Maine

Maine was a much needed vacation for this family. We have had a very busy year, and to get two weeks away felt like a dream. We didn't do a whole lot because we decided to just lay low this year.  These first couple of pics are of us just hanging on the shore by the house.

Morning love!!

This is the famous rock at the house that probably every visiting child has taken the plunge from.

Todd wanted to head into the Bar Harbor art fair, so we all got in the car and made a great afternoon of it.  Zoe and Frances had a great time playing in the fountain and then made their way over to the green.

After play time we did a little birthday celebration for Zoe so Frances and Chandler could give her their present.  We had some yummy pizza and then some ever more yummy ice cream!!  If you can't tell, Grant didn't like it at all......

This kid loves to give kisses

The next day, we went for a nice walk to Witch pond.  The girls did a good bit of running and playing with sticks.

Chandler just hung out!

After the Hayward/Upton crew left, Todd took Zoe to go and see Diver Ed.  He is a little interesting looking, but Zoe had a blast.  What it is, is a crew of folks take a boat out and describe the marine life and then he dives down and brings some up.

While he is under, he wears a camera so the kids can see what he is doing.  Todd said Zoe kept saying get that, get that.  She thought it was great, and learned a lot.

So we choose to do Cadillac Mountain on day that was a little foggy!!  Not the best pics, but the kids had a lot of fun for about 20 minutes.

Last but certainly not last, Jordan's Pond.  This was Grants first visit that he really got to enjoy.  Last year he was only 11 weeks old, so this year he dove right in....

popover....

and lucky for him, Zoe got hot chocolate

The last couple of days were pretty rainy so we gave in and let them watch a movie.  I think they watched Sleeping Beauty for the first time and Zoe didn't get scared.

Four!!!

For her actual birthday, Zoe wanted a hamburger and ice cream! 

M and M's and a candle make for a pretty good birthday!!

Zoe's 4th Birthday Party

Believe it or not, Zoe turned FOUR this year.  I can not believe that we have made it this far!!  It has been a never ending adventure with this kid, and so far, four definitely seems like it might be a smoother year!  These are a couple of pics from her birthday party.

I found this idea on Pinterest to do water balloon pinatas and thought the kids would have a lot of fun.  They had a really nice time once they learned how to swing the bat.

 Grant had a great time hanging with my Dad, Sir.  I think they did this for most of the party.

 One of the other activities was a bean bag toss.  This wasn't as big of a hit, but they used it for a little bit.

 Zoe asked for a dinosaur cake and the one she wanted was incredibly ugly, so I asked a friend to make her one.  This was the end result!

Overall, the birthday party went really well even with the cooler temps then expected.  The kids had a really great time on the geo dome that my parents got her and the balloon pinata was a bit hit.