Being in the military has its ups and downs, pros and cons… This move has had its share of cons, but the one definite bonus is that we are close enough to home to visit easily—and this weekend we had a spur of the moment trip home. I hate that we only got about 13 hours to spend at my childhood home (and that includes sleep!) but it’s 13 hours in one of my happy places.
We spent the day in Cadillac with Tom’s extended family at a local campground where the kids enjoyed meeting new friends and playing in the pool.
Katie liked the animals. (Yes there were animals there. She especially liked the goats.)
Maggie didn’t bark once all day…until she got in front of the goats. At which point she thought she was ferocious.
After some visiting I just amused myself. There might have been margaritas involved.
I love being home with family…and celebrating Christmas in the summer is amazing! (And what’s Christmas with family without a few adult bevvies?)
And the meat festival begins…Of course Timmy brought a ton of his amazing brats…but this year he added smoked brisket to the menu! HOLY WAH!
And no, your eyes aren’t deceiving you…that’s a Gummy Bear brat. With real gummy bears in it. It wasn’t bad…just a sweet taste. I thought Katie would love it because she LOVES gummy bears but nope. Silly kid.
And the annual kid comparison! After last year when Owen was taller, Nick pulled ahead (which he should, as he’s almost 14).
2017:
The kids goofing around while I was getting the camera set up.
My test shot to make sure the settings were okay, and I loved it so much I kept it. It’s also fun to see how we can all pull it together for the real photo!
Nick and Owen…conspiring? Planning? Who knows.
Gramma created a project for the kids—money frozen in a block! They had to figure out how to get to it! (It didn’t take them long!)
Oh yeah! We also gained a dog for an hour or so. Mom didn’t recognize him and Tom called the number on his tag and it was animal control…?!? He was good and just hung out with us—got a few pets and belly rubs (Maggie pretty much ignored him). After awhile a young girl came looking for him—and we found out she was visiting someone in the neighborhood.
Overall it was a perfectly gorgeous day—not too hot and not too cold, lots of good food (too much, actually, but we’re Lens so it’s expected), and great visiting with family and watching the cousins play!
Katie has been bugging me for a doll stroller for awhile now. I wasn’t going to get her one because she doesn’t need anything else…but then I remembered she had Christmas money from Grauntie Rose and Gruntie Jim. So she and I looked at them on Amazon and two days later, we had a happy little girl.
She walks it all over. Takes it down to Sofia’s. Takes it down to the park (almost a half mile walk!)…
I’ve always wanted to experience Maine (and lobsters!) with my mom, so when she and David rented a cottage (in South Thomaston) for two weeks to celebrate their 20th anniversary and invited us to join them, I decided THIS was FINALLY going to be the year to do so. We lucked out in that my stepsisters Kathryn and Beth were also able to join us!!
This was dinner our first night!
Day 1: lobster #1 — fresh lobster dinner
I woke up to this on the table. (Yes, it was my 45th birthday!) It was tempting to eat right then but I refrained.
The view from the back deck did not suck.
Then it was off to start sightseeing. Or first stop was the prison show room (gift shop) why lots of hand made things.
Then it was off to Pemaquid Point, mom’s favorite spot in Maine. It was really quite cool and fun to walk around on the rocks.
All the girls!
Then we went up in the lighthouse.
(That big boulder toward the upper left? That’s the one I climbed on top of in the earlier pic!)
And then as we were headed out we saw some Monarchs in the garden.
Then it was off to find lunch. We ended up at Shaw’s Seafood…where everything sounded good so good so how do you decide?! I actually opted for a scallop roll because I love scallops. It wasn’t what I expected but it was tasty.
These came home with us for dinner.
We also stopped at a family market and had to try some fresh strawberry shortcake! Mmmm.
We stopped at a grocery store to get celebratory birthday drinks and got these new drinks for a birthday flight for us all to share.
Look at this delicious dinner…
Day 2: lobster #2 — fresh mom-made lobster roll
Overall a great birthday…
Unfortunately a dreary day for sightseeing.
So let’s go candy shopping! Yummy caramels, toffee, and treats for the kids!
And let’s have lobster for lunch.
Day 3: lobster #3 — lobster BLT
Then it was off to visit the marina where mom and David left from on their honeymoon—they’re pointing to it!
