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!

Basketball

Mike and I decided we wouldn't both coach simultaneously again until our younger kids are significantly older. It was just crazy. But we did want the kids in basketball and we wanted to support the program (like soccer) so I volunteered as a coach. I asked for an older team, but for lack of enough 5-grade participants, I was put with the 4-5 year olds. Again.

Finn passes the ball.

It's not that I don't like this age--they're hilarious--it's that I really didn't know if I would be able to explain a game with as many moving parts as basketball effectively. And when I first got there, I was the only coach, with about 15 kids. Thankfully, two men decided to join the coaching team after the first week.

Finn's age group played on 6-ft rims, full-court on half a gym. Finn and a couple of the other kindergarteners actually really started getting the pace of the game by the last few meets and their dribbling and shooting noticeably improved.

Madie really didn't want to do basketball. The first day of practices sounded kind of like this (minus the screaming and crying and flopping of bodies onto the floor),

M: I don't WANT to play basketball!

Me: Okay, you don't have to. You do have to try it today though. And if you don't try, you'll end up just sitting around looking ridiculous and then I'll make you try it next week.

M: But basketball is so boring!

Me thinking, "oh, maybe she has tried it at school?": Where did you play basketball?

M: I haven't.

Me: Oh, well, then you don't know what it's like at all, do you?

M: Yes I do. You've told me what it's like and it sounds boring.

After her first practice she said something like, "Actually, Mom, I do like basketball. A little bit." Her team really struggled, but they struggled hard and ended up winning their very last game!

Madie is naturally very competitive and losing as many games as they did was hard for her, but really, really good.

Winter Games

We've had a good amount of snow this year, and although the first half of the winter gave us temperatures too low to go camping in, it also gave us excellent ice.

Geared up and blazing a trail.

The kids started out with some skating props, but they caught on quickly. 

We bought sticks and a puck and Mike made some hockey goals as Christmas gifts. 

Pond hockey goal.

Taking a rest between games.

Sometimes we opted for inside activities, but a week didn't pass that we weren't outside doing something on the ice for probably two months. It was great!

The temps were also perfect for snuggle sessions.

Playing with our new bocce set. We took it to the church and set up a mini bocce court with the tables.