Sidewalk chalk...

I just wanna remember how cute Chloe's (and Parker's) drawings are right now. That is the reason for this post...

Helmet Heads

In Maine, children under 16 are required to wear helmets when on a bike. I often take the kids out in the bike trailer and Zach rides along with us on his bike. Chloe is also learning to ride her bike, so she needed a new helmet. We decided it was probably a smart idea to have both kids wearing their helmet even in the bike trailer. So...here is Chloe and Parker's cuteness modeling their new helmets!

(that is Parker's new funny face - the "oh no" face!)

Bear Brook State Park

At the end of July, we took a quick overnight camping trip to Bear Brook State Park in New Hampshire. Chris's sister, Brittany and her cute family came with us, which made it even better! We love to camp and would have loved to stay longer, but just didn't have the time on this trip. On Saturday after packing up camp, we went on a hike and ate a picnic lunch at a beautiful little spot next to a river. It was cool, calm and relaxing. All the kids did great and even slept good. We are excited for our next camping trip in a few weeks!

For the Beauty of the Earth...

We really are enjoying our new home here in Maine. Maine is the complete opposite of Arizona as far as scenery. I have to say...green trees and green grass is a little bit of Heaven to me! I love it! It is a beautiful place to be living, and we moved here right at the right time of year...summer! While we enjoyed our time in Arizona and miss many good friends, we really were glad that this move happened at the beginning of summer and not the end!! We have had some pretty hot and humid days, but having many beaches close by, as well as the neighborhood pool seem to help us forget about that...sometimes. We also live right by the marsh and the coast, so it is extra green (and lot of mosquitos...boo!).

Chloe and Zach have been taking swim lessons twice a week for the last 3 weeks and have one more week left. Zach is doing really, really well with his freestyle and has learned to dive down to the bottom of the 8 ft part! Chloe has just braved going under the water, but is still pretty nervous. She loves to kick while holding on to her noodle, though! Parker likes to play in the baby pool while they have lessons. He is quite a daring and brave little guy! He has drank lots of pool water when he sticks his face in the water! (He thinks he's a dog...all the time!!)

Zach is also doing a summer camp for wrestling 2 nights a week. He loves it! They work him pretty hard for 2 hours and he comes home sweaty and smelly! Luckily, Chris enjoys taking him to practice (former wrestler himself), which means I don't have to chase around 2 crazy little kids the whole time!

Chris's job is going really well and he is enjoying it. His company is working with Central Maine Power to rebuild all of Maine's power systems and power lines. They are getting pretty old!! It is a fun thing for him since there are many projects all in one.

I am just staying busy with the kids and getting the house all settled. We started a new schedule this week (morning chores, goals, fun play days, etc), so that has been taking a lot of time. That, and hemming curtains and other things. Chris and I are headed to Lowe's this week to buy some wood to build a bookshelf for the living room. Yeah! It is going to be our little project together after the kids are in bed. Hopefully, it won't take 5 years to complete!! I am also staying busy practicing the organ...yeah - I am now the ward organist even though I have never done it before! Let's just say, the first and second Sunday's were a little nerve-racking. Hopefully, I will get it down soon!

Here are lots of pictures from things we are enjoying here in Maine!

Lots of walks and bike rides with Chloe and Parker in the bike trailer (such a good investment back when we lived in Indiana)...

The smell of pine trees every time you walk out the front door! Especially after it rains!

The darling house that I see every time I look out my front window! Love this house!! (See all the trees!!!)
The beach!! With the exception of last week, we have been to the beach every week since moving here! It is lots of fun for everyone!

Chloe and Parker love to play in the front yard together. They chase each other down the hill and then play hide and seek behind the big pine trees.

The view from the back deck! I like to sit on the porch in the morning and eat my breakfast and watch the birds fly by. I even have seen a couple cardinals, my favorite!

We have wild blueberry plants all over out here. They are growing on the edge of the property and are yummy, yummy!!

Even good ole' Baxter seems to be enjoying Maine!

I am loving the rain! I love the smell in the air after the rain! Moving to Arizona made me appreciate the rain a lot more...because it seldom rains there in the desert!!

Flowers!!! I am loving all the new varieties of flowers out here! (love this picture I took this morning!)

This is a bush in my front yard. I have never seen these before. I still need to figure out what kind it is. Back porch flowers.

Our first Maine visitors...

See these people? We love them! They are great! And we hope they come again soon!!Brittany (or I have pronounced it Bertney since she was about 11 or 12!), Chris's baby sister, and her family spent a couple days at our house for the July 4th weekend. We had a relaxing and fun time with them. Little darling Abby is about 5 or 6 weeks older than Parker, but is about half his size! She is tiny and adorable and has a tiny little mouse voice! She was in heaven with all the new girl toys to play with in the basement and my kids adore their tiny little cousin. John was kind enough to ammuse Chloe by dressing up as a prince. Bertney was helpful, as always, and fun to chat with!

We are enjoying having them living somewhat close, even if it is only until the end of the year! We hope we can get together again soon! We love you guys!!