Trip to Maine and Back

Well, we're back from our trip to Maine already. It seems like we were looking forward to going for so long, and now it's over already. The kids were so good in the car. I'm not dreading the long drive back to Maine for Thanksgiving so much now that I know how well they did.

We had a wonderful time. Libby and Caleb had several firsts on this trip: first trip to play in the ocean, first boat ride, first time picking blueberries, first time eating blueberry pie, first time seeing wild turkeys, first time seeing a porcupine, first time seeing a fox, first time smelling a skunk, and lots more firsts.

On a whim, we decided to drive through the night on the way to Maine. We left our house around 8:30 Friday night and arrived in Denmark around 10:00 the next morning. It was a long drive, and Libby did her best to keep Daddy and Mommy awake during the night by singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" for over an hour in the middle of the night. She made some of the classic kid comments for the first time as well, which included, "Caleb's touching me!", "Are we there yet", and "I have to go peepee!" Mandie the dog went with us also, so the car was a little tight. Mandie was the best passenger of all. She didn't complain once, obeyed perfectly, and, most importantly, she didn't jabber when she was supposed to be sleeping.

On Saturday night, Matt and Libby came over and we had a little camp fire and roasted marshmallows. Little Libby managed to stick around for a while, but the long day had been too much for her and she was sent to bed. She was put back to bed several times before she actually stayed there, however. It was a theme that lasted for the entire week. I guess she figured that she didn't need to be in bed if we weren't in bed. Little stinker. And if we were in bed, she thought that she should be right in the middle of the bed with us.

We spent a very enjoyable extended week. Dad was off the first Monday and Tuesday, so we went out on the boat on Long Lake with the kids on Monday. Caleb's life jacket was so big that he was miserable if he wasn't standing up on your lap. He loved going fast with the wind in his face. The faster Grampy drove, the more Caleb and Libby liked it. When we had to slow down to go under the draw bridge in Naples, Libby kept demanding, "Go faster, Grampy!" Caleb fell asleep in my arms on the way back across the lake and we got him safely stowed back to his car seat just as a thunder cloud broke over us and it started pouring outside.

On Tuesday we took the kids to the ocean. They were both scared of the crashing waves at first. The tide was coming in and the waves were a little loud. We got a short video of Libby screaming while Nathan was holding her. Eventually, they both relaxed and enjoyed playing in the sand. Caleb sampled some of the sand and rubbed it in his eyes, which made him cry. Grampy had to take him for a long walk down the beach to calm him. We went home for a late lunch and nap and that was the end of Tuesday. We stayed close to home for the rest of the week due to crummy weather. It was pretty cool (low 60's) and overcast, although it never did rain much. The kids did go to the playground a few times, but it was too cold to take them swimming at the local pond for the rest of the week. Mom beat me at Scrabble daily; I'm not sure why I kept trying to beat her. She always wins at all games.

Thursday afternoon, I cut Nathan's hair and Mom put on the finishing touches. Then we decided to trim Caleb's hair. I held him down, or at least attempted to, while Mom used the clippers on him. That was nearly impossible! He kept turning his head to see what we were doing and wouldn't keep his hands off his face. We worked up a sweat, but we got him done! We picked blueberries at dusk that evening. Little Libby helped us the whole time. Mom's blueberry bushes were absolutely loaded with berries that we needed to pick before the turkeys got to them first. We must have picked for about an hour before we were finally finished. Sadly for Mandie, the turkeys didn't bother coming back after she chased them away twice. She kept looking for them, but they must have been eating someone else's garden.

On Friday morning, Mom and I made the 45 minute drive to Windham where I got my hair cut at the same salon that did our hair for Libby's wedding last October. I got it cut quite short - shorter than I've ever had it. I still try to take out my pony tail every night before bed before I realize it's all gone. Duh. That same afternoon, Mom and I went to the hospital for her to have her drug test for the Post Office. She only works about one week per year when Aunt Margaret goes on vacation, but she had to be tested. We signed in and waited. Eventually, they told us that they didn't have the right form faxed over, and that Mom would have to come back later. We went out to the car and called Aunt Margaret. Then Uncle Don called the hospital and set them straight; Mom could take the test and did not need the special form. So, we trouped in again to talk to the same incompetent nurse. They made Mom sign in again and we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Finally, about an hour later, another nurse came out and told us that the tests they had in stock were expired and Mom should come back next Tuesday after they had got in more tests. That was pretty frustrating. I'm so glad we didn't have any medical emergencies while we were there! What a messed up hospital.

On Saturday, we had a lobster feast. Val, Hillary, Kalynda, Logan, Matt, and Libby all joined us. Only Dad, Nathan, Libby and I actually ate lobster. The rest of the family had corn on the cob, and chicken that Matt cooked on the grill. Logan wanted to poke out the Lobster's eyes, but Grampy wouldn't let him. And Little Libby was grumpy after her nap and refused to try any of my lobster. She finally went in and sat with Nana and filled up on corn on the cob. She told us it was "De-licious Licious, Licious!" I'm glad she liked it. After dinner, she played outside with Aunt Libby, Uncle Matt, Daddy, and her cousin Logan. Then the rest of the family came over and ate our blueberry pies for dessert. Nana, Papa, Aunt Margaret, Uncle Don, Aunt Cindy, and Uncle Dick came over. We had coffee, blueberry pie and ice cream until we couldn't eat any more. Whew! I thought I had over done it, but it turned out OK.

