Weekend in Maine

Over Memorial Day weekend we decided to take advantage of our close proximity to Maine and take a little Rigg family vacation. Being there with just our own little family was awesome. Definitely made me feel all grown up with our family of four.

DAY 1:

Our first day there we went to Perkins Cove in Ogunquit and took the girls on a lobstering boat tour.

On the deck with Daddy getting ready to board The FINESTKIND lobster boat.

The lobster boat was awesome. They took us out to sea and we pulled up big lobster traps and got to touch the lobsters, learn about which ones you can keep or throw back, and see lots of other fun sea creatures that came up in the cages.

Teya found this little starfish that washed aboard and was instantly smitten. We saw giant lobsters, hermit crabs, snapping crabs, and even had a flounder flop into Taber's lap. But when we asked Teya what her favorite part was without hesitation she said, "baby starfish." : )

My favorite part was holding this giant 8 lb lobster daddy. The thing was seriously bigger than our dog!

Here's another pic of the captain holding him so you can really see what a monster he was! (average lobsters that you eat are like 1-2 lbs, so this guy was a beast! You can't keep them when they're over 5 lbs though because they want those big guys out in the sea for breeding. So after we all got to see it they sent him back to the ocean.

After our boat ride we did some exploring around the cove and then we stopped to eat at Barnacle Billy's. After all our hard work lobstering it only seemed natural to go and eat one!

DAY 2:

The next day we decided to hit up the beach. Taber had done a nice 7 mile run on it the night before so he knew just the right spot to take us.

Teya was off like a lightening bolt running in and out of the water. It was COLD!! like, numb my feet cold, but she didn't even care. That girl loves the ocean. Brinley stuck close to me and Taber but definitely had fun splashing around.

We spent several hours there splashing, digging, walking, listening and relaxing.

Splash puddles. They never get old.

Brinley the little Mermaid

Teya in her giant sand pit creation that we built to stop the incoming tide from getting our towels wet. We left before the tide made it in but she sure loved digging it.

After the beach Brinley took a much needed nap while Taber and Teya continued swimming at the hotel. Then it was dinner at the beach fire grill, ice cream at a homemade ice cream shop, and bed for some tired little travelers!

DAY 3:

On our last day there we left Ogunquit and went to check out the beaches down in York, Maine. We found one with a great little park and the girls had a blast playing there.

Then we went to the famous Goldenrod Candy store where you can watch them pull the homemade taffy right there in the window. We loaded up on sugar and then poor Brinley just crashed. I was trying to take a picture of her zonked out on Taber's shoulder when this lady offered to take one of all of us so I said "why not?"

On our way out we did a quick stop at the Nubble light house. Can't go to Maine without visiting a light house right? The kids were both asleep in the car so we jumped out for some quick pics. My hair is a little skiwompous because it was so windy but at least you can see how pretty it was.

Sadly all good things must come to an end. It was hard coming back from vacation but I'm so glad we had the chance to see some lovely parts of Maine, and most importantly, spend some great quality time together as a family.

Business Trip Crashers

Top 10 highlights of crashing Taber's business trip:

1) We got to stay at a fancy schmancy resort where everyone treated Teya and Brinley like celebrities since this wasn't exactly a place you'd expect to see kids.

2) Room service! I don't know why I love it so much but I do.

3) Staying up late and watching movies in bed with my girlies.

4) Swimming in the deliciously warm heated pool

5) Having the pool all to ourselves while we were there!

6) exploring the beautiful grounds in beautiful weather

7) Having time to stop and smell the flowers.

8) Meeting up with Taber during his breaks and just being able to see him so much while we were there.

9) Stopping at the Ice House for some Giant ice cream cones that were soo good!

10) Spending uninterrupted time with my kids without any distractions or obligations.

When Taber found out he would be staying at a beautiful resort in the nearby coastal town of Portsmouth he invited us to come along. We were happy to come and escape the heat in our non air-conditioned house! It turned out to be tons of fun and super relaxing. Something so nice about not having to worry about chores, house cleaning, or other obligations. We got home today and thankfully the temperatures have cooled down! We're heading to Maine for Memorial Day weekend but when we get back we're installing some window A/C units!

Spontaneous Beach Day

On Tuesday the forecast was calling for temperatures in the 90's. Normally that would be fine except for one major problem. Our house doesn't have air conditioning. Apparently that's not totally unusual out here in New Hampshire since supposedly it doesn't get very hot. Well I wasn't about to turn into a baked potato in my house so when my friend Becca, who also doesn't have AC, called and invited me on a last minute beach trip I said, "Heck Yeah!"

We drove out to Hampton, about an hour or so from where we live. It took us awhile because everyone in the state of New Hampshire seemed to have the same great idea ; ) Once we got there though it was so worth it!

