Vacation in Maine or Nearly Two Years Isn't Too Long to Start Blogging Again, Right?

Nubble Lighthouse

A few weeks ago my whole family met in Island Park Idaho for the Paul Morgan reunion. Because of schedules and the cost of airline tickets (and because we went home for Christmas) we were not able to make it home. I knew it was going to be tough, so I told Matt that I wanted to go away for just a couple days. Nothing huge or too far, but something different than staying at home.

Maine seemed like the perfect answer. Everybody here seems to either go to Maine or Cape Cod (or both) and I have a special place for Maine in my heart. Originally we had hoped for Bar Harbor, but decided for something a little closer. I hadn't been to York, ME yet so we headed that direction.

We left Friday morning and drove up to the Nubble Lighthouse right in York, ME. We ate our picnic lunch, let the kids climb on the rocks and took lots of pictures. It is one of the most picturesque spots - truly New England. The weather was so great, too. It was perfect. After a couple hours at the lighthouse we headed to our next destination - Perkins Cove. The plan was to walk around and then have a seafood (for me) dinner. However, I didn't realize how popular this particular location was and there was no parking anywhere. It was crazy busy. 

Across the bay from the the lighthouse was this really awesome Inn. I wanna stay there one day!

After much deliberation we decided to head to the hotel,  relax and let the kids swim and then head back out for seafood later. Probably the best decision. Kids had a BALL swimming in the pool. When I was a kid hotel pools were the best. thing. ever. My kids feel the same way.

After swimming for a few hours, we got a tip about a local lobster shack Newick's (shack it wasn't - it seats 600 people!!!! Insane!) and headed that direction. My lobster roll was awesome. The kids loved their macaroni and cheese. Unfortunately Matt's burger was not good. *Note: Don't order hamburgers at a lobster shack. It was so nice of Matt to suffer through that all to satisfy my craving for seafood. I really think he was okay though because of the amazing view right outside the door by our table. Really, really incredible. I love a good sunset and this one did not disappoint. After dinner we headed back to the hotel and went to bed.

My yummy lobster roll.

Amazing sunset.

The next day we slept in (as much as the kids would let us), ate breakfast (another thing my kids love about hotels - the breakfasts!) and got ready for the beach. We headed to Ogunquit Beach near York, ME. We got there a little later than we expected so we weren't sure about parking, but we found a great little spot just a few blocks from the beach.

The beach was awesome. It was obviously a very popular beach (and a little crowded) but the water was beautiful. Some of the clearest water I've seen out here. Really amazing. The high tide pushed us back quite a ways, but we still enjoyed some swimming, body surfing and sandcastle building. We took a nice long walk on the beach...until we arrived at the G-section (gay beach) that we were unaware of (oops)...we quickly turned around and went back to our spot.

Tide was super high so it looks really crowded because we all had to keep pushing back up the beach!

Me and my boy.

And my girl.

There are few things I enjoy more out here than sitting at the beach with my little family. It's so relaxing and so comforting to have us all there. I could have stayed all day, but around 3 pm we decided to head home. We stopped by the outlets for a bit, and the continued on.

Because I made Matt sit through my lobster dinner the night before, we decided to hit up a favorite burger joint (which we originally saw on Man vs. Food) for some yummy burgers. I think it almost made up for his horrible experience the night before. After dinner we headed home to unpack, bathe kids, and finish our talks for church the next day.

It was a quick trip but just what we needed. We were all reluctant to face "real" life on Monday, but felt relaxed and rejuvenated after a weekend away together!

Celtics Game

A few months ago our ward announced LDS night at the Celtics. Danny Ainge is the President of Basketball Operations for the Celtics and is also the bishop of the Weston 1st ward (we attend the Weston 2nd ward). So I guess because of that and because the Celtics were playing the Jazz, they decided to have an LDS night. Matt and I have a goal to attend one game of each of the major sports teams here before we leave. We have attended a Red Sox, so when this opportunity arose, we jumped on it.

The game was on Friday night. We'd had another storm that morning, so Matt actually worked from home, allowing us a little bit of extra time to get into the city. We dropped the kids off at Kristin's (THANK YOU!) house, drove to the metro and hopped on the T to take us to the North End. About 5 minutes from North Station is a little pizza place - Regina Pizzeria - in North End. We'd heard good reviews from a couple of friends here and we figured that was a good pre-game meal. What a fun little restaurant! Lots of loud Bostonians running the joint, tons of customers, few tables, music on the juke box and enough talking and laughing to keep us entertained. Matt and I actually sat at the bar because there weren't any other open seats and you have to wait outside to be seated. It was a frigid 15 degrees so we of course took the bar seats. We had our yummy pizza and then ran (because it was freezing) to the Garden. We got there just in time to see the player announced before heading to our seats - in the nose bleed section.

