Lacey Day

Mindy, this post is for you! So, while I lived in Huntington Beach, I became friends with Mindy, whose birthday happens to be in the dead of Winter. She told me that she celebrates her half birthday in the summer and calls it Mindy Day! What a fabulous idea! It's like getting a birthday twice a year, but only having to get older once :) Anyway, Lacey also happens to have her birthday in the dead of winter (January), so a couple years ago, we instituted "Lacey Day" on her half-birthday where we do a fun activity with her and even get her a cake. It's basically an excuse to have fun with our little girl. Here she is with the ice cream cake she picked out from Maggie Moos. And yes, it says "Lacey Day."

So, what did we do to celebrate besides have cake? Well, we went to the pool.... which is what we've done almost every day of the entire summer! Lacey loves, loves, loves the pool. She is my water baby. She is perfectly content to go every single day and stay as long as I possibly let her. And I've had her enrolled in swimming lessons all summer long, so she has gone from just playing by the stairs and holding on to the edge to actually swimming and feeling very confident in the water. And that makes my job much easier since I am juggling Tanner and Riley. She is such a fun, happy, social girl and I'm so glad this 4 1/2 year old is in our family!

Womancation: Finale

So, originally, we were planning on spending more time in Acadia and then just drive back to Boston to fly home on our final day of Womancation. But in the spirit of "packing it in", we decided to spend Sunday night in Falmouth in Cape Cod and take a ferry to Martha's Vineyard first thing Monday morning. Here we are arriving in Vineyard Haven.

We checked out the town and had fun shopping at the famous Black Dog shop.

Then we headed to Oak Bluffs.

And saw the famous Gingerbread houses.

And yes, we tried the famous Quahags and no, we did not like it!

And then I came home to these 4 adorable faces! Dave did a great job of "holding down the fort" and thanks to Face time, I even got to "see" my kids while I was gone. It was an AWESOME trip and I loved every second of it! And since I'm a "checkmark" person, I was thrilled to visit 3 states I hadn't been to and do seven things in my 1000 Places Book :)

Womancation: Day 4

The first place you can see the sun rise in the United States is on the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. So, how can you possibly resist getting up at 4am to be the first person in the entire country to see the sun?? Waiting.....

And there it is! Yeah! I (and the others on the mountain :)) was the first person in the entire country to see the sun on July 10, 2011!

Since we were already up, we resisted the urge to go back to bed and instead, ate breakfast and hit the road! We headed south and stopped in Freeport, Maine, home of the L.L. Bean flagship store.

And then we continued heading south to Kennebunkport (1000 places). What a gorgeous, quaint, peaceful town. Here we are at St. Anne's church (where the Bush family worships).

And can you blame them? This is the view from the property of the church.

There is an outdoor service here every Sunday morning. I am convinced every person in America would attend church if they lived here and every day was as beautiful as this one.

The Bush home. Why in the world would you leave THIS for any other home, including the White House?

After a very enjoyable afternoon in Kennebunkport, we continued south to Plymouth where we saw the National Monument to the Forefathers.

And the Mayflower (replica).

And Plymouth Rock. It's amazing how much you can fit into a day when you get started at 4am and don't have a job to go to or kids to take care of!

Womancation: Day Three

Acadia National Park. Loved it, loved it, loved it! Acadia is the second-most visited National Park in the Country and I can see why. As you drive/hike through the Park, the Atlantic Ocean is on one side of you while tree-lined paths, and Carriage Roads (built by Rockefeller) are on the other side. No matter where you look, you're going to see GORGEOUS scenery.

At the top of Gorham Trail.

Wildwood stables. You can take carriage rides along the Carriage Roads here.

Jordan Pond. I love this picture of my friend, Mindy. Guess we did fit in some relaxation time after all!

Bass Harbor Lighthouse. No trip to Maine is complete without visiting a Lighthouse!

And we capped off the night by having dinner at the Acadia's famous (and only) restaurant, Jordan Pond House. We started off by eating their famous "poppers" and then proceeded to have, what we all agreed was our best meal of the trip!

Womancation: Day Two

Friday morning, we checked out of our hotel in Ludlow, VT and headed East to New Hampshire (44 states down, 6 to go :)). We stopped in Wolfeboro in the Lakes Region (1000 Places book) of New Hampshire, located by Lake Winnipesaukee.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day, so what better way to see the town and the lake than by boat! Dan (our boat driver) gave us a thrilling 45 minute ride of this beautiful lake surrounded by breathtakingly gorgeous homes....

like this one....

and this one (owned by Mitt Romney).

