Old Orchard Beach

Steve's family were all in Maine having a week's holiday at the beach. We had decided not to go because we had lots on- two meetings, a dinner and Steve's classes- but it was always in my mind that it's really only 6 hours away and it's so important for the boys to spend time with their grandparents and cousins so maybe we should go anyway. So on Monday night at about 10pm I asked Steve what he would think if we went down without him and he was all for it. So I ran around and threw a few things into a bag and said I'd decide for sure in the morning. The morning was beautifully sunny and We had had a good nights sleep so we ran around grabbing some more stuff, Steve packed the car for me, I made a picnic and off we went.

5 and a half hours was actually more like 8 and a half after all our stops. For the main picnic stop we found a lovely spot down by a river and spent an hour throwing rocks in the water. A woman and her two year old daughter stopped to chat and we had one of those encounters you usually only have when travelling- we shared our life stories and talked quite deeply for an intense hour or so and then it was time to part ways and never see each other again. I didn't even get her name! But her daughter was called Anna, pronounced the scandinavian way and we had a lot in common. Brendan managed to whack her in the head accidentally with a rock but her mother dealt with it the same way that I would.
At our lunch stop. Tadhg did a few rolls down the hill but I had anticipated it and was between him and the river so that I could catch him. He was like a runaway ball or something. We all thought it was hilarious.
We also stopped at a gravel pit and a bakery to cheer Tadhg up. Brendan was so good but by the last half hour we were all totally fed up and were really pleased to arrive.

Tommy, Linda, Scott, Shannon and the boys were there. Scott and Shannon didn't know we were coming and we woke them up from their nap and Brendan was a little crazy from being stuck in the car all day but we all recovered and went out to their usual fish restaurant.
I just love seeing the boys with their grandparents. It makes me miss my parents a lot more for a while but hey ho, can't do anything about that :) I had intitally wanted to call Tommy and Linda granny and grandad but am possibly changing my mind. Partly because Brendan is picking up Nana and Papa from Scott and Shannon when they say it within earshot anyway, but mostly because when we look at pictures and tell stories of my parents and I use the words granny and grandad then it's just confusing so maybe I should refer to them with the different terms. I don't know, I guess we'll just go with the flow and see how it pans out. Tommy and Linda are good at saying granny and grandad considering it's not the norm for them and they don't seem to mind it so we'll see. Anyway, does it really matter we use one term and the cousins use another? It was like that for us and our cousins and worked fine. Maybe I should just not think about it so much :)

Anyway, we had a good time on the beach, played with Dustin and Duncan, went looking for trains, did some shopping, walked around a bit, had a couple of nice meals, spent an evening sitting outside with a beer while all four kids slept. But we missed Steve of course, and Brendan has got to the stage where he can ask where his daddy is. Heartbreaking sometimes.

I'd love to post some pictures but I didn't take any! Not for want of trying. I either left the camera in the room or just didn't have enough hands for taking pictures. I intended to get one of all the boys together and Tadhg on the beach (He is the same age now as Brendan was when we first went to Old Orchard Beach) So hopefully Tommy will email us a few and we can add them on here after.

Have a busy week and weekend ahead. A doctors appointment for jags, a birthday party, playgroup, a fishing and lunch thing on Sunday. And on top of that, I'm now vice president for Birth Matters which makes me feel like I have to live up to the name and be productive! I have some work to do for that and CISV too. Oh, and I'm also going to the Breastfeeding Promotion Group's meeting tomorrow morning to see if I can get involved. The garden needs some work and I need to start sewing a few things for our trip (mini sheet sleeping bags, little gloves for Tadhg to keep the mosquitoes off but which won't have insecticide on them, a bag for the trip and something else that I've temporarily forgotten about. That list is long enough anyway)