Ogunquit!!

Life has been nothing short of hectic at our house. Between looking at houses, preparing our house for it's future sale, work, normal day to day life and me being too tired to help with much around the house, we've had our plates full. After a lot of consideration, we decided that after one more weekend of open houses, if we didn't find anything we liked, we would make an offer on a house yesterday. Knowing that our hectic life was only going to get kicked up a notch if we're to list our house within a couple of weeks, we thought it would be nice to take a mini vacation day for ourselves. (As for the house, we did make an offer yesterday but only after finding out that another offer had also been placed on the house. We're in the wait for news mode.)

So, on Saturday, we took a 2 hour drive up the coast to Ogunquit, ME. According to Mike, he took me to this lovely beach side town while we were dating. For some reason, I have no recollection of the trip and always tease him that it must have been an ex-girlfriend he took. After many years of this discussion, it was time for him to take me back and remind me that I had, in fact, been there with him. Yeah, he was right. I had been there with him but it took about half the day of Mike pointing out things we'd done on our previous trip for me to remember. Sometimes I worry about myself. What has happened to my brain cells?!?!

Dylan had a nice nap on the drive up. When we got there, the first thing on the agenda was food! I tell ya, this pregnancy stuff has really messed with me. Food is all I can think about sometimes. I'm hungry ALL the time! I'm really not used to this food obsession thing and I find it very unnerving. But, it is what it is, and a hungry girl has got to eat. With the hunger beast within calling, we went to the first restaurant we came to off the parking area. It was a Mexican food spot with a nice outdoor area for dining. As it was around 2 o'clock at this point, the restaurant was past it's lunch rush and the outside area gave Dylan a nice place to wander around after he finished eating. While the food held no candle to real Mexican food (you just can't get that in New England), the fish tacos fit the beach side bill and tamed the hunger beast within. With full bellies, it was time for some shopping!

The town has some cute artsy shops as well as lots of touristy shops. We wandered through a few and bought a few trinkets for ourselves. The shops were all fairly small and tight for a stroller to get through. With those tight spots, Dylan was in easy reach of lots of fun things that were sometimes too tempting for him. We had to be sure to check his hands before we left each place so our little guy didn't take a 5 finger discount on any items.

Next up was Marginal Way. It's a paved walk along the coastline where you get stunning view of the water and enjoy gazing at beach side cottages.

Climbing the Rocks

See Us? In the Middle.

Now, I'm already having sciatic issues due this pregnancy thing, so I don't move much faster than a moseying pace. It was a fine pace for that type of environment. However, it leaves Mike to run after Dylan if need be. During our walk, Dylan took about every mode of transportation he could.

He Walked

He Did Ride in the Stroller Some

And He Rode on Dad's Shoulders

For the most part, Dylan did well. At the point that he started getting tired and not listening to us as he should, we turned around and headed back.

Many Bees Busy at Work

After our walk, what we needed to give everyone a little more pep in their step was some ice cream. Dylan's always hit or miss on food. Sometimes we order him his own (which often goes wasted) and other times we just share ours. Given that the scoops looked pretty large, we opted to share the ice cream with him. Well, this was a day that Dylan wanted some food apparently. Mike got very little of his scoops because Dylan chowed it down! (I guess that's a benefit to being in pain and not being able to carry him....I ate my ice cream mostly by myself with only a few spoon fulls offered to the kiddo!)

We gobbled up the ice cream on the way to the beach. At this point, it was about 5:30 or 6pm. In my opinion, it was the ideal time to go to the beach. The sun was lower so it was cooling off and we would have a lower chance of getting our pasty skin burned. Also, the light was beautiful and made the scenic view even more spectacular. Apparently ice cream hit the spot and Dylan had a great burst of sugar energy. He ran around (literally) for over an hour and had a great time at the beach! Unfortunately, all the walking for the day had taken a toll on my sciatic nerve and I spent most of our beach time trying to find a comfortable seated position. It did allow me to take lots of pictures of the boys though. And, my fact hurt from smiling so much at them having their good time so I can't complain!

The beach set up was kind of perfect for us. It was low tide and there was a large sand bank separating an area of shallow water from the ocean. It was a great depth for Dylan to run and splash in!

See, I was there too!

