A Hiking Reunion

After a small reprieve yesterday of posting about an actual current event,  now back to our vacation. What? It only ended over a month ago. I'm right on time, aren't I?

Mike's cousin, Gretchen, lives in Vermont. Despite the fact that her place is really just over an hour from our place in NH, we rarely see her. Normally, we count on Thanksgiving as the one time a year we get to see her, her husband Jamon and cutie little boy, Derek. Last year, they weren't able to come for the holidays so it's been almost 2 years since we've seen her crew. With Maureen's gang spending Labor Day weekend with us in NH, we made sure to give Gretchen the heads up. We were able to find a day that worked for everyone and they came from the Green Mountains to the White Mountains to meet us.

Gretchen is a mountain girl. She's happiest when she's hiking, snowboarding or snowshoeing. My kind of gal! So there was no better way for us (she and I at least) to enjoy the day then going for a hike. We chose the one from our condo's gorgeous view - Welch\Dickey. Now, I know it's a tough hike but I've done it many times and knew what I was signing up for (especially with a baby on my back). I had hoped that with the cousins around, Dylan would be happy and go with the pack. Unfortunately, he was not a happy hiker that day and much preferred to be carried. Carrying 25ish pounds of baby is one thing. Carrying 45ish pounds of boy is quite another! But I did it!

When Derek was about 6 months old, Mike and I went hiking with Gretchen in the Green Mountains. I ended up carrying Derek in my arms for most of that trip since he was a bit too small for the hiking back pack and I was in a bit better shape than 6 month post partum Gretchen. I teased Grethen and asked if she would return the favor and she was more than happy to. So, Cade went up on her back and Dylan on mine. It was quite the work out for me!

First Outlook Stop
Derek, Gretchen, Snoozing Cade, Puppy Bruin

Despite the chance of rain that day, the weather was great. A little on the warm side when you're carrying that much weight uphill (hence me being drenched in sweat all day) but no rain clouds and a nice breeze...can't ask for much more than that.

Family Photo

Not what Cade wanted to be doing apparently.

My Little Mountain Man
Looking well rested after the nice ride he had up.

More happy being free to roam.

Look! It's our house!

As is customary, we had a break at the top. Poor Cade was SO tired. After a bite to eat, Dylan walked for a bit and I put Cade in the front pack to try and get him to sleep. A la Disney tantrum style, he trashed and arched his back and swung his arms to hit me. It was great fun. But we kept moving, I kept singing and he eventually fell asleep on me. Of course, then Dylan was tired of walking again. Though Gretchen was willing to try, we thought Dylan would just be too heavy for her so we very carefully tried to transfer Cade to her so I could take Dylan. Sometime during this exchange, Mike decided that regardless of his back issues, he would carry Dylan and I was left with just a back pack. Well....hiking just felt too easy after that!

Only real photo I got at the top before it was time to take off again....
and before Cade totally lost it.

Sure enough, the Cade transfer did cause him to wake up so I took him back. Then we hit a nice scenic open spot and took our shot for a cousins picture.

Derek, Bruin, Emily, Patrick, Dylan (on Mike), Cade (on me and not looking)

After getting back to our cars, we went back to our place for some lunch, drinks and hanging on the deck. It was just awesome! I love Gretchen, Jamon and Derek and it was truly great to hang out with them for the day.

Jamon and Joe

Sweet Bruin

Mike made a new friend.

The girls taking a well earned break.
Gretchen, Me and Maureen

We Just Totally Conquered That!

Emily, Bruin, Derek, Cade
Can you stand how much cuteness is in this picture?!?

What Up Homes?

Bruin getting a taste of his own medicine..
a lick on his nose!

Cade's a good sharer.

Snuggles with my baby.

When they left that evening, we vowed to stay in better touch about our NH comings and goings so we could meet more frequently to hike together. We've said it before...hopefully in the upcoming year we'll actually be better about doing it!

The 7 Year Non Itch

Yesterday, was the 7th anniversary of this:

Yup, that's me and Mike at the front of the crowd saying our "I do's." I remember that day so clearly...maybe not like yesterday but like a few months ago (the not sleeping post kids really does do some long term damage to the noggin I'm convinced). I was so overwhelmed with emotion on the day -excitement, nerves, seeing the long term planning process coming to fruition - that I really did feel like throwing up most of that morning. And there was nothing like the overwhelming feeling of walking out and seeing a crowd of 100 people that you hold dear to your heart stand up and watch you being ushered down the isle by your parents to the man you will start a life with. I really hate to cry around people (control issues, showing vulnerability and other stuff) but when that scene happened, I was so overwhelmed that my face contorted to the "don't cry face" which is what my pictures show of my walk down the isle. But, here we are after the ceremony took place....don't we look purrrty?!?

