Snapshots

I recently got a new camera. I chose it because it's purple (naturally) and also because it's supposed to be good. We had a good camera but it technically didn't belong to us (we were "borrowing" it from Jared and Kerstin). Since they moved (sob) we gave it back and got a new one. I've been working on figuring the new one out (I'm no photographer so even when I "figure it out" it's still not stellar). This means, though, that there have been A LOT of pictures lately.
Behold:
Classic Justin:

 Sweet Josie face:

 Squish face:

 Doesn't Clayton look thrilled?:

 Handsome:

 Sammie chose her own footwear. She's been all about boots lately. Girl's got style:

 Bike riding:

Happy girl who feels like she's really accomplished something by sneaking off with the DS (btw: doesn't she look so grown up!?!):

 ELMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!:

 Silly toy pacifier that hardly has anything to suck on but Sammie has claimed it for her own:

 Adorable baby:

 ELMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:

 She thinks my iPad is called "Melmow":

Ham:

 ELMO (and baby)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:

 Ha! Fisheye feature:

Stop growing sweet baby:

Josie (finally) discovered 'The Last Unicorn'!! Anyone else from the '80's remember (and love and treasure) this movie. Loved it in the 80's. Love it still:

 RED OMBRE HAIR! (and you can see my pretty purple camera):

 My girl's jealous of the red ombre. Someday kiddo:

 Josie dressed Disco up:

 "He's a lion! He likes it!" No. No he did not:

Looking at these snapshots (and these are just a few - trust me, there were a billion) makes me realize how great my life is. Love this family of mine!

The Girls and ME!

A few weeks ago I had the chance to go on a great weekend getaway with Missy and Vanessa. These ladies are fun and spontaneous and we had a great time. When I think about all the things that I'm going to miss when we leave Vermont in a few short months these two girls are always on the top of the list. They have become like sisters to me and I really wish that we'd started taking these weekends years ago!
We left late on Friday night and drove to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We stayed in an amazing hotel that Vanessa found for $45 on Priceline.com! It seriously rocked! When we got up in the morning we explored Portsmouth a little. It's a really neat town with a lot of history.
This is a historic mansion that we saw (in the background). The anchor was, of course, fascinating. Missy is hilarious - I no longer wonder where Enoch gets his "monkiness" from!
Me and Vanna in front of the mans. I think it's really interesting how you can get away with painting old buildings crazy colors and they look awesome, but if you were to do that to a modern house, it'd just look dumb.
After we trolled around a little in New Hampshire, we drove on to Maine. Our plan was to see a bunch of lighthouses, but it was so rainy that we had to change our plans. We did find this great seafood place in Maine and stopped there for lunch. I am NOT a seafood fan - I usually try to avoid it at all costs, but I figured that since we were going to be in Maine I needed to make the most of the experience and try some seafood. I have to admit, I REALLY liked it! (Yes, this shrimp plate was huge, yes it was delicious, and yes I ate just about the whole thing.)
We did stop to see this cool old lighthouse on our way to Portland. It was raining so I just jumped out for a photo op. The lighthouses are definitely worth a see. If you ever get a chance to go to Maine - take it!
Because of the rain, we shopped instead of lighthoused. Portland has so many great outlet shops - it was wonderful. They also have the L.L.Bean flagship store. So of course you need to take a picture with the boot!
After dinner at Macaroni Grill (we were so excited to see it - Vermont doesn't have one) and a stay in a slightly questionable motel we woke to blue skies and warm temperatures! Perfect sightseeing weather! We were so happy. We started by exploring downtown Portland. It reminded us a lot of Church Street in VT with its quirky shops and 'interesting' characters.
In front of the home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (the poet).
Missy and I being vandals.
This is a mural that was painted on the side of a building. It looked so real that I had to touch it!
After we finished exploring downtown Portland we started on our lighthouse tour. I don't remember the names of all the lighthouses we saw, but I do remember that they were all pretty in their own ways.
Lighthouse #1. Yes, we are goofy. It's one of the many things I love about Missy and Vanessa.

Lighthouse #2. This one had a really great rock walkway that took you right up to the lighthouse. Gorgeous.
Lighthouse #3. This is one of the most popular ones. I can totally see why, it's gorgeous.

I love the ocean!
We are really cheesy and posed in this picture (okay, mostly just me) but I love this view of the lighthouse so I had to throw it in.

The ocean again. It's different than the Pacific. I think I prefer the Atlantic. As we continued our sightseeing we stumbled across this little gem. Lenny the worlds largest chocolate mouse. I think it was constructed in the early 90's or something. Anyway, it's really old. So I don't think anyone would actually want to eat it at this point.
Me and my 'lahbstah' roll. It was...interesting.
Missy and Vanessa in the 'rock'ing chairs.
One of my favorite pictures from the trip.
Our last stop was Kennebunkport. What a lovely oceanside town (home of one of President Bush's vacation homes - we saw it - not that spectacular). Anyway, they had these crazy signposts everywhere. I have to wonder how anyone could find anything!
After a few hours of sighseeing in Kennebunkport we headed back home. I know that my post of this vacation is a little random and scattered (my fault - I should have posted about it right away), but it was great fun. For more (better) details, you can check out Vanessa's blog here and here, and Missy's blog here. This was a fun and relaxing weekend trip, I hope we can squeeze one more in before we all go our seperate ways. Thanks girls, I think you're the best!