Off to school...

Here we go.... another school year off to a great start!  Ben started 6th grade, which means, MIDDLE SCHOOL.  He was pretty excited to be going, but MIGHT have asked 100 times last night what his homeroom number was, and what class he was going to first!  We just kept answering him and figured it was Ben's way of being nervous:)  He changed classes 7 times today and did really well.  He made it back to my car at the end of the day, so it seemed a success.  Plus, he was wearing a BIG smile, so that was another great sign!

Little Miss is now a THIRD grader!  She loves her teacher (shocker!) and is thrilled to have her buddies in her class with her!  I made sure to tell Teacher that she was in NO WAY allowed to sit beside them.  I know: Pot calling the Kettle black, but I know this girl.  She's a talker.  And she takes everyone down with her.  Just saving her teacher the time it would take moving her.

And the Handsome Media Specialist at Carly's school.  I particularly love the sunglasses on his head.

Carly's book bag and lunch bag... they are cute, so I felt the need to put them on here.  Plus, we got them at the Christmas Tree Shoppe in NH, which I am a fan of... you know, because we don't have that store here.  Anyways, cute bags were $3.99 and $2.99 respectively.  Fun bargains!

I guess I should have taken a picture of the QUIET house I enjoyed this morning, or perhaps the DELICIOUS cup of coffee I drank while it was still hot.  I could have taken a picture of the lady in line behind me at Marshalls who was telling everyone within earshot how much she missed her kids all day, "I actually miss the chaos!"  Wow.  No awards for that, Honey.  I may or may not have rolled my eyes.  Now you know why I need this next part so much:

...we are working on something new during morning devotions.  Memorizing verses.  This is our first shot at it, and our "overall" verse for the year.  We spent some time this morning talking about this verse and what it means and what so important about it.  We don't want them to just be able to repeat it back to us, but to really get it. I figure if their MOTHER needs it so much, surely her OFFSPRING haven't fallen far from the tree. 

So... we are off!

Isleford Boat Cruise

You would think that a Blog Post regarding the Boat ride we took while visiting Acadia National Park would include a photo of the boat.  You would think.  So, above are some very cool looking lobster bobbin things.  They are all over Maine.  You know, because they trap lobsters.  I took about 10 pictures of these SAME bobbin things.  No boat.  But aren't they cool?

We took a very fun Boat Cruise on the Sea Princess to the Cranberry Islands, etc... the Cranberry Islands are a couple of the Islands that make up the Isleford Islands... but I apparently only remember The Cranberry Islands.   There was a Park Ranger on board as part of the fun, and he pointed just about everything imaginable out to us.  Very interesting, and entertaining! 

This is the Bare Island Lighthouse.

An Osprey Nest... which are EVERYWHERE in Florida, but Ranger Bob was making such a big deal about it, I felt obligated to take a picture.  Ok, kidding.  This one is estimated to be about 50 years old because of how big it is... apparently they add to it each year.  That is impressive.  Hence, the photo.

Fun Sea Lions.  Lounging.

On Little Cranberry Island, we got to get off the boat and walk around.  There aren't many year round residents, but this is their market and post office.  There were also little kids selling lemonade, brownies, and sea urchins on the side of the road.  We bought brownies and sea urchins. 

Inside the post office... the boxes reminded us of our mail boxes at Word of Life!

The signs in the post office cracked me up... especially the one regarding the photocopy of the lost key.  Hence, the photo...

Our delightful fam!

Ranger Bob and Carly! 

He really did a great job on the tour!

As we were heading to our next "destination"  we saw this huge Reindeer on the side of the road.  No hunting allowed on Acadia, so he's pretty safe... Laurie said it was an 8 point Buck, but Carly and I are sticking with our Original Call:  Reindeer.

Thunder Hole

Isn't Acadia beautiful??

This is Thunder Hole, which is a massive "hole" that the tide comes crashing into and creates a huge roar and water display.  We didn't get to see it "in it's Glory"... apparently the BEST time to see it is 45 minutes BEFORE the tide comes in, and we were there at EXACTLY the tide coming in.  Plus, it was a pretty calm day... but we still got some great pictures and had a blast... and didn't lose any kids in the water, even though they were trying desperately to climb on the rocks ("We know how to swim!  We are on the swim team!")

Thunder Hole ... you can see the caves along the edges, that fill up with water.

To the right of the bridge is The Hole... waiting for the display!

Otter Point

Otter Point, Acadia National Park

Since the kids were working on the Junior Ranger Program (note the Blue Book in Carly's hand) while we were at Acadia, they had to attend 2 Ranger Led Programs as Part 2 of achieving their badge.  (Part One was doing 5 puzzles from the book).  We Happened Upon Ranger Dave giving a lecture about the plants around Acadia (which the 3 Kids Who Came With Us correctly identified as Poison Ivy)... said lecture also included a hike to Otter Point.  Which we could SEE, but seriously, might not have found the path on our own.  Just saying.  Shout Out to the Rangers at our National Parks.  They are so knowledgeable, really love their jobs, and are REALLY patient with our Very Inquisitive Kids.

So, this is Otter Point, the cliff all the way to the left:

The view along the way...

Yup, Ben is sitting up on Otter Point.  Sheer drop off.  You'd be surprised how OK I was with this... and NO, I did not use my zoom to take the picture, I was standing right behind him.  Even though I'm really scared of heights. 

*Sigh*.  The Lovely Princess. 

Bubble Mountain, which you have a great view of from this vantage point!

We were pretty far up, but if you look closely, you can see HUNDREDS of lobster traps in the water!  They each have a bobbing thing as big as your arm on them, and that is what you can see floating in the water.

Another point just past Otter Point.  Descriptive, huh? 

Favorite Moment of the Day: 

This photo was taken just before Amanda raised her hand and said:

"I love a man in uniform!"

See?  Patient Park Rangers.

Favorite Picture of the Day:

 ... Or maybe THIS one is my favorite...

Ben waiting for us to catch up with him as we hiked back!

He was ALWAYS way ahead of us, Experienced Hiker that he is!

Cadillac Mountain

More fun from Acadia National Park... Cadillac Mountain is the highest point on the Eastern Coast of the US, it is the first spot to see the sunrise each day.  I wouldn't know as the sun ROSE at 4:21am.  I was asleep in my tent.  Remember the tent?

Ryan and Ben hiked to the top of the mountain.  (This is the view from the Top!) The trail started at our Campground, and they went along the South Ridge for over 4 miles.  They took my camera...  Carly and I, and Tim, Laurie, and Amanda DROVE to the summit to wait for them!  It took them just over 2 hours...

This would be TIM, waiting patiently... I was NOT waiting so patiently:)

 

The path our hikers took...

 

The trail is marked with blue spray paint on the trees...

 

 

The FIRST time they saw this lake...

Ben kept Ryan on track, and apparently TALKED the whole way up! If you know Ben, you understand how completely amazing that is!

Then they hiked higher, and saw the lake again...

There's Ben, on the trail!  No wonder it took them over 2 hours! Amazingly enough, he did NOT get hurt on this "strenuous hike"... he reserved THAT fun for just walking on the grass in Laurie's front yard!  I'm sure I'll get to that story eventually...  Taking all summer to blog about our 2 week vacation REALLY makes it last a lot longer for me:)