Our vacation actually started with July 4th weekend at camp (Saturday, Sunday), and then we headed up to Portland, Maine.  The ride was short, but excruciating.  It was boiling hot at home while I was trying to get everything packed, and everyone was grumpy by the time we headed out around noon.  The kids fought the entire way, and Norah dumped her chocolate milkshake on Aliya’s lap.  Someone gave the dog people-food and she shat on herself.  A vehicle pulling a trailer with a piece of equipment on it lost the trailer on 95, which could have easily killed someone (but luckily didn’t).

When I got to the hotel, the woman checking me in asked how I was doing and I said I was very glad to be out of the car since I had been locked in there with 3 kids.  She said, “So now you’re locking yourself in a hotel room with 3 kids?”  Good point.  And as it turns out, very prophetic.

The hotel was a little sketchy but it had two pools, a hot tub, and a restaurant, so the kids were happy.  They also allowed dogs, which turned out to be very convenient because the dog wasn’t allowed to stay alone in the room, so I had to eat breakfast with Annie each day while Ben ate with the kids.  Aaaaahhhh…peace.

On our first day in Maine we visited Uncle Josh, Auntie Rachael, and Cousin Duende:

More tomorrow!

I have tons of photos to post of our vacation in Maine and Vermont, but I’m really, really tired.  For starters, this is where we stayed for the weekend with the Libbys.  It’s a deer camp that belongs to our friends, Pat & Norm.  It’s an absolutely beautiful spot and the kids barely got out of the pond all weekend.  We chased away most of the animals within a 5-mile radius with all of the screaming and yelling, but we got some great pictures of the flowers and scenery.  We woke up to a pretty heavy fog this morning, and we went out on a nature walk to take some photos of the dew that was left behind when the fog lifted.  Amazing!

We’ve been so busy having fun that I haven’t had much time to post.  We spent the last 3 nights in Portland, so we were able to have a quick visit with Uncle Josh, Auntie Rachael, and Cousin Duende.  We spent a day terrorizing the Libby grandparents and swimming in their pool, and another day at Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth.  We’re headed off the grid to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, where we will have nothing to do but catch frogs and drink Sangria.  Sounds like heaven to me.  I’ll catch up on posting photos next week when we’re home for our Staycation.

Stay cool!

We hooked Norah up with my heavy duty earplugs (which I usually use to block out the bickering in the car) and went to the fireworks at Old Sturbridge Village tonight.  We enjoyed them but it was kind of odd not to know anyone in the crowd, when in the ‘Ham we’d know at least 50 people.  The night ended with us on an “adventure” (lost) walking down a dark road looking for our car.  We were headed the right way but since Ben is afraid of the dark he had begun to panic and blame our certain demise on me.  Luckily we were rescued by a troop of OSV staff in bonnets and headlamps.

Hope you had a safe and happy 4th, and enjoy the long weekend.

And in case you missed the fireworks…

Yesterday we went to the Feast and Fire celebration on the Sturbridge Town Common, which is about 15 minutes from our camp. We didn’t partake of the feast (we were full of fried dough and ice cream), and we didn’t stay late enough for the (bon)fire but the kids had a great time with all of the activities.  Well, except for Norah, who is afraid of sirens, clowns, musket-fire, motorcycles, and the Grand Marshal Pig (who knew?), but whose mood improved when someone mentioned “firecrackers,” because she thought they were edible.