Tall Ships

So our kids have been extra crazy the last few weeks. Like the kind of crazy that makes you vow never to take them out in public again. Well, then I got word that the tall ships were coming to Portsmouth. We've missed them the last few years and I didn't want to pass up seeing them again.

George was so very excited when I told him that we were going to see a big ship. The weather was perfect and the kids were, so far, acting pretty well. 

George was in awe of everything. I can't blame him since he was probably one of the smallest things on the ship.

 

I tried to get a picture of them together but Edith was too keen to run away.

As we were leaving George was very sad that we had to get off the boat. I asked him if he wanted to live on the boat and he said "yes!". 

I learned nothing about the boat since I was busy holding a toddler and making sure George wasn't going to plunge into the water below. Here is all the info on the glorious ship if you care to read.

Warm-er Summer Nights

 I feel like this summer is slipping away and we can't do anything about it. Summers are just so easy and fun! The kids wander in and out of the house without the need of extra layers of clothing and there are endless amounts of outdoor events. It's hard not to dread cooler days when summer is so delightful. 

We are doing our best to soak up every minute of this glorious weather. Every night we are out exploring and going for walks.

As I was taking this picture Nathan and I were instructing George to stop his bike. Of course, he didn't stop and headed straight toward the river. Thankfully a bush slowed him down enough for Nathan to catch him. Oh, this crazy boy!

Outdoor free concerts are one of our favorite summer activities. They typically start early which is great for those of with little ones. This last Wednesday we went to the concert at our local library.The kids were already getting tired so we only made it  through 3 songs. 

You can see the crazy in Edith's eye's!

One Morning In Maine

Nathan had the week after 4th of July off so we did a little exploring close to home. One morning we got up and headed over to Kittery, Maine. We had been told by multiple people to check out Lil's Cafe. Apparently they make a mean cruller, and we decided it was time to give it a try. 

 Oh boy! Did that cruller not disappoint! It was by far the best donut I've ever had. We also tried their biscuits with egg and cheese and also a cappuccino. It was a so very yummy and we will definitely be back.

 After breakfast we walked around a bit. We had never explored Kittery yet so it was a fun to see a bit of a new spot.

Folk is a little shop that sells a lot of local and US made items. They had a beautiful straw hat that I really liked but sadly they didn't have my size.

A view of Portsmouth from across the river.

On our way out before heading to the York Zoo Nathan I split a smoothie from Maine Squeeze. It was the perfect refuel before taking on the zoo.

Sadly by the time we made it to the zoo the kids were getting pretty tired. I was hoping to see an elephant, giraffe and maybe a rhino. There were a lot of monkey's and a zebra, lion, and tiger but that was about as exciting as it got.

 Even being tired the kids really enjoyed it. I thought Edith might fall asleep in the Ergo but she's so crazy about animals she was way too excited for a nap.

It was a great day spending time together as a family. I'll take a fun day anytime!

4th Of July In Maine

 After we attended a picnic on Friday the 3rd we loaded up and drove up to Bangor, Maine. We have great friends that we had not seen since last October. The kids slept half of the 3 hour drive and did great for the last bit that they were awake.

We started off the weekend with the 4th of July parade in downtown. You would have thought that it was the best parade in the world by how George was behaving. He wore himself out yelling and clapping.

Sunday after noon was pretty warm so we ran down to Gifford's for some ice cream. They had the best baby cones for the kids. Our local ice cream shops have a tendency to make the portions way to large. Giffords's were perfect. 

All of George's closest buddies have received fishing poles in the last few months and George has really, really been wanting one too. Nathan bought him one while we were out of town. He practiced his cast all weekend.

Monday morning we headed to downtown again for breakfast and a little exploring. We had bagels at a local spot called Bagel Central. Our kids were up early so technically this was second breakfast. 

I was really impressed with downtown Bangor. We were told that a lot of work has gone into the area in the last few years. Nathan picked up some great local beer in the Bottles & Cans shop pictured below.

After walking about for a bit we popped into the Maine Discovery Museum. We were so glad that we checked it out. It was amazing!! I'm pretty sure we were there for almost 2 hours and we didn't get to enjoy all the exhibits. George, of course, enjoyed it the most but Edith had blast as well.

We can't wait for our next visit. This one was our best yet and it's just going to get better once the kids can all play together.