first family vacay... acadia national park ... part one

Last week we headed down east... to Acadia National Park in Maine.  Andrew and I had been there twice before and it is somewhere I want to live... seriously.... that's how much I love it.  We hadn't been for two years since I was ubber preggo last summer.  In the past two visits we've camped at Blackwoods state park.  This time around we found a rental in town in Bar Harbor on homeaway.  We thought a long drive and then camping might be a bit too ambitious for our first vacation with the girls.

The week was really my favourite vacation to date.  People tell you that there is no such thing as a vacation once you have children.  I disagree.

If you plan, decide that you will be flexible, flexible, flexible, pack a ton of snacks for every situation... you might just find yourself having a good, relaxing time.  It is totally doable.

Here are some of our hiking highlights... because that is why you go to Acadia... to climb those mountains and stare down at that glorious ocean



Our first hike was up Beachcroft trail to Champlain Mountain.  The first time Andrew and I went to Acadia we went up Beachcroft first.  It was my favourite then and I think it might still be.

we took this exact shot

and this exact shot the first time around... without the babies clearly

We switched up Alice and Isla between the two carriers for most hikes.  One in the structured "hiking" carrier up the mountain so she could look around and explore and the other in my beco gemini.. so she could sleep and snuggle in.  At the top of the mountain... we switched.  Personally I think that if you only have one baby you should carry him or her up in a soft structured carrier like the beco or ergo.  The hiking carrier is just not as comfortable for a baby... but we needed it for the actual backpack parts to pack our water, snacks, diapers... you know.

The next hike was supposed to be a less intense one but then we didn't exactly end up on the summit that we had intended so it turned out to be a four hour hike to the second highest peak in Acadia... Sargent Mountain.  The hike down was nice but the hike up was all tree roots... for two hours.  The views of the old carriage trails were worth it.

okay the view from up here was worth it too.

gorgeous.

cloth diapering on top of a moutain...

check.

The next hike out we did take it easy and headed to the Seawall side of the Island.

It was windy.. but so nice to be so close to that ocean smell that I love

this is from the top of Cadillac Mountain.. the highest peak.  We didn't hike it.  We've never hiked it.  Not because it's intimidating... but because you can drive up there.  It kind of takes the challenge out of it I think.

the last hike we did was the Bubbles.  This was a last minute let's find one more hike to do kind of hike.  Such a good decision.

okay there was an iron rung or two involved but the climb is the kind of climb I love.. nice open rocky face

great views

the girls seemed to have been born hikers.  They giggled and squealed and were just so happy to be outside... for hours and hours...

in the mountains.

first roadtrip

A few weekends ago I took the girls on their first roadtrip.  It was a three hour drive one way kind of trip.  So not so bad... nothing too daunting and of course my mom and sister were there too... leaping into the back of the car to retrieve toys and suck sucks (what we call soothers over here).

Overall I would say it was a huge success... I mean I was honestly quite nervous a couple of months ago thinking about this first night away from Andrew and the first night where they slept somewhere that was not home.  A while back a friend asked me what I was scared of and that question killed the jitters because really... worse case scenario... I would be up all night and my mom or sister or both would be up too... nothing I couldn't handle.  So I avoided becoming some stressball and had a great time.  And so did everyone else.

We were only gone for one night so it was quite the whirlwind.  On the way down the girls slept for the first two hours and then we stopped so I could breastfeed them in the parking lot of a McDonalds... pretty nice parking lot I have to say... and change them in the back of my car.  Once back in the car they weren't exactly pleased but thankfully I'd bought a bunch of new but cheap-ish toys to wow them with... okay they weren't wowed but Nan (my mom) hopped back there a few times to perk them up.  We were staying with my Aunt and Uncle and when we arrived they were already at the shower (which we knew) so we got dressed, got babies dressed and booked it to the hall.

I wish I had a photo of Alice when we entered the hall.

I am pretty sure she thought that everyone was there for her.... you know... her one baby show.... she was euphoric.

it was hilarious

the shower was lovely and my cousin (the then mommy-to-be ... but now new mommy) was uber pregnant and of course had me privately reminiscing about my giant belly that I had a year ago.

