Relaxing at home...

 After a very busy week and our first full five days at work/Cindy's, we were ready for a break.

We started out with gymnastics on Saturday morning, which the kids love.  We practiced our somersaults and balancing on the balance beam but we also learned how to do backwards somesaults.

 It really is a great class and the kids have a ball.  Tucky learned how to do an inverted hold on the rings and loved it.  He's also starting to want to try the balance beam without Mommy's hand.  Brooklyn is starting to get the hang of the class and really followed directions during the stretch/warm-up activities.  She was watching everyone else and wanted to play too.  Plus, the instructors are awesome and make it a big fun song/game so the kids are totally into it!

Daddy headed to Sugarloaf to work on insulating camp and the kids and I drove home to relax for the day.  Meghan came down with Sage and Sam to play for awhile too.  We made art projects (painting to big canvases) and Sage and Tuck helped me make a spaghetti squash lasagna.  They actually did well listening and helping but it got messy fast!  Meghan walked in with Sam at one point when we had cheese, spinach and noodles all over the floor...too funny!

 Brooklyn is very interested in the gator and jumped in the driver's seat yesterday.  She knew that the pedal made it go so she just kept pressing it.  At one point Tucky was yelling at her to stop and trying to run to keep up.  Steering, who needs to steer- luckily we have a big old straight backyard!  What a fun afternoon we had!

Mimi/Poppi fun filled weekend (w/o Mommy and Daddy)

Weekend without the parents....and at Mimi and Poppi's house!

Mommy and Daddy had a few days to go up and hike Katahdin with Josh and Meghan, so the kids got to spend the weekend with Mimi and Pops.  Not only did they get to play with them in Oakland, they got to spend a bunch of time with Nahne, Uncle Jeffy and Danielle!

Nahne helped watch the kids up in Oakland on Friday while we got things squared away.  The kids were so excited to get there. In fact Tucky was anxious to drive up earlier in the morning but we were also trying to clean the house for an open house while we were gone.  Luckily, both kiddos took naps on trip north so they were ready to play!

Mommy headed out in the late afternoon and drove to meet up with Daddy near Katahdin!  We haven't hiked the mountain since before the kids were born... I'm finally in shape to do it and look forward to the day we can get them up!

Uncle Jeffy put on a huge party for Poppi's work on Saturday, which just happened to be great entertainment for the kids!  There was a huge 30ft. tall pirate ship slide that Tucky loved.  I guess he was a little daredevil!  They had lots of food but cotton candy for the first time.  They had their faces painted and just had a blast.  Mimi told me they were worn out when they got back and crashed immediately.  I guess Tucky asked if he could go to bed because he was so tired from the big "celebration." (as he called it!)

On Saturday, Nahne returned and they all went apple picking up in Skowtown.  The apples were great and they got to pick a bunch.  Poppi lifted Tucky up on his shoulders so he could reach the high ones and he loved being in the trees.  Both kids ate their share but Mimi said Brooklyn probably bit into at least five...she loves her apples.

We returned from our weekend adventure in time to meet them at the house just after apple picking. Not only did they have a ton of freshly picked apples, they had all the leftovers from the company picnic to sort out.  When all was said and done, Mimi stuffed our coolers full of food and we were all psyched!  Lots of goodies!

The kids had a blast with everyone and I don't think Tucky was ready to leave.  They were happy to see us but had so much fun while we were gone too.

After a bit of biking in the yard and Brooklyn's nap, we packed up and drove South.  Daddy went home to unpack the first round while we made a brief stop at Sagey's house to pick up/drop off a few things before driving home.  Great weekend, so glad the kids had a ball and were in such good hands!  Thanks!

Tuck's biker gang

Post-dinner neighborhood bike ride!  Tuck has made quite a few friends while biking down our streets and he invites anyone he sees to come ride with him.  He loves the big hill just down the road and all the boys tell him to go slow until he passes this one mailbox...then he can let it go and to Mom's dismay, they fly down the hill.  Brooklyn's right there with him laughing on the back of Daddy's bike!  Fun times!

