Every summer our family enjoys a trip to New Hampshire. Last summer we took a surprise weekend trip with the kids to Church Landing at Mills Falls.
Church Landing is the newest of the Inns at Mills Falls. It sits right on Lake Winnipesaukee with wonderful views of the water and a beautiful boardwalk along the lake to the marina.
Check out the beautiful accommodations.
Last summer on our trip to New Hampshire my parents took us to a place called the Sculptured Rocks. It was an extremely hot day out so the cold cold river water, felt very refreshing. Since we seem to be a family that likes to partake in traditions, we visited this location again last week on our surprise trip with the kids.
The beginning of our trip started off very cold, rainy and grey; but as the days went on, the storms rolled out and the sun was out every day with temperatures rising each day.  By Wednesday it was extremely hot.  So we decided it would be a great day to head out to the Sculptured Rocks again and revisit this popular swimming hole.  The river runs over rocks, and there are a few deep crevasses where those who dare, jump from the high rocks into the deep pools of water.
Here is a slideshow from our recent visit. Â If you happen to be in the Groton, New Hampshire area on Newfound Lake, you should definitely check this place out!
It’s that time of year again, I start to feel anxiety about my children ending a school year. Â It is not about them going on to summer vacation; but that they are going moving up into a higher grade. Â Last year it was harder because my son was leaving one school and starting another. Â With the end of the school year comes my son’s birthday. Â This year he is going to be nine….. NINE! Â How is it possible that I gave birth to my first born child nine years ago already??? Â I remember the day(s) like it was yesterday. Â There’s always this underlying anxiety I feel when Spring comes around, the past few years. Â I wasn’t sure what it was until last year when I realized it. Â It’s my children moving on.
I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts called Laugh or Go Crazy and Michele, the host was saying how she was feeling that life was going by too fast.  She was also mentioning that her oldest boy was getting older and that she was also feeling emotional about it.  I thought it was interesting that she helped me identify what I was feeling.  So I need to work on embracing the changes, accepting it, and to feel proud for my children.  They are learning, growing, blossoming and I have to enjoy every moment of their young lives!
When we were on vacation a few weeks ago the vacation was so different from years past. Â They are older now, can ride all of the rides that they want, my daughter is a roller coaster junkie as much as my son is, and they walk everywhere! Â No more strollers. Granted, the times when we did use the strollers was easier because we loaded them up with all of our crap so if the kids got out of them they tipped over; but we always knew where the kids were. Â Now we have to hold their hands or have our eyes on them constantly. Â They walked everywhere in Disney but did not complain about it! Â Even on the late nights when we closed the Magic Kingdom and Aquatica!
I see friends and family having babies and think of how much work it is to have a baby. Â Those years are a blur to me now. Â They were very hard times, but joyful, rewarding times. Â But they were a lot of work. Â Now with our kids being 7 and 8 it is a different kind of hard work. Â We are managing a full calendar with activities at school and sports and play dates. Â When they were babies we were home a lot so they could nap or have their bath and be ready for bed. Â These days, it is a treat to be at home for a night.
Someone once referred to me as fun-loving. Â I have been thinking about that a lot lately. Â I DO love to have fun! Â I love to make adventures for the kids and my family. Â I love to make memories. Â I want them to think back on their childhood or their lives and remember all of the good times we had, like taking walks at night in the dark on Christmas eve, or playing soccer in the driveway on New Year’s Eve. Â Searching for golf balls in the field at night after walking through the cemetery. Â Each and every vacation, to Disney and New Hampshire. Â Trips to the beach to ride bikes, stealing corn from the corn field while riding bikes…. Â There are so many. Â Enough that we made a memory jar to add these special memories into so we can enjoy a meal and open these pieces of paper next New Year’s Eve and laugh and re-live the memories of the past year.
I love that the kids are growing up, but I want to keep them little for as long as I can!
This past week was our last vacation of the summer. It was also the last full week of the kids’ summer vacation. Like we had done last year, we went up to New Hampshire and stayed at Newfound Lake. It was a beautiful week for this vacation. The weather was very hot; which makes for perfect vacationing on a lake of course!
We arrived on Saturday afternoon by 5 p.m. unloaded the car, and made a journey over to Wal-Mart to get the groceries we would need for the week. Last year I thought I was going to have a meltdown in that store. So I warned the kids to help me get through the dirty deed and to be on their best behavior so I don’t have a wig out. Mission accomplished! We were out of there relatively quickly and got back to the house and made an awesome taco dinner!
Since it was too late to go swimming, we chilled out at the house for the night watching Teen Beach 2! It was so fun watching that with my parents and they recognized the resemblance to the earlier days of Annette Funicello.
After a good night’s sleep I lazily took my time getting moving in the morning and eventually hit the road for a run around 10:30. Bad move. It was really hot out and the sun was very strong. But I successfully got in a 3 mile run. The kids and my husband and my mother were at the beach so after my shower I joined them. A great day of fun at the beach and then we wrapped up the night with a great dinner at home with burgers on the grill, followed by some American Ninja Warrior on demand to wrap up the night.
On Monday we designed our #summeroffun2015 T-shirts for the whole family. It was quite a production but the overall results were great! After designing our shirts, we had lunch and went to the beach again on a very hot and humid day with temps close to 90 degrees. The kids were in the water almost the entire day. Even Poppa got in the water!
