ROADTRIP!

The last week of August we took our first real family vacation.  Lara, Grant, and I (& baby-bump) all hopped in the van and started our drive north.  We were heading to Maine to be at one of my best friend's, Cam's, wedding.  Our first stop was to camp the night at Promised Land State Park in Pennsylvania.  

We went on a few nice hikes.  One that night and another the following morning.  Grant rode in the backpack and loved it.  He slept great in the tent.

 

After one night it was time to pack up and head to Mystic, CT.  Along our way we realized we were in Orange County New York and decided to track down Orange County Choppers.  It is a show on the Discovery channel that Lara and I watch pretty regularly.  It was neat to see the place and all the motorcycles inside.

We got to Mystic and drove through the quaint downtown and found a little beach to walk around.  It was nice to break up the camping with a stay in a nice hotel.  Grant was a little unsure of the pool at first but loved it after we were there a few minutes.  Here's a pic of him getting to watch a "show" before bed.  He's kinda gotten into the habit lately.  Inevitably if you ask him what he wants to watch you hear, "Trains!"

The main reason we stopped in Mystic was to go to the Aquarium.  The morning after the nice hotel stay we went to the aquarium which was pretty much right outside the hotel.  We all enjoyed it.  Although we were just at the Baltimore Aquarium not long ago, Mystic was quite a bit different with many more large marine mammals.  

 

Then it was time to reminisce.  Our next stop was Cape Cod.  After our junior year in college Lara went there for an internship on a whale watching boat.  Coincidentally, I also ended up in Mass as an intern.

We made a stop at her old stomping grounds and walked around the gift shop.  Look at our little boy leaving.  We bought him a stuffed humpback whale there that he now sleeps with every night.  His list of sleeping requirements now consists of 2 blankets (aka beddies) and 1 stuffed whale.  Some nights he also requires a stuffed Winnie the Pooh bear.  The funniest is that most mornings he tries to carry all that and a blanket downstairs.  Also, you will notice quite a few pics in which he is wearing sunglasses.  He enjoys wearing them and asks for them if it is sunny.

Here's the boat that Lara used to work on.

While on the Cape we camped at Shawme-Crowell State Park and loved it.  We  camped there with Lara's family when last we were here 9 years ago.  It was such a nice place to camp and the beach wasn't far away.  Although we enjoyed every stop along the way, I think this was our favorite.

Grant wasn't sure about the beach at first.  Then, he realized that he could throw rocks in the water and loved it.  He is often heard saying, "Throw Things!" these days and most of the time he should not be throwing things when he is saying it (e.g., at the dinner table or when he gets mad) .  So he definitely enjoyed being able to throw things. 

Next stop.....Freeport, Maine.  If you are at all like my wife you know that Freeport is the home of L.L. Bean.

More importantly to me they also have lots of other outdoorsy company shopping outlets.  We shopped at Northface, L.L. Bean, Patagonia, among others.  We found some great deals.  We were back in a hotel and this time we were staying 2 nights.  Our second day there I got a call from Cam (the groom) that he and another buddy were going to be traveling through the area to pick up their tuxes.  So the family and I went along and hung out with Cam and Nate most of the day.  Here's Grant cozying up to Cam.

We left the Freeport area and headed to Orono, ME where I had a meeting scheduled with some people from the University of Maine.  We spent the night up there and mostly just played in the pool...

 
and relaxed!

On our way to the wedding we stopped at Bradbury Mountain State Park and had a picnic.  Grant got to burn some energy on the playground.  

 

Then it was finally what this whole trip was about.  Getting to see Cam and Mandy get married!!!  It was a beautiful wedding at Poland Spring Resort.  They had bagpipes playing (as Cam is a bagpiper) and it was perfect.  I was so honored to be a part of it.

It was great that everyone stayed at the resort so we could all hangout.  It was a beautiful place and we had such an amazing time there.

 

Grant decided to take some self portraits during the  reception.

He tried to hang-on but the little guy was just way to tuckered out to keep those eyes open.  I cannot even remember the last time he fell asleep while somebody was holding him.

 
Congrats Cam and Mandy!  I am sure you guys will have a lifetime of happiness together.  It was great to be a part of the big day and to get to spend so much time together.

The day after the wedding we had a 10 hour drive ahead of us and Hurricane Irene to drive through.  Thankfully, the drive went well and we made it through before all the roads closed!  It was a perfect vacation!

Rodeo and Zoo!!

I've been meaning to get this post up but just haven't found the time until now.  Two weekend's ago we visited the Hetrick family and were NOT short on entertainment!  It started off Friday night at a Rodeo in Gerry, NY.  It was Grant's first rodeo and after getting over the screaming fans, he enjoyed himself!!  The next morning it was another first for Grant as we were off to the Zoo. We all enjoyed it but it's a toss up between the train ride and sprinkler as to which was Grant's favorite.  See picture's below and you'll see what I mean.  What one little sprinkler can do for a kid!!!  Thanks so much for such a great weekend Hetrick's!!!!!

What we've been doin'

At the end of July we went to the Miller Family Reunion (Lara's Mom's side) at Jenny's house.  We had a great time with everyone.  Here is a pic of most of the crew.  I think a few little ones are hiding in the playset.  For those of you that were there, we will get this pic to you. 

Here are just a few pics of some of the little ones that were there.

We went camping at Lara's family's property along the river after the reunion.  It was a beautiful night to camp.  The next day we hiked and played in the river.  Grant held up for most of the hike.  As we were nearing the end I kept hearing, "ALLLLL DONE", from the backpack. 

As you can see by this pic, I am glad that we didn't bring the kayaks!  Although it was deeper in a few spots, we saw plenty of canoeists walking. 

The dogs enjoyed getting to run around.  Cooper was completely worn out.  Luna showed that she is no house dog and that she enjoys the great outdoors.

Grant definitely enjoyed the trip. He always says, "moon", and gets so excited to see it and the stars ("twinkles"). Lara and I realized he almost never sees them because he is in bed at 7:30. In the morning the crayfish were everywhere.  Grant called them "crabs" which I thought was a pretty good guess.