Smith Pond Vacation- 2012

Last weekend we were very much looking forward to some fun and relaxing time at Grammy and Grampy's house.  I am quite sure there wasn't anything we didn't do on this trip.  The weather was mediocre, but the kids really didn't care and it certainly didn't stop them from enjoying all that pond life has to offer.  We spent time exploring around the pond, looking for fish and frogs.  All James found was a caterpillar which he proceeded to gently hold (squish).  The kids all got in the water (some willingly and some unwillingly;)), Ben tried hard to eat his weight in sand, and the boys got many rides in the canoe and boat which is always a favorite activity.  We hiked up to Katahdin Stream Falls and enjoyed some homemade gnocchi making with Great Grammy Civiello.  Per usual the boys were more interested in tasting the dough than making, but they very much enjoyed the process.  Probably the most exciting part for Noah and James was the fishing.  They both caught fish and were very proud of themselves. James caught his fish off of the dock... after which he refused to get back in the water to go swimming because "the fish will bite me". Noah caught his fish from the boat.... it was a good thing because he was rather "unsure" about the whole thing when the fish came out of the water, but was forced to stay and watch it swim back into the water (the last time Noah caught a fish he ran away screaming;)). Overall we had a fantastic visit, thanks Grammy and Grampy!

Santa's Village/Storyland- 2012

I am so excited to be getting caught up and this last post is not even a week behind;)  Last weekend we took our annual Glidden Family trip to New Hampshire to visit Santa's Village and Storyland. It was very hot, but the water park they have added to Santa's Village made it much more tolerable. Benjamin loved the train, and this picture of him on the train makes me laugh every time, this was really a scream of joy!  James's favorite part was that he was finally big enough to ride on the roller coaster..... he was beyond thrilled and his enthusiasm was enough to convince Noah to go on too.  They each had one ride and thought it was enough, but we will take it! James also loved feeding the reindeer and both N & J loved talking to Santa.  Benjamin liked Santa ok at first, but as soon as Trey stopped crying Ben started, so we at least got one of those classic "baby screaming in fear" pictures with Santa.

At Storyland both Noah and James thought that visiting Cinderella was their favorite part.  We hadn't done this before because I didn't think they would care about it and therefore wasn't worth the effort to trek up to the castle..... how wrong I was.  This is a nice picture of them with Cinderella, but I also have  pictures of each of them hugging her and one where James is staring at her with a huge smile on his face:) Benjamin enjoyed himself in the ball pit... he is such a cute and happy guy!

The bottom few pictures are of the last day of swimming lessons for Noah and James of the summer.  They have both done so well!  James did as well as we could expect for being 3 and not a great listener.  Noah is finally putting some things together and getting over his fears.  It was nice to be home and get everyone readjusted over the past few days.  Benjamin turned 11 months and has entered a very dangerous phase... he is on target with the the other two for his age developmentally, but the fact that he is so tall is really causing some issues.  He is tall enough to open the oven, reach the top of the stove/cupboards/table and really anything else you can imagine...... He has continual bruises to his forehead from trying so hard to keep up with his brothers and get into everything they are... this will be interesting over the next several months;)

Bar Harbor Camping Adventures- July 2012

Last weekend Gabe had his very first 60 hour weekend shift as an attending...... we thought it better if the kids and I weren't around;) He actually had a pretty manageable weekend to get his feet wet.  Thanks to my parents camper we were able to make it to Bar Harbor again this year, we even got Grandpa, Aunt Amy, Trey and the Pelkeys to come with us. There were plenty of boats to be seen.  James hiked to the top of Bubble Mountain all by himself for the first time, which made me more than happy to not have to carry him on the round trip. It was a bit of a rocky start as he fell twice in the first 500 feet and I thought for sure it was over, but after some gentle persuasion he made it.  I didn't give him the chance to hike down because I didn't want to push my luck, but maybe next time.  Now if we can only get Benjamin to walk up............  Saturday afternoon we took a lobster boat ride on the Miss Samantha (BTW I would highly recommend this for those with little ones since kiddos under 6 are free!!!).  Noah and James were beyond excited when they pulled up some lobster traps... It was a very similar experience to a lobster fishing book they have, so they said many times, "that is just like in our book".  Trey was not overly impressed with the mountain or the boat ride, but he did have the time of his life playing with Ben in the camper while they should have been napping...... the two of them with no nap was unpleasant at times;)

While we were camping Noah and James did not sleep together and I think that they missed each other because our first night home I found James asleep in Noah's bed and the next night Noah asleep in James's bed.  The last picture is of Noah pulling his brothers around on the cooler pretending they were going on a place ride..... to my pleasant surprise this actually didn't scratch the floors:)