Aaaand lobster rolls again for dinner. Mom makes them SOOOOO good we didn’t want anything else.
Day 3: lobster #4
Can you tell the face paints were a HUGE success?! This one was painted by cousin Gabby!
The cousins were all having a ball playing together and I thought they’d have a blast playing “WHAT U TALKIN BOUT?” (the game where you try to say phrases while wearing dental mouthpieces—there are many versions of this game). Katie had bought it for Owen for Christmas and we weren’t set to open it for days but I am glad we did…we haven’t laughed so hard in a long time! It was definitely worth the $2.50 sale price at the dollar store.
Uncle Doug and Aunt Marie took all the kids to Hartwick Pines and the kids got to hand-feed the birds! Katie got too freaked out but Owen did it!!
Another day, another new Katie face. Again by Gabby.
The cousins had so much fun together and we really enjoyed visiting with the adults!!We really need to do this more often!!
We spent the day with Uncle Rob and Aunt Dee at their new house! The kids played with Daisy, played in the snow, Owen shot his new bow (and lost an arrow in the snow!), made snowballs with Aunt Dee, and played games with Aunt Dee while is other three adults might have been napping. 
Margarita buddies!
Santa Daisy
She was a big cuddle bug.
A polish set from Aunt Dee!!
I knew about Poland, the Ukraine, and Germany…but British? Irish? Greek? Interesting. Once you get started in 23andMe, it’s a veritable rabbit hole… See you in a few days. LOL
For the last 18 years we haven’t lived near family since we’re military—so when your mom calls you one morning and says they’ll be there for dinner…
WAIT, WHAT? 
This isn’t a 20-minute drive, y’all—my mom lives 400 miles away!
It’s doubly exciting because it’s Mother’s Day weekend and I haven’t seen her since December!
Fast forward to her arriving tonight…
We were sleeping in an awesomely dark and quiet basement room so combined with a late bedtime, we all slept in! I was up at 7:30 (technically 6:30 CST) and just waited for either kid to wake up. Owen finally got up about 8:30! I stayed in bed to enjoy the quiet and when I finally came upstairs, this is where I found Owen.
And I decided to have a fully relaxing no makeup day.
The kids spent most of their day in and out of the pool. Spending time with Uncle Jim was super fun and they even had a cannonball contest!
While the kids were (still) in the pool I got some work done. Not a bad view.
The kids were finally out of the pool and playing hide and seek while we were getting dinner ready. Uncle Marcus and Uncle Jim we trying to confuse Katie as she counted.
The birthday kids!
And tonight was a campfire and sparkler night!
And it was a momentous night—Katie actually asked to go to bed!!!
I am on a family vacation in Indiana and for some reason thought about a wine cooler-esque non-alcoholic beverage my cousins and I bought in the late 80s while we were camping. Imagine the exhilaration of being in middle school or early high school, being old enough to not need parental supervision, and walking around a state park campground drinking something that LOOKED adult but wasn’t. Living the dream, right? Feeling all adult and fancy. Like maybe we were getting away with something. 
But not one of my stepsiblings could think of what it was. We spent a half hour looking at Google’s suggestions for “1980s and 1990s beverages.” There were a hell of a lot of good memories but NOT what I was looking for.
I then texted my cousins (who I love dearly but rarely text with) and they both IMMEDIATELY got back to me with their ideas!! One who was on a road trip driving up I-75 in Michigan and the other at home elsewhere in Michigan. After a few texts and Google searches on either end, we got it!
What would we have done before the internet and instantaneous communication?! How could I have survived not knowing the answer to that most pressing of questions?!
What is something from your past that you’ve needed to Google or use technology to help answer?
P.S. Bonus points if you remember Sundance or drank it. 
Random pics aplenty!
Cousin Gabby made some gorgeous flower crowns.
Kathryn and Izzy tried some lipstick!
Filipeks made an awesome taco bar for lunch and ice cream bar for dessert!!
We spent the afternoon chatting on the deck and then dinner was delicious cheesy shrimp and grits!
And then the annual pics!
Cousins!
The kids, then and now.
Aunt Marie put together an amazing escape room/box for the kids. They had a blast!
Then there was card playing and video games.
