The mountains

I have always been a down south vacationing kind of girl.  However, ever since we starting going up North with Greg when he is traveling for work I have to tell you it is really growing on me!  Now don't get me wrong I would still looove to travel down south but since it is quite expensive traveling with our clan I will take our Northern getaways! This trip we headed to the mountains in New Hampshire.  It was sooo pretty. 

Before heading to the hills we first made a stop in Maine so we could hit up Kids Night at Bob's Clam Hut.  Now I have to tell you Kids Night gets this momma sooo excited.  Not only are the kids entertained with face painting, prizes, etc. but they also get to eat for $1....AND get this...the drink is included!! Oh yeah! That's right four kids...four kids meals...$4!  I H-E-A-R-T Kids night! :)

Not sure what Ella is doing with her eyes...

We stayed at a hotel right by the aiport...the girls loved that! They would always run to the window when they heard a plane taking off...

We stopped the Lost River for some sight seeing but we were SOOO not prepared.  When we pulled in we saw people decked out in their big backpacks, sneakers, hiking boots...you get the picture...

we were decked out in Matilda Jane and sandals.  We did visit the gift shop where the girls got some binoculars...they were happy. 

The next day we took a little train ride through the mountains...the girls loved it! 

We even had a picnic lunch on the ride...AND they served Diet coke...yay!

They had a guy dressed as a hobo come around and make the kids balloons...the girls loved it!

After the train ride the girls wanted to play on the playground outside of the station...

we then took a drive even further North to check out the mountains ...it was just beautiful.

The following day we headed to the beach...

Look at his little nose.

And then of course we wrapped up our little trip with the most amazing lobster rolls! Look at this thing...and this was just half...I had already ate the other half (yes I know one person should not eat that much and no that was not my mac and cheese on the side...that was Levi's!)

Cute pics of the clan...

just some cute pics of my little cuties.

after the first pic i decided ella should be in the middle...can you guess how sophie felt about that?

decided the scowl is not the look i was going for so i decided to let them run to see if i could get some smiles...

better...cute face but crazy arms....hmmm...what else could this momma use?

levi...of course.

just perfect.

Ella's special day

As I mentioned before, each of the girlies got a special day just to themselves during summer vacation.  Ella had first decided to go minature golfing but unfortunately it began to rain before we made it there so we had to change our plans.  She then decided to go to the Discovery Center.  We had a great time and since she didn't have any of her sisters with her she made me play with her...which I am happy she did!   By the time we left the sun began to shine so she was able to play with the fun stuff outside too!

Going back...

Growing up we never had a lot of money.  My mom was a stay at home mom and my dad worked as a long distance truck driver who unfortunately never had much time to be home since he was busy supporting a family of 6. 

We never went on vacations to Florida or Disney.  In fact my toes never even touched an ocean until I was 14 when I traveled to North Carolina with a friends family. 

Am I complaining. No.  My parents had a way of coming up with fun things to do that didn't cost a lot of money. 

One of these places was Salmon River Falls.  It was never a trip that was planned out but rather a spur of the moment decision always initiated by my dad.  

When we would get there we would  scurry through the woods until we could get a glimpse of the falls and then carefully walk down a little embankment to get to the top of the falls.  And I can always remember my mom yelling at us to get away from the edge (even though I am sure we were a good 50 feet from the edge).  Then my dad would get out his hammer and chisel and start chiseling out the date we were there underneath the name "Potter" which he had chiseled into the rock several years earlier.

So I was thrilled when we decided to take a little day trip to Salmon River Falls over the summer.  I was just as excited as my girlies since it had been a good 15 years since I had been there.  I really wanted to find the Potter rock!  I knew it was still around since several years ealier my brother proposed to his wife at the Potter rock! 

I am trying to make more of an effort to find fun things to do with the kiddos that don't involve lots of money....I really want to instill into my children that family vacations are not about where you go but rather spending time as a family. 

I brought plastic cups so the girls could try and catch some minnows.

Love this shot.

Admiring their minnow.

After we left the falls I had to be sure we stopped to get a sip of the natural spring water...just like we did when we were kids...the only difference now was there was a sign reading "don't drink the water."... I saw a local filling up a bottle right before we stopped so I figured it still must be safe..I was right! :)

From there we drove another 40 minutes to eat dinner at a little restaurant on lake Ontario...I remember loving this place as a kid so I knew the kiddos would love it too...and did they ever!

We spent about a half hour throwing rocks into the lake and then we went and ordered our fish sandwiches and had a family dinner at a picnic table overlooking the lake...I was so happy.

I had such a great day with my family and thinking back of all the fun I had as a kid.  This little trip made me miss my dad more than ever as I just know how much he would of loved to come with us.  I think it is so easy to get caught up in the idea that the only way to vacation is to go all out...and I will be the first to admit that it is a mindset I fall into all too often.  But a day like today just helps me remember that if I am with my little family then that's all I need!