Worth a visit, worth a lifetime....

We were so lucky to go on a vacation this last week and it was amazing! We left Thursday morning early and drove to Boston to visit our friends who used to live here in the Cleve. It was great to see them and see their new city life, and the kids had great fun seeing each other again, they just picked up where they left off.





There were so many things we wanted to do and see in Boston, but because our time was limited, we got our priorities straight and headed straight to the American Girl doll store (wearing the matching dresses that Anne surprised us with when we got there). Something magical happens when you walk through the doors, doll lover or not, it takes you over. We spent over two hours in the store and also had an ice cream treat with the dolls.


In front of the store, Carlee was so excited she said she had tears in her eyes.


Checking out Kit's scooter and pup.


Carlee and Ellie looking so cute, such great friends.


Tessa giving Felicity some lemonade.


Molly enjoying her lemonade.


Carlee and her Molly doll.


Tessa and her Felicity doll.


All of us girls!!


Marin was very verbal about her desire for some ice cream.


Carlee was determined to get every last morsel.

I just can't say enough about how awesome the store was and all of the fun things we saw. We let the girls each choose one thing, Carlee chose this (which is very appropriate considering her two broken legs), and Tessa chose this which is so cute and is part of her upcoming birthday present! Oh, and we can't forget about the boys, while we were at the AG store, Andy took him and Hank to the Lego store and they got to choose one thing too!

That night we had Chinese take out from the Lobster Wok, played some Catan, and watched Modern Family. It was fun to just hang out and catch up. The next morning we loaded up again and made the hour and a half drive up to Maine. It was so exciting and strange to be back on the 95 freeway, passing exits that used to be part of my daily routine. We went over one of my favorite bridges and I remembered going on that bridge the first time with KayLee in the car thinking about how cool New England was.




Here is the Biddeford exit. I was taking pictures of everything knowing that I would not be back there for a very long time. The Biddo is so dear to my heart, it was the beginning of so many things for me and our little family.

Our first stop in Maine was for lunch and we hit good ol' Skippers, it is not part of the chain. We always used to go their with Andy's parents and get crab cakes, clam chowder, and lobster rolls, so it was only appropriate. The kids loved the food and were so great to try Ellie's fried clams, YUM!


I will miss you skippers.


Porter and Hank, these two were great buds on the trip.


Love this menu.

After Skippers we headed to the beach house and immediately hit the waves. The kids were crazy and got right in the water even though it was freezing cold. Tessa and Hank were a little skeptical at first, it was funny to see both of them standing at the top of the water yelling down to everyone. Finally I talked Tessa into coming down to the water with me and it is a time that I hope to never forget. We were holding hands and laughing and then I taught her the run away from the waves games. It was so fun to hear her scream with joy as the waves were almost getting her. But more than anything it was fun to be with Tessa watching her see something she had never seen before.


The kids playing in the water.

We had many fun beach days and enjoyed our time just playing and being together, oh and we spent a few time in Freeport at the North Face outlet! It was so great to be in a beach house that was so close to the water, it made it easy to go potty, to make lunch, to have a nap, etc. On to the beach pictures.


Hank the sand monster.


Porter, Carlee, and Tessa (which she was a little hesitant about being buried), but got over it quickly.


Tessa the sand monster, I love that Andy drew a "T" on her, that is something that she is so into right now, everything has to be a "T" (like spaghetti noodles, straws, etc.)

That night we ate a yummy dinner outside in the front yard and after we went to ice cream at one of the best places in Saco.


The crew chowing down (also notice Andy's t-shirt, 5 bucks at the North Face store)


Good ol' Garsides ice cream, the best!


Love this picture of Ellie with her ice cream, she is so cute!!


Group shot on the bench, I think it tastes good.


Mommy and Tessa May, I love my sweet girl and her crazy curls.


My cute family, I love Tessa's smile here.


Leave it to Porter to find a tree to climb.


Back to the beach.