At dinner tonight, Tucky informed Derek that he had to work in Portland today.  When Derek asked Tucky what he does, he stated, "I see people and fix their knees."  Daddy asked him where he worked and Tucky replied, "I work in a different Portland Daddy, so you don't see me."  How freakin' cute!  We were all cracking up but the little guy knows his stuff.  I was impressed with how articulate he was about what Daddy does and the fact that he knows he works in Portland!

Meeting our new cousin, Celie!

 After an almost full week of work and playtime at Cindy's, we were all wiped out.  Friday night was super low key with the kids crashing early and Jay and I just watched a movie, exhausted too!  I got up around 4:45am on Saturday morning to go surfing for an hour at Higgins before the kids woke up.  It was gorgeous out, the surf was good and I made it back just in time.  The kiddos were just waking up so we got them fed and ready to head to gymnastics in Lewiston at 9am.

Daddy came with us this time to help the kids.  This also helped me out tremendously and he enjoyed watching them go.  Tucky was right into it and is loving the somersaults!  Brooklyn is trying everything but totally content to do her own thing most of the time.  She really does love the trampoline though!

 The kids had a ball again and got out a bit on energy!  Brookles was tired but we quickly stopped over at the Y in Auburn and checked out swim lessons.  Looks like Tucky and Sage will get to do swim lessons on Monday nights!  Yehaa!

We played out in the yard all day Saturday and totally enjoyed the gorgeous weather!  Tuck helped Daddy mow the lawn and I chopped up tons of tomatoes while Brooklyn napped in the truck right next to me.  She passed out on the way home from gymnastics.  We made another 10 pints of salsa with our very own tomatoes, love it!

We got to sleep in a little on Sunday morning but we were also very excited to drive down to Mass. to meet our new little Celie!  EE met us at our house early and helped us get the kids ready.  After a few quick stops, we were on the road and made it to Watertown by noon.  The kids snacked a little and were too excited to eat lunch, they wanted to meet their new cousin!

Celie was born about a week ago and is so cuuuute!  We got to hold her and sing songs.  Brooklyn helped out with the Itsy Bitsy Spider and Tuck sang his Thomas songs...he though Celie would like a Rosie train when she gets a little bigger!

 Brooklyn was very interested in Celie and wanted to get so close.  She was enthralled by her little hat and wanted to keep taking it off to check her out.  very cute.

 We played with Celie for awhile and watched her eat.  Then we walked down the road to a really nice playground.  Daddy helped Tuck ride his bike there and he did a nice job staying on the sidewalks, especially not being used to the busy streets!

The kids loved the playground, of course.  Even though it was for older kiddos, they had a blast and especially loved the fast slides.  Brooklyn is a little animal, she's quite daring!  Tucky really like the wobbly bridges and wants to try all the monkey bars too.  Celie slept quite soundly in the Bjorn, her first time in it.

 The kids had some of Celie's 1 week old birthday ice cream cake and were starting to crash.  We missed Brooke's nap and she was getting quite tired.  I got to feed Celie a bottle and enjoyed the snuggle time, hard to believe our little ones were that size not too long ago!  Time really does fly as everyone tells you.

Brooklyn and I crashed on the way home while Daddy drove and Tuck and EE played nonstop.  He was loving his EE time...not quite sure how he didn't need to rest?  I know Uncle Andy and Aunt Kristen were tired too.  It was really great though to get down to visit them and Celie of course too!

We had some super tired kiddos when we got home.  Daddy had leftovers heated up from the other night and they were in bed shortly after....me too!

Hammering

After school this week, Tucky and Brooke learned how to hammer with Daddy. They were having so much fun and were very careful with the tools!

I asked Tucky to come in and eat and he firmly stated, "Mommy, I'm busy!  I have work to do."  So, the apple sure doesn't fall far from the tree I'm realizing!



