The Lobstah Shack

On Friday we went to The Lobster Shack, a little restaurant with an amazing view and a great food. You eat right at picnic tables next to the water, and you can climb down onto the rocks to check out the tide pools and enjoy the scenery while you wait...

Paprika's doll, Boo (that's what she named her), has to come everywhere with us now. You can see in that Boo had the best view at the table! :-)



Mr. Mustard's mom, Pat, has been coming here since she was a kid growing up in Cape Elizabeth. Mr. Mustard grew up coming to the Lobster Shack, since he spent every summer in Maine and New Hampshire as a child.

Mr. Mustard and I have eaten here a bunch of times on trips to Maine when we were dating or newly married. So, it was time to introduced Paprika and Ginger to the place. The more days we are in Maine, the more this trip is becoming about the food! Haha.

We ate our fill of lobster rolls and shrimp, and then we spent a long time down at the tide pools checking out all the little critters. Paprika couldn't get enough of that!







After lunch, we headed over to Fort Williams, to look at the lighthouse and take in the sights. Paprika was excited by the lighthouse at first, but that excitement soon turned south when she realized she couldn't go up to the top and operate the thing.



Eventually we talked her into leaving without going up to the top by promising her we'd go on a walk and look for butterflies. So, we did. We went back home and went for a long walk, found lots of butterflies, played with the neighborhood kids...and just enjoyed a long, lazy afternoon.

Paprika now has four pet caterpillars that she's keeping in a jar with holes in the lid. She is really enjoying learning all about the critters of Maine, exploring, going for walks, hanging out at the shore, and enjoying all the little things in nature. I really think she could get used to life here!

Camping In The Great Indoors

It rained again today. I took the girls down to the cove during a brief respite (Ginger was on my back in the Ergo...so no pictures of her). It is so beautiful, wish the pictures could capture that...



Since it was raining today, we decided to go up to Freeport and hang out at the LL Bean store (it's as big as a city, practically).

Before we went to LL Bean, we had lunch at this place where we always eat lunch everytime we go to Freeport. In the ten or so times we've been to Maine together since we've known eachother, we always eat lunch at this hole in the wall place called Derosier. I don't know why anyone would eat there- it's basically a convenience store with one or two booths in the back, but it has the best pizza...and well, it's a tradition by now. So, we always go there and today we introduced Paprika and Ginger to the place. For all of us to each lunch (including drinks), it was $8.



Then we hit the LL Bean Store- there are a million things to do there. A huge aquarium, a big fish pond in the center, tons of places for kids to play...

and a giant boot. Why, I do not know.



We hung out in the camping section.



Made great murals out of chalk...



even Ginger joined in.



And just spent the day being together. Even when you just hang out together in the camping section all day long, there is something sweet about that...just being with the ones you love.

Up All Night!

Yesterday we had a wonderful picnic outdoors, and then we went to Mackworth Island and had a beautiful afternoon hike. Mr. Mustard's mom joined us for the first part of the hike, and we happened upon a little fairy village...basically, kids construct little houses for fairies in the woods. Paprika thought that was amazing, and played for a long while with some local kids.



Our days are fun, but our nights are long. Neither Paprika nor Ginger is sleeping well at all. The night time routine is taking hours (upon hours) and we are not getting to sleep before 4 or 5am most nights. It is pretty awful, and as much fun as we are having during the day...the nights make it hard to function during the day.

I hope that these girls start sleeping better. We brought as many familiar things from home for them as we could, and goodness knows Mr. Mustard's mom has really gone overboard in making us feel comfortable here. So, I am kind of at my wit's end as to what to do to get these girls to sleep. It's really frustrating, and I am reminded of why we haven't flown anywhere since Paprika was two! Let's just hope things improve...

Adventures In Maine, Day One

Monday night we arrived in Maine. Mr. Mustard's mom has a house on the coast near Portland, so we're staying there with her (she usually spends the summers here in Maine, where she grew up).

We haven't made the trip in 4 1/2 years, since I was pregnant with Paprika during Chistmas 2005! So, it's been awhile.

The first day, Tuesday, it rained, rained and then rained some more. We spent the day at the Children's Museum of Maine- I got some great photos, but they were taken on my other camera (the 7D) and I'm not sure how to transfer them to my laptop.

The Maine Children's Museum was pretty amazing- Paprika had the time of her life, and there was a great play area for babies Ginger's age, which she loved!

The Children's Museum is big- four stories tall- and has incredible interactive exhibits for young children. We easily spent most of the day there, and we left with Paprika still wanting to see more. It was a great way to spend a rainy day!



By the time we got home, the rain had cleared. I walked out to the cove with Ginger and took these photos with our other camera (the Lumix). It is so beautiful and green, and lush here. Everything happens more slowly here than in LA...it's very relaxing!



Paprika has been catching caterpillars, swimming in the freezing waters, and is having such a grand time. Ginger has been enjoying touching everything- she wants to touch every flower, rock, tree, and leaf she sees.

When the weather cooperates, we are spending a lot of time outdoors just taking in how green it is! Today we had a really incredible day outdoors- but again, those photos are on my other camera, so I'll have to wait to write about it until I can get the photos from that camera onto my laptop! :-)

Into The Big Blue

On Monday, the four of us took a big trip across the country to Maine! It involved over eight hours of flying, and one plane change. It was Ginger's very first time ever flying in an airplane. By the time Paprika was this age, she had crossed the country many times- three trips to Indiana and a bunch back and forth to Chicago when Mr. Mustard was working for Oprah.



The night before we left on the trip, we told Paprika we'd be flying in a plane. She got really excited, and said, "I'll have my own seat, I'll buckle my seat belt, and I can watch "Come On Over to Barney's House!"

We were kind of scratching our heads as to why she would say she could watch Barney. Then it dawned on us that the last time she flew (almost two years ago, on her second birthday)- we watched that video on the airplane. So, she was remembering the last plane ride, when she was not quite two years old. That kind of blew me away.

Ginger and Paprika both did awesome on the flights. No tears, and Ginger was so happy and made friends with all the people around us. All in all, a success!