puppet class--this showcase will have an original puppet show written and directed by the kids with puppets of their own making. 

The second week of SFOA was Spirit Week, during which they had a "Character Day." Madie has wanted to dress as Hermione every time this comes up at school, but we haven't had the appropriate clothes for it. Of course, it doesn't help that Madie tells me about these things the night before. This outfit we were able to pull together with a borrowed button down, a sweater, and a black t-shirt pinned into a skirt. She was very happy to play Hermione all day.

We've also spent time skipping rocks and playing in the Green, and have enjoyed a couple of special programs at the Jesup Library, including a Mad Scientist and painting our own worlds.

Petya ran laps around the Green.

Creating her own world.

Happy Fourth of July!

Sweet rolls for breakfast...

a parade with friends...

and card games.

Don't worry--Dad, Aunt Alexa, and Aunt Eden took them to the fireworks. I hung out at home visiting with a friend, which was perfect.

Out West

We decided we would head out to Mike's family reunion (this year held in Idaho) a week early so we could spend some time visiting my brothers in Salt Lake and also take the kids to Yellowstone. It was a lot of driving and hot, hot weather--the first time my feet have ever swelled up during pregnancy--but it was a lot of fun and the kids were duly impressed with Yellowstone. It is a very cool park.

We stayed with BJ and his family in Utah, which was perfectly situated between my brothers in Salt Lake and Mike's grandma in Orem. 

Levi has a trampoline, which was a huge hit with our kids. Mike would love to get one, but I keep killing it. Sorry kids--you can blame me when you're feeling deprived.

 The kids ask a few times a year--especially Finn--if we can find a zoo to go to. The closest thing Maine has to a zoo is the Maine Wildlife Park, which is actually really cool, but is three hours away. It hosts native animals, but many of them are very reclusive and difficult to find, like fishers, moose, and wolves, so it's worth visiting now and then. But, while we were in Utah, we promised we would take them to the Hogle Zoo, which, despite its size, is actually a great zoo. And this coming from a girl who has visited some impressive zoos.

I took the kids on a train ride around the African savannah enclosure and the Old American West section.

This girl makes the craziest faces. She's not sad here, she's just being weird. She loved the train, so she wanted a picture with it.

We also hit up the mall and surprised Madie with some ear piercings. It was scary, but she is wicked happy to have them.

After Utah we started the 6 1/2 hour drive up to North Yellowstone, but broke for a couple hours in Rexburg for old time's sake. Mike visited a couple of his old professors with the girls while I took Finn to see one of my own. As Dad and the girls disappeared into a building Finn said, "Actually, I want to go with Dad." 

"No, Finn, it's too late. He's gone and it's too busy a place to let you run off to look for him."

"Awww..." he drooped his head and shoulders.

"Listen, Finn, Dad's professors are nice, but trust me, this guy we're going to see is the one you want to visit. He's a medievalist, which means he's got some really cool stuff in his office."

Obviously, I was right. He talked about it for a couple hours after. Thanks, Merrill, for visiting with us for a bit.

There are lots of Yellowstone pictures, so here they are:

A herd of bison passed right in front of our car, with a bunch of calves among them. They are awful cute.

At Artist's Point 

Mammoth Hotsprings on our last day. We saw a bear here too!

Walking to the petrified tree.

On our last couple days, our friend Trish and her kids joined us at the hostel we stayed at and then hit up Mammoth with us. It was great to see them and spend a little time with them, even though we knew we'd see them later in Maine when they came to visit. Here we got them all to ourselves. 

Ben is about 5 months younger than Petya. Here they are "playing" Nintendo.

Then it was a drive from Yellowstone to Boise to meet up with Mike's family at his sister's house before heading up to McCall. McCall was beautiful, and although it was a little warm still, there were some lovely breezes that helped cut it down. And we witnessed a marvelous thunderstorm from the cabin in which we stayed.

Petya on a sitting stone at the peak of one of our hikes.

Madie and Petya overlooking the water from the top of our hike.

Walking with Dad.

At the town beach in McCall, which sits on Lake Payette.

Our family at the top of a waterfall hike--sorry, neither of us can recall the name of the falls. The reservoir was beautiful and had a gorgeous snow-topped mountain right behind it. The picture, as usual, does not do it justice.

