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.

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

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!

The Boys and a Toad

Once upon a time….

While I was attempting to secure the wiring for the dog fence I screamed. A big scream for a little toad that happened to scare the life out of me when it jumped out of nowhere and onto my foot.

I can’t quite figure out if I am lucky or unfortunate with Lincoln’s love of ALL living things. He caught the toad and is determined to make a habitat.

I am pretty set on “NO, the toad cannot come inside!” They just want to keep him long enough to show their dad, oh yea!

They took a bucket from a tomato plant and started to work! I am getting a kick out of Lincoln trying to catch a fly to feed the toad.

After some cutting of twigs… Jaxxon’s job, he cut some twigs with pruning shears, they have made a little home. It has a little container with water, dirt and some leaves… no bugs yet. Maybe I should not call the toad an it, for some reason the boys are calling it a she.

She is trying hard to escape… poor toad

They have been sitting out here for an hour making sure their toad is safe. Lincoln is trying hard to make them friends. He keeps picking up the toad, Jaxx is a little afraid of it, he screams like I do!

After dad sees it, they will put it in our garden so it can eat the bugs. They don’t really stop to think he is just gonna hop away!

Watch our garden grow

We are desperately trying to get our garden finished. I keep asking myself, why is this taking so long??? This we we planned to finish. It would be beautiful outside and we would go out to garden, and within minutes, rain!!!!! It has rained all week on us.

We did manage to garden a bit, this crabgrass is crazy! Biggest part of our gardening is pulling it to clear the other space we want to be able to use.

I have discovered that something magical happens when you ask the kids to take pictures for you. Lincoln had my phone to capture Jaxx, and I just love the photos he captured! Jaxx is doing a great job pulling up the crab grass, when he isn’t busy playing with the hose and soaking himself and everything else within spraying distance.

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We plan to finish up this week. Buying more plants!!!!

We currently have 3 different types of tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, cauliflower, dragon peppers, basil and a blueberry bush. I only have a few photos but will keep posting as we watch our garden grow.

It has been a fun project plating together with the kiddos. They are super excited to be able to pick their own food. I am hoping it will make Jaxxon try more veggies….

NEVER HAVE I EVER

I toyed around with this post all night. Do I post or not?? That was really my big question.

So I decided it would be fun to play a little game. Never have I ever… Have you played?

So we recently bought an old farmhouse in Maine, and we love it. Our home was built in 1794, 224 year ago. Additions is mid 1800’s, so still a long time ago.

I would love to see your comments on things that you never ever had to go through prior to moving into a new place of your own.

Here is mine!

Never have I ever had to use a toilet plunger so often.

We have a strict no wipes down the toilet, we don’t need them in the leach field. So that isn’t the cause. But I feel that every few days after the little ones go to the bathroom, we are always having to plunge the toilets. So it made me think. Do these kids poop bigger than they did 200 years ago? Our toilets aren’t 200 years old so it has to be the plumbing system.

What have you encountered that you never thought you would have to go through? Leave me a comment!

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

I honestly have no idea what I am doing here. Who would have thought I would be sitting in front of my computer typing a blog. I usually just share photos on Facebook and Instagram, I don’t even know how to use twitter!!! But blogging it is.

We recently embarked on the journey of our lives. I am a 44 year old mother of 4 and I have always been a city girl. Born and bred right outside of Los Angeles, Ca. How much more city can you ask for. I always had that nudge and tug on my heart to be in the county. And here we are, uprooted and moved to Maine. How much further from CA could we get?

Thank you for joining me on this journey. I will try my best to keep you entertained, once I figure this whole thing out. I think I just need to go day by day and a little back step once in awhile to let you know how it all started.

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton