24 April 2018

April Vacation...trampolines, beaches, sharks, and tigers, oh my!

Last week was truly a spectacular week. Not because the weather was stellar, because it so.was.not.  Actually, it didn't turn out to be as bad as I thought, but it definitely could have been warmer.  No, it was so spectacular because I had something I haven't had in such a long time, which was just Mama and Garrett time.  Lately I feel like we just are jammed into a routine that is based on rushing from here to there with no time to really stop and enjoy anything, because we're always in some sort of frenetic hurry.  On the move, whether it's school, work, swimming lessons, cub scouts, birthday parties...all these things that make the days go by fast and the weeks go by faster.  

Originally I had thought I'd only take a couple days of the April vacation week but it soon became apparent to me that Garrett needed some time with just me and I really needed some time with just him. We made the most of it. 

Monday was a disaster of a day, weather-wise. It was cold, rainy, and so depressing, I almost just suggested we stay home, snuggle under a blanket, watch movies and eat popcorn all day.  But I couldn't do that...I needed us to get out and have some fun. I still had to take Madeleine to daycare, so while we were in that area, we had some breakfast and then some trampoline bouncing fun at a local Air park.
































Tuesday...more of the same...a little drizzle but not as depressing.  We dropped off Maddy...drove to Falmouth to a toy store, wandered up Route 1 and found a bakery to have a snack (cupcakes before lunch? OK.)....continued to wander into Freeport...killed time in Bean's...had lunch...read books in Sherman's...basically, just some hang out time.



















Wednesday was the day I had been waiting for.  Sunny, practically cloudless, still windy and cold but not unbearable.  Dropped Maddy off and headed down to Ogunquit to have breakfast with Grammie and Grampie...then it was off to spend the day exploring.  Ogunquit Beach was a no-brainer first stop. 






We walked all over Ogunquit, stopping in the toy shop, the candy shop, and any other shop that happened to be open on a cold day in April.  Eventually, we made our way further south to Kittery to have lunch at the famous Bob's Clam Hut.  Seriously delicious.  








After a little rock throwing, we made our way to Nubble Light.  Nubble has been a longtime favorite of my family, and my sister and I spent many Maine vacations scrambling on the rocks of its craggy shore.  Looking at it now, and watching my own kid do this, I wondered how my parents ever let us do this...but alas, my adventurous boy was not to be deterred either.  And really, this is just a spectacular place to hang out.






















After Nubble, we wound our way to York and was hoping to have a playtime at the coolest beach playground, but unfortunately it was closed due to recent storm damage.  Instead, we sought warmth in a nearby shop, bought some sweatshirts, tried on some hats, and then found ice cream, because someone declared I'd be in big trouble if ice cream wasn't found.  No matter that it was 50 degrees and windy...












Soon it was time to make the long trek back north to scoop up Maddy and head home. At some point during our day you declared this the best day ever.  I couldn't have said it better myself.  


Thursday, we interrupted our playtime so that I could take Maddy to see her favorite pals from Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.  Garrett spent the time with Grammie and Grampie, and Madeleine was pretty much in awe.














































Seriously such a great show.

Then came Friday...another lovely day.  Dad was off and we had made plans to go to the Portland Science Center to check out the Sharks exhibit.  After dropping off the Mads, we went for a little donut treat at Krispy Kreme.  Yuuum.  A little playground fun, walk around the city, and then it was all things sharks!















































Then we went to The Great Lost Bear for lunch and we watched Garrett inhale some chicken wings.  Not my thing, but whatever...




Saturday...the time had come for Maddy's three year old locks to be trimmed.  An hour wait for 10 minutes of haircut but boy, she sure looks beautiful. After the haircut, we went to a party at a friend's, and the next day, Earth Day, we spent it at Popham, then scootered/biked at Bowdoin. Love the warmer weather, love the long sunlit days...this week was exactly what I needed, what we needed, and I can't wait for the next time. 





















 























Then at school on Monday, G's writing class was asked to write about one thing from vacation.  He wrote the following about our trip to Ogunquit, or as he calls it, the Ogunquit.

"One day when it was sunny, I was so excited because we were going to Ogunquit to walk on the beach. I was just going with my mom too. So then me and my mom drove to Ogunquit. We drove for one hour until we got there. We got out of the car, it was a beautiful day. Then me and my mom was walking on the soft sand. So me and my mom walked against the water. Even if you dipped your toe in you would turn to ice. Then after we were done walking, I was thinking this was an amazing day."



As he hurdles toward turning 8, I'm hoping he'll want to spend days like this with me for a long time to come.  


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