Bar Harbor part 2

 Bill and I in front of the Graycote Inn on Bar Harbor where we spent part of our honeymoon, 10 years ago!

 Griffin kissing la la goodbye for the day

 Sydney and Ava on the sandbar- so much fun hanging with a bigger cousin

 love this- Bill holding hands with Ava looking for shells

 all the kids in action (except Ava)- Michael skipping stones, Henry digging

 Sisters- what a great day at Bar Harbor- wish it could have lasted forever

Bar Harbor part 1

Day 1 in Maine we met up with my parents at Bar Harbor- the weather was hot, but nice compared to NC and there was a nice breeze on the island- these are just a few of my favs

throwing and skipping rocks

Sydney and Bill

Syd standing in ocean

family pic- Griffin did not want to look at the camera- we were walking the shore path- beautiful!

ice cream- there were 11 of us total

like father like son, yummy

Henry throwing his ma (paci) in the fountain

just before Griffin got in the fountain- he was the trend setter

Everyone in for a swim

My sister and I had extra clothes for the kids so we said oh go ahead. 

Love the giggles in this video!

Here we go

Sydney cutting off a chain link- count down to MAINE!

Bright and early departure 6 am, McDonald's breakfast sandwich. The kids literally jumped out of bed when they heard the alarm, they were so excited to go to Maine.

I packed a large basket of books and special activities for the drive.  Both kids have a travel aqua doodle which is fun and very easy to travel.  I keep a water bottle up front with me to refill the pens.

Our neighbor bought the kids they glow sticks for the 4th but they had fun with them once it got dark- they were holding them up to their windows showing all the other drivers.  The first day driving we went all the way to Connecticut before we stopped to sleep.  North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut!  The second day was Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.  The kids actually traveled very well the first day, hardly any whining at all, they knew that we would not be in Maine until the next day so they just enjoyed the ride.

Griffin looking at a new book from the library

Sydney working on her binder- full of color by number, practice writing sheets, blank pages, finish the pattern pages and more.  She had a little pencil case with new crayons, colored pencils, small scissors and glue stick.

Bill is a happy driver if he has dry roads and a cup of hot coffee.

I made bags of tickets for the kids, the tickets were colored squares of paper that were numbered 1-14.  Every hour I asked them for a ticket in exchange for a prize, Sydney needed to identify the number and Griffin went by colors.  Some of the prizes were candy, like smarties or fruit snakes (treats for my kids) and some were little cars, stickers.  I had zipper lock bags of the little puffy stickers that have the paper on the back- they kids had fun making a picture using the stickers- cars, trucks, panes, helicopters and boats.

Finally we arrived in the state of Maine, you know you are in Maine when there is a moose statue at a travel plaza.

More pictures to come, I am still getting back in the groove.

Garden update

the garden is thriving...lots of green tomatoes, a few small peppers, a handful of cucumbers (they are delicious)

and yellow saffron squash

I am hoping it all survives the 100 degree weather and I can keep it watered!

4th of July's Past

So this was the 4th of July the summer of 2010- my kiddos and my niece Daniela.  Griffin had his first ear infection and was not a happy guy.  Aren't they all so little.  Happy 4th of July!  Enjoy your independence and remember we are so blessed to have our freedom. 

English Muffin Bread recipe

We tried this recipe a few weeks ago and it was a hit!  Very yummy and so easy!  I did not have rapid rise yeast so I let mine rise twice as suggested- it turned out great.  Syd likes hers with PB and nutella, Bill with butter and myself with butter and raspberry jam.  I cannot remember Griffin's impression- this was about the time he was sick and was not eating well at all.

love this

This was on Crystal's blog and I just love it!  There are days when I fail, usually in the motherhood or wife department.  Of course I have it all together for my friends and my patients and then I blow it at home.  Usually it is a lack of patience or selfishness on my part and I go to bed feeling like a failure.  Sometimes feeling so guilty and very ashamed of my behavior.  The good thing is I do get another chance and also my family (who I really love the most and they are the last people I want to let down) is very forgiving and knows that I am human.