After getting very comfortable with the sand and water, we moved to the other side of the sand bar to see if Dylan would enjoy the waves.

At first he ran away!

Then his Dad showed him how much fun it is to jump the waves.

He LOVED it!

He also liked chasing the seagulls.

Dylan Prints

Family Portrait

After an hour and a half of fun in the sun and Dylan seriously pooping himself out, we packed up and headed back to the car for the trip home. Even though we left just before Dylan's normal bed time, by some miracle, he stayed awake the whole time! So, after a very exhausting day for the little guy, he got to bed very late. Sunday was back to reality and house hunting. Sigh. After this house thing gets some sort of resolution, my gang is seriously going to need some chill out time!

Sand and Water

Dylan has absolutely fallen in love with the sand and water table that his Nana and Bumpa gave him for his birthday. The first day Mike got it set up, Dylan played on it for a full hour! The only thing that's captured his attention for that long of a period of time previously is a Harry Potter movie.

During that hour, I got to take pictures of the progression from nice, neat and separated water table to big ol' mess of mud.

In the beginning, all was neat and clean.

Then this crazy guy got to it and went wild!

The Destruction

Dylan was a mess too!

We've learned that no clothes is a better way to play at the table. Glad he likes it! Thanks Nana and Bumpa!

Squam Lake Nature and Science Center

On day 2 of our 4th of July NH trip we weren't quite sure what we were going to do. There were a couple of options that we chose. One would be most enjoyable for my parents (always good to keep your guests entertained) and one was geared more for Dylan. It was forecast to be rainy and we thought either one would be good for that kind of weather. After a leisurely morning of breakfast and lounging at the condo, we headed to Walmart for some groceries and lunch then set out towards our destination...not knowing at that time which place we would end up.

Dylan fell asleep en route so we started heading for the further destination - Castle in the Clouds (an historic home with an amazing view). However, when we were less than half way there, he woke up. So, we decided to take a u-turn and head to the activity he would likely get more enjoyment out of it - The Squam Lakes Nature and Science Center.

Like I said, we thought we might get some rain that day. We didn't. It actually ended up being a clear sunny day, if a little hot. It's a good thing too because I had imagined the nature center to be mostly indoors. I was very wrong! True to it's name, it presented a lot of nature, mixed with some science learning. The center had many animals native to the area that you got to observe in person, then a little building with each animal (or group of them) that had activities for learning about each one. It was really cool! What was particularly awesome is that Dylan is getting to an age where he's better able to take part in these interactive kinds of exhibits.

Coyote Statues at the Entrance

Barred Owl

Making a Rubbing of a Fall Leaf

Mike and Dylan's Creation!

Opening Doors to Read Facts

The center also had several informational sessions throughout the day. We were lucky enough to be able to attend two of them. One was in a mini outdoor auditorium where we got to see and find out a little about the rare (in New England) Blanding's turtle.

Since toddlers have the attention spans of gnats, we didn't stay for the whole talk but I was impressed with the bit of presentation we did see. Then, it was on to see more animals, some of which I'd never seen up close and alive (not taxidermy).

Fisher Cat

Bobcat Jumping Up After a Chipmunk

Stretching Bobcat

Mountain Lion

There were lots of things to capture Dylan's attention. In addition to having fun with his grandparents, he had fun walking the trails, watching the water from bridges, seeing the animals and playing in the exhibits.

Looking for Fish with Mimaw

Turning the Wheel

Walking with Pipaw

Yay Grandparents!

Woohoo! Pregnant Ladies Get to Have Fun Too.

Dylan Took Many Turns on the Slide

The second presentation we saw that day was for the mountain lions. We saw them then went to some other exhibits and circled back for the talk. We got to see them up close and personal while the trainer gave them some practice with showing him their paws and bellies, through bars, which they need to be trained to  do for regular health check ups. They are stunning creatures!

After that talk, Dylan was nearing the end of his rope, so we picked up our pace just a bit so we got to see all the other exhibits before he really melted down.

Black Bear

Red Squirrels

Groundhog

I Spy a.......

Frog!

I was really happy we chose the nature center as our days destination because we all enjoyed it. It far exceeded any expectations I had of the place. To finish off the day, we made some pizza at the condo and watched the beautiful sunset from our deck.