Summer in Maine.

Last month, we visited Sean’s parents at their house in Maine. We’ve done lots of weekend trips before but this was the first time we stayed for a whole week! We tried to include all the Maine things — a little something for everyone plus a mix of things we’ve done before and places that were brand new.

I spent a few weeks brainstorming things we should do while we were in Maine and we did give it a lot of thought. It’s hard to travel anywhere with four kids but it’s totally fun and worth it, too. But I think it’s important to note that on the way home from the trip, when we asked the kids what their favorite parts of the week were they all said things that had nothing to do with any of the outings! Javi said his favorite part was playing with Dook (that’s what they call Sean’s stepdad), Lola said painting, doing crafts with Boonya (that’s what they call Sean’s mom) and playing with her baby doll, and Eva said being all together. Her favorite part of the week was being all together.

We did spend a good amount of time at home relaxing — watching movies, playing together, cooking and eating together. But of course, a trip to Maine wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the beach.

One morning we spent time at an aquarium. The kids loved seeing the colorful lobsters (there was a blue one, a yellow one and an orange one!), exploring the creatures in the touch tank, and doing a jellyfish craft outside.

We brought a picnic lunch to a sweet little spot near the water. The kids loved the rope swing and Sean and I kept thinking about the song I came in like a wrecking ball…

We visited Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and managed to find all five trolls! Two required a pretty long walk so we were very proud of the kids for making it! They also had beautiful flowers (obviously), a really cool children’s area, and a very cool fairy garden.

We went back to the Desert of Maine! This was a place we had visited a few years ago and really enjoyed. It’s even better now. The kids completed their entire scavenger hunt and had a blast.

One afternoon/evening, Sean and I went out by ourselves while the kids stayed with grandparents. We went to the lighthouse where we got engaged, went to a few small stores and out to dinner!

When I was researching “things to do in Maine”, the Maine Wildlife Park showed up. We saw a lynx, cougar, bears, foxes, a MOOSE (!) — it was great. All the animals at the park are native to Maine.

We visited an old Fort — the kids LOVE going into the really dark dungeons (they are literally dungeons…)

It was a really fun trip! It was Walker’s first time up to their house and he did great (maybe a little less sleep than normal…) — but all in all, it was such a success!