Maine Wildlife Park

On our last day at our lake house, I took the children to the Maine Wildlife Park.  It's kind of like a zoo, but it only have native animals from Maine.  Auntie Alexa had left the day before and Grammy wanted me to leave the house so she could do some cleaning without little hands and feet trying to dirty it up again.  So we were off.  Olivia and Jack had a great time and they were Super Duper good for me.  I was so proud of their behavior and we just had a great time together. Just me, Jack and Olivia.  Here are some pictures we wanted to share with you.

Here is the mountain lion that Jack couldn't wait to see.  He finally woke up....we went to see him about 4 times, and then he decided to grace us with his presence.  Jack loved it!

Olivia and Jack were able to feed the baby deer, they called them "Bambi's".  You will see that they loved feeding them that when I ran out of quarters to buy the feed, they became little scavengers looking all over the place for more corn kernels. 

As we were waking down the path to see the next animal, a group of duckies were in formation to cross the path.  The pond was right across from the path.  Livi adored watching them cross.  Daddy first, then babies, then mommy....or that's what we think anyway.

Olivia with the fox fur.  It was hard taking a picture of the fox and the kits, so she wanted to pose in front of the fur.  She thought it was so soft, se wanted to have a fox as a pet.

Livi and Jack also got to feed the bears, but not out of their hands like the bambi's.  They had to throw tiny pieces of fed over 2 railings into their habitat.  It was a challenge at times, but they enjoyed it anyway.

After the Wildlife Park, we headed home to RI.  Grammy was pooped, so she and her doggie, Baxter, took a nap in the front seat.  We were in dead stop traffic, so I had to pull the camera out!  The kids were in the back, but they weren't sleeping (surprise, surprise).

Portland, ME Children's Museum

Once Summer school ended, I took Olivia and Jack to Maine for the week.  Grammy and Auntie Alexa came with us as well.  Of course we went swimming in the lake, played in the sand, went to Freeport and had yummy hot dogs (the reason the kids love going to L.L. Bean), and Jack picked out a new sleeping bag for Montessori School.  Oh and Livi and Jack both got new school shoes. Can you believe Livi is going into Kindergarten in September?  People said that time flies when you have kids, but it really has vanished it seems.

Anyway, one of the highlights of our vacation was the Portland Children's Museum.  Grammy and Auntie Alexa loved it too.  We were able to see a star show and learn all about constellations, we learned what attracts mosquitoes (smelly feet), and the kids got to dress up like Firefighters, grocery cashiers, servers in a diner and a whole bunch of other imaginary play was abound!  A performing stage, etc.  Jack kept going on stage, opening the curtains and screaming " Presenting...Jack!"  He was so cute.  Here are some fabulous pictures of the kids and grammy and auntie alexa having fun at the museum.

Late night Swimming (with the dogs)

Last weekend, we went to Maine.  It was just me, Eric, Olivia, Jack and the dogs.  Although the weather wasn't fabulous it got better after dinner.  So we let the kids and the dogs go swimming. It was a great time.  We certainly have water loving children and pets!  Check out these pictures and video clips of our human and fur children.  Aren't they so adorable?!

A Day Out with Thomas

Last weekend, Eric and I took the kids and the dogs to Maine for the weekend.  The weather was ok, but overcast.  At least no rain during the day.  We knew we couldn't go swimming so we checked out the goings-on in Maine and found out that Thomas the Train was in Boothbay.  We couldn't believe it so we headed almost an hour away to spend the 'Day Out with Thomas'.  Jack was thrilled...as soon as we parked we saw Thomas coming down the track.  He was definitely amazed and so was Olivia.  The day was fabulous and full of fun things to do.  We arrive at noon and the earliest train ride we could get on was at 2, so we had 2 hours before boarding Thomas. Once we walked through the train station, we saw that there were tons of activities and such to keep us occupied until 2 pm. 

 We went on a hayride, checked out some old model cars, rode on rope swings, got tattoo's, had some lunch, met Sir Topham Hat, played with trains, went to story time, and visited an old, or shall I say antique, toy store.  We had a great time...but then it was time to board Thomas the Train.  

We had a great ride.  Jack and Olivia peered out the windows with excitement and pointed out various things on the fairgrounds, and just had a great time.  They both even changed into their new Thomas shirts for the special train ride!

After the fabulous ride, the kids wanted to try the hay maze, slide and tiger bounce.  Olivia was fabulous at the Hay Maze and even went to help Jack make it through. 

Livi was great on the slide as well, but Jack wanted mommy or daddy to join him.  He was a little hesitant.  Eric wouldn't go and I couldn't stand by and watch a sad little boy not go on the slide, so 5 month pregnant me decided to help a son out!  It's sort of ironic, because when I was pregnant with Jack, Olivia didn't want to slide down the slide at a Harvest Fair and again, Eric wouldn't take her, so I had to step up even though I was pregnant...so here I am again, sliding down with Jack while being pregnant with Charlotte!  But it was all worth it, because he absolutely LOVED it!

The Tiger Moon bounce was great for them too.  The attendant actually did his job and only allowed a few kids at a time in.  He also tamed some of the older kids and asked them to get out so the little kids could enjoy their time.  Jack and Livi loved it! 

It was time to leave the Train Yard and say goodbye to Thomas and all the fun activities.  We all headed toward the exit and saw Sno-cones.  Jack and Olivia have never had a sno-cone before, so they both picked out their own flavor, paid for them by themselves and enjoyed a nice cold treat.  They needed it because even though the clouds were hovering it was hot.  We did have to changed Jack's shirt so he wouldn't stain his new white Thomas shirt. 

Anyway, it was a great day!  It was a great surprise and wonderful family time.  I can't remember the last time we took the kids out for an outing like that by ourselves.  It was memorable and an enjoyable family fun day!