Vacation Part I

Matt had a week off the second full week of September, and we packed it full with as many activities as possible. He spent most of Monday making minor repairs on his canoe and getting geared up to go camping with his Dad and Brett overnight Tuesday. Alas, the camping trip was only fun for the littlest member of the party until bedtime. When he realized he had to sleep in the tent all night with just Daddy and Grampie, and that Mommy wasn't going to be there, panic set in and there was no calming him down. He kept crying and calling for Mumma until Daddy and Grampie decided to pack up camp and come home. A very sleepy, dirty, smokey-smelling little boy arrived home with his Daddy around midnight Tuesday night, and was never so glad to see his own bed in all his life. :-)

The only picture that was taken on the brief camping trip!

Daddy's "new-to-him" canoe.

After church Wednesday night, we headed out to spend a couple of days in Massachusetts. We drove as far as Portland that night, and got to our hotel around one in the morning. The babies slept the whole way, so when we arrived at our hotel, they were ready to be awake and explore while Daddy and Mommy were ready to crash and sleep! Cassie settled down fairly quickly after I fed her, but Brett was another story. We finally just let him watch movies on the iPad in his Pack-n-Play until he went to sleep. I think it was 4:00 before he finally drifted off.

 Two wide awake little kids!!

Our hotel room in Portland.

Breakfast at the hotel cafeteria.

Poor Daddy wasn't feeling too well Thursday morning from lack of sleep and his arthritis, but we were able to pack up and continue on our way to Massachusetts. The babies were perfect travelers, and slept most of the time we drove. 

We took an exit looking for gas and a Dunkin Donuts and stumbled upon this submarine. You actually could take tours of it inside, but we needed to continue on our way to Massachusetts, and the babies had just gotten to sleep in the car. I was impressed with how massive it was!! I can't believe that these things actually go below water and can't be seen!!

The sun was in Brett's eyes a lot of the time we were driving, so he invented a way to block it out. He rode quite a bit of the way with his blankie covering his head! HAHA!! Here he had peeked out, to enjoy a tasty donut. 

We arrived at our hotel in Massachusetts, around 3:00 in the afternoon, and were able to check in as soon as we got there. I was so thankful, because Cassie needed to be fed, and it was much easier to feed her inside than in the car in a parking lot somewhere.

Coloring in the hotel room.

Once Cassie was fed and we all had a chance to stretch our legs, we headed out in search of Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower.

Brett did some reading about Thomas while we drove since he knew we were going to Thomas Land the next day! ;-)

 After sitting in rush hour traffic for awhile, we finally made our way to Plymouth. It is such a gorgeous spot, and we had perfect weather for being tourists. Across the water is Cape Cod, and though you can't see them in these pictures, we could see huge houses along the shore on the other side. 

We were able to go on the Mayflower and look around, but we did not get a guided tour because it was close to closing time and most the guides were getting ready to leave. All of the staff on the ship were dressed in period costumes, and talked just as if they were one of the Pilgrims themselves. I'm amazed that anyone one survived the trip across the ocean in a ship that small!!!

I can't imagine packing up my family and sailing across a whole ocean to a land that I didn't know on a dark dingy cramped up ship like that!!! I even read that two babies were born on the Mayflower. Can you imagine delivering a baby on a ship like that in the middle of the ocean!?!?! Let alone trying to look after a brand new baby in such awful conditions!!

Plymouth Rock is in walking distance of the Mayflower, so we were able to enjoy the beautiful weather while we walked over to see the rock.

 As you can see, you aren't actually able to touch Plymouth Rock. The monument built around it is beautiful though, and it is a great place to take pictures. This is Brett and Daddy's attempt at a selfie in front of the Plymouth Rock monument.

 The hotel where we stayed in Massachusetts.

Cassie relaxing at the hotel.

After a long day of driving and sight seeing we all were ready to head back to the hotel and relax. Tomorrow was going to be another adventure..... a visit to Thomas Land!!

Family Pictures

Matt has a small computer business that he runs which has kept him quite busy this past winter. One of the businesses he built a website for was a local photography business, Firechicks Photography. As payment for him building their website, we were given some free photo shoots which we could redeem whenever we wanted. We were able to meet with them last month, and get some adorable pictures of Brett that captured his personality perfectly and some great family shots as well. The photographer, Tina, was so good dealing with a little boy who is quite timid of strangers, and in no time had made friends with him. She worked with him being active so well, and just kept clicking pictures while letting him be himself. We couldn't be more pleased with how our pictures turned out!