The Good Times Keep On Rollin'

Thursday was such a fun day and I really thought we'd take a break and stay home for a couple of days, but it's summer after all. We can rest in September! Friday we ended up going to play mini-golf and get some ice-cream. I was playing too so I didn't take any pictures, but writing it down is better than nothing and I'll have to rely on the memories of Evan getting two hole-in-ones, Maggie actually playing for the first two holes and Braeden working so hard to putt properly the way Mike taught him at golf lessons last summer. The boys had fun while Maggie gave up completely around the 9th hole. I went and got her some ice-cream to keep her occupied while we watched Roman and the boys finish. We went right from there to pizza night at my parents. Braeden and Jason spent another evening diligently watching the DVD that came with Braeden's magic set. Jason is like Houdini to him and he wants to be just like his big cousin. It's very cute.

On Saturday we were changing out the rug in our bedroom and decided that the furniture that we have, sadly, really is too big for the room. It was great in our much bigger bedroom when we lived in New Haven, but now we have too many pieces in a small space. So around 9:30 we decided that a trip to IKEA was in order to see if they had anything that we liked. The kids were more than happy for a road trip and we called Roman's mom and had her meet us for lunch when we got down there. Unfortunately Maggie cried every time she looked at her so I spent the entire time with an almost two year old hiding in my shoulder. But anyway, the restaurant was right near Toys R Us so we took a quick trip to find treasures. The boys almost expect to go there when we see Roman's family because any time we take them to visit we feel bad about how it went and end up offering a trip to Toys R Us to make ourselves feel better for putting them through it. Yes, I know this isn't the best plan, but it was something that started a long time ago and since we only go see them every year or two, it's really not that bad.

The trip to IKEA was great and we found a bedroom set that we really like. It's a matter of seeing if we can sell our existing furniture first though. And then today we had a visit from one of our dearest friends from our time living in CT. We were able to visit for a little while. I wish it had been longer. We really miss her and need to make it a priority to be in contact more frequently. So much fun in only a few days! It's early to bed tonight though because Braeden has to be at baseball camp bright and early tomorrow morning. And I will be headed on a little shopping trip to keep my mind off of my "baby" being at camp all day :)

A Magical Mother's Day

I don't ask for much because quite frankly I need very little. When Roman asked what I wanted for Mother's Day this year I told him probably some plants and mulch for my gardens. I had every intention of working in those gardens today, but after we were finished with church and breakfast I thought it might be fun to go on an somewhere instead. Kids love adventures and quite seriously, don't we all love an unplanned day trip? So I asked the kids where they wanted to go. It had to be out of state and someplace we don't go often. The original thought was that we'd go to the Lakes Region in New Hampshire, but since we all love any reason to go to the ocean, we agreed on the coast instead. I'm so glad we did because we had the BEST day!! It was so fun and relaxing and special and actually beyond words. I hope that we do something like this every Mother's Day because I enjoyed every minute.

The plan was to head to Southern Maine because along with the beach, I wanted to hit an outlet store or two. After all, it was my day. We stopped in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for lunch at BG's Boathouse. It's on the water and the kids were able to look at boats and throw rocks into the water while we waited. I'm not a huge seafood eater and most of their offerings were fried, but it was worth the experience just the same.

After that we traveled though Portsmouth to get into Maine. What a beautiful old historic city! The kids were amazed to see a submarine sticking up out of a hill beside the road. I've always traveled through Portsmouth but never actually stopped there. We are now planning to return for a visit to explore the city. All of these gems in our back yard. I love New England. 

Then we went to York Beach so that the kids could play and we could walk on the beach and take some pictures. I really thought there was no way that they would go into the water very much because it's still the beginning of May. In Maine. However, yet again they proved me wrong and spent an hour playing in the freezing water!

We were all sand and salt coated when we left. It was wonderful. The water was cold, but the air temperature was warm enough that no one was cranky and freezing by the end. It was an amazing way to spend Mother's Day. I hope the kids keep the memories of days like today locked inside and tell their children about them in the future. I believe we may have started a tradition today. And all because I get the honor of being three amazing little people's mom. 

A Chilly River Cruise

Earlier this year my mom won some tickets for a riverboat ride here in town. Admittedly, I have lived in Northfield most of my life, but have never been on the Quinnetucket II. Isn't that often the case with attractions right in our own backyards? She decided that we should all go and yesterday was the day. It may have been a better choice to go earlier in the season (they were pulling the boat out of the water today for the winter), but on the up side we didn't have to deal with lots of others on the boat with us. There were 6 other brave souls but they were more concerned with staying warm than what we or our children were doing. Despite the weather, we had a great time. The kids were all really good and all of us learned a lot. The woman who was doing the tour was excellent and she gave lots of history and interesting facts about the river and surrounding areas. We are approaching peak foliage here so on a sunny day I imagine the trees would have been spectacular and created an amazing view along the way. I was driving near the boat launch the other day and it was breath-taking. I took a couple of pictures of the trees, but a gloomy day doesn't do much to highlight the colors.

