Maine

Another year of Maine in the books!  The kids are all old enough to remember going last year, which helps build their excitement for the next trip.

This year we were frantically cleaning up, fixing up, packing up our old house so the new tenants could move in while we were away.  So, we threw some things in the car packed in record time and hit the road an hour after the kids finished their last day of school.

Along the road we joined up with my sister Amy and her family, stopping for dinner and ice cream.

We arrived at the cabin after dark and found the electricity was out, though it was back within half an hour so we unpacked and made up beds.

 The next morning these two boys were up with the sun, fishing poles in hand.  They were quite persistent over the few days, with very little payoff.

 Digging for worms.

 "the bros" they call each other.

 Paintball, yielding some minor flesh wounds and fun battle stories.

 Late Thursday night Laryssa and Nathan joined us and the guys set out the next morning for Mt. Katahdin.  Colombo took some amazing pictures and my husband has told some amazing stories and I'm really hoping he will do a guest post, since I think the experience is worth hearing and documenting.

 *Spoiler alert*  They all made it back safely!

I still love early mornings, even when I'm on vacation.

 Clever, super-mom Amy set the kids up into two teams and they competed in timed obstacle courses at the park.  At another point in the weekend, she made up a scavenger hunt for the kids.  She's THAT mom!  :)

 Even though it was quite chilly, C4 spent nap time filling up water balloons.

 Renna thought it was great fun...until she got wet.

The cabin in Maine is a good place.  Its the closest we'll ever get to camping as a family, which I think is an important piece of childhood.  There is no TV, no wifi and very sketchy cell service.  There's not a whole lot going on in the surrounding area, so its just being together, enjoying downtime.  And because its tradition, the kids will always remember it.  Good times!

Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

Psalm 96:12