Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Maine Vacation

We are so thankful for the 9 days we got to spend in Maine again this summer! It was the perfect trip, full of beautiful scenery, gorgeous weather, and such special time spent with each other and with my sweet, wonderful grandparents.

A bunch of pictures...

We flew into Boston again this year and ate at our favorite place, the Barking Crab. From Boston we took a train to Portland, Maine.


The next day we went to White Lake, where we spent the day swimming and hiking. It is such a beautiful, peaceful place!



On the way home we stopped at a local firehouse that was having a town dinner right inside the fire station! Eli was in heaven, because he got to meet firemen, see the inside of a firehouse, AND climb up on a fire engine!


On Sunday (after a trip to the doctor to get Eli some medicine for a nasty cough/cold he had), we took a hike up Pleasant Mountain.


And later that afternoon we took a boat ride around Moose Pond, where Eli, slightly sick and extremely exhasuted, promptly fell asleep! It was adorable. :)



On Monday morning we got up really early and drove to Bar Harbor, home of Acadia National Park, which I think is the prettiest place I've seen in America. Eric and Eli had never been before, so we were super excited to experience it together!

We ate lunch at the famous Jordan Pond House, and then we hiked around Jordan Pond.


The next day we spent the day at Sand Beach.


And we did some more hiking in gorgeous weather with gorgeous scenery.


On Wednesday morning we dragged ourselves and poor Eli out of bed at 4am to drive up to Cadillac Mountain, which is the first place the sun touches the continental United States. It was a really moving experience to watch the sun rise over the ocean that early morning together. I don't know how anyone could watch that and doubt the existent of a powerful, loving, beautiful God!


After a great breakfast and some shopping around quaint, beautiful Bar Harbor, we packed up and headed back home.

Thursday we spent the day at Pine Point, which is always a blast!




And on Friday we did what Eli has been talking about for a full year- saw the moose and fed the bears at the Maine Wildlife Park. He was pretty happy. :)



On Saturday we made our sad goodbyes and headed back to Texas.

I could go on and on about how wonderful this trip was, what a joy Eli was, and how meaningful it was to spend the week with each other and with my grandparents. We praise God for this experience and eagerly look forward to next summer!








Tuesday, August 7, 2012

The End of Summer

I can’t believe summer is almost over. In just another few weeks, we’ll be back to preschool, back to Awana and Bible studies, back to a more scheduled, busier life. I’m so thankful for the laid-back and restful summer we’ve had.

We’re done some fun things, too… trips to the lake with friends, a boating Saturday on Lake Ray Hubbard, plenty of afternoons at the Aquatic Center and the wave pool, Burger’s Lake with the family, summer reading club (which fizzled out after they ran out of good prizes :) ), lots of bike rides, scooter rides, walks, and trips to the ice cream/frozen yogurt shop, visits with family, and, of course, tons and tons of time logged in the pool.

Eli learned how to swim really well this summer. I learned how to bake good, healthy sandwich bread totally from scratch. We all learned the value of down time, good friends, and family. I think I’ve finally gotten to the point where I’m ready for fall (I LOVE summer and don't like to let it go!) and all that it brings.

But before all that? We get to go to Maine for 8 days!!! We are so excited to see my grandparents, spend time at the beach, hike, and enjoy the cooler weather and beautiful scenery. We can hardly wait! It will be the perfect finale to a perfect summer.

And perhaps I’ll even start keeping up with this old blog a little better, too. :)