 The boat

Jason, Ethan and Evan waiting to get on board

 Grammy and Mags

Checking it all out

The whole family (minus me, but someone had to take the picture)

Maggie entertaining herself by playing games with Aunty Stacy

Captain Braeden

The French King Bridge 

(There were many interesting facts about the building of the bridge)

I love the fall, even on a gloomy day

I can't believe that I've never been on the ride before. It takes about an hour and a half and travels from Northfield to Barton's Cove in Turners Falls and back. I know that we will go again in the future because the kids all came come excited about what they saw and learned. 

And then we got home to see the Space Jump. How crazy was that?? 

Friday Fun at The Friendly Farm

On Friday morning we took Maggie on her first trip to The Friendly Farm. When the boys were little they were timid around the animals, but not Maggie! That girl touched any animal that got close, giggled when the goats jumped on her stroller and thought the chickens were just great. 

Apparently the chicks were funny.

Even Braeden held a chick. He had done it at school this year which is a HUGE deal for him.

This goat was headbutting Maggie from behind. It was pretty funny!

While we were busy playing with, and feeding the goats, one of the workers came to ask if we wanted to help feed the baby cow. Well of course! That's one of our favorite parts of visiting there. We've only ever fed goats before so a cow was a big treat.  

Everywhere you go, there are goats VERY willing to eat..

The brown sheep kept following Brayden around. He gladly obliged by feeding it.

We decided to try and get some group (or as many of the group as we could get to cooperate) pictures.. I'm sure everyone in the world with kids knows how hard that is. Add the distraction of chickens and goats continuing to walk around you and it becomes even harder, but we did it!

Notice there is no Evan. He was way to busy to stop and pose. 

We love to go to the Friendly Farm and we were very glad to take our friends with us who were going for their first time. It's great for little kids because it's small and there aren't any big intimidating animals like a zoo. Don't get me wrong, I love the zoo, but I wouldn't want to be wandering around inside the fences with lions or giraffes.. Can you believe that the same horse that was there when I went as a kid is still at The Friendly Farm today? Kinda crazy. 

Saturday at the Beach

We set out (not early enough) yesterday morning for Maine to visit some friends and take the kids to the beach. We don't usually attempt the busy beaches during the summer, but our friends have a campsite at Old Orchard so we took the opportunity to show the kids what fun it can all be in the summertime. It took us 3.5 hours to get the bridge headed into Maine when it should only take 2. Not a great start to the day. We were just a tad stressed, but the kids did awesome and Maggie only got fussy when we were already in Maine. I am so grateful for how easy going my children are. Their ability to adapt and go with the flow makes it possible for us to do these activities as a family.

 Waiting for the trolley to the beach!

A few more people than we're used to...

Maggie's first time in the ocean. She didn't mind it at all until a wave hit her in the face.. oops!

All of the boys loved playing in the water. I didn't know what Evan would think since he has been so opposed to going in any water outside of his own pool this summer. But to our surprise, he got right into his bathing suit and ran immediately into the water when we got there. There was playing and sand castle building attempts and body surfing and all around good times. It was a beautiful day and all of the kids would probably have played until the sun went down if we had let them. 

They were however, easily enticed out of the water to go the amusement park. Braeden was brave enough to go on the log ride with Melissa and I and Evan even went on a ride all by himself while we were doing that. Go Evan! Maggie experienced her first ride ever when Melissa took her on the Carousel. I get too dizzy to go on rides so it was great that Melissa offered to take Mags. 

 She liked it!

Braeden thought it was pretty cool that he got to ride a goat..

My camera died after that, but we continued to have a great time. We had dinner and the kids played at the playground. Then after the boys went to take showers at the campground bathrooms (a big thrill to them), even though Neil and Melissa have a shower in their camper, we went to get some ice-cream before heading home. Fortunately the trip home was the usual 2.5 hours. Thank goodness. I think Roman might have had to be committed if he had to sit in traffic anymore. 

We are having the best summer this year. The kids are so happy to go on adventures and try new things and it is making it so fun for me because I get out of the house and experience new things too! I know I say it over and over, but we have amazing family and friends and it's so great to have people to spend the summer with, having fun, swimming, and eating too! What would summer be without lots of barbecues, ice-cream trips and spur of the moment decisions to have lunch or dinner with friends. We are so blessed and happy.