Change is in the air

For all my Cali friends and lack of seasons.. my drive to work!

Don’t judge, I know I shouldn’t take pictures and drive..

I love how empty the road is in the morning. You get the full effect of the beauty.

I know this wont last long…

Can you see the leaves changing?

Got some red in there

Imagine this as your yard, what a view!!!

Mike just loves this so I had to get a picture.

There is a turkey. I actually came to a full stop for this one. Usually they are in groups of about 20, he was all alone.

Probably my favorite color on a tree so far!

Until we meet again….

Lots of firsts

Today the boys started school. First day of school, first date at a new school, first day of junior high, first school day ever in Maine, and the first time taking a school bus. It was a very busy day!

Also, their school called a half day today, FIRST TIME EVER, because it was hot and in the 90’s. Looks like we brought the California summer to Maine, maybe winter will follow suit.

Jaxx was feeling quite a bit nervous, Lincoln was awesome at reassuring him.

We really hoped the bus didn’t forget about them.

Success, they are off.

I couldn’t be more thankful to Jenn who lovingly watched my boys this week while I was at work. I would say first job in Maine, but I work in New Hampshire!

They love being with her and it allows me such a huge comfort and peace of mind.

They went fishing!!

Jaxx was so excited, he kept telling Jenn that he thought fishing would be boring but he was having fun.

He told Mike all about how to put a worm on your hook and how feisty the fish were.

Good people here and a great sense of community.

Back to Reality!!!

I have never had a summer off. #adultingishard

Today I go back to work. Brand new job!

No more lazy days at the pond.

Wildlife Park

Today we went to the Maine Wildlife Park. We had so much fun!

Lincoln struggled a bit with the entrance sign, he seems to think anything living that he comes across should become a pet.

This white deer was my personal highlight. I was so amazed, I had never seen a white deer, not even in a photo.

An albino raccoon!!!

This crazy guy. He seemed so harmless yet, did you see what he eats???

This porcupine was taking a nap! Mike said it was the first porcupine he had seen that wasn’t smashed on the side of the road. Lincoln said it reminded him of his friend Nathan who used to call himself the laziest person ever.

The nature trail was fun, and very pretty.

Moose moose and more moose

We fed the bears, I think it was dog food!

Lincoln screamed like a baby. The one thing that seems to scare him is fuzzy caterpillars, always wondering which ones are poisonous!

Jaxx couldn’t be happier that he saw a fox.

It was a beautiful day!

We were all in awe by this beauty!

And more fuzzy caterpillars

Followed by some fish feeding

Be careful, they bite.

Feeding frenzy!

We had a blast!!!!

Pizza Night Friday, Finally !

The one thing I really missed when we decided to go Keto was pizza. We love pizza but the dough kills us. For awhile we were making pizza with ham as the crust, in a pie tin. It was quite tasty but I was tired of eating “pizza” with a knife and a fork. I wanted to pick up a slice of pizza!

When we moved to Maine, we halfway did Keto. Let me tell you, cheating with a slice or two of pizza tasted so good, until it hit my stomach. Being sick for 3 days for 2 slices of pizza was not worth it!

And here it is, cauliflower pizza crust that works!!! And trust me, they are not all made equal. Here is the Cauliflower crust we use, Cauliflower Pizza Crust. I love that the ingredients are simple.

I cook mine in a toaster over so the directions didn’t work so well for me. I threw my first crust out it was so burnt. I put the toaster over at 375 and cook for 4 minutes. I make sure that my crust is on a pizza pan with holes in it and not a pizza stone. Once that is done I take it out to cool and prepare my toppings. I flip the crust and build my pizza. For this one we did sauce, we use Rao’s Marinara Sauce. You can typically buy it at any grocery store. Walmart has it, about $6.99 a jar but the lowest carb sauce I have been able to locate. Shredded Mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, sausage and roasted garlic. It was so super yummy. The best thing about this pizza is that you can pick it up and eat it like a slice of pizza!!! Bon Apetit!