Andy was dead set on teaching the kids how to boogie board.


Even Carlee got it!


Porter was in heaven, and I just couldn't get over the fact that I have children old enough to boogie board by themselves!!


He's such a handsome boy.


Marin was so good about just chillin' on the towel, well for the first day. Then the second day she ventured out onto the sand. Anne said that she looked like a little sea turtle trying to get back to the water.


This right here is why Andy is the best dad. Who else runs around with a purple bucket on their head pulling two little kids around. He was having just as much fun as Tessa and Hank.


Hank was loving this.


Carlee was always looking for treasures on the beach.


Family fun pictures our last night. Thank you Anne for taking the pics!


Funny faces.


Just having fun.


I love this one, even Marin is smiling!!


This shot is so cute too!


Anne with her cute kiddos Ellie and Hank.


Hank loved the boogie board.


Does it get much better than this?


Just so pretty, oh, and Andy threw the frisbee at me.


Also, on our last night we had to do s'mores, just like old times.


Tessa was loving the marshmallows and of course it did not bother her that it was all over her face.


Anne and Hank having a moment.

I really just cannot express how grateful I was to have the chance to get back to Maine. We have not been on a trip like this in forever and it was so great to get away and just do whatever we wanted. It was wonderful to see old friends again and to laugh and share stories. It was so, so, so wonderful to play with the kids everyday and not have to be part of the normal daily grind of cleaning your room, picking up, and doing dishes, we truly just enjoyed eachother. It was wonderful to remember when our family became a family and to remember where my testimony grew. It was fun to go back to Andy's med school and think about our time there when he graduated and being outside with Andy's mom and dad for the lobster bake. It was so great to think of the other families we used to spend time with on Kinney Shores at the 'waters of mormon". I really could go on and on, but what it comes down to is that there will always be a part of Maine in my heart. It is amazing how we were there for only two short years, but it impacted the rest of my life in a huge way. Thank you to Anne and Dave for a great week, and thank you to Andy for working so hard and giving our family the chance to make amazing memories!

Swim Team....

Last week Porter and Carlee had their first swim meet of their lives. It was so exciting and scary, they had no idea what they were getting into. I was so impressed with both of them in such an intense and crazy situation. There were so many kids, tweens, and spectators, just pure chaos, but they still got up on the start block. Carlee and Porter swam freestyle and backstroke and they both did great! Porter actually got 2nd place twice!! Carlee got participation ribbons because a lot of the kids her age were scared and didn't race. My kids amaze me everyday with their courage and great attitude towards trying new things. So with that here is to a great swim season ahead!!


Carlee getting ready for her race.


Race is over and we got a thumbs up!


I love Porter in his jammers.


The boys.


This girl loves Cheetos just like her Dad.


Marin is so good to go along.


Tessa and Marin.

Giving credit where it is deserved....

Thursday night Andy had to attend the intern/resident graduation for the programs at his hospital. He was not planning on attending because he worked at 7a-7p and the dinner started at 7, but he was very encouraged by the ladies in the GME office, so he called me last minute and told me we needed a baby sitter. Finally at about 8 pm they started the whole program, which at the end consists of giving out awards. At this point Marin was tired and had enough so Andy took her out the door to walk her around and kill time. Just then the woman who presents the "Patience with Patients" award stood up. I had this gut feeling that Andy needed to be in the room and I started to panic and I was scanning the room trying to find him. Just then she announced his name as the recipient of the award! About 30 seconds later Andy comes into the room, Marin in arms, red in the face and in complete shock. He could not believe that he won this award, mainly because he won this same one last year!!!! It truly was an honor for him.

About 10 minutes later Dr. Below stood up to present the "Outstand Resident" award. Again, Andy had stepped out to play with Marin and to pass the time, when Dr. Brill said "well folks, tonight is going to be the Andy show as he is the recipient of this award as well". Again, I am panicking and trying to find him, and again, he walks in, Marin in his arms, with an Andy look of shock and trying not to laugh and say "REALLY" out loud.