Had to get a picture with all the beer!

It was a great game and so fun to be there. Seeing Shaq live was unreal. He is HUGE! And watching all the players that I watched on TV during the last finals was a trip. Seriously amazing! I wish we could have been closer, but it was still fun to watch. Plus the crowd was charged. I LOVE Bostonians. They are hilarious when it comes to sports. And although I have heard it described as one of the ugliest accents in the United States, I still can't get enough of the Boston accent. We sat in front of 6 men (probably students) who talked non-stop about everything throughout the entire game. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop but couldn't help because I love listening to the accent.

Matt and I loved attending the game. We loved getting a night out (without kids). We loved being in the city. All in all it was a great night. So grateful to Kristin for feeding my kids dinner, putting them to bed and then sitting at our house for three hours until we got home! What a great night!

Just a few pictures...

So for Christmas, sort of, Matt and I got iPhones. We actually got them about a week before Christmas, but that was our Christmas. And it's been awesome. I really like it. I like all the apps and the fun things I can do with it. I am totally addicted to Angry Birds (which I only discovered two weeks ago). I think my kids think it's a permanent fixture these days.

But my favorite part? The camera. I love that I always have a camera with me. I can take video or pictures and email them/post them/text them in a matter of seconds. And since I am obsessed with my kids, they are my usual subjects. I still pull out the "real" camera, but these is always at my fingertips so all lot of pictures are on my phone. And here are the pictures I've taken in the few weeks I've had the iPhone...(they are in reverse chronological order because that's what Blogger wanted)...

E-man's First Snow.

With the recent blizzard, I had to post this. I actually got this last Wednesday, which was the first time E-man saw snow falling down (he was too young last year). And this reaction was awesome. Matt and I have watched this video about 50 times. So cute. He is definitely Matt's son.

Homesick.

Not gonna lie. I'm homesick. Matt's homesick. HD's homesick. And E-man would be if he remembered the last place he lived before we moved.

There's just something about my Mom and Dad's home. It's not huge (my Mom wishes it were bigger) and it's not fancy (she's okay with it not being so fancy), but it's perfect. It always looks amazing (my parents are very clean people) and it smells like home and right now I know that the lights are on and the trees up and there are probably presents under the tree. My parents' home invites and welcomes anyone who steps inside. And then it grabs hold. And it makes you never, ever want to leave.

And then there's Matt's parents home - where we spent our first nearly-married Christmas {Matt proposed while we were vacationing over Christmas break in Italy}. His parents have a brick oven where his Dad grills the most amazing steaks I've ever tasted. A cozy veranda where we would sit and talk and play cards. And his Mom - well, she's everything that is Italy wrapped up into one little body. And the Alps are looking down over his home, calling for skiing and snowboarding and every other winter activity you can imagine.

So when I think of all the wonderful-ness of both homes, of course I get homesick. And I expected this and I'm surviving it. But there's no denying I'm homesick. So tonight, I'm going to do my best to brighten up our little house with some Christmas music, hot chocolate, and a Christmas movie (or two). Because there really is no place like home for the holidays...and this is home.

This Makes It Feel Like Christmas!

I will say up front that I don't always love my Christmas decorations. Okay, that's not true. I love what I have. I just don't have everything I love and I don't feel like I have enough. I don't have any real sentimental ornaments because I never think about it. I just forget to buy Christmas stuff until November, and then it's already an expensive time of year, so spending money on decorations just gets put on the back burner. And then I forget again until November... See? It's a vicious cycle.

Well, this year we got a FREE 8" artificial tree (first time we haven't gotten a real one) from a couple in our ward. They gave it to us when they bought a newer one. We've never had a tree this big, so I did have to go get some more ornaments (courtesy of Home Depot and Martha Stewart) and then I bought the stuff to make one Christmas decoration. And I hung up our stockings - even though they are the cheap Michaels ones. And I put everything I have out. And guess what? I LOVE MY CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS! I really do. I love being in the front room and seeing all of it. I love that my kids love it and that they get excited when they come down in the morning.

And so, a little peak into this year's decorations....

The stockings were hung by the staircase with care

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HD picked out the Santa. The pillow was made by Matt's sister a few years ago.

Our little nativity. A gift from Matt's sister as well. The kids do really well with playing nice with the nativity.

HD's snow angel..

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...and E-man's.

My little Christmas corner with decorations from over the past 7 years.

And this is a new addition this year. I just made this wreath on Monday. So cheap and so easy!

This I love! Glowing Christmas tree.