Sunday morning was clear and cool. Val and her family packed up and left around 9 AM. Nathan and I also left to meet Matt and Libby at their church in Windham. We left Libby and Caleb at home with Nana and Grampy. After the service, we went back to Matt and Libby's apartment to change and to meet their ferrets, Cosmo and Midge (very cute). Then we headed down to the ocean for lunch. We all had haddock and fries which was delicious! Climbing around on the rocks sounded like fun, so we walked and climbed (and fell - Nathan) around on the rocks and took some more pictures. Then we went to the Old Port in Portland and got some ice cream at the Cold Stone Creamery. We sat on park benches and watched hobos sleep on benches, young guys fly up and down the street like maniacs on skateboards, and we even saw a couple of drug deals. How fun! After all that entertainment, we went to the Maine Mall to do some early Christmas shopping. Unfortunately, the mall closed for the evening at 6:00, so we only got in 15 minutes of shopping. However, it was just long enough for me to get a blister on my foot from my flip flops. Nathan had cut one of his toes on a rock at the ocean and wasn't up for much shopping either. Finally, after a short detour at Target, we made it back to the apartment, where we dropped off Matt and Libby and headed home. When we got back to Mom and Dad's, Caleb was already down for the night and Libby was fast headed in the same direction.

On Monday morning, we dragged Nana and Papa to the town hall to witness and sign our wills, as in "Last Will and Testament". We decided we had better make something legal since we have little dependants now. Mom had a little laundry to do, so she threw in Bun-bun for good measure. Libby was SO upset when she saw her bunny hanging by his ears, crucified on the clothes line. She was absolutely beside herself. We ended up taking him down before he was dry to pacify her.

Directly after lunch, we noticed that the juvenile porcupine who had been frequenting the yard all week was back again. So mom and I did what any normal person with a porcupine in their yard does. We trapped him! We shooed him into an old cat carrier with some boards from the barn. Then we trudged on down to the neighbor's farm. They use the old farm for a summer vacation home, and no one was home. So we hiked way out through the fields and released the little fellow in the pine trees at the edge of the field. He was so cute! Too bad they have needles - they'd make cute pets (when they're babies anyway). That done, we lounged around until late afternoon when we started packing like mad fiends. Matt and Libby came over again to say good bye. After they left, we packed the kids off to bed and then went to bed ourselves.

We left at 2:30 in the morning on Tuesday to come back home. It was so early, that the man in the toll booth to get on I95 was sleeping on his chair. We weren't sure what to do, so Nathan honked the horn. The guy kept on sleeping. We sat there and sat there. Finally, Nathan got out of the car and knocked on the window of the booth. He had to knock a few times before the guy startled awake and took the money so we could get on the highway and start our trip. We had a good laugh about that one!

We drove through a cloud front in western Massachusetts around 5:30 in the morning. The clouds were so pretty with the sunrise behind us shining on them, that I took a picture of them.

Around 10 o'clock in the morning, we got a call from Mom saying that she had called the hospital to verify her drug test was in stock this time, and they said they had been trying to contact her. Apparently, the nurse on duty had gone home on a family emergency and there was no one to administer the test that day. Mom had to reschedule AGAIN. It also turns out that the test Aunt Margaret and Uncle Don had taken the previous week was also outdated and they all had to get re-tested. What a joke of a hospital!

A little later on in the morning, we received a call from Nathan's family telling us that his Grandma in Atlanta had passed away. We began making plans for the funeral. After the cloud bank in Massachusetts, the rest of the day was very overcast. We did go through some rain in New York and a little in Ohio as well, but not for more than an hour. It was a long ride and we were so happy to finally make it home.Dad, Zack, and Josh met us when we got home and we discussed our plans. We decided that Nathan should go to the funeral and I would stay home with the kids.

So, that's where we're at now. Saturday morning, we took Nathan to the airport and he flew to Atlanta. Now I'm the old spinster at home with the kids. I'm actually doing better than I thought I would on my own. Maybe it's because I know I don't have anyone to back me up, so I'd better get it right the first time! Libby has been a perfect little one and Caleb has been a lot of fun as well. We did have some tears last night when Libby was calling and calling for Daddy after she went to bed, "Daaaaaaaaaady, where you at?" Where you at, Daddy? Daaaaaaaaaady???" She settled down, though and went to sleep.

A few funny things from Libby before I finish my post:

The other day she was sitting on her bed playing with a new toy that had small parts. We told her to keep it away from Caleb, so she was determined that he should not even be in the same room with her precious toy. He was crawling around in my room and went past the door. She saw him and started yelling, "No, Cae-Cae. NO!" Of course, this drew his attention, and he cantered right in to her room. I followed to grab him and just overheard her tell him, "No, you leave me some privacy!" This from the child who would sit on your lap on the toilet if you'd let her. Privacy, indeed!

And Saturday morning, she climbed in bed with me and was exploring her belly button. She pulled up my shirt and looked at my belly button. Then she said, "Your belly button is like a hole. It's like a hole that bugs go in." I cracked up laughing. Where did we get this little girl, anyway!

If you're still awake after reading all of this, you can check out the tons of pictures on our photo site.