Jim went back to work yesterday afternoon after having had (a much needed and well deserved) 10 days off. We spent 7 of those days on our summer vacation in Sebec, Maine with Jim's parents, his brother David, David's wife Melanie and their 4 kids (ranging in age from 11 yrs old - newborn). While the craziness of having a whole lot of little kids under one roof at the same time got a little overwhelming at times, for the most part everyone enjoyed each others company. Of the 7 kids, Kyle and Lawrence were the best behaved. They were glued to each others sides and never once got into any arguments! They spent much of their time outdoors - building forts in the woods, playing imaginative games down by the pond, riding the ATV'S and the dirt bike and playing paintball. When they were forced to be inside they would play games in their room or in the basement. Most of the time no one heard a peep from them.
The girls, on the other hand, were much more vocal and - in typical female fashion - were a million times more high maintenance. On our first night there Melanie suggested that the 4 girls share a room together. I was pretty certain that this would not work out, but seeing as how we were on vacation for a full week I decided that it couldn't hurt to try it for one night. Come 7P my kids were exhausted. I put Savannah to bed first and she was asleep within minutes. An hour later the rest of the girls entered the room and within 10 minutes flat they had woken Savannah up and all 4 of them were jumping on the beds. Not willing to engage in a "GO TO SLEEP" match for hours on end, Jim and I decided to move our girls into our room. As soon as they were separated from their cousins they settled down and went to sleep - and so we decided it would be in our best interest to keep them in our room for the rest of the week. It was tight sleeping quarters but we made it work and bedtime for the remainder of our vacation proved to be fairly uneventful and pleasant.
Indoor playtime for the 4 girls proved to be challenging at times. Tattle-tales and power struggles were a common occurrence and. while the boys had no trouble at all keeping each other entertained, the girls needed much more attention and supervision. I spent a lot of time reading, coloring and playing games with them, trying to keep the peace. Luckily we were only forced to spend one full day indoors due to inclement weather. Everyone was much more happy and content being outside. Jim spent a lot of time giving everyone rides on his ATV, which they all LOVED. He also spent a lot of time with them down by the pond catching cat fish, frogs, tadpoles, toads and various insects. Not a day went by where there weren't numerous jars and containers full of creatures placed all over the property! David gave them raft and canoe rides in the pond too, which they enjoyed.
Jim took Kyle and Bella to a local auction one night. The rest of the family went too but I stayed behind with Savannah, enjoying the peace and quiet of an empty house! Bella came home with some real "treasures" which included two (rather large and hideous looking) ceramic camels (yes, camels!), haha! Jim scored a beautiful china dinnerware set, which is now on display in our "new" dining room hutch.
We also spent a gorgeous day at the lake. Despite the water (and the air) being chilly, the kids had a fabulous time swimming and playing in the sand. The water was so crystal clear and clean!
Jim and I also took our kids out for a few hours - just the 5 of us - for some "family time". We went on a short hike through a local state park and then we went out for lunch. As the kids get older I'm noticing how much they enjoy going on "nature" walks, which is nice!
At the end of the week we celebrated Bella's 5th birthday. 5 already!! I made her a cake and we got her a couple of gifts. My sister Sandy sent her the Frozen movie, which made for a perfect "movie and pizza" night!
We all woke up early the next morning and went out for a big family breakfast at a place called The Bears Den. The décor at the restaurant was right up Bella's alley - lots and lots of stuffed animal heads and body parts on the walls! Our vacation came to an end as we finished a delicious country-style breakfast and hit the road for the long ride home.
All in all it was a lovely week full of noise, laughter and fun. We only had one incident (which fortunately turned out to be rather minor) when a hornet got caught under Savannah's shirt and stung her multiple times. Suffice to say, we now know that she's not allergic to hornets!
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