Fun times at L.L.Bean

We LOVE L.L.Bean!!!  It is such a fun place to go even if you're not planning on buying anything!  There are wildlife exhibits, fish ponds, bridges, concerts in the park and all sorts of other fun things to see and do!  The town of Freeport (just south of where my parents live) is one of the quaintest, prettiest little New England towns and they just made it even better by building an AMAZING parking garage just south of the main street.  From the outside it just looks like another beautiful shopping plaza but then there is an entrance for parking!  From inside you can either walk back down to the lower street level where there are some stores or you can take an elevator up to the new roof/plaza which has stores and restaurants and walks right up to the main street and across from L.L. Bean's main store. 

The Famous Boot!

Inside the kids love to look at the fish tank and go in the bubble where you can see the fish from "inside" the tank!  Rainbow Trout:

Then we took a closer look at some of the wildlife!!!  (all stuffed, thank goodness!)

These moose are pretty amazing!  There was a whole pictured explanation of how they did the taxidermy on the moose.  I liked seeing this a lot because it was new since the last time I'd been there and it was in the camping department which is where Chris used to work (I'm sure he has many fond memories! LOL!)

Livy and Grandpa wait patiently while mommy tries on some hiking boots

Grammie and Grandpa loving every second with Little Miss Liv!

Driving Miss Daisy

A Day at the Beach...what a life!

I LOVE the beach...and aside from family and friends that is what I miss most from Maine, hands down!  I am so glad that I was blessed to grow up by the sea, there is nothing else like it and all the sites, smells and sounds of it evoke some of my fondest memories!

One of our favorite spots consisting of Ocean Park, Kinney Shores and Bayview beaches.  This is the absolute perfect spot because it is where three beaches come together.  At low tide (as pictured) there is a shallow river that is warmer and it is so fun to wade in.  Olivia LOVED stomping in the water and looking for shells.  We had our arms and buckets FULL!!!  There is also a deeper river with a current at Ocean Park that is so fun to float on and jump into. 

The water wasn't that cold actually but it wasn't an extremely warm day.  While the rest of us relaxed, looked for shells and played in the sand my mom ventured in on her boogie board!  She is ocean girl #1 in our family!  I don't even know what we would have done every day in the summer as kids if we hadn't gone to the beach all of the time!

My brother Andrew loves to play and he made an amazing pirate ship with Brady!  First they started off with a lagoon which Olivia played in for hours!

Then they gathered some "materials"...a large log for a mast...

Then they secured it into place

Olivia had a great time dancing in the sand!

And then her clothes came off! 

I let her play naked for the rest of the afternoon and I don't think she's ever had more fun!

(someday she'll hate me for posting these pictures!)

Meanwhile, adventure on the pirate ship had begun!!!

That is one scary pirate!!!

He even went around scaring all of the local townfolk!

His first mate was pretty cute, but he was a rough-tough pirate too!

I think Brady has the best uncle ever!

Then they came upon the naked mermaid!...

...Who used her magic powers to transform the pirates into civil human beings again!

Dad enjoying the day

Bye-bye for now beautiful beach...we hope it's not another two years before we can come back!

The Children's Museum of Maine

My Dad and I took the kids down to Portland to the Children's Museum when we got from our playdate.  Both kids had been worn out from playing and the heat so they slept the way down and were excited to wake up and go play again!

I had grown up going to this children's museum and it was fun to go back and take my children there!  They had a balst and I'm sure they would have played for a lot longer if we'd had the time (or the energy!)

The Many Professions of Mr. Brady Graf...

Firefighter

Astronaut

Forest Ranger/Rock Climber

Lumberman

This was actually Olivia's favorite.  She kept putting the wood in over and over and loved to crank the wheel that dropped it back down again.

Once it settled down a bit Olivia was able to get a turn in the firetruck.  She loved waiting for the light to turn green and red and also pushing the buttons for the horn and siren.

grandpa was very patient with all of the crazy kids in the place and with letting Brady and Olivia take their time in having fun.  Thanks for coming with us dad!

Playdate with friends in Maine

After lunch we drove across the bridge into  Auburn to meet up with a couple of my good friends and their kids for a fun playdate at a park.  Since we've moved from Maine both Jan and Laura have had babies so it was fun to meet Ella and Reece!  Brady and Theron had fun reaquainting as well!

I think Auburn is an under-appreciated town because it has been kind of the "ghetto" of Maine.  It has so much beautiful architecture though and the city has been working hard to re-establish charm and revitalize the downtown.  This is the City Hall and I think it is such a gorgeous building.

This is looking out across the Androscoggin River from the train trussel pathway we were walking along

Two funny boys on an adventure!

Laura and Reece!

Jan and Ella

Ice Cream!!!

Afterwards we had the brilliant idea of taking the kids out for ice cream (it was a scorching hot day!)

This was the first ice cream of the summer...and maybe the last! (I ordered a "kiddie" cone for Olivia and it was HUGE! She was completely covered in ice cream....and since it was so hot Brady's ice cream had dripped all over him as well! Needless to say, I stripped both kiddos down to their "underwear," wipe them with baby wipes and drove them home practically naked!)

Olivia gives kisses and says bye to her new friend, Ella (while Ella tries to escape!)