Staycation, All I Ever Wanted...

We have come to realize over the past few years that "vacation" takes on an entirely different meaning when you are a parent. Last I checked, this parenting gig doesn't come with any sort of paid time off, so the whole "vacation" thing is sort of obsolete. Don't get me wrong - family vacations are special in their own way - a time to bond with your kids, create memories, abandon schedules and routines for fun and magic. But they certainly aren't vacations (in the traditional sense) for moms and dads. Feeling like we were in need of a true vacation, Ben and I decided to take our second vacation of the summer right here in Scarborough. No packing, no planning, and best of all...childcare!

Staying close to home also allows us to do some day/overnight trips that have been on our "to-do" list for quite awhile. On Sunday, we drove over to Newbury, New Hampshire (Lake Sunapee region) to visit Ben's grandma Jane. She spends the summer in this idyllic setting, with panoramic views of the mountains and beautiful perennial gardens. Her cabin is a little gem in the wilderness, and we felt immediately at home with her unending hospitality. Jane is quite an amazing woman, and we very much enjoyed spending some quiet time with her, catching up on each other's lives, hearing stories from her past, and sharing memories of Grandpa Howie.

The weather wasn't perfect, but it was good enough for us to enjoy some spectacular views of the mountains and to get out and walk around Jane's lovely gardens. The sunshowers also provided us with an enormous rainbow scanning the entire sky. The Stockwells have a unique history with rainbows, so having one appear for us on this visit was extra special. We like to think it was Howie saying "hi". Here's Jane in front of the rainbow (it was difficult to capture on film, but appears faintly here):

Ethan was a little shy with Jane at first, but warmed up to her quickly. By the end of the evening, he was sitting on her lap, listening raptly to her songs and stories.

Thanks, Jane, for a great visit! Sorry it took us so long to get over there.

And now onto day one of our official staycation (boys in daycare today): Aquaboggin!

Bad Idea

I have always had success bribing Ethan with food. Some might say that this strategy leads to unhealthy relationships with food, but the kid has darn good eating habits so far (note Exhibit A below, where Ethan is passing up the "kid-friendly" ravioli for the plate of raw veggies) so I am going to go with it.

A snack buys me a few quiet minutes in the car, a moment of peace when I am trying to get dinner on the table, and at least an extra mile in the jogging stroller. I had not yet tried the food bribery technique with Adam, but decided to give it a go when I took him running Thursday evening. To date, Adam has been pretty content on my runs, and is blissfully quiet compared to an unnamed toddler (aka "The Trainer") who yells "Faster Mommy! Faster!" the whole time when he comes along. But I felt like a longer run and thought maybe a couple of teething biscuits would keep my little monkey happier longer. Exhibits B and C illustrate the errors in my thinking.

Any suggestions on how to clean dried teething biscuits off stroller straps? Baby and clothes are clean after much scrubbing and laundering.

New Adventures

Are you sick of lake pictures yet? I sure hope not, because here are a few more from this past weekend. One of the many great things about the compound is that there is always something new to do. Even though this is Ethan's third summer visiting Keoka, each visit brings with it a new adventure (or several). This past weekend, Ethan and Grandpa went for their first ever fishing trip. Here are the fishermen coming back with tales of fishes and sun turtles galore:

(Ethan is showing us the size of the fish he caught.)

Ethan also got to join his cousins Gabe and Harry on a trip down to Stones Cove, where fairies had hidden treasures for the boys in the woods.

And with the 90ish degree temperatures, the old standbys were certainly in effect (lake, dock, more lake, more dock, beach, etc.). But even in these old territories, Ethan had some new adventures. He learned how to jump off the dock all by himself, and swam out to many of the named (by Stockwells, of course) rocks in the vicinity. Here he is swimming with Dad to Mermaid Rock:

"We did it!"

What was Adam doing while Ethan was forging new frontiers, you ask? Adam was happy as a clam partaking in more familiar activities:

Skinny dipping

Eating

Laughing with Mommy

P.S. Yes, Ethan has a life jacket on at all times at the lake. After a few too many head-first dives last summer, we decided this was the safest option. He actually loves wearing it and gets very upset when we suggest taking it off for non-water-based activities like dinner and bedtime...