After spending several very fun hours in Wolfeboro, we headed east to Rockland, Maine (45 states down, 5 to go!). Rockland is one of best places to eat lobster in Maine, because it is home of the Rockland Lobster Festival (1000 Places). So, since I'm not a huge seafood fan, I didn't think I'd like lobster, but had to try it while I was here. And I was right, I didn't love it. But I tried it and loved the "experience."

Womancation: Day One

Dave and I have an agreement that once a year he gets to take a guys trip ("Mancation") and I get to take a girls trip ("Womancation") while the other stays home with the kids for a long weekend. Dave went to Vegas this year where he played tennis and lounged by the pool. I went the other route. My two friends (one from Seattle and one from Newport Beach) met me in Boston and we pounded out 4 states in 4 days. It was crazy. We started at the crack of dawn every day and maximized the days as much as we could. That's how I roll when I'm visiting new places. And thankfully, I found two friends that were on board! So, Day one, we headed north of Boston to Concord and visited the home of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Then we headed up the street and saw Walden Pond. I have wanted to visit Walden Pond ever since we studied Henry David Thorough in my Junior year English class with Mrs. Barney. Yeah, I finally got to see it! The original home is no longer there, but across the street from the pond stands this home, an exact replica of what Thorough built in the woods by Walden Pond.

Next stop: Sharon, Vermont. I was very excited about going to Vermont, because I have a goal of visiting all 50 states in the country. Prior to this trip, I had 8 left and Vermont was one of them. Check! 43 down, 7 to go....

We decided to visit Sharon, VT because it is the birthplace of Joseph Smith who was instrumental in restoring the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to the Earth in these modern days. There is an incredible monument erected on this sight in his memory.

Another goal I have is to visit as many places in the "1000 Places to See Before you Die" book as I can. Woodstock, VT is in this book, so we checked it out. It is known as the "prettiest small town in America."

And I think it probably is.

8 Months

Oh, Riley J, please tell me you are not already 2/3 of the way through your first year! Every day, you are looking more and more like a "little girl" and less and less like a "baby." And that makes me sad because I want you to stay my tiny baby forever. But, lucky for me, you are turning into the sweetest "little girl" ever and I can't get enough of you!

Riley now has her two bottom teeth and has rolled over many times.... but I STILL HAVEN'T SEEN IT!!! I frequently find her in her crib on her tummy after I put her down on her back. And when I put her down to play in the Family Room, I turn my back and then she's flipped over. But when I stare at her and try to get her to do it.... she refuses! So, anyway, I know she can do it, I just haven't witnessed it yet. I'm also done nursing her, which also makes me sad. I don't know why exactly, buy my milk supply has totally pooped out on me between 5 1/2 -7 months with all three of my kids. But, I don't miss pumping while I'm at work, so that's the upside of it! Anyway, we are loving this little 8 month old! She is such a wonderful addition to our family!

America's Birthday

The 4th of July is absolutely one of my favorite holidays. Love it, love it, love it! And Lacey absolutely loves birthdays. So, when we told her it was "America's birthday," she was thrilled and sang America "Happy Birthday" several times throughout the day. And yes, I have taken her to Fort McHenry on several occasions to see the sight of where the original Star Bangled Banner flew that inspired the words penned by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812.

Why do I love the 4th? Well, for starters, I love parades. Here is my little RJ with her cousin Becky.

A patriotic group of cousins!

And the Patriarch and Matriarch of the Strom clan!

And the whole gang!

It's so hard for me to believe that last year, I was 5 months pregnant watching this parade and had no idea if I was having a boy or a girl, much less the name or anything else about this little person. And now, she is such an essential part of our family of five!

And besides parades and cook-outs (which we did after the parade), I love fireworks! We went to Annapolis to see the fireworks with some dear friends of ours. Their daughter is one of Lacey's best friends. Aren't they a cute pair? Happy Birthday, America!

Things I LOVE about Summer....

• Cook-outs
• Corn on the Cob
• Watermelon
• Going to the local swimming pool
• Day trips to the beach
• Flip-flops
• Shorts and T-shirts
• Warmth and Sunshine

Note: It is currently December 16, 2011 and I just came across this post that I started months ago. I just realized that I probably never posted it because it was an ongoing list. And I actually just started one about the things I love about the Christmas/Winter season. So, while I am currently not enjoying any of the above, I mine as well post this since I wrote it! And reminisce about what I have to look forward to in 6 months!