Family Fun

A big part of our Maine trip this year was all the family time we got to enjoy.  It was great to have both sets of Grandparents on hand, and of course we loved spending more time with Gwyn before she has to head back to Uganda.

Having so many family members around made it pretty easy to keep a certain little boy entertained.  He quickly discovered that he could have one person read him a book, then move on to the next lap and read it all over again.  This was a technique he employed repeatedly throughout the week (as evidenced by the following pictures.)

We also had the chance to get in in some quality game time with the family.  Some old favorites like Dutch Blitz and 10,000 Places to See Before you Die are always hits, but we also expanded our gaming repertoire with a game called Island Bocce.  

Island Bocce was developed originally by the Little Raven Island Jones camp, thus the "island" moniker.  It follows the traditional Bocce rules with the added hazards of steep inclines and large boulders.  It can make for tricky shots, and tough bounces to say the least.  We all had fun trying it out though, and even Aiden wanted to get in on the action.

Here is a mother/ daughter relaxing on the beach shot.

Aiden checking out the kayak.

I think I mentioned before that Maine activites can, more often then not, revolve around food.  

Often we'll gather around the wood fire, or the picnic table as we prepare and anticipate the next tasty meal.

During our stay we were lucky to get a visit from the Little Raven Island Jones crew.  In this case that consisted of Uncle Dan, Aunt Kathy, Cousin Megan, and Megan's daughter Chloe.

Chloe looks bigger and cuter every time we see her, and it was fun to watch her and Aiden play side by side.

We also found time while Meg was visiting to take a quick sauna, which was our second of two saunas for the week.  Absolute relaxation was achieved.

As I said before Aiden was well loved on this vacation, with lots of comfortable laps to sit in and open arms to hold him.

Although far from all of the Maine pictures that we have, these have been the ones that best show our time with the fam.  We're not done yet though, I think we may have got at least one vacation post left in us.

Until then though, here is a picture showing Aiden battening down the hatches for a stormy lake crossing...

Sand in our Toes

Here is the first group of pictures documenting our wild and wooly recent trip to Maine.  

Oh boy!

The thing about the Maine cabin is that you really have to make your own fun.  It's beautiful there, of course, it's also relaxing, peaceful, tranquil, serene even.  But in terms of action geared towards keeping a toddler entertained there is precious little at your disposable.  So now that Aiden is a permenant fixture in our Maine vacation experience we had to put down our books, stumble out of our swaying hammocks, and make some toddler fun.

Fortunately once you start seeking it out there is plenty of fun to be had.  One of our most successful attempts was taking trips to some of the little pocket beaches that dot the shores of the lake.  Since Aiden is not quite ready to leap head-long from the cabin's dock, these beaches offer him a chance to literally "test the waters" of the lake that I hope he will come to love and appreciate.

It turns out that on these beaches the opportunities for toddler excitement are many.  There is water to be splashed... sand particles to be shoveled... and, of course, many pebbles to be thrown.

Although we don't have any pictures to show for it we visited one small sandy island that seemed tailor made for kid expoloration.  It had beautiful calm sandy beaches,  a great sheltered swimming area, and lots of big rocks and driftwood for curious examination.  I think we'll be making lots more trips there in the future.  We even named it "Aidens Island" (a name, I think, that will stick only until another young explorer comes along to dispute his claim.)

Our beach visits were great, but they were only one small aspect of an all-around great trip.  More to come soon!

Home

Well, we returned home Sunday afternoon from our Maine vacation.  It only took 700 miles, 15 hours (over 2 days), and 7 states.  Whew!  It's good to be home.

 It was a great, great time away but, as always, it was far too short.  We were lucky this year in that both of our parents were at the cabin with us.  So Aiden had both sets of Grandparents (plus us and his Aunt Gwyn AND two dogs) to keep him entertained.  There was no shortage of love and attention for our little boy during the week, that is for certain.

Our week centered around all the activities that make our Maine vacation one to look forward to all year long.  There was swimming, sailing, kayaking, fishing, beach time, reading, napping, game playing, S'mores-ing, relaxing and, of course, lots and lots of eating.

Mmmmmm...

We have lots of pictures to share but not the time to do it at the moment.  As life allows we'll post some pictures of our trip during the next week or so.  In the meantime here are 2 shots showing some peaceful moments from a peaceful vacation.

Vacation Bound

We are heading off to Maine for the next week.  Please keep us in your prayers this weekend as we are making the journey with 5 people, 2 cars, 1 baby, and 1 dog.  Should be fun!

See you in a week!

Pool Boy

Last weekend we had the chance to enjoy the pool in the community where Jen's cousin Adrienne and her husband Scott live.  It was a perfect day for some pool relaxation, and it was made even better by the fact that Jen's other cousin Lauren was visiting with her son's Andrew and Conner.

There was a baby pool there, and it gave Aiden his first chance to really play in a pool that wasn't just his little kiddy pool.  Lauren did a great job of easing Aiden into the experience (she's got three boys of her own, so she's an expert) and pretty soon he was splashing and playing like he'd been doing it his whole life.

After a full afternoon of pool action Aiden had some dinner and headed home for a very sound nights sleep.  Ahhh, what a life...

Aiden's Weekend Getaway

Last weekend while we were on our anniversary beach trip, Aiden went on a little trip of his own- to Grandma and Grandpa's house!  Aside from getting lots of love and attention (which is always a given when visiting the grandparents) Aiden got to run around in their huge yard, read lots of books, snuggle with Aunt Gwyn, and even play with the computer!

Here he is arriving  at the grandparent's house after the long trek from Phoenixville.

Hanging out with Grandpa.

Auntie Carol teaching Aiden the finer points of word processing.

Strolling in the grass.

Sitting in the grass.

Rolling in the grass.

And of course there was lots of food and eating throughout the weekend.  Aiden got to enjoy eating inside...

And outside.

Thanks to Grams, Gramps, Aunt Gwyn, Auntie Carol, and Cousin Kaitlin for taking such good care of Aiden while we were away!

Back From the Beach

After a short but sweet trip to Ocean City Maryland we returned home yesterday, rested and refreshed.  Although our two days did not consist of what you might call "ideal beach weather" we still were able to get in lots of relaxation.  We relaxed by the pool, we relaxed in the hot tub, we relaxed on our balcony, and yep, we even even relaxed on the beach.  It was a really nice getaway, and even though we missed Aiden (and Bailey) it was good to have some time to ourselves. 

 Thanks to all of the family who carefully watched over our child and dog while we were away!  (We'll have to post some pictures soon of Aiden's getaway to Grandma and Grandpa's house.)

This first picture is actually of the morning before we left.  Aiden is clearly being very helpful by taking over the map-reading/ navigation duties.

This is the view that greeted us when we arrived to our hotel room.  Pretty much perfect...

Blue sky overhead with sand and water as far as you can see.

Enjoying a refreshing beverage.

Here are some pictures of us posing as we ponder our first four years of marraige...  Or maybe we're just pondering how good it feels to get to sleep in as late as we want!  Either way we were feeling pretty good.

A Virtual Postcard

We are heading off today on a (child-less)  two day vacation to Ocean City Maryland in celebration of our four year wedding anniversary.  Woo hoo!

See you when we get back!