I think what gets me about the whole thing is that Andy did not believe that he would receive an award that night, let alone two, let alone one that he had gotten before. There was no doubt in my mind that he would get an award. Andy is the hardest worker I know, never, I repeat never, taking a day off work sick, or requesting extra time, let alone, anytime off. In fact next week is the first vacation we are taking alone as a family is many years. He is so friendly and great with his patients. He is a great doctor and a very smart man.

I personally felt so lucky to be sitting next to him that night, it was hard to contain my kisses and hugs when he came back down to sit next to me.

Andy, I am so proud of you and the amazing doctor you are. I hope you have a great final year as Chief, I know you are going to do awesome!! Love you.

The Peanut is popping....

So the other day Andy and I were talking in the living room, (which that in itself should be a blog post, us together in a room communicating, HELLO!) when Marin crawled from his side of the room to mine. That is normal, she has been getting around quite well doing her mermaid crawl as I call it, but the shocker was that she pulled herself up on her toy. I saw her do it and I saw her playing with her toy, but it didn't hit me until Andy stopped talking and asked me if I realized what had happened. For some reason in my mind he had stood her up, even though I saw her do it herself.

Anyway, Marin is getting so big, everyday she is doing more and more, babbling more, going up and down the stairs more, demanding me to hold her more, and I just can't believe it. She is 10 months now and the thoughts of her first birthday party are occasionally crossing my mind.









Oh man, she is a cutie.

Feeling like me again....

So I am going to take some time here to talk about me for a bit. For the past few months I have been on a journey to find myself again, to exercise, and to lose weight.

Being pregnant with Marin was a surprise and something I was not prepared for. I was also so sick and therefore did a lot of laying around, in turn gaining a ton of weight. I am not going to get specific with numbers here, but towards the end of my pregnancy with her I know I hit the 220's, and after that I stopped wanting to know, it was too depressing. After I had her I gave myself the time to heal, to adjust to having four children and often time doing that by myself. But eventually there comes a time where enough is enough. I realized that Andy's schedule was never going to accommodate my need for exercise and I had to do something for me or I was going to fade into a "fat depression" as I like to call it.

So I did one of the hardest things I have ever done, I walked through the doors of a Weight Watchers. Wow, I said it, I joined Weight Watchers. There is not much to say about the program except for that I love it and through the knowledge I have learned there and with the support of some great friends and Andy and even my kids I am no longer in the 190's. I have officially lost just over 20 pounds and am about 12 from my goal weight.

It is an amazing feeling to be able to fit old clothes that have been packed away in the basement for years and to be active again. Weight Watchers had a national 5K race day, you could either walk it or run it, and being that I have done a few of those in the past I knew I could do it if I just tried. It was shocking the first week of being on the treadmill, how just one minute of jogging was hard! But 6 weeks later I did it, I ran (yes, tho whole time) a 5k!! My pal Hillary, who has been through this whole thing with me, also did the race. We paced each other well and together we finished it.

I could go on forever about all the things I am learning about myself, food, other people's issue with food, exercise, etc., but really what it comes down to is that I AM DOING IT. I am no longer complaining to Andy about being fat, I am doing something about it. The other day I went for a run and did 4 miles, my next goal is a 5 miile run on the 4th of July....let their be fireworks under my shoes baby, it's on.


Us gals that ran the race.


Me and my pal Hillary.



On another note, the race I did also did a 1 mile fun run for kids. Porter was all for doing that so I signed him, just like I do for all the things he wants to try. I was nervous for him, I knew he had no ida how long 1 mile was. But he did it, he ran the whole thing and finished in 9 minutes!!! He is amazing.


Here I thought he was going to walk to me and say he was done, but instead he was coming to give Carlee a high five. Also please notice the sweet Utah Ute wrist bands he got from his unlce Mike for his birthday.


The big finish.


Jp and Porter with their medals.