Sarah and Tau in NH Part 2: Maine!!

One of our favorite things to do when family's in town is take a day trip to Ogunquit Maine for some lobster boating and beach time.

When we went with Sarah and Tau there were only enough seats on the lobster boat for 5 of us, so we sent Brinley with the Ioane fam and Taber and I stayed back with Cam and Teya. Cam took a little nap in the car...

While Taber and Teya did some exploring in the tide pools.

Teya found lots of shells and this little starfish. She was one happy little explorer.

After the lobster boat we stopped at Oarweed for some lobster and fresh seafood. The food was delish but eating at a sit down restaurant with 5 children 6 and under turned out to be...well... challenging :)  Worth the chaos though for authentic Maine lobsta!

When we came out of the restaurant we spotted good old George Bush senior eating at Barnacle Billy's. That's him in the yellow shirt and Barbara's on the left in a fancy neon pink hat.

The Bush family took off shortly after followed by a black secret service boat. The political nerd in me was pretty star struck by this "celebrity" sighting. 

After lunch it was time for ice cream. Brinley was taking no prisoners with that cone!

Then we walked around and enjoyed the cove for a bit. 

I love this pic of the girls running with al the boats in the background. So picturesque and beautiful there. If you're ever in Maine, Perkins Cove is a must! (and apparently George Bush thinks so too!)

Ogunquit beach is 5 minutes from Perkins Cove so that was our next stop.  Happy little water babies!

How cute is Brinley is this picture? seriously love that girl.

Noa and Brin Brin splashing in the ocean

Big smiles from me and mini-me 

Everyone was happy but Mr. Cam, who didn't get much of a nap and was a tired cranky baby.

I said, "say cheese!" and this is the look he gave me. Like "Where is my bed mom? Why are you doing this to me? I am not amused."

Poor guy finally fell asleep in my arms and snoozed there for over an hour. Bless is sweet little heart.

Everyone else was having a great time though. Sand, water and sun, hard combo to beat!

Sarah took these cute sand pics with her kids. Love them.

The Ioane fam! This has Christmas card potential, don't you think?

We played at the beach till past 6pm. It was a fabulous day for sure.

Sadly all good things must come to an end, and soon it was time to pack up and head home. "Don't make me leave!"

We had such a great time with Sarah and Tau. So happy they were able to make the trek out to visit. Having family in town is the BEST!! Love you guys!!

Sarah and Tau visit NH Part 1

 Last month my little sister Sarah and her hubby Tau came out to NH with their kiddos to play for a whole week!

Our kids are close in age so that made it fun. Brinley and Noa are 1 month apart and Micah and Cam are 6 months apart. Bunch of little cuties.

And here's the best shot we could get with all of them including Teya and Monty. Brinley's goof face makes me smile since the majority of the pictures of me as a kid look very similar :)

While they were here we had some good times on the trampoline. Love this pic of Teya launched in the air ready to crack the egg (aka Tau)

 We also hit up the Boston Children's museum

I was on Cam duty at the museum so most of my pics are of him, but I managed to capture a few of Micah, Noa and Sarah too.

 I also made Sarah carry this around at the museum to upgrade her status from cool to uber awesomeness. Totally worked. :)

 After the kids were in bed each night it was game time. We played Settlers, Monopoly cards, and banagrams.

  One night Tau decided he wanted to bake a cake. So he did. And then he ate a piece as big as his head. It was kind of amazing.

On Memorial Day the grill master worked his magic and grilled up some delectable ribs.

 Mouth watering.

(oh and the ribs look pretty good too ;)

Another highlight was being able to have a girls night out with my sissy! We curled our hair and got all fancy.

We ate some fabulous seafood at Burtons and chatted and laughed the night away. Nothing quite like sister time. 

While they were here we also took a day trip up to Maine but I took so many pics that it will take a separate post to cover them all, so stay tuned! Part 2 coming soon...

AK Rigg's come to NH!

Last month we were super stoked to host Taber's nephew Paul and his wife Shug, who flew in from Alaska to take in the sights New England.

First sight: Main Dunstable Elementary school for the Spring Fling Carnival! Lol! Okay, maybe that's not very touristy but the kids were excited to have Paul and Shug there.

It was a bit rainy so most of the fling was indoors, but the kids got to ride ponies and check out a petting zoo before heading inside. The Goat liked eating Cam's pants, it was pretty funny.

Inside there was face painting, bounce houses, carnival games and best of all, cotton candy. The girls were thrilled.

Since Taber was working and Teya was in school, Paul and Shug went out on their own during the week for some sight seeing in Maine and Vermont. But in the evenings once the kids were down, it was all about Settlers of Catan. I think we must've played 8-9 games while they were here. Sadly, I only won ONE of those games, but oh what a sweet victory it was! ;)

When the weekend rolled around Paul and Shug invited us to come down to Cape Cod and stay with them at their friend's 5 bedroom beach house. We were like, "well...if you're going to twist our arms..." kidding! We were so excited!

The kids loved being near the ocean and spent hours playing on the rocks and collecting treasures.

 Paul and Shug with Taber and the Brinster

 Daddy and the Rigglets

 The girls with their collection of treasures

Handsome boys

 And I was there too! 

Always behind the camera but here's one shot to document my presence : )

 The first morning there we got up and cooked the most amazing breakfast ever! deep friend pancakes with strawberries and syrup, crispy bacon and the most divine scrambled eggs I've ever eaten. Twas a feast fit for kings!

Then we hit up the beach. Brinley wasn't shy about showing her enthusiasm. She was lovin' it!

 Sand Mermaid, never gets old!

 We had a great time, digging, splashing, throwing the frisbee and playing outside. We ended up staying down there for 2 nights and it was a total blast.

Love this picture of my Man and little Man. : )

After a fun filled week and an amazing weekend at the Cape it was time to say goodbye to Paul and Shug. It was awesome having them here and the kids definitely had a blast with their "Big Cousins" : )

The Alaska boy introduces his girls to the art of fishing...

"You can take the boy out of Alaska, but you can't take Alaska out of the boy"

I learned this a year and a half ago when Taber was building an igloo in our backyard. Recently the Alaska boy has come out in his renewed passion for fishing. One day he just called me out of the blue and said he was at Dick's picking up fishing poles and worms for him and the kids. Since then, every chance he gets, he's gone fishin'!

He takes the kids to Mill's pond near Mine Falls about 10 minutes from our house.

 Cheese!!

 Aw, there's that handsome face I love... :)

Cam and I have dropped in for a bit on the fishing excursions but usually he needs a nap so we have to leave early.

 There are lots of fun creatures at the pond. Baby turtle!!

Look at that little guy...so cute!

Teya is pretty pro from what Taber tells me. She usually catches 7 or 8.

 She likes kissing them too for some reason...(I did not teach her that!)

Brinley usually likes to catch one or two

She needs a little more help than Teya, but she has a good time and especially loves playing with all the rocks and leaves and bugs and things down at the pond.

Teya is also fearless when it comes to handling the slimy dudes. She helps Daddy clean them and season them for the grill like it's nothing.

This picture makes me laugh, grilled fish on Ariel the Little Mermaid plates. This is exactly the kind of horror Sebastian warned her about! (Lol ; )

Not sure how many kids out there would eat this but my lil' outdoorsy ladies are all about it. They chowed these suckers faster than potato chips and popcorn. Guess that's how you roll when your Daddy's an Alaska boy ; )