Maine

 After staying in Vermont for a couple of days, we went to Maine to visit Joe's mom and other sister.  The first day we were there, we spent just visiting and relaxing around the house.  The next day, we went to see Fort Knox.  It is not the real Fort Knox, this Fort Knox was built in the early 1800's on the Penobscot river in Maine (named after the same man as the real Fort Knox).  There was a new bridge over the Penobscot river that had an observation tower in it, so we went and visited that first.  All the kids:

 The view of the bridge, the observation tower is the glass part at the top.

 

 

An aerial view of Fort Knox from the bridge.

 All the kids on one of the canons.  Josh, Nolan, Jack, Adam, Cole, Ellie, Michael, Nick and Nate

 The adults: Bill, Marge, Joe, me, Steve and Joe's mom

 On one of the outside walls of the fort

The view of Bucksport across the river, such a picturesque little town.

  In the bottom of the fort it was very dark and there were many dungeon rooms.  We could only see them if we took a picture.  This was completely black inside. 

 The enlisted men's barracks.

 Fort Knox was a lot of fun because the stone structures were all still intact, but you were allowed to climb around and look at everything and very little was closed off. 

Directly afterward, Aunt Margie promised to take out Ellie's front tooth that was hanging like Nanny McPhee.  It came out so easily.

 Ellie's new gap toothed smile.

 That night, we had a lobster boil.

 Since most of Joe's family liked the claws, I got more than my fair share of tails- I think I ate like 4 lobster tails that evening.  Yum.

 The next day we went to the family camp on Branch Lake.The kids enjoyed swimming in the lake and kayaking.  Even Nate.

 The last day, we enjoyed visiting with Nana and Bampi again and enjoying the perfect weather.

Nana gave everyone rides in the golf cart.

We had a great visit to Maine, and came home right in time to get ready for school to start.

Vermont/ New Hampshire

A couple of weeks ago, we went to visit Joe's family in New England.  First stop was his sister's house in Vermont.  We got a great deal on plane tickets, but that meant we had 2 stops before we got to New Hampshire, and then a two hour drive to her house.  By the time we got there, it was 3 am.  Somehow, we survived that, (amazing the things you can do when you are young, but not as much when you are older), and the first day we were there, we went to Lake Sunapee, which is actually in New Hampshire.  It was a beautiful, picturesque, freezing cold lake.  The kids didn't mind, even though I did. 

 Aunt Jayne with Ellie and Nate checking out the river nearby.

 Ellie is perfecting her lifeguarding skills.

 Ellie and Megan

 Of course, Nate has to do what everyone else does.

 The next day, we went to a science museum.  The boys: Nate, Mike, Adam and Tyler

 Nate with a moose.

 Ellie and Megan

 bubbles...

                          
 We went on a hike that was supposed to be 0.3 miles.  The signs were a little confusing and misleading, so I think it ended up being about 1.5 miles.  This is a view of the river, I think it was the Grafton-Windsor river.

Uncle Ken had been out of town, but came back a little early, so we got to see him, too.   We really enjoyed our visit.

Happy Birthday to me!

I don't usually highlight my own birthday, but I got a couple of cute pictures, so I thought I would post them.  The kids all got me home decorations from Down East Basics online for my birthday.  Several of them were plastic cacti for putting in pots.  Before I opened them, I asked Nate what he had gotten me, purposely trying to mess with him to see if he would say.  He knows he's not supposed to but he's not so good at it.  He thought for a second and said, "It's not a cactus."  I laughed to myself since I knew I had asked for a cactus.  He then said, "No, that's not right, its not girly stuff."  Turns out, I did get a cactus.

 After I got all the presents, Ellie decided to arrange them around me and take a picture.  I know this last one is so inappropriate, but it is so funny....she didn't get why.  Um, nice...."plant."