Tuck also found a Blue Jay's feather in the yard and was very excited to show us.  He carried it around the yard for awhile and I asked him what he was going to do with it.  He then said to me, "I'm going to save it and when the bird comes back, I'm going to give it back to him!"  I love this age!

Blue Hill Fair / Penobscot Labor Day

Ahhhh, lovely end to summer!  Beautiful weekend down on the coast, impromptu party on the pier, gotta love it!  With a super warm Saturday afternoon on the coast, a little waterskiing behind the boat and lots of family around, we had a great get-together hors-d'oeuvres party on the pier.  Everyone was around and Danielle's mother was in town visiting, plus Uncle Forbes and Aunt Dooley.  We brought down drinks and lots of food and watched the sun set over Bagaduce Bay, couldn't ask for much more.  The kids were having so much fun too!

We really haven't had everyone together at the same time much this summer so this was a treat for us all.  We must have stayed down for a few hours then as the sun sank low, we quickly found Tucky so the whole crew could do our infamous "Nighty-night Mr. Sun!"  Tuck loves that part so much, we all love watching him stick his hands in the air and belt out "See you tomorrow....."

With Trapper being home and all, he's always looking for someone to ski with him... It was super calm Sunday morning so Jay and I skied with him while Nahne and Auntie Ames held the kids.  I love waterskiing but man do I pay for it later.  Every little muscle gets worked to the max.... great times!  Trap is letting me drive the boat now too, although with him skiing, it's hard to keep it going straight, he carves "wicked hard."  Daddy even got out on waterskis!

The kids love boating down there, we're very fortunate that Trap and Poppi have such a nice boat and like taking us out too!  We saw a few seals and the loons have been hanging out near us too.  Tuck has made himself home with Nahne's boat cushions, making a nice soft bed for him to lie on while we ski...so funny.

Poppi made sure Tucky got a few tractor rides in too, he's steering better now.  He also got to drive the boat and learned to swerve around lobster buoys.  I think he thought he had to follow the water skier's course because we were all over the place, super funny captain Tuck.

Brooklyn was content to do whatever anyone else was doing...and lounging with Auntie Ames.  Around midday on Sunday, the Dunn's arrived and we had some mega badminton games out front.  The kids played some but really like playing in the purple sandbox and swings.

During naptime, Meghan and I sneaked out to Blue Hill Falls on our SUP boards but the wave wasn't really that good.  The tide was a higher tide, 11.6, so the wave was a bit washed out.  Oh well, made for a quicker trip so we could get back and ready for the annual Blue Hill Fair trip.

We packed up the cars and sent Jay and Josh with Tuck and Sage so they could get in early.  Sam was still napping so we waited a bit and then drove over afterwards to meet up.  We love the fair!!!  The animals are great, Blue Hill is in the background and we're always good for some fair food everyone once in a .... year.

The kids love the animals and there are a ton you can get up very close too.  We found a month old baby cow that the kids were all over.  The baby cow was licking the salt off our hands and letting the kids pet it over and over.  They all were in heaven!

The tractors are also a big hit, especially since the kids are all big enough to sit on them now.  Tucky had the lights going and I was thankful that no one left the keys in them because he would have figured out how to get them started!

We did wander through the "fair" part and found the giant slides.  Tuck remembered these from last year and the kids took turns sliding down.  They are really fast and super fun.  Brooklyn, our little daredevil, started to head back up the stairs after her first ride, she didn't need Mommy or Daddy, she was going again by herself....ahhhh

We lasted until about 8pm and then decided to bring the kids home and let them sleep!  Nahne let us stay in her house for the night, thanks Nahn's!

We had a few crazy rain storms in the early morning and then it cleared off and became a nice day. The Dunn's headed home in the morning, I played golf with Jeff, Amy and Poppi (my worst game in years...) and Daddy hung with the kids around the swing set.  Mimi made a huge lunch for us all before we packed up the kids and made our way home.

What a weekend, lots of fun happenings going on.  Hopefully the transition back to school goes well, sometimes our weekends are more crazy than school week.  It surely was one last great hurrah of summer!