After 5 long years, we made our return to Maine!
It hadn’t felt like we’d been away that long, but the last time we were there G was just learning how to crawl. I guess the past few years disappeared somehow. (Okay I may have a few ideas how)
We rented a house in our favorite area and spent the whole week walking everywhere. E told us it was so much fun, and think about how much money we were saving on gas! Our kids even found a love of the beach this year and so we went every single day of our vacation. They dug in the sand, they splashed in the waves, and I think all 3 of them went under (either willingly or not).
We did one day at long sands, but the kids enjoyed short sands more. There’s more stuff near that beach, so it makes it a bit easier, and it’s a great beach for little kids. Although all the kids hated looking for sea snails (my favorite past time at the beach when I was little), E got really into searching for sea glass. And they got really good at it too! I still need to set up a shadow box or something to display them all - we came home with quite a lot!
Another plus of that area was I felt completely comfortable giving the three of them free reign during the week. We did walk a lot, and while they all got some great experience learning how to cross streets and watch for traffic, there was also a lot of areas where they could run freely and safely with very little supervision needed. They could go where they wanted, do what they wanted, and all we needed to do was put an adult in one central location. It was awesome as a parent to be able to give them so much independence the entire week and watch all of their confidence grow.
Fun-o-rama was a big hit this year, as was watching the taffy at Goldenrod. The amusement park was looking pretty run down, but the kids even managed to enjoy that. It was wild to watch my children ride the exact same rides I’ve been going on since I was F’s age. The whole week it was impossible not to make comparisons or remember years past. Buying the kids the same box of candy my grandparents used to buy me. Eating ice cream at the same place that E had their very first cup of ice cream. Taking family photos in front of the same lighthouse we took photos in front of 30 years ago.
The timing worked out so that both G and my dad’s half birthday fell during the week, so of course that meant we should throw them a half birthday party! Both of them have birthdays that are overshadowed by Christmas, so it was a fun way to give them some extra attention.
I baked them both a half a cake, and they got half a card we signed, and I even found some half birthday decorations. The only problem was that I’d bought the decorations so long ago I forgot what the balloons they came with were supposed to spell out. There were so many letters and we were running out of guesses. They also came with a sun balloon which I knew was related to them, but all I could think of was “You Are My Sunshine” which didn’t seem to fit with a half birthday theme haha.
Thankfully I was able to eventually look up my order and figure out it was supposed to say “Halfway Around the Sun” because I’m sure we never would have unscrambled that.
Most of the week we spent with just my parents - definitely low key compared to some years in Maine, but it felt like what we needed this year. However they did head home a bit early, and our friends came for a visit after that. It was awesome to get the kids together and let them run free together.
Saturday was pretty cold which meant the beach day was meh, so we ended up getting some food at the goldenrod and walking around town a bit. Overall it accomplished everything we wanted in a trip. Not exactly restful, but definitely soul filling.
