Daddy dinner

Daddy is a great cook and actually does most meals on weekends.  Once in a while we have an ultimate summer daddy meal.  Ribs and corn on the cob, and nothing else.  The kids loved it.

 Piles of napkins were used.

 One little boy gave up early and had a banana.

 All because Daddy cooked some ribs.

Maine 2013

We left the kids with Gramma and Grandpa for 2 days and took off for Maine by ourselves.  Due so some family situations and a lot of rain, we were only gone for 2 days instead of 3 but we had a great time.

We hiked in 3 parks, shopped everywhere and Daddy even got to body surf in the cold New Hampshire water.
We spent our 1st day driving and then shopping in Kittery and Freeport. There is a LOT of outlets between those 2 places.   We had dinner at the wharf in Freeport, this is what it looked like outside.  I didn't mind too much, I got my lobster and corn on the cob.

After dinner we hiked about a mile at Wolf's Neck Woods.  This was an evening hike and we had the entire park to ourselves.  Probably due to the fact that is was foggy, cold and starting to rain. This was a small park, but had lots of picnic areas and some hiking along the coast. I didn't  get any pictures of this hike, but I would love to go back when it wasn't foggy.

 We camped at Bradley Mountain state park and then started a 2+ mile hike there in the morning.  Again, we had the park mostly to ourselves.

 There is supposed to be a great view from the top. Guess what we could see?

 FOG, lots of fog.

 Hike #3 was Vaughn Woods state park.  This was a great little 2 mile hike along the Salmon Falls River.  Had it been a little warmer we might have gone swimming in the river.  This hike was through an old Hemlock forest and was very pretty. Again, we only ever saw 3 other people the entire hike.

We decided to drive South along the coast and check out the New Hampshire coast. Of course we ran into the USS Albacore and had to stop and check that out.

I will admit, it was pretty cool. 

Then we continued down the coast stopping whenever we wanted along the road to check out tide pools and beaches. 

Next up was  Jenness State Beach in NH, it had the best surfing we found. The weather was actually not horrible, so Daddy went for a swim and did some great body surfing in the cold clear water. I went for a walk along the beach and when I reached the end of the beach and turned around, I saw this.  Yep, more rain and thunderstorms.....

Despite the rain and the cold, we had a great time with just the 2 of us. 

Daddy can sew

Over the last few years I have been teaching Daddy how to use my sewing machine.  He is finally learning to do stuff without help. Since he is a den leader at scout camp he needed a den flag. Since his den is the "Blue Whales"  He created this all on his own without any help.  I was proud of him.  It is not very pretty if you look up close at the stitches, but it works and will last at least a week of camp.

It is made from an old curtain ripped in half and re-sewn in the shape and then he machine appliqued a denim whale on it.  He even made 2 sleeves on top and the side for the pole. It is identical on both sides,  so that was 2 whales he sewed on.

My sister loves this picture.  "Of course I will hold the flag while you take a picture, just let me keep reading my book."

Backpacking 2013

Daddy took the 3 big kids backpacking on the Appalachian trail for 2 nights.  It was Munchkins first trip and she did fantastic. The kids came home smelly and filthy but they had a great time.

Daddy's pack is huge, each kids pack is weighted for them. Munckin carries her water, her snack and a raincoat.  And then as they get bigger they add more stuff in their packs, clothes, sleeping mat, sleeping bag, food, eating utensils..etc.  Daddy carries the tent and everything else, for this trip is was about 10 pounds of food for 4 people.

 I don't know the details or stories behind most of the pictures, and the possibility of Daddy writing more is slim, so  you just get a long string of pictures.

 Love the cool stance in this picture.

 I have no idea what is behind this pose, but I love it.

 Thousands of Centipedes that they thought were cool.

 I love her crazy hair.

 I think this id dipping their hair/heads into the water in an attempt to cool off. 

 Following the long green tunnel...

 I love all these kids and their unique personalities.

Date night

Sometimes we get a date night away, and then sometimes we get to dress up and go to formal affairs for work.  Sometimes they are even fun. 

It was a good excuse to get my hair done, do my nails and wear makeup.  I don't do that very often.

Fall Backpacking with Daddy

Daddy took the big kids backpacking for the 1st time this summer, OK fall, but they never went over the summer.  They got to hike with another family they met on the trail, so I finally got a picture of them all together. Notice the size of Daddy's pack, he carries everything.

 

This picture I love, my kids just having fun in a tree.  

 Of course they find a dead raccoon and take pictures of it.  I will never understand the fascination of taking pictures of dead things or of animal poop.

 It warmed up the next day so they put on shorts and I blame their father for their horrible fashion sense. 

They love backpacking with Daddy and I am dreaming of Daddy taking all 4 kids to do this.  I will get to stay home alone.

Star Wars Training

Buddy and Daddy have been playing a new game.  Daddy throws pinecones at Buddy and he tries to deflect them with his light saber.  It is amusing because the helmet adds to the fun but severely limits his view of incoming objects.

Dart Gun fights

Dart gun fights in our house are always entertaining.  Daddy likes to have them frequently and the children are required to wear eye protection.  Sometimes they opt for more protection.

Boys Backpacking

The boys got to go backpacking again.  Princess had a birthday party for a friend and decided to stay home.

The boys had a great time and even saw a bear.  I don't know what most of these pictures are, but it looks like they had fun. 

Daddy's pack is heavier than Buddy, and almost the same size.

 It was COLD, he is wearing a t shirt, a sweatshirt, a fleece and a rain coat, plus shorts and fleece pants.

 Yes, they took a picture of Bear Scat.... I don't understand boys.

Love

I love my husband!  He is crazy and does things just to make me smile.

The backstory to this is that we had a bonfire the night before and as he was cleaning up he was teaching the kids about how to write with charcoal.  This was his demonstration.. 
(yes my kids are wandering around riding bikes and playing in their pajamas, even footed fleece pajamas with a winter sweater in 85 degree heat.  They did get dressed eventually.) 

Daddy Sewing

Daddy has been working on a sewing project of his own lately and it has been very interesting to watch.... He is making himself a hammock to go backpacking.  This is double layer to accomodate a sleeping/insulation pad and a bug netting on top.  It is actually pretty cool, and it is kind of fun teaching him how to sew and the importance of little things... like pins and how to put the foot down on the machine... he is learning pretty quickly.
 
Pinning it together

 Trying to sew a straight seam (in his words, like a drunken sailor, but I give him credit, it is tough to sew nylon)