Summer 2022

Summer is long gone, but I still wanted to do a recap of some of the fun we had. I have a love/hate relationship with summer. On one hand, I love the freedom, no homework, no routine and no school drop off and pickups. On the other hand, I miss the school routine and having some time to myself. During the summer I'm on almost all the time and constantly have a sidekick or two so it definitely can be challenging. 

This summer was pretty good. Last summer started out on such a bad note (Elliott's passing) that I don't think we ever bounced back from that. This summer started out much better and ended on a good note as well. There were moments of boredom (them) and moments of hysteria (me), but we also had fun too. It was hard to see summer come to a close, but it was also nice getting back into a good routine. 

Our pool got a ton of use this summer as it usually does! We of course had a few kinks to work out when we opened it. Although I love having a pool, it seems like every year something breaks at the beginning of the summer which can be a little stressful. 

Can you tell Paige loves to swim? She spent almost everyday in the pool. 

Pool days are some of the best days! 

We got a ton of use out of our golf cart this summer. Anytime anyone was bored we hopped on our golf cart for a long ride. We went on probably 3-4 a day.We recently had to replace all of the batteries in the GC so I think we about wore it out this summer.  It was well worth it though. It provided hours of entertainment! 

 I was lucky (or unlucky;) ) enough to have a "summer workout partner". Try doing a 45 minute workout with a seven year old sidekick and tell me how fun it is. Lol! She kept it entertaining that's for sure. 

Paige went to VBS and had a lot of fun. 

This was the last night, and it's easy to see how much fun she had. 

She also went to summer camp at Acros for a few days. 

Fourth of July rolled around quickly which usually marks the half way point in summer. We did our usual activities and watched the neighborhood parade go by our house. We love watching the firetrucks and golf carts and grabbing as much candy as we can. 

Festive attire is also a must for the fourth!

We love watching the firetrucks go by, but Paige can not handle the noise of the sirens. I remember a few years ago she watched it from the window, because she was so bothered by loud noises. Thank goodness for headphones that help drown out the noise. 

I made this balloon arch for the fence and quickly found out that balloons do not do well in extreme heat. Thank goodness we were able to get a picture, because the balloons were popped by lunchtime. 

It was SO hot and humid that day. I was thankful for no rain, but the only way to stay cool was in the pool or the air conditioning. 

We headed over to Mammy and Peeps for pizza king and fireworks later that night. I love watching fireworks and the fourth in general, always have. It's probably my favorite holiday of the year. 

Once we wrapped up the fourth and went on our July vacation to Maine, summer vacation was over. It flew by as it usually does, although the last two weeks before school starts seem to drag on. Overall, I would say it was a pretty great summer. We enjoyed our freedom and all the summer fun. I hated to see it end, but it was nice to get back into our routine.  

 

Maine Vacation- Part 3

On our last day we went on an Acadian Nature Tour. We were originally supposed to go on Lulu's Lobster boat earlier in the week, but our tour was cancelled due to wind. I'm kind of glad it ended up working out like that. We had the best time on this tour and got to see lots of things. My favorite of course being the seals!

It was CHILLY that morning. We all had pants and jackets, except for poor Adam. Oops! 

Take me back!! :)

We planned to sit on top but ended up sitting on the bottom where there were less people. It was a good decision. We were able to move around freely, and I could easily take pictures. 

 We saw some beautiful views of Bar Harbor. I wish we would have been able to spend more time in downtown Bar Harbor, but it was just way too crowded. Isn't it just beautiful though? Maine is truly one of a kind. 

This is one of the hotels in Bar Harbor. Although I loved where we stayed, it might have been kind of nice to stay right in the middle of everything. Parking in Bar Harbor is scarce so this would have been really convenient. 

We rented binoculars on the boat which Paige made good use of. We also bought our fair share of snacks while on the tour. 

Headed out!!

The views of Acadia NP were gorgeous. I didn't know we would see Acadia from the water, but we saw a lot of pretty views. 

Look at all of those people! When we were at that spot no one was there since we were there so early. I can't believe the amount of people that visit these parks each year. They are becoming so popular! 

I loved seeing all of the fishing boats out in the water. If you look closely you can see the lobster in those cages. 

My favorite part of the entire trip though were of course the seals. They stole the show! We were able to sit and watch them for awhile. 

They seem pretty lazy. They were laying all over the rocks sunbathing. 

They were the highlight of my trip! 

On our way back we were lucky enough to see a bald eagle. She was watching her baby fly around. 

Later that afternoon it was low tide so we went out back of our rental house to explore one last time.  Adam made a friend with a bird. He sure loved the cheeto's Adam was throwing out. 

Paige spotted a crab...

She also found a sea star. She was so proud of herself for holding it. 

The following day we loaded up and headed out of Maine. I was sad to see our trip end. It was a great trip with lots of great memories made. I loved that area of the US so much. I can't wait to head up that way again someday. 

We drove twelve hours that day to make it to our halfway point which was Niagara Falls, NY. We stayed there for the night so we could go visit Niagara Falls in the morning. I was not impressed with the actual town of Niagara Falls. It was crowded, loud, and seemed dirty. It's hard to explain, but I would not stay there again. 

We were up and ready early the next morning to see Niagara Falls and finish the last leg of our trip. 

 

This was leading up to the falls, and we could start to see the rainbow. Off into the distance you can see the Canada side which is supposed to be much prettier. 

The actual falls were gorgeous and a site to see. I wish we could have stayed longer to explore. 

We were all tired and pictured out by this point. We spent a few minutes taking in the views and headed out. We were ready to get home. 

I am thankful for another great trip with the fam! There are so many things that could go wrong with a 20 hour road trip, but it went seamlessly. We saw a lot of new things and made a lot of wonderful memories that will last a lifetime. I can't wait for our next summer adventure (which I was planning in my head on the way home)! :)