Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier

It has been years since Jason and I have managed to get back to Chauncey Creek in Kittery, Me.  We went there before we had kids and then life happens and it never seemed to be a good time.  We finally made time to enjoy this awesome restaurant and we got to share it with our kids.  It is fun to be able to bring the kids places with us and not worry if they will fall off the dock because they just learned to walk or don't understand the concept of falling into the water.  Now even if they did fall in we know they can swim.  They know how to behave in restaurants and order their own food.  They are excellent eaters and are always up for trying new foods.  We already knew they liked lobster so this was a fun place to take them.  We were heading up to Maine for the weekend and this also broke up the trip with a fun place to stop and have lunch.  The lobsters were hard shell and very meaty.  We probably could have split one between the girls and me but we all had big eyes so we each got our own along with fried shrimp and french fries.  A little gluttonous and we were all stuffed in the end and ready to get in the car for the rest of our ride north.

Bike and Run

With the girls home this summer I have had to work my running into our schedule.  Usually I can run early before Jason leaves for work but some days that just doesn't happen.  Fortunately for me I have two kids who love to exercise because it is FUN!  I went for a walk with my girlfriend in the morning so the kids got to play with their friend Abby while Abby's older brother was home to watch them.  I still needed to get in a run though so after walking with my girlfriend I loaded the kids in the car and we headed to the bike path.  It was the middle of the day and it was HOT!....in the 90's and humid kind of HOT!  I hoped that the shade of the bike path would help since I wanted to get in a six mile run.  The kids hopped on their bikes and biked along the path as I ran.  We stopped a couple times to drink since I did not want the kids to dehydrate.  They made it up the one big hill on the path without stopping or needing help.  I was impressed!  After making it to the 3 mile turn around we were all hot and sweaty.  We took a little break for some water and then headed back down the path.  I ended up walking/jogging the last mile because it was just sooooo HOT and I was out of water as I had given most of it to the kids.  I didn't want to risk getting dizzy from dehydration so I made myself pull up and go easy.  Both kids were hot and a little overheated.  We headed to the local price chopper which has a Starbucks inside and treated ourselves to cold drinks.  After being in the air conditioned store and getting fluids in us we all perked back up.  Any overheating headaches were gone and the kids kept talking about how proud they were of themselves and what they saw as accomplishments.....being tired but continuing anyway, making it up that big hill without needing any help and going the whole 6 miles.  It was great to listen to them rattle off all the things that made them feel good.

Nail Time

The girls are really at a fun age.  They are strong, fit, athletic girls who also enjoy down time.  After busy days at camp or running around outside they like to just relax.  It is nice to see them be able to relax and really enjoy it.  After camp one day they were tired and needed some down time.  I decided it was the perfect time to sit around the table and chat about their day.  To make it a little more fun I decided to add a little girly flavor and offered to do their nails.  They always like having their nails done and it is fun to do something together.  The girls each chose their own colors and designs.  Sofia's hand is almost as big as mine!  These girls are growing way too fast!!!

Blueberries!!!

This year we missed picking strawberries as the season was over before I had even thought about it but I was ready for blueberry picking season.  I had asked at the local organic farm where we had picked last year and the owner told me the week of July 4th  was usually when the picking began.  The girls and I headed over on July 6th to see what we could find for blueberries.  It is amazing the difference a year makes in the kids picking abilities.  Ali still only filled about half a container but thats about 1/2 more than she picked last year and Sofia picked a whole container worth and then helped me pick enough to fill up Ali's container.  It was much more fun for me this year since the kids were having a good time and were not complaining.  It was not too hot which was nice as well.  We ended up with 9lbs of blueberries!!  Since picking them we have made blueberry pancakes, smoothies with blueberries, blueberry muffins, and blueberry buckle.  We have loads of blueberries now stored in the freezer to last us until next year.

Camp Camp Camp

This summer we decided to put the kids into different camps to keep them entertained.  Last summer we arrived too late to get into any camps and by the end of the summer the girls were so ready to start school and make new friends.  I wanted to balance out their activities with down time as well because summer is all about being lazy and relaxing.  We decided to give the girls something to so every other week.  We kicked off the summer with golf camp.  The girls went to camp for a week from 9:00 to 12:00.  They loved going to play golf.  They made some new friends and really enjoyed playing the game.  We took them out on the course after their week of lessons and we could really see the improvement.  It was nice to know it was money well spent!  When we play with the kids we play best ball so that they get to hit the ball but we don't spend hours just getting to the green.  On the 9th hole though we let Sofia play through since it was late and there was nobody on the course behind us.  She did amazing!  She shot an 8 on a par 4.  Her drive off the tee was around 100 yards.  Ali also did well but she was very tired by the 4th hole so we still played best ball with her.  Pretty soon I'm going to have Sofia play through on every hole or she will start beating me!

After a week off over the 4th of July the kids started the town camp.  This camp goes from 9am-4pm Monday through Friday.  The girls are in two different groups as one group is ages 5-7 and the next group is 8-12 (I think 12 is the top).  It works out well so the kids get some time away from each other and can play with their own friends.  They have a blast all day at camp and it has been great for them to be exposed to many different sports.  The older group is more focused on sports and the younger group mixes sports with arts/crafts and time to play on the playground.  Sofia has decided she wants to play softball in the spring because she has really enjoyed playing baseball and tennis racket baseball during the camp.  The other difference in activity is that the older kids get to go to a water park.  Sofia was so excited to go. She kept asking if she could go since her friend had told her about it before camp started.  I had heard nothing about it so I didn't want to get her hopes up but she was right.  Apparently every week the camp goes to the water park.  I was a little nervous as it would be the first time Sofia would be with a group away from me where "stranger danger" lurked!  I started grilling her on what do to in different situations...."what do you do if you get separated from the group?", "what do you do if someone tells you they are there to pick you up?", "what do you do if you don't want to go on a slide because it is to scary?"....I'm sure she thought I was crazy but I wanted to make sure she would be safe.  She was!  She had a great time and only declined one slide because it was too scary.  She was going to go on the slide this week during camp but unfortunately the line was too long and the group skipped it so she didn't get the chance to see if she would be brave enough.  Maybe we will get the chance to go there as a family this summer so she can have her chance and Ali will get a chance to see the park that Sofia has had so much fun at.

The kids have a few week off and then will start a week of mornings at gymnastics camp in August.  I'll post about that when the time comes.