At one point on our last hike before heading back to Boise, Finn and I got a little confused. In this particular state park, they don't use trail markers, and when the trail became unclear, I told Finn we would just look at the falls (which was the goal of the hike--I didn't realize the trail continued to the top of them) and then turn back and meet up with Dad and the others somewhere on the trail or back at the cars. This was unsettling to him--until then he'd been singing songs and chattering away happily. Now he stopped and said, "Are we lost?"

"No, we're not lost, but I don't know the way forward and I don't see Dad, but the waterfalls are right there, so we'll look at them, then head back."

"We're lost?"

"No, Finn, we're fine. The trail is right behind us, through those trees."

He started to get panicky and to cry a little. "I want Dad! I wish he were here!"

By some miracle, Mike thought to look back down at the trail (which, apparently, we were still on--I honestly couldn't tell; we were only not lost because I knew where the trail was behind us, not because I thought we were still on it!) and called to us. We scrambled up a rock face and there was the group at the top of the falls. I'm glad it happened before we turned back or we would have missed the view.

Madie and Sadie are recent pen pal cousins. They're so sweet together. 

All the Watkins grandchildren from youngest to oldest, ranging between 2 1/2 and 15.

Helping Papa with his chocolate cake.

It was a lot of fun, but I must say, we were all really ready to head home.

Madie practicing the art of airport slumber.

Finnegan Turns Five!

Madie made this tie and two more for him as a gift. She really did a great job--I don't know if she will enjoy sewing, but she does like to craft and paint, so maybe with a little more practice she'll get to a point where she can do it alone and have fun with it.

^This kid^ turned five today. 

He is an active boy who loves riding his bike, rock climbing with Dad and Madie, playing dress up with his friends, going swimming, camping, and canoeing, playing Harry Potter with Madie, and is extremely interested this year in going fishing. He is our sharing and caring kid, which is good because the older and younger sisters he has need the example in those areas. Above all, he loves Elvis--maybe a little bit too much for the dog's taste.

He got some new clothes and a water gun from Nana and Papa. One of his shirts even glows in the dark!

Finn had plenty of present requests, but we settled on getting him this Captain America armor and I made him a lunch bag for kindergarten. He seems happy with the choices.

We strung his birthday celebration out over the weekend. We were supposed to go camping as a family per his request on Friday night at a campground on the far end of the island, but because of weather we decided to bail. Mike set up a giant fort in their room, we opened some presents, and had hot dogs for dinner. Mike even started a fire in the wood stove so we could roast the hot dogs as if we were camping.

Finn chose cookie dough in a waffle cone. 

Saturday dawned bright and beautiful. We had doughnuts for breakfast--Finn's request--and Mike took the kids swimming at Echo Lake. We all went to the pizzeria in the village for lunch and finished up with ice cream. 

After some chores and yard work, Mike and the big kids set up camp in the woods. Petya and I slept inside since we spent the night before hanging out with each other from 12:15 to 5:30. Needless to say, we slept like rocks. I don't know how the other kids did, but generally they sleep better in a tent than they do in the house.

It was a family birthday this year, so I asked Finn if he wanted to go to Grammy Haskins' house after church and have cake up there. He was excited at that prospect, so we stayed for sacrament meeting and drove the hour and a half to Gram's right after. We had Elvis with us, since we were dropping him off at my uncle's before our trip out west, and an ice cream cake. Thankfully, only the very top of the cake was melted at all when we arrived, so we popped it in the freezer and it was ready by the time we got to it. Finn wanted a s'mores ice cream cake this year. It's graham cracker crust with a layer of chocolate, followed by fluff, followed by s'mores ice cream (or chocolate if you're unfortunate enough to not have s'mores ice cream available) and then you top it with halved marshmallows and stick them under the broiler until toasted. It was slightly melted on top, but really it held together well and Finn and everyone else loved it.

Grammy Haskins provided pizza and punch and Aunt Alexa bought balloons and a banner so the house looked festive. He got another water gun, a toy pistol and handcuffs (which he loved locking people up with), and his own box of Lucky Charms. Grammy and Grampy Conner gave him an awesome camping hammock that everyone was excited to try. 

Happy birthday to the Chunk Man.