So Long Summer

Summer is now unofficially and officially over. It's been a while since our last post because we haven't been up to a whole lot lately. Now that Jen's back to work we don't have many days off together anymore so we're not on the go as much but there are some pictures from the past three weeks to put up.

Charlene/Buppy's last birthday in her 40's was last week, we took the girls hiking in the Big Pines Natural Area last Sunday and we also went to LL Bean the other day, which to Brooke is like an amusement park for some reason. She loves it. Whenever we ask her what she wants to do it's usually "Go to Elobeans" and since Jen needed to do some shopping for Jason and Daniela's upcoming wedding it was a good reason to go to Freeport. That and Famous Dave's is up there so any reason to go that way is a good one for me. Also whenever Jen works I try to take the girls out for some fresh air and exercise on some trips to the beach or small local hikes/walks. I'm not very good at staying in and being crafty for the day plus sunshine, fresh air and exercise are good for you right?

Anyhow the pictures are here if you want to check them out. This weekend we'll be down in the big city for the wedding and then it's mine and Jen's 5th anniversary. With the foliage changing I'm hoping to make a few trips up north to see it and maybe one around Casco Bay on the boat cruise to check it out there too. If anyone wants to join us let us know, we're always happy to have company.

There's also a video below of Brooke doing her a capella version of Taylor Swift's "Mean" which we thought was pretty cute and a newly updated video of Emily starting to crawl! Feel free to check those out as well. That's all for now.

Labor Day Weekend

Lets see, where should I begin? Summer is unofficially over now and we had a great one. If it's possible we're vacationed out. Lot's of camping, hiking, visiting and relaxing in Acadia, Vermont, the White Mountains, Chebeague, and Winnipesaukee has just about worn us out. Not so much the vacationing and relaxing as the packing and unpacking for us and two young girls.

To finish off our summer we decided to try and beat the heat and humidity this past Saturday with a cruise around Casco Bay out to Cliff Island where we had lunch and walked around for a few hours. Greg and Anne decided to accompany us on that little journey and we had a lot of fun. A Lobster BLT, a lobster pizza and even Lobster Tracks ice cream were some of the treats we got on the island. It was hot and humid on the shore but 6 miles out at sea it was sunny and 75 and a perfect place to spend the day. We walked about three miles around the island and visited the Bluffs that look out into the Atlantic as well as Griffins Cove and Stinky Beach. It was very similar to Chebeague only smaller and more rustic. None of the big new homes and everyone rides around in golf carts. We finished that day off with a stop at " 'Mous Daves " as Brooke likes to call it for some end of summer BBQ. It was a great way to finish up summer.

For the next couple of days we decided to get our moneys worth out of our State Parks license plate. Sunday we took a trip to the mountains for a hike and a swim but the hike was cancelled because some lazy state worker must have left early for the weekend and didn't bother taking down the sign that said the area we wanted to hike in was closed and the car would be towed. I had a feeling that was what happened, and when I checked at home sure enough it was, but I didn't want to risk coming back to no car miles from a town so we skipped the hike and headed to White Lake State Park for a swim. After a rumble of thunder cleared that place out we went up to North Conway to finish cooling off and at least rinse off the sand at Echo Lake State Park and get some dinner. Then we went for a ride to look for moose and after driving all the way to Berlin we discovered the road Grammy Betty and I almost always saw moose on is now part of the prison and fenced off with warning signs about trespassing. To top that off a huge, and I mean HUGE thunderstorm descended down own us for about half an hour with torrential downpours and more lightning than I ever remember seeing in my life. Monday we stayed local and went to visit Rye Harbor State Park and Odiorne State Park for the afternoon.

Other than that Emily has gotten her first tooth, Brooke starts her tap/ballet classes Monday, Jen starts her new job Thursday, I have Jason's bachelor weekend this weekend and then in a few weeks it's his wedding. I don't know how much of that I will have pictures of other than the tooth but I'm sure there will be some of something sometime soon so check back in a little while for more. That's my book as Jen likes to call it. There's a bunch of pictures from the trips here if you're interested or you can click on the pictures above to get to them.