busy weekend

On Saturday, we visited with a friend and his 14-year old daughter at their farm--the kids were totally taken with the chickens and the 18 alpacas (yes, 18!), 3 dogs, and 2 cats. They even "helped" gather the eggs and feed the chickens. What a treat! We barbequed on the deck and then sat around a campfire and looked at the stars after it got dark. (Shhh--I even had wine with dinner...). Elizabeth was totally in awe over 14-year old Julia, who is also adopted from China. Just a little bit of little girl/big girl hero-worship there...On Sunday, we met friends just home from China with their new daughter, Mia, for a picnic at (where else?) Portland Head Light. Mia is beautiful. I would've really liked to have spent more time there, just talking and watching the children play, but it was SO hot, even in the shade, so we decided to pack it in. We played on the playground for a short time before leaving. Here are a few pictures from the weekend. What a good big sister Elizabeth is! She loves to give piggyback rides to Jack, almost as much as Jack likes to get them.

playing on the beach

Elizabeth and Jack decided to play for a bit on the beach before we came home last night. First time that they played tug 'o war, as far as I know. Lots of giggles. Very cute!

more vacation pictures

Storyland 2010

On the way to Storyland, we came upon a moose standing in the middle of the road. He had a huge rack of antlers--very majestic. Quote of the day: Jack: "I no like Humpy Dunky." I had to laugh at that one, because we call our black Lab Duncan "Dunky." As you can see by the pictures, Jack would only go so close to Humpty Dumpty and Little Miss Muffett's spider--but at least there were no tears this year. Surprisingly, Storyland was not very crowded, so the lines were pretty short. Jack carried a map of the park around the entire time we were there and referred to it often (check him out with the map, standing next to Mother Goose). Who needs souvenirs? (He played with it for the rest of the week at Nanny and Papa's house). We stayed until closing, too (6 pm)--a first for us. We LOVE Storyland!

feeding the ducks at the grandparents'

our day out with Thomas

To start out our vacation, we went to Boothbay Harbor to see Thomas the Tank Engine. We had a fantastic time! Our friend, Linda, joined us, which made it even more fun--I'm so glad she came. We met Linda at Big Al's in Wiscasset at 10 am and drove the rest of the way together. In addition to the ride on Thomas (which thrilled Jack no end), there were lots of other things to do: one tent had a table with Thomas-themed stamps, ink pads, and paper; at another table Elizabeth made two sand bracelets (because she lost the first one somewhere, we actually went back to make a second one); and four or five (who counted?) train tables for the kids to play on. We spent at least a half hour there. Jack could've played with the trains all day. They also had a Thomas bounce house that was a huge hit with both kids; a maze made of hay bales; temporary Thomas tattoos; trains to climb in and explore; and a tractor ride. I can't remember all that there was to do, but well worth the admission price. Even the weather cooperated--perfect Maine summer weather. All of us had fun. We let Linda escape at around 3 pm and then drove home, only stopping to play at the playground in Yarmouth. Can you say "absolutely exhausted"?