Winter Glimpses, Part 2, Christmas in Maine

Christmas in Maine,

 which ,of course, included lots and lots of snow!

Excited to try snowboarding
for his first time.

Make way!  Coming through!

Of course, sooner or later, a snowball fight had to break out...

...and Marian would have to come up with the biggest snowball!

The cuteness of the snowman surpassed only by the cuteness of the snowman-maker!

Plenty of fun to be had indoors, too.  Endless card games and epic rounds of Twister!

Ever-so-precious handmade gifts from Nana (her specialty

And last but certainly not least, the supremely important tradition of homemade, hand-churned ice cream!

A-ah-cadia!

Atop Cadillac Mountain, looking south-ish

So, I grew up not too far from one of the most beautiful places in all the world, the rugged coast of Maine; also, not too far from the most beautiful slice of that coast, Acadia National Park.  It's been several years since we've taken the opportunity to stop here on our annual trip to Maine, so it was high time.

Atop Cadillac Mountain, looking northeast

We drove down along with my sister Carol and her family on National Park Service Birthday, so admission was free!!  It was a gorgeous summer day!

Carol brought an extra bike for Andrew, so he took off on the bike trails with his cousins and we didn't see much of him that day!  

Biker dude!

Dwayne and I took our other three kids (we five being non-bikers!), and freely wandered the trails, climbed the rocks, even browsed through the nature center that I never knew was there!

 It's hard to capture with a camera the beauty of that day.

It's impossible to explain the feeling of walking along Cadillac Mountain where the rocks are pushed back in smooth rolls,

or to put into words the majesty of ragged, chiseled granite as it abruptly meets the salty water.

Whenever I encounter nature that is so vastly different from my everyday, it shocks me anew how great God is.  He brings every wave to shore in the exact spot He intends.  He put those massive rocks in place as effortlessly as breathing.  And He holds it all in place.

 Late that afternoon, we met back up with Carol, Brian, and the boys at Sand Beach, a rather short strand of beach surrounded by so much rocky coast.  It was my kids' first chance to experience the ocean waters of Maine.  So cold!!

 It took a few minutes to work up the courage to stay put when that cold water was coming toward our feet!  But then...

we went further..

and further,  

until one or two "fell" in!

As the shadows lengthened over the beach, and the air grew as cold as the water,

we all headed back to the cars... and to a lobster supper on the way home!

August-- In Like a Whirlwind, Out Like a Stampede!

That's what August felt like in our family!  We had the garden, football, an anniversary, a trip to Maine with lots of field trips and sightseeing, a wedding, the kids first trip to the ocean, and a new kitten!!  

As always, the garden is such a huge part of our summer.  The peppers were so green and juicy!  We had our first crop ever of Brussels sprouts this year-- really cool plants!

Then... a milestone.  Andrew's first season of football!  Dwayne was so proud, and I was.... scared??  I could not believe that I was not ready for this!  As much as I always expected the time would come when Drew would want to play football like his dad, surely that time hadn't come already?   As the season went on, however, I recovered from the initial shock and really enjoyed watching Drew out on the field every Saturday.  Like father, like son!

The new kitten came along around the same time.  We left Andrew's helmet out on the porch to air out after practice one night and cute little Calli thought it was the perfect little perch.

Next, came our anniversary!  18 years as sweethearts, best friends, life-sharers.  I'm so glad you're mine, Dwayne!

Around the middle of the month, we headed north to Maine to visit family, stopping for a day to sight-see in Philadelphia (separate post).  During our stay in Maine, we took in Cole's Transportation Museum, a great place to visit with displays ranging from horse-drawn wagons to semi-trucks, from railroad cars to snowplows, army jeeps to classic cars.  Now for some cute pictures...

A dairy truck that used to deliver milk to your doorstep

Crazy kids on a bench from an old train station

The boys really liked the WWII jeep

They've actually moved all the trappings from an old train station and reconstructed here at the museum.  Lots of cool stuff here!

 A couple big events while we were in Maine, foremost, my nephew Robbie's wedding.  It was beautiful, yet somehow, I came away without any good pictures of the bride and groom.  However, I did snap a wonderful picture of my parents 

 and one of my pretty little girl...

Another big event, at least for me personally, was my first official 5K!

 Here I am with my pit crew, holding up the official placement board for all the runners, in my other hand are bottles of blueberry soda which were provided after the end of the race.  I did not exactly break any records, but I didn't come in last either!  My time was 30:21, putting me in the middle third of the racers.  I was so proud!  And I was so glad to have my family cheering me on!

Dwayne with Reagan, Cousin Ben, Andrew, Ellie, Marian, and Cousin Matthew on the beautiful Maine coast

Another big day while we were in Maine-- a trip to the ocean.  This was Ellie's and Reagan's first time to touch the ocean, and all the kids' first trip to Acadia.  Having my sister and her family along made it an extra special day!  (More on Acadia on a separate post)

As always, spending time at Nana and Bubba's house is a highlight of our year.

Mmmmm!  Breakfast at Nana's!

           

This year, road construction right in front of the house was a source of endless fascination...... and Nana got the opportunity to hone her UNO skills!

 We always have such a good time in Maine.  Too soon it is time to return home.  Hugs, kisses, and tears send us on our way, but a piece of our heart remains.  We love you, Nana and Bubba!

A Proud Day

What a day we've had!  

After everyone rushing around this morning to get our necessary Saturday chores done, the girls and I sped off to Cleveland, TN (and hour  away) to a 4-H speech competition for Marian.

This was Marian's first competition involving more than just a few local kids, so I was a little nervous for her.  Not that I needed to be.  Marian is unbelievably cool and collected in front of a crowd.   Unfortunately, her allergies decided to really kick in full force overnight, so the poor girl could hardly breathe, had difficulty projecting her voice, and was battling an earache.  Nonetheless!  Marian did a really good job with her speech.  She did not place in the top three, but we sure are proud of her!!

Meanwhile, Dad & boys did not let any grass grow under their feet!  Andrew had a soccer game this afternoon.  He is playing better an better this season.  If his coaches keep bragging on him like they have been, we'll have to build a bigger door or else Dwayne won't be able to get his head in the house!!  Today, Andrew's team enjoyed their biggest win of the season thus far.  They beat the team from Kimball, 7-0!  Go, blue!  (Who would have ever pinned me as a "soccer mom"?!?)

As if the day wasn't full enough, our church's annual ladies banquet was this evening.  We buzzed back from the speech competition just in time... actually, we were a bit late.  Some of the men of the church cooked and served a wonderful meal for us and a dear lady from Kentucky came to be our speaker for the evening.

But most incredibly of all is this picture.  Do you see that my ELEVEN-year-old is as tall as I am?  When did this happen?