To commemorate the big event, Mike and I did something truly special, got away by ourselves for a night. Kind of a big deal. He and I have seperately spent nights away from the kids for various reasons, but this would be our first night away together since before I got pregnant with Cade two and half years ago (see our Amsterdam trip in 2011). Never fear though! Our kids were in great hands - Nana and Bumpa's. While we were away, they played with their grandparents, Auntie Maureen and cousins. They got to stay up late, play lots of games on the iPad, watch tv, eat pizza and muchkins (donut holes for the non Dunkin' Donut frequenters of the south). I don't think they missed us.

And what did we do? Well, head up to NH of course. But this time, we got to do stuff that kids either can't do or make it more difficult for us to do. First up, a first for both of us - zip lining! And, since NH is in it's peak leaf peepin' season, we did that as well. Going to the top of the mountain and zipping over the treeline down....now THAT is the way to do leaf peeping. I highly recommend it.

Goofballs

Ski Lift Minus the Snow - Kind of Weird!

Lots of Tree Color
Overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee

Ready to Fly!

It was a good time. After we zipped down, we headed up further north to our place. Just a brief stop there before heading out to dinner with friends. It just so happened that our good friends Jenn and Jack were in the area celebrating their anniversary sans kids as well. Timing worked out and we had a double date together. It was pretty awesome. AND we even managed NOT to talk about kids most of the night - Yay for a grown up night!

Sunday we did something completely amazing I haven't done in years (literally) - lazed around in bed until late in the morning. And by late, I mean about 9:30. Of course, I still woke up early but I forced myself to close my eyes and managed to snooze on and off for a while until I sat up and read for a bit. Man, it is those lazy days that you miss as a parent. The only "lazy" mornings we have now are the ones where we get the kids after waking, bring them to bed, have them crawl all over us and get food crumbs all over the sheets (because they both want to eat the second they get up) and have Disney Junior on the tv. Not for our anniversary weekend! There was just the lovely sound of silence. Ahhhh!

Then we packed up (a very quick activity without managing the little ones) and headed to the outlet malls and an art gallery for a bit. It was around 4 when we got back to my in-laws and rounded up the kids. I definitely missed my babies but it sure was a nice treat to get to reminisce on days of less constant chaos when it was just the 2 of us. Weird to experience the slower pace of life that was the norm back then. Now it just doesn't feel right. Chaos is the way we roll now!

Finally....A Real Vacation

While I posted about 2 summer days that we actually got to spend playing in a summer way, September was rung in with something amazing - a relaxing vacation week! While there were definite events and moments that tried to counteract our relaxing (condo sell falling through, uncomfortable run-ins with our builder, constant phone calls to the builder's realtor to try and get issues resolved that needed to be resolved asap), we for the most part had a great week there.

We started out the week with Maureen's family. They came up for Labor Day weekend. Friday afternoon was spent getting settled, lounging out on the deck and hanging out with each other. A lot of nothing is the absolutely perfect thing to "do" to get in vacation mode.

Cade Trying Out the Paint

He had a great time painting with Emily!

The Budding Artists

Cousins

My Handsome Dylan

Cutie Cade

Joe Trying out the Baby Adirondack
Cade Looking at Him Like He's a Nutcase

After that mellow day, we ended up packing in quite a bit on Saturday. After getting dressed, breakfasted and out the door (no easy feat for 8 people to do), we headed to Clark's Trading Post, a favorite fun "tourist" spot in the area. First up was the trained bear show. It really is amazing and I am in awe every time I see it.

Next up was the train ride. It's funny how my boys feel the need to move. We loaded on the train and both of them were so ridiculously wiggly until the moment the train started. Then they both sat with me so peacefully to enjoy the ride and "watch the show."

See the train goes through territory that the Wolfman claims as his own and he rides after the train and rants and raves and does whatever he can to convince you to leave his property! As for us, we tell him to "Scram you old goat!" It's totally campy but kids absolutely love it.

Wolfman's Sweet Ride

The Wolfman is Pretty Jacked
I'm Not Messing With Him

We went in Merlin's Mystical Mansion which was a weird optical illusion type ride. Dylan was a little unsure of it during the ride (told me he was going to close his eyes) but was captivated enough to ask many questions about it throughout the day. We went through the museums they have of old stuff. Dylan and Cade were fascinated by a self playing piano....actually it was a self playing one man band of sorts that still worked. For just a quarter, you could watch the entertainment. While we were wandering, Patrick and Emily got to play on Segways. It's not a huge place so just a few hours was plenty to enjoy it fully. Then we grabbed some fast food and drove the beautiful Kancamangus Highway to the town of North Conway. This is how the boys enjoyed the scenery of the Kanc:

North Conway is known for good shopping and that's what we did there. We hit up a few outlet stores and some of our other favorite spots. The Hickey family introduced us to a fabulous store we had never gone to before - The Christmas Loft. It was chocked full of holiday scenes that the boys absolutely loved. Not shocking, Dylan was most interested in the set up of a Halloween village (think the traditional tiny houses that you see decorated shelves in homes at Christmas time, only spooky). We also hit up the awesome (but seriously crowded) general store where we picked up some treats:

Then we had an early dinner at one of the Hickey's favorite restaurants in town. After an action filled day with short naps, Mike and I called it a day and our car headed back to our condo. Maureen and her crew stayed behind for some more fun and came back later that night. We would all need a good night's rest that night because the next day, Mike's cousin, Gretchen, and her family were meeting us for a little family reunion and a hike up a mountain.