Bounty

OK, "bounty" might be a bit of an exaggeration, but after a few weeks of drier and sunnier weather (and a little bit of Miracle-Gro), our gardens are finally starting to produce. We've had beans,

and lots and lots of cherry tomatoes, thanks to our giant mutant cherry tomato plant. It's a good thing we put this plant where we did, or it would have surely fallen over by now. This thing is HUGE, and now takes up a decent piece of our back deck.

Cucumbers are on their way...

And just this morning, we found a blackberry bush in our yard!

Unfortunately, some little devil of a creature came and murdered our zucchini and squash plants in their prime, but we were able to salvage and enjoy two zucchini, which were delicious. (Ben the pessimist thought we would only get one, hence the pose here.)

And we continue to be thankful for the prior owners of our house, who planned the perennial gardens perfectly so there is always something in bloom. I don't plan to quit my day jobs anytime soon, but I do enjoy playing florist in my free time (free time...what's that?).

A Little R&R

We had the pleasure of spending this past weekend at the Rockport Seaside Bed & Breakfast/Spa (aka Noni and Papi's house). Noni and Papi have a history of bringing really bad weather to this state, but for once, they were rewarded with perfect Maine weather. Sure, it felt a little more like late September than early August, but the skies were bluer than blue with not a cloud to be found anywhere. The glorious weather called for lots and lots of swimming:

Mr. Bossman had some strong opinions about who should go in the pool and when, and where Papi should drive this "boat". He had similarly strong opinions about when and where he should walk, which rocks needed jumping off of, and when the ducks needed a visit. Papi sure got his exercise appeasing Mr. Bossman.

We took Ethan for his very first round of mini golf (Adam came too, but sat in the stroller). Ethan was interested in the golf for the first three holes (maybe), and then became much more interested in the rocks around the course, the various obstacles and ball entrapments, and the other 2.5ish year old boy playing a few holes back. Adam, on the other hand, was mesmerized. He watched the play of each hole intently, and sat quietly in his stroller the whole time. A future golf spectator I guess. (A small aside: Let the record note that I was the big winner, trumping my very competitive, very serious mini golf-playing husband.)

Besides swimming and put-putting, we did a whole lot of relaxing...and eating. Noni and Papi are quite the culinary masters, and cooked delectable treats for us all weekend long. I think Papi enjoyed seeing just how much food he could put in front of Adam before he got full...we're still not sure if Adam would have ever stopped eating had we not pulled the food away from him eventually.

Ben and I were very thankful for the extra sets of hands, which allowed us to catch up on some long-overdue reading. Me: Us Weekly. Ben: Fantasy Football preparation.

Noni and Papi tried to snap a photo of the boys on our way out yesterday. Trying to get these two to sit still and pose for a photo is totally impossible. But this one turned out pretty cute (even though neither is looking at the camera):

Stockwell Family Summer Vacation: The Album

Well here goes...I got it down to 20ish shots. What can I say - it was a busy week! Here's how the Stockwells spent their 10 days at the lake...

Splashing and playing in the very cold and very fast Mutiny Brook:

Swimming in the not-so-cold, just delightful lake:

Relaxing:

Check out Dad's new shades (picked up in the T'Kozy lost and found bin)

Ethan and his lot of new Matchbox cars, courtesy of the yardsale at the Wilkins House Breakfast

Attending the Wilkins House Community Breakfast, my favorite favorite activity:

Adam and his new love: eggs (well any food, really)

Hiking:

The whole crew at the top of Mt. Tire'em. We were so proud of Ethan for hiking much of this very short but pretty steep hike by himself! He was rewarded with oodles of blueberries to pick and enjoy at the top. Adam came along too (he's hiding in my backpack).

Sailing:

I taught Ben to sail and he has added it to his list of competitive sports. I think I'm still a little better than he is, but I'm sure that won't last long...

Enjoying some gorgeous sunsets:

Visiting with Family:

Grandma being attacked by her boys (yup, she's under there)Adam and Brian "sharing" a toyGrandpa and Grandma with all their kids and grandkids

A whole bunch of Stockwells down at Stones Cove beach

Ethan snuggling with Brian

As you can see, we had a great week filled with a perfect mix of adventure and relaxation, and some very special family visits. Luckily, a bunch of the 13 days of summer-like weather that the Farmer's Almanac predicted for this year fell during our vacation week, which made it all the better.

Now back to reality...