After cooking the crust and building the pizza

Once it has finished cooking, I usually cook it for about 8 minutes or so, but I make sure to watch it.

Photo Gallery

Just sharing a few pictures today

Mater is alive and well in Maine!

This is Camden. There is city here too!

Reds famous lobster rolls. That is a long line, if only I could eat bread! I may have to just to see if this line is worth it.

When Nature Calls

Life begins again nextweek,in a matter of speaking. The boys go back to school and I go back to work. What a summer it has been. We decided to take advantage of one of our last days home and go to the pond to swim. To our surprise, it was empty!!! Jaxxon was super excited to swim and Lincoln, well not so much. He really didn’t feel like being in the water today. And then a frog beckoned him!

While Jaxx begged for Lincoln to swim and Lincoln kept saying he didn’ t want to be wet, a frog sat waiting. Once Lincoln spotted that frog, the idea of being wet didn’t seem to bother him much, he simply can’t seem to stay away from living creatures in nature.

It is funny to watch him. First is the excitement, “oh my gosh I found a frog!” Next comes fear, “Do you think it is poisonous?” Lastly comes the adventure, “I have to catch this frog!”

And it begins. Suddenly getting wet doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.

And he comes back with a friend.

And I constantly have to explain why we don’t get to keep all of these things as pets.

We had an amazing time in an empty pond .. almost empty

Pow Wow

The other day we spent some time at a pow wow. It was a perfect rainy day

The boys had a great time. They truly enjoy learning about their roots.

Of course it just solidified the idea of them wanting to build a really large teepee in the back, we are looking into that for next year, gotta get through our first winter first.

They had fun playing a game, so simple and yet they were so occupied. Quite possibly one of these games will have to go beside the teepee.

The drums and dancing were amazing. Just standing there and listening really opens up something deep inside. Such a sense of peace and being one with nature.

When You Know it is Right!!

Sometimes we know in our heart we made the right choice but our head isn’t always as sure.

And then something happens that pulls it all together in the right place.

When you walk outside and watch your son making his own rope, as happy and content as can be, you know you made the right choice.

Lincoln definitely belongs in Maine, in the outdoors. He is in his element.

Our 1st Brownfield Day!

It all started with a parade, that happens to begin right at our house. It travels down Main St. to the rec center. This was definitely a fun community event. We stood outside and watched the parade as the driver proceeded to throw candy to the kids, so much candy!!!!!

It was really awesome for the kids to see so many people from their own community coming together in one place. We wondered what the purpose of Brownfield Day was when one man said, “If they didn’t do a day like this none of us would take the time to talk to one another”. I think it was just a fun time to get together and celebrate the community.

My favorite thing was standing at our house and looking down Main St and feeling such a sense of community. We didn’t feel this back in CA. It was pretty cool.

Once we went down to the rec center the fun began, at least for the boys. They had a blast in this inflatable playground that was set up.

20180811_104613 — This face is priceless! Jaxxon loved the slide.

20180811_105016 — I love how daring these kids are. I would have been scared of hitting my nose.

20180811_122148 — And exhaustion sets in…

20180811_105111 — That second jump seemed the hardest, balancing on a wobbly ball to jump tot he next wobbly ball.

20180811_122205 — No part of this looks fun to me!

We took a break for a bit from this madness and the kids had some food. Lincoln went straight for a strawberry shortcake and Jaxxon for a hot dog. He was a bit taken back by the fact that it was pink, even though they are called red. He had me peel off the casing, but otherwise was pretty pleased with the hot dog. You got me happy with No by-products, NO fillers and NO artificial flavors.

We ended with a try at the dunk tank, dunk a volunteer fireman!

20180811_120545

20180811_120535 — And he got him. Good shot Lincoln.

Looking forward to next year, it was a ton of fun!