Relaxing by Way of Boat and Beach

After our closing on the NH place, a weight had been lifted for sure. Finally, at the end of August, it was time for some summer fun. The last weekend in August, it was time for a family tradition - the family sail! Mike's uncle Bob has a beautiful sail boat and he invites all of us up to Gloucester Harbor once a year to enjoy a day on the water and beach together. With a family chocked full of young kids, sailing's not really all that feasible so the "family sail" is a bit of a misnomer. What actually happens is we all pile on the boat, motor down the Annisquam River, drop anchor near a beach and dingy onto shore for lunch and play.

Not, I'm not going to lie, last year family sail day was really not fun for me. While this post shows me all smiles, I really wasn't smiling most of that day. Sure there were some positive moments but in all honesty, I only recall them now that I went back and re-read the post. My memory of the day was more of being all by myself shading a baby in a tent, not being able to use the bathroom all day because said baby was strapped to me the entire time, nursing a baby off by myself most of the day and my husband and the rest of the crowd off having a great time without me.

Well, this year was going to be different. Even though I had a foul time the previous year, I was really looking forward to the day and sure that it was going to be a good one. With great weather, it was time to set sail!

Jacob, Kristina, Dylan, Justin and Jessie at the Bow

Captain Bob at the Helm!

The Crew at the Stern

It was a full boat for the day. Captain Bob, first mate Nancy were the lovely hosts. Mike's sisters' and their families were there as well as Bob and Nancy's kids (Erik and Jamie) with their kids and friends (respectively). A total of 20 people.

Now, I'm not much of a boater. In fact, I'm ashamed to admit I had to look up what the "front" and "back" of the boats are called for the captions above. When anyone walked down the stairs to the lodging area of the boat, I kept saying they "went under" and Nancy kept correcting me that they "went below." Let's just say my nautical vocabulary needs some work. Due to my ease of slipping into seasickness, I'll never be a true sailor either. A true landlubber I am. But, I am more than happy, once a year, to pretend I am at one with the water. As we started out on our trip, I had a very tired baby who needed a nap. He and I headed up to the bow by ourselves, watched the seagulls, ducks and driftwood floating by and felt the wonderful ocean breeze. It was cathartic for me and for Cade too as he was fast asleep and napped all the way to our destination. Glad he could get in a rest so he could enjoy the day.

Cade Snoozing

Jessie and Ryan

The waters were a bit too turbulent for us to go to our usual haunts. We dropped anchored right off of Wingaersheek Beach. Much to everyone's surprise, this was my first time at this beach. Apparently it's a favorite for a lot due to lots of shallow water, tides pools to find sealife surprises and huge rocks you can climb on at low tide. When they were looking for volunteers on the first dinghy out, I was happy to go and leave Mike in charge of getting all of our stuff to shore (part of my "I'm having fun today" plan).

There was lots of shuttling back and forth. Mike had been sent off the boat before getting all of our food out to us but was assured that the cooler would be brought to shore. Some miscommunication happened and our cooler didn't make it. Mike went back to the boat to get it but not before putting the shout out for anyone else that might be missing stuff - which went unanswered. Once back, more folks realized some of their food hadn't made it to shore either, much to Mike's frustration. Being happy and free playing on the beach with the kiddos, I high-fived cousin Erik and said "I'm having fun this year!" I didn't mean to downplay Mike's frustration but that's how I'd felt most of the previous year so I guess it was time for our roles to be reversed. You'll be happy to know that after we all got some grub in our tums, Mike was right as rain again and happy to play.

Nana and Cade Having Fun in the Shallow Water

I think she might have been having as much fun as he was.

Jacob Digging in the Sand

Dylan - So busy playing in the sand that he would smile but didn't have time to look up at the camera.

Joe

Cade and I

Justin and Ryan Taking a Lunch Break

Mike and the Boys Having a Great Time Digging

Jacob, Mike, Dylan, Cade and Corwin

Me, Patrick and Maureen

Dylan!

My Boys

Family Photo

Cade had a pretty short nap and I wanted to see some more of the beach. So a group of us headed down the beach and I had hoped Cade would fall asleep during that time. He was very drowsy but never did give in. The down time gave him the rest he needed though because he was a happy camper the rest of the trip. Once we were back at the dock and trying to get unloaded and headed home...different story. The day definitely wore him out.

The Big Rocks

We circled by the lighthouse before heading back to the harbor.

It was a great day.....one that really defines the summer. Especially defines ours as it was one of the very few true "summer days" we had. A couple of weeks after this great trip, we took a week long vacation to our new place in NH to close out the summer.