We went out to dinner at a Seafood and BBQ joint in Plymouth and then when we got home we had poppa and Kevin drop us off at the top of or street and we walked from there to the beach to get out steps in. The night was beautiful and we could hear the kids at Camp Berea singing. We stood on the dock and looked out at the beautiful view in the evening and then walked back to the house to watch American Ninja Warrior again (see a theme here?).
Tuesday was yet again another very very hot day and we were in no rush to get moving so we decided we’d like to spend the afternoon at the Sculptured Rocks in Bristol. That was so much fun! Mimi made her way down the river with her new knee; yet last year she was barely able to walk through the woods on the walking trails! Poppa keep guard on us from the path in the woods and protected our phones when we were getting into areas that were too deep or slippery. God forbid we have anything happen to our phones; but we were using then to take pictures of our adventure. The water was ice-cold but the temps outside were so hot that it felt wonderful, even when you slipped into a deeper section than you were anticipating.
Everyone was disappointed to leave so I made the suggestion that we all go get ice cream! No arguments there! We went to Shackette’s and enjoyed some ice cream cones to cool off with and then made our way back to the house to ride bikes and play at the beach yard.
We made pizzas on the grill for dinner that night and then watched America’s Got Talent. We were excited to be watching it live so that we could vote for who we liked.
Wednesday was already upon us and it was still warm again so we decided to take a journey across the lake to a bakery that had a gift shop. After that we went back to the house and had lunch and went to the beach for the afternoon. Some storms started to roll in and I decided that I wanted to get a run in before dinner so I checked the radar, changed quickly and took my chances to get in a short run. The air was starting to move when I first was out there; but then the sun came back out and it was a sauna again. I got in a 3 mile run; took a quick shower and helped make dinner.
Steak and chicken on the grill with fresh squash from our garden and corn on the cob. It was delicious and it was so nice to have these delicious meals at home each night with everyone. After dinner we had to watch the results show of America’s Got Talent! It was fun to vote live and see if our votes made a difference (in the end our contestant did not make it in, but we tried!)
On Thursday we were going to visit Kevin’s family on Lake Winnipesaukee so when I got up I headed out quick for a run, showered and we went over to their house to visit. It was wonderful. There was a strong breeze and the kids were so excited to play with Sofia and meet their new cousin Penny. Kevin was so attached to the baby. I had the chance to hold her and was able to get her to sleep and had the pleasure of snuggling with her while she napped for an hour! It was so relaxing to hold a 3 month old and she was such a little sweetie. These are special times. We don’t get to see Jen and Greg and their kids as often and Kevin and Adrienne were so sad when they had to leave. I had to bribe them with ice cream after dinner so they wouldn’t be so sad!
When we got back to the house the kids and I took a walk before dinner and my mom made spaghetti and meatballs. It was delicious and we were able to eat it outside without being chewed alive by the bugs. Adrienne put on a little fashion show for us with some new outfits Mimi bought her that day and then we went out for ice cream. On the way home I hijacked my dad’s truck and Kevin got to take his first ride in the front seat of a car and Adrienne sat in the jump seat in the back! They got a kick out of the “old-fashioned car” with crank windows and a stick shift. These are the memories.
After we got back I taught Kevin how to play War with cards. He got a kick out of the game and Adrienne was playing tick tack toe with poppa. We were having a fun time playing games and chilling out at the house. This is what vacation is all about.
During the night that night we lost power at 2 a.m. and the night was blacker than black. I was up the minute it happened and was worried that the kids were going to freak out. Then about 10 minutes later they were up. So I laid with them in bed but it was hard for us to fall back asleep with out the fans on and the dead silence. The power came back on around 5:00 a.m. and we all got a few more hours of sleep.
Friday was a rainy morning so we stayed at the house, played cards, fought a little about the cards, I did some work and then we made plans to take a walk to the beach. Just as we were about to go, the skies opened up again. So we waited and then went out, while the kids rode bikes. That night we made dinner reservations to go to the Homestead Restaurant in Bristol. It was so much fun. My favorite part was when my son was asking about funny family stories after we ate, so we were all sitting around reminiscing about many funny things that happened when I was a kid. The food was so delicious there, and the kids were so well-behaved, it was a great time.
When we got back, I told the kids we should grab some flashlights and head down to the beach for a walk. So the whole family gathered up and we went down to the lake and admired the still water, the bright stars in the sky and the peace and quiet that you see at the lake at night! The kids thought that was the greatest thing going for an adventure walk at 10:30 at night!
This vacation was all about making memories and the best part was when my son wanted to relive some memories. Tonight when we get home my parents will be coming over to make s’mores on our back deck so we can continue the stories of memories for the kids to enjoy.
They are growing up way too fast and as much as I usually cry when we leave New Hampshire I felt ok leaving this time. I was dreading them going back to school next week, I needed to do a 17 mile run Sunday and then I had to drive to Boston at 5 a.m. on Monday for a conference. But all in all, that’s life and I will be with friends at the conference, and the kids are looking forward to going back to school. So hearing them tell me that made it easier for me.
Now to plan our next little family outing so we can have something else to look forward to together!