Stephanie took the girls for a walk after we fed them lunch... in her heels of course.

apparently her shoes are called fluevogs

apparently they are the thing in her hometown... vancouver

they were quite the conversation piece

We had the girls fussed up for the shower but they are dressed down in these pics.

That night we stuck to their normal bed time routine.  We headed to the park for a swing, we headed home for dinner, we had bath time and then they fell asleep in side-by-side playpens, in a room they had never been in before.

Then it was time for wine.  more wine.  and some takeout spaghetti and meatballs... amazing.

by the end of the night (which for me was 10pm)  (I get up at 5 okay... 5!) I was exhausted but the good kind... like the this was wayyy easier than I'd thought kind.

The next day we hit up the park before heading home...

they love the swing.... love it

it was so nice to spend time with family... even though it was fleeting

the girls did so so well.

so well in fact that my mind was wandering to thoughts of having another...

yeah maybe I'd had a couple of glasses of wine at this point...

either way....

we had a great trip!

best friends

Our cat believes in love-at-first-sight
she does
i am convinced

From that first glance at the two car seats home from the hospital she was done...

She is everywhere the girls are at...
she runs over to them when she spots them in a new place
she dutifully lays down next to them and braces herself for the predictable petting that ensues
she looks at me when they cry... thankfully there isn't a lot of crying at all... like how could I let this happen... fix it now... sort of way

but we all need our peaceful time (of course not all of us get it)..



this would be the after...

Heidi has been playing a game of where's waldo a la Heidi...

clearly she isn't as good as Waldo...

Alice or Isla usually spot her right away and rush over (army crawling all the way) to wherever she is

but she's a good sport

she just needs to learn to be more creative

with her hiding spots that is..



it's hard to be stealth... with that much fur...

mostly I am happy that she just loves them so much...

just like we do.

chaotic recap... fifteenth edition

The recap is back.  It's been a bit busy around here and will get busy again soon but this morning the girls are playing together so I have some time.  We've been busy with our first roadtrip, with ashley does daycare and with just the everyday happenings of two ten month olds.

So this is more of a multi-week recap...here goes...

what we did this week... (the baby goods... why you're probably reading this post) 

the girls are full into wanting what mommy + daddy use... 

caught in the act...

alice: seriously... i was just looking at it

alice: mommy turned her head.... thank god... i have to update my facebook profile... i mean do people even realize that i eat oranges now too?

A couple of friday's ago Stephanie (auntie stephanie) and I took the girls for a little picnic in a park

Little did I realize that it was largely a dog park... well I think that fact just made for a more entertaining day with the girls gawking at the dogs that came to visit our picnic

Is it just me or does she look like she is contemplating throwing a spell at mommy?

Daddy came by after work and Isla and Alice were delighted.  

Isla: this can't be real... I mean this thing that calls people is finally all mine...

Isla: all. mine.

in other news... Alice has figured out how to climb over Isla

Isla doesn't seem to care one bit

  

 and this is the after... one shirtless baby stalking one fluffy cat

the before: I think we need a pool... Alice has decided that any body of water... no matter how small... is her personal swimming pool..  this one happens to be the cats' water fountain (yes they get a fountain)

and this would be her perplexed... I mean where did all that water come from!

the cat fountain + cat food dishes now reside on the other side of this gate...

and these ones... well these ones are just because I love their gorgeous faces...

 

last but not least... never least... 

I give you...

the lounge..

with some added flair thrown in...

note the toe point and sharp stare...

i love it

what I read this week...

I read Insurgent... it reminded me of the second Twilight book in that it was all pain for so long... but still good.. still very very good.  Then I started Dragonfly in Amber (the Second book in the Outlander series)... I started it and then I put it on hold... I will read it but the beginning threw me off so I decided to go for something simpler.  Now I am reading The Maze Runner... which isn't my normal cup of tea but I'm still liking it.

what I did for me this week...

Went to a candlelit yoga class on Sunday night... it was pure sweaty goodness.  Spent a ton of time on playdates.  Playdates are essential for sanity.  When you see other moms with their babies and the chaos that it is... it makes you feel normal... totally normal.  

That was our week, how was yours?

happy weekend