This was Teya and Brinley's first real beach experience and holy cow did they LOVE it! The tide was out so there were lots of little shallow puddles to play in. Teya ran and ran up and down the water front. Brinley tried to keep up but ended up settling for puddle splashing closer to me.

I took a million pictures because 1) I have a habit of doing that anyway and 2) Seeing my kids at the beach for the first time was just sooo stinking cute!

After about 20 minutes of running like a crazy person up and down the coast, Teya settled down with her buddy Isaac to work on sandcastles.

A lot of digging and splashing was in involved.

Then Teya discovered a giant puddle/pond where she could really swim around.

It was nice because the puddles were a lot warmer than the ocean so the kids loved them.

Puddle Bellies

Even though we didn't plan for it, I can't think of a better way we could've spent the day. Thanks Becca for inviting us and helping us escape the heat : )

Brainy Baby

Brinley has been singing her ABC's for awhile now but this is the first time I've heard her pretty much nail the whole song. She even sings the, "Now I know my ABC's, next time won't you sing with me " part at the end. Keep in mind she still speaks "Toddlerease", so the sounds get jumbled a bit, but not bad for 22 months.

p.s. please ignore her hair. I promise I do it sometimes. maybe....

Brinley's ABCs from Rigg Family on Vimeo.

Banana Crumble Muffin Recipe

Here it is for those who asked! Click here: Awesome banana muffins

I added a 1/2 tsp vanilla and substituted 1/3 cup of olive oil for the butter to lose the trans fats : )

Go Bananas!

Remember these? There were over 150 bananas in that lovely loot. A few more than our normal 24 per week quota. : )

And since bananas go bad pretty quickly, we had to get busy. We chopped up half of them and frooze them for smoothies later on. And then I started baking. The Banana crumble muffins I made were just heavenly. Ended up making them twice last week.

Then we discovered an easy and A-M-A-Z-I-N-G recipe for bananas foster. HOLY BANANA-RONI! Had to make that twice too.

After the bananas foster I thought maybe I should try something a little healthier. I found a weightwatchers recipe for Banana Oat bread. Very hearty and quite filling.

On Sunday morning the girls helped me make banana pancakes. We topped them with the most divine homemade banana syrup. Taste bud nirvana.

Strawberry/banana and chocolate/banana smoothies were also a big hit for breakfast during our banana week.

And of course, whenever the girls wanted a snack, they still asked for plain old bananas. : )

People thought we were crazy taking home all those bananas but my Dad always taught me, "Waste not, want not. " Dad, I hope this makes you proud : )

"Collapse Complete"

That was the headline of the Sports Section Saturday morning after the Boston Bruins sealed their place in the hall of shame as only one in 3 teams EVER to lose a series after being up 3-0 after game 3. I don't know how they choked so bad but we were there to witness the final meltdown in game 7.

The house was packed, the fans were on fire. I have never been in a more fiesty and pumped up crowd. They wanted to send the Flyers packing and they were thirsty for blood!

At the end of period 1 the Bruins were up 3-0! The excitement in the arena was electric.

We were dutifully playing our part as fan wanna-bes, sporting Bruins t-shirts and waving our rally towels with hardcore devotion.

But things went sour very quickly. Philly scored twice and the Bruins fans started getting antsy. When a third goal was scored tying the game, a fight broke out in the stands next to us with a Boston and a Philly Fan slugging it out. The whole arena turned to watch the fight and then began chanting "LET HIM STAY! LET HIM STAY!" when the security guys were escorting the Boston fan out.

The fans rallied around their team for one last push. People were up on their feet, screaming, stomping, cheering those Bruins on to end. But Philly scored again and somehow the Bruins went from this score:

to the most pathetic and dismal loss I've ever witnessed. When the final buzzer went off everyone started booing and throwing their towels on the ice. People were throwing their beer too which wasn't cool when it started raining down on us. As we were leaving I heard more potty language than I have in my entire life. On the way out we saw grown men close to tears yelling things like,

"41 games of my *bleeping* time and *bleepity bleep* money! What a waste!"

"I'm Humiliated! *bleeping* HUMILIATED!"

It was sad.

Guess that's the benefit of just being a wanna-be fan. : ) Despite the doom and gloom around us were still in high spirits. We had a babysitter and we were in Boston on a Friday night! Heck yeah!

We hailed a pedicab (I've always wanted to ride one!) and weaved through the game traffic to the Omni Parker House hotel, birthplace of the very first Boston Cream Pie.

While thousands of dejected Bruins fans were drowning their sorrows in beer, we were happily enjoying this marvelous creation.

When all was said and done I learned a few important things from our evening in Beantown.

1) Boston fans are passionate and they mean business. Don't mess with them or their teams or you might get punched in the face.

2) Pedicabs are awesome, and pedicab drivers deserve every penny you pay them because they work HARD!

3) If coming out here to visit us isn't enough incentive for you, at least come for the Boston cream pie. Amazing : )