Camping

We used another of our Adventure coupons and went camping. We ended up going with Brian's family and it was fun to spend time with them. WE began by setting up the tent. All of the kids helped. 

Then we played lots and lots of games. 

We roasted hot dogs for dinner and marshmallows for dessert.

And we roasted Starburst too. If you have never had them you need to try it. Yum!

Then we settled won for the night. The kids were so excited to sleep in the tent.

The next morning we were the first ones awake. Brian got the fire going and we stayed warm around it. Then we wanted to make hot cocoa but didn't have a pot to heat water. So Brian rinsed out some soda cans, filled them and put them in the fire.

When the water was warm he carefully poured the water into the cups using a roasting stick and our fire poking stick.

And we enjoyed our cocoa with giant marshmallows. It warmed us from the inside out.

We had a lot of fun, and enjoyed this final grand adventure of summer.

Ensign Peak

So Friday we were up in Salt Lake for eye appointments and we took advantage of being in that area to use one more coupon from our Adventure coupon book from Santa. We hiked Ensign Peak. It was the middle of the day and quite hot and dry, but the hike was not bad at all. 

 The kids are great hikers and had no trouble at all/ It was wonderful to get tot he top. The only problem was there was so much smoke in the air that we couldn't see too far into the valley. We could barely make out Temple Square thanks to the shining tabernacle roof.

 I hadn't realized there was a monument up there. I should have known. There was also a plaque describing when Brigham Young and a few others hiked this peak days after entering the valley.

It has been a great year, going new places and trying new things with the kids, and we still have a few couons left in our book!

More of Maine: Watching for Whales

Four years ago when we were in Maine we took the big kids on a whale watch. I really wanted the younger kids to have this experience, so while in Maine Brian and I took the kids on a whale watch out of Portland. (Just to be up front: I didn't like this whale watch as much as the one four years ago. The boat was significantly smaller and harder to move around on. And it did take us a lot longer to start seeing things. I realize this is not the fault of the company running the whale watch. That said, my goal was for my kids to see a whale, and hopefully close enough that my girls could really KNOW that they saw a whale.)

Before the boat ride had actually begun.

This is Spring Point Ledge Light in South Portland. We walked this breakwater later in the vacation, and it was cool to see it from the other side.

This is hard to see, but it is an ocean sunfish. Its fin is sticking out of the water a bit. Brian could see it really well because he had on polarized sunglasses at the time. Apparently it is a rare sighting.

I loved being on the ocean. Being on a boat is so peaceful, and even though it was a gray day and we got rained on for a bit I loved enjoying this favorite part of Maine.

We finally saw a whale and it was fairly close to our boat. It was a Minke whale and it came back over and over again. These are a few of my favorite pictures showing as it comes to the surface and then back down.

The kids had a great time. I was so pleased that we saw whales.

It was fun to see Portland HEadlight from a different vantage point. We saw the light flashing because of the foggy weather. 

This certainly was another great adventure from our trip!

Pemaquid Point

We spent the most wonderful two weeks in Maine. It was such a blessing to have so much time with family. We got to spend a lot of time with my parents, my sister and her kids. My kids loved being with their cousins. We haven't seen them since last August, but that never seems to bother the kids. They instantly become the best of friends when we are together.

Along with many adventures with our extended family, we also had a few adventures with just our crew. It was really wonderful to build these memories together. WE went to one of my favorite places, Pemaquid POint. I took Brian here right after we got married, but haven't been back since then. This day, we got to go to the top of the light house. I have never done that before.

 The kids loved hiking around on the rocks. Mike was especially good at taking the lead and scaring his mom.

 Looking in tide pools

 hiding in a "cave"

 I loved sitting on the rocks, watching the waves roll in and out and watching my family having so much fun climbing all over the place. It was a very happy and peaceful moment.

 The kids liked being on top of this very big rock.

 They didn't ever want to stop hiking around, so we came out to the very edge of where we could go (safely). The lighthouse was a long way back and the kids kept saying we were on the edge of Maine. 

It was a beautiful and wonderful day!