Farewell to Maine

Maine made us feel so very loved!

Fun with Friends

In May, we had to bid our dear friends, the Hursts and Carters, farewell as they moved across the country.  It was a sad occasion to see them go, but we are grateful for the time we were able to spend with them and the cherished memories we made!

I know it's probably bad form to attempt to predict a child's future, but I would not be at all surprised if Wiggles ends up marrying her friend Hinder someday.  They were truly the BEST of friends, and kindred spirits!  Their teacher at church said the same thing!  They were inseparable, got along great, and just truly loved each other!

These friends truly remind me of this quote (author unknown):

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go.  Some stay for awhile and leave footprints in our hearts, and we are never the same."

This sums up how I feel about the Hurts and the Carters.  I hope we will see them again soon, but regardless, they have touched my heart, and changed me forever.

Boat Regatta

One of my friends has a little boat regatta with her children every year that looks like so much fun, so we decided to give it a try this summer!  We had several friends over, and everyone worked on a boat!

(Angel wanted to do a Titanic replica, so she's studying the Titanic in the National Geographic magazine)

Here they are, hard at work.  The boys teamed up, of course....

Crafty Angel worked on hers for a LONG time!  She wanted her replica to be precise and accurate.

The younger girls wanted to decorate theirs with flowers and bows.  It's so fun to see their different interests and personal touches!

Whew!  All that boat building worked up quite an appetite, so we had to eat lunch before heading out to the pond.

The Line Up:   Friend 1 and Friend 2 with "The American"

 Grins with Friend 3 - saluting their ship.

Angel with her not 1 but TWO boats: The Wild Rose, and The Titanic 2.  She was so proud of them...in fact, she still has them on her dresser months later!

Friend 4 with "The Cuddlebug"

Wiggles and Friend 5 with "Rosie"

We headed off to the cemetery pond to sail them - but unfortunately my camera tragically got left behind, so I didn't get any pictures of the actual regatta.  Still, we had an enormously fun time creating, sailing, and enjoying the time together!

Trip to Oregon - Visits with Friends

While in Oregon, we met up with some of our dear friends from our college (and High School- not pictured) days!  It is always so great to see "old" friends - and always seems like no time has passed since our last visit, except that our children are older!!

We met up with one of my favorite college roommates of all time - seriously!  We both have 3 children (2 girls and 1 boy!) and our youngest girls share the same name!  This lovely lady seriously made my college years SO much fun and she is an amazing woman!  I was sad we had a short visit this time - hopefully next time we'll have longer to catch up!

The 2 "Wiggles" - they posed themselves like this! :)  The last picture we have of these two together, my Wiggles was a newborn!!

 We also enjoyed a lovely visit with some other great friends and got to enjoy their newborn baby!  We were SO glad we got to meet up with them, since they left for Japan (for 3 years!) shortly after our visit!!

Visiting with Friends!

Some dear friends from our University of Utah days paid us a visit!  It was one of the most perfect mini vacations we have had in a long time!  They have 4 children, 3 of whom are very close in age to our 3!  (We are just missing a baby!)  And our children all got along beautifully!  Our kids are still asking when we are going to see them again - we had such a great time!

Of course, we had to take them to some of our favorite Maine parks and sights!  Our first stop: Mackworth Island!

 Grins found a teeny, tiny sand crab!

 Wiggles and her friend.

 Angel with another sand crab.

 We all climbed the rock wall together!  Such fun!

 Wiggles is quite the climber!

 Wiggles and her friend, enjoying the umbrella!

Of course, the Fairy Village at Mackworth is one of our favorites!

 The girls created a beautiful little Fairy House and garden!

Hiking through the forest with our friends.

 Angel and her friend, holding hands.

 Wiggles and her friend, holding hands.

 Grins and his friend (too cool to hold hands.) :)

Next, we decided to go on a lighthouse tour.  We started at Bug Light.

The girls, enjoying the cool breeze.

Next Stop: Springpoint Lighthouse.  There is an incredible rock walkway (but I somehow missed getting a photo of the actual light house - probably because I was so carefully watching the children on the treacherous stone walkway!)


Next Stop: Fort Williams.  The children loved the ruins.  Here there are, still paired up. :)

Wiggles, climbing again!

 Grins, exploring.

 Angel, posing for the photo.

Good friends! :)

 The girls, posed as lions guarding the castle.

 Peace out.

Next Stop: Kettle Cove.  It was windy and chilly, but that didn't stop us!

Wiggles adores the "baby"!

 Next Stop: Two Lights

 Next Stop: All of that travelling made us hungry!  After 2 1/2 years in Maine, we had still never tried Lobster Shack, so we decided to give it a try!

The Verdict: The food is lousy, but location is incredible!

 Next Stop: (Our kids are troopers!) Len Libby to see the Chocolate Moose!

And since the children had been so fantastic throughout our long day of travelling, we decided to indulge in ice cream for all!

What a fun-filled day, showing Maine to our friends!  We had SO much fun with these dear friends, and really hope we can see them again soon!  It truly was the perfect day!