Trip to Maine '12

Our family rules for vacation:

No Arguing

No talking a lot at bedtime

No jumping in our house

No acting like a white belly go away bird

No going to bed before 9

Sammy kept saying "Goga" on this trip. We have no idea what it means!

This trip to Maine was our first as a family of four. Before checking into our hotel we stopped at the zoo. There we fed duck, goats, and deer. Matthew showed off his knowledge about everything he knows on the topic of Cheetahs and fell in love with a new animal, crocodiles. For the rest of vacation a foot long plastic crocodile named Crocky was toted along with us. 

Before we left we sat at the picnic tables to have a snack. I was eating a plate of fried dough when the wind blew knocking the plate of fried dough into me. From here on out we refer to that as The Fried Dough Incident.

That evening we ate dinner at the Clam Bake. I have blogged before about how it is a restaurant which encourages the feeding of seagulls. In between tossing fries out the window Matthew chatted about the Robin’s nest under our deck at home. “I’m telling them all my bird stuff,” he explained.

We ate breakfast on the beach the next morning. In theory this was a good idea as the kids settled on the towels with pancakes but the surf and sand proved to be too much temptation for them so their breakfast grew cold while they set off to play. Sammy chased seagulls and imitated their noise perfectly. Matthew jumped in waves and built sandcastles. 

Would like some pancakes with that sand?

Ode to Crocky

Crocky, the new adored family pet!

During vacation a dip in the pool is the same as taking a shower for the kids so each day we left the beach we swam in the hotel pool. Going to the beach and then to the pool became our morning tradition all week. 

Matthew's first time crossing the monkey bars!

We found this park by our hotel too!

There was a brief shower that afternoon but we had indoor plans at the Children’s Museum in Portland. They ran around for three hours there. 

The following day we hiked around Mackworth Island to find fairy houses.  

 We built two of our own:

A fairy! Wait, no that's Sammy

That afternoon we did some shopping in Freeport and stopped off for a snack here.

That evening we went to what Matthew called the “Mega Monster Amusement Park”. It seemed that this year he has outgrown some of the kiddie rides in favor for the older and scarier rides. When we went back the following night Bob proved his love for Matthew by riding the scariest roller coaster in the park with him. 

Sammy watching the roller coaster and looking as nervous as Bob!

Not far from our hotel we found a local ice cream spot that we liked too. Their smallest size is two scoops! On the last night that we were there we had to carry our heaping bowls of ice cream home in the pouring rain. Luckily the rain stopped in time for us to watch fireworks from the doorstep of our hotel. It was the perfect note to end our vacation on. On the day we left for home it was raining. Matthew said that it was because Maine was crying that we were leaving.

Bye Bye beach!

Boston is a Busy City!

Written by Bob

"Boston is a busy city!" Matthew exclaimed as we emerged from the Back Bay subway station into a sea of people on the Boston streets during the morning rush hour. He would alternate between saying "Boston is a busy city!" and "Boston is an amazing city!" for the next ten minutes.

To get a jump start on our summer vacation week, I also took the preceding Friday off from work to take Matthew into Boston. He was all smiles as we rode the commuter rail from Grafton to Boston.

Our first stop of the day was Fenway Park for a tour. We got to walk around much of the stadium, including the Green Monster seats. Matthew listened very diligently to the tour guide and shouted out "100 years!" when asked how old Fenway was. For the rest of the day, he re-told the story of Ted Williams' 502 foot home run that hit the straw hat of a man who was (supposedly) sleeping in the bleachers. After the tour was a trip to the souvenir store where Matt eventually relented on "needing" a $80 jersey and settled for a $15 helmet instead.

After Fenway, we ate lunch at Matt's favorite fine dining location - McDonald's. Then, it was on to the Green Line subway and on our way to North Station, home of the TD Garden and Sports Museum. When I was a kid, the museum was in the Cambridgeside Galleria, but it has since moved to the Garden. Matt was very excited to see the jersey of his favorite player, Tim Thomas (he refuses to believe that Thomas doesn't want to play for the Bruins this season).

We also saw a Rajon Rondo made out of Matt's favorite toy (Legos), and a bobblehead as big as Matthew holding up the Stanley Cup.

The highlight of the museum was the behind-the-scenes arena tour. We got to go into the visiting locker rooms for both hockey and basketball. Matthew was once again a great listener, and learned that the biggest locker in the hockey locker room is for the goalie because he has the most equipment, and the biggest locker in the basketball locker room is for the star player so that he can hold post game press conferences at his locker without spilling into his teammates space. 

We got to walk onto the arena floor, where the ice was covered and the crew was still cleaning up from an Aerosmith concert the night before. Matt got to see the banners hanging from the rafters, and pretend he was a hockey player crashing into the boards. We also got to see the Celtics' basketball hoops and parquet floor in storage under the arena.

After the tour, we took a quick trip to the Cambridgeside Galleria to get a birthday present for Mom, and then it was time to take the train back home. As the train pulled away from South Station, Matthew said "This is a wonderful day and I earned it!".

The Summer Adventures of Matthew

He told me that this place is "Matthew's Island"

 We are all in need of a little summer adventure now and again. Matthew and I went clamming on a beach in RI after I obtained my shellfish license from the State of RI online. “Dig, Dig, Dig!” he cheered each time he shoveled the wet sand. Once he uncovered a clam he held it in his hands and said, “This is incredible!”. Once we got tired of clamming we explored the rest of the beach and found crabs, snails, and mussels.

Then later on that evening Bob took him to a baseball game with fireworks after it ended. Our little adventurer came home with not one but two baseballs from the game. He is one very lucky kid!

Pinwheels & Pearls Party

The theme was pinwheels and pearls. I had this party planned in my mind since I saw it online at The Party Dress years ago. Once I knew I was having a girl I knew this would be her first birthday theme. I wonder how many other decisions in my life resulted from this party theme. Doesn’t the name Samantha Mae sound like someone who would have a pinwheel and pearls party? Maybe that is where the name Mae came from. Or maybe not.   

To prepare for the party I taught myself how to make paper pinwheels, which is relatively easy enough to do. I hung them on our fence for decorations. The birthday girl wore a homemade dress with pinwheels that we ordered from Bugs and Beez boutique. There was a table with a photo book to sign and party favors for the guests. Above the table was a photo personalized birthday banner.  

 

For food we did a burger bar and snacks. Sarah made pink and green cupcakes and a small cake for Sammy that had little pearl candies on them to tie in the theme. I made clam cookies with pearls (yogurt covered raisins) in their mouths. We stored drinks in Radio Flyer wagon packed with ice, an idea I saw once in a book or magazine ages ago. 

The weather was great- we were worried because the forecast called for scattered thunderstorms, but thankfully they held off. Grandma and Papa brought a canopy to keep everyone shaded outside. Sammy held court from her highchair for most the time under the canopy – getting the adults clap their hands, learning to say the word party, and eating her cake like it was what she was put on this earth to do.

 Happy Birthday Sammy Cakes!