Maine Trip: Day 2

Day two in Maine was just as fun as the first day...

 We started the day with more swimming time in the pool and some time playing in the "Roman Bath", which was basically a warm, shallow pool with a wavy cement wall. The girls loved it!

 We checked out of our hotel around lunchtime and then headed to Ogunquit Beach. This was Mya's first time ever to the beach! ....which is somewhat ironic since she is our Huntington Beach baby!

Bryn and I decided that the shells in Maine beat out the shells we used to collect in Huntington Beach :)

We especially loved the pink and purple ones. 

 Bryn's favorite part was climbing on the rocks

On our way home we had to stop at Cape Neddick again because Bryn was begging to do more climbing on the rocks.

 Mya took her afternoon nap in the car, while these two did lots of exploring. Such a beautiful afternoon!

Thank you Maine, for a wonderful trip! We can't wait to come back in June!

Maine Trip: Day 1

We just got back from an awesome 2-day trip to Maine! Josh has a two week Spring Break from classes right now, so we decided it would be a perfect time to do some exploring in southern Maine. Our first stop was York, which is about an hour and 40 minutes away from our house.

We took the 1A highway that runs right along the coastline. York was a beautiful, quaint town and the beach was so picturesque.

We continued north a few minutes until we got to Cape Neddick's famous "Nubble" Lighthouse. 

 We played here for a long time. It was such a pretty spot and Bryn was in heaven climbing on the rocks.

We lucked out and it was the warmest day we've had in months! Blue skies and nearly 40 degree weather!

So pretty! I can't wait to bring my family here in a few months!

 After lunch we checked into our hotel in Ogunquit, Maine - about ten minutes north of York. Since winter is totally Maine's off-season (most of the stores and restaurants are closed til the summer) we found a really cheap rate at the Meadowmere Resort...and we pretty much had the place to ourselves!

We spent a lot of time in the pool, trying to pretend we were faaaaaar away from New Hampshire's arctic winter!

We planned on getting fresh seafood in Perkin's Cove, but didn't realize all the amazing seafood restaurants we had researched were closed til summer. Major bummer! We definitely need to come back in a few months. 

Even the ice cream shops were closed for the season, so we picked up some Ben & Jerry's from the grocery store, watched a movie in our hotel room, and called it a night! 

February

February seemed to zip by really quickly for some reason, it's hard to believe it's already March! It was freeeezing cold and constantly snowing, so we mostly stayed indoors and somehow kept ourselves entertained inside. Here are a few snapshots from our month...

Bryn really wanted this set of Frozen figurines, but she had to do a special job chart to earn it. It took Bryn four weeks to finish all the jobs and she was thrilled to finally earn her prize.(Bryn isn't the best at chores, so it was a big deal for her! Hopefully the habit will stick!)

February included hours and hours at the kitchen table drawing, writing notes, doing workbooks, and making crafts.

My loves baby dolls and she sure takes good care of them! 

Watching Cinderella in costume

Brynlee doesn't dress up in ten costumes a day like last year, but she we still find her in costume about once a day :) 

I got a kick out of this sign Bryn posted in the kitchen, outlawing poblano peppers, cauliflower, kale, onions, and pickles.

One of Mya's favorite spots to roll around is under the bathroom sink. I don't think she could choose a more germ-ridden spot!

sweaty bedhead

We are doing monthly goals as a family this year and our reward for meeting January's goal was a fun gelato trip at the beginning of February. 

Bryn loves babies and she loved helping babysit this cute guy.  

Just two sisters trying to get themselves ready for the day in the same small bathroom :)

Fresh from the bath...my favorite time of day!

Bryn had the idea to make cardboard houses and Mya thought it was pretty amazing.

 Beloved blankie

 Mya picked out her outfit and hair bows this day. She's already opinionated about her clothes!

 Tons and tons of snow meant several cancelled days of school and lots of fun playtime in the snow. 

We had a great February, but I'm really hoping the coldest, snowiest days are behind us and that March brings us some warmth and sunshine!

Rauner Special Collections Library

Last week was frigid and we spent most of the week bundled up at home, but by Friday night we had major cabin fever! There aren't tons of things to do in our cute little town, but we piled into the car and decided to drive around til we found something to do. We ended up at the Rauner Special Collections Library on Dartmouth campus. 

 It is a gorgeous building and we had fun checking out some really cool books.

We found out that the "most requested item" from the collection is the first edition Book of Mormon. Of course, as Mormons this was the book we were most interested in, too!

 It was awesome to see the old formatting and see how well the book had been preserved.

 My other favorite part of the Rauner Library was the first edition copy of John Audubon's "Birds of America". The library has three of the four volumes and they are beautifully on display under glass. The volumes were previously owned by Daniel Webster, a Dartmouth alum class of 1801. Webster had ordered them directly from John Audubon when he was in the U.S. seeking subscribers to his "Birds of America" work.

I love Audubon's work! I'll have to visit the Rauner Library more often because the librarian said they turn the page every week to display a different bird. 

(Aaaaand....If anyone has read the book "Okay for Now", like me, then this Audubon collection will seem even more significant!)