they had Shrek Karoke dance party on the TV and they went crazy!
Brian and his good buddy John (but they say "Jaaahn"), this friendship goes back to 6th grade
The older kids really looked after the younger ones it was so sweet
these 3 couples get together every other week to play, so all their kids are as close as siblings w/ each other. They were all so sweet to include Abigail in their dance party
another pretty stretch of homes in Portland right down the hill there was the ocean, they must have wicked :) views!
We fixed it, warmed and filled up and Grampa was a hit again in this tasty diner
Gettin tired!
I just had to take some shots of these homes up on the coast, they were so pretty. I looked like a dog hanging out the window freezing to death w/ my camera taking pictures. No shame, I will not miss good Kodak moments! Michael and Brian were good sports, they just turned the heat up in the car and slowed down.
got some granola bar in her belly she came back to life a little
This was an old stone mansion the military eventually used to house married soldiers during the civil war and had an officers club in the basement now vacant it is still so beautiful.
I don't know what he was saying but it looks like he was picking on me about something doesn't it?!
Brian had to take her down for a closer look, I promise, it wasn't as dangerous as the photo makes it look.
She was a wee little bit chilly and starting to get tired but he had to show her his rocks
Brian climbed down for some good pictures of the spray on the rocks
it was funny she really mastered the phrase..."mommy it's really chilly!"
Michael showing the Bit how to hug a light house, not sure why but boy was it cute to watch them!
absolutely breathtaking views
heading back home we happened on some rein deers, how cute are they!?!?!?!? I told Abigail this was near where Santa lived!!!
This was great, they covered her new blue suade mary janes w/ plastic bags and 2 large boys socks to keep her piddys dry.
what a treat she got to see her Grammie so far from home
I love this picture of Brian and his cousins, Andrew who was leaving us to kill some deer in the new fallen snow, and Amy and her husband
my little snow princess!
this was a tree Deana planted as only a sapling when she was a kid, they were so impressed how huge it had gotten over the years
Brian was so excited to share the snow with his girl!
Miss Amy fixed her up good to play in the snow w/ the boys, they live in the house right behind T and Phil so it was easy to scoot home to get Abigail in gear.
Now I see why they love them so much!
She could not have been more thrilled to get to sit at her own table! And she was all about the fish chowda, who knew!?!?
The camera couldn't quite pick up the steam coming off those chowda pots but they tasted so good and warm!
Pretty big trip for a little girl :)
doing some much needed catching up after dinner
After Lonnie (Michael's brother) hung a little one up side down Abigail insisted on her turn to be "upa down", I just wasn't fast enough w/ my camera
I love this 4 generation picture!! Abigail was soooo getting tired of saying "cheese", but it turned out to be a great picture anyway
full and happy watching the family
sweet Aunt Judy got in some good squeezes and smooches w/ Abigail
This is just a great shot of these two on the day
Bri's grandad was so thrilled to see him
these girls were all out wild and fun, Abigail had a blast!
Miss Lynn was so great for her, she warmed right up to her and all her toys she had!
She played hard to get all week w/ her Grampa Mike but boy did she like how he picked on her, don't worry she got him back w/ lots of tickles to his feet when he would relax.Well we made it up and back safe and sound from Brian's home town up in Maine. It was a wonderful trip and couldn't have asked for a better experience for Thanksgiving! It was a long ride up but amazingly our little toddler did out of this world for the 15 hours up and 18 hours back in holiday traffic!!! The little monkey actually entertained us the whole way w/ singing and talking our ears off, it made it almost fun to ride along. We drove the round about way through some of the most beautiful parts of New England. Virginia definitely doesn't hold the copyright on beauty!! I've never seen so many old and incredibly tall church steeples along river banks. Factories w/ huge brick smoke stacks and huge brick buildings that added to the city scape's. Just like the movies portray it. I don't want to live up there but those New Englanders have something very special in all those old towns! We even conviniently got stuck in a traffic jam in Sleepy Hollow outside NY City, we don't know if it was the real Sleepy Hollow but it sure looked like it.
Michael and Lynn were perfect hosts to us for the holiday. They kept the fire roaring for the frozen Virginian in the house and big warm down comforters for the bed. We did something new for Thanksgiving. Lynn's 2 daughters and their crews live close so they do a wonderful tradition of a big breakfast so they don't have to hurt feelings or do 2 turkey dinners that day. It was great! And the kids, Abigail and Marissa had a blast w/ our Abigail Grace. They even warmed us up w/ morning mimosas which caught me a little off guard but could get used to as another tradition (Im sure it was 5 o'clock somewhere!). They had such sweet families and I just sat and smiled quietly at their very Mainard accents and stories. :) It was a wonderful meal though! Very sweet familes, we couldn't tell which kids belonged to which adults they were all so close!
For the afternoon we headed to Michael's brother's place for dinner. It was great to see the family all surprised to see Brian. Some knew we were coming but most didn't. His grandad just wept when he saw him. I love that they are weepy folks like my family, made me feel at home! It was a wonderful meal w/ all the fixins. Abigail took over the place running from person to person stealing squeezes. Our little socialite shows no fear in these situations!
On Friday we took off up further north (if that was possible!) to Christines brother's place. Like it was on cue it started pouring snow for us. It was so beautiful in these old middle of nowhere snow covered towns and with the holiday music on to accompany us it was just perfect. We were welcomed w/ more hugs and love at Aunt T and Uncle Phil's house and warmed w/ hot fish and corn 'chowda'. I have always heard so much about this family it was great to meet them finally. Bri's cousins were there too. We finished our soup and went out for a romp in the new fallen snow. They had to hook us up w/ some make shift snow boots for the Bit but we made do and had a blast together.
On Saturday we headed to the lighthouse at Portland Headlight of Fort Williams to show the Bit. It was cold but beautiful. And again, just like God planned it for us the sun was shining and the sky and ocean looked perfect! We got tons of pictures and made some special memories together w/ Grampa Mike.
That night we got to go visit some of Brian's best friends from high school John and Libby. They welcomed us with a house full of kids for Abigail to play with and lots of warm pasta to fill our bellies with. Abigail played as hard as I've ever seen her play with a million kids of all ages. It was an absolute blast. I could tell Brian was sad to leave. I know he misses home a lot, those are such sweet people how could he not!?
We headed out pretty early Sunday. Some good advice from Michael got us on the road sooner then we planned. And after 4 or 5 bumper to bumper traffic stalls we called it a night in Connecticut. My sweet hubby even splurged a little for his fridged wife and upgraded us to a room w/ a big tub for me to soak my icy bones in. The rain was just coming down too hard to see the lanes so we ended the day to be safe at 7:30. We got an early start and finally made it home by 7 the next night. Again, Abigail made it worth it to be in the car that long. She rarely fussed or even slept. She just sang and read her books, watched some Cinderella and kept us abreast of her ever changing thought processes. God gave us a wonderful holiday weekend and showed me a beautiful part of our country. I promised the Maine clan we would NOT wait 6 more years before returning this time. I declared to Brian on the way home, that I officially fell in love with Maine this trip. It is definitely a special place that Brian's from. If we had a million dollars we would have a summer home there so Abigail could know it too. Maybe we'll stick with renting one every now and then w/ Dee and Gegg!
