Journey to Maine: Part 4

Eureka! I discovered some photos that I thought had gone missing.Megan (girlfriend of JP and friend of mine) and JP lounge with Jeter (black dog on Megan's shoulder) and Dickens (other dog).We stayed with JP at Westover school in Middlebury, Connecticut on the way to Maine and on the way back to Georgia. Westover is idyllic. See below.

Robert plays soccer on the huge green lawn.Esther runs on said lawn. Rob took these photos of the kids. nice, honey!Yes, it really is that beautiful there.Rob and Esther in deep left background, Robert and ball in deep right background.Girls on lawn. Sigh.3 1/2 hours after leaving CT, we ended our journey to Maine at the Remick farm. They invited us for dinner and we happily stayed. In fact, we ate dinner every night with the Remick family for about 2 weeks straight (minus 1 or 2 nights). Thank you for spending so much time with us on our vacation. Now, will you move to Georgia? Really, what kind of crazy people live in Maine in the wintertime? :)

Esther on a beautiful tree swing at the farm.Rob and CC under another tree.After a while, Jen Remick broke out the sidewalk paint.It all started innocently enough. . . Then it became body paint.

The rest is history.

Robert stayed busy shooting hoops. No mess. Later, I visited the pigs. Yep, it's a farm.

Esther's van monologues

Journey to Maine: Part 3

During part of our drive, I let the kids take photos for a few miles. Gotta love the magic of digital photography!
Esther took this picture of me.And this one of her colorful toenails. Our next stop was a night near Carlisle, PA with Meredith and Jack Sterner. We went to their amazing pool in the afternoon when we got there. Later we feasted on pizza and stromboli. really. good. stromboli. Jack, Robert and Esther clicked immediately and played til dark in their backyard. Thanks Sterners for letting us crash with you!!

Jack Sterner
Meredith and Jack.

As we journeyed further north we stopped at many a rest stop. Esther contemplates her next move.Lovely flowers at a rest stop.To our surprise, we found a restaurant called Esther's right off the interstate. Too bad we had already eaten!We stayed at Westover School in Connecticut with JP the following night. Why don't I have any photos?

And on the fourth day of driving, we arrived in Maine. Now for some shots during our first week in Maine, when we stayed at the Burlington cottage on Sunset road.

Me, CC and Anna at the beach on a beautiful beach day.Esther found some shells.Robert and Esther found a great digging spot near Grampy's hammock.One morning I ventured off to Kittery alone to find my fortune. I came home with matching tennis shoes for the girls.The lovely Anna Baker joined us for our entire stay in Maine. She was sooo helpful and fun to have around. We love you Anna! Thank you for staying with us! BTW, if there is anyone reading this blog who wants to enjoy their vacations with children more, I HIGHLY suggest taking a "mother's helper" like we have done for several years now. It makes things much simpler to have an extra pair of hands around especially if he or she is as creative as Anna with schedules and activities. But don't get any ideas, you can't have Anna. Ever. We love her too much.

Stephie made lobsters mid week which made for a multitude of photo opps.

Lobster race in the kitchen.JP and a lobster.Esther touches one.I hang with CC. The table is set.

Stephie, Megan and me.

Megan and Rob, resplendent in his lobster apron.
Rob shows one to Esther (Burlington cottage front porch in background).Dan Remick, the lobster man.

Connor Remick- like father, like son.Cooking them outside. This is when they die.

Connor and Robert play in the back.Esther, Connor, Christian (Remick) and RobertCC loves having all the attention at the kid table.

On the plate. Personally, I don't like lobster. I just don't like it and I don't eat it. Mom, this picture is for you. Is your mouth watering?

Anna, Steph and Larry.

JP and Dan.

Me, Jen Remick and Megan.

The baby pool makes a great bath spot. CC gets ready.

Now she's clean.We staged a great "Camp Maine" on this vacation, complete with t-shirts. Esther and I model.

On foggy days, we go to the beautiful York Library. They have storytime and crafts for the kids on Fridays. Anna gets cozy with Robert and Esther and the fish they made.This is the only picture I took of the Nubble lighthouse this year. It might be my favorite too.Anna and Esther on the rocks at the Nubble.