gilsland farm audubon center

we lucked out on saturday. we headed to the gilsland farm audubon center in falmouth, maine to hike around and check out the flowers and we were happily surprised to run into june lacombe’s sculpture exhibit, SCULPTURE at maine audubon: a celebration of art and nature.  the show includes 82 sculptures by new england artists and above are some photos we took from our visit. in my eyes, there is nothing better than the combo of art and nature. well, maybe one thing that is better; a book sale.

back to basics

here are some of the things we have to up to the last two months (i really need to get on instagram):

calm water.

k making peace with her blueberry muffin.

hike at mackworth island. josh doesn't look at all relaxed, does he?

hike to the top of bradbury mountain. it's not that far;less than a mile or else rory would have been riding piggy back style and we would have needed an extra large backpack with all the hiking paraphernalia to get us to the top because our family gets hangry almost every hour. we do not travel lightly.

kite flying at popham beach. it took us longer than you would think to get it up.

i spy a sand dollar.

r drawing.

blueberry pie from two fat cat's bakery. a little slice (or should i say 1/4 of the pie) of heaven. and john derian goodness at k collette in portland.

the portland head light. the oldest lighthouse in maine.

josh's birthday gift to me. and 38th birthday buzz.

celebration dinner and pretty painting at my parents house.

father's day breakfast at drift inn beach.

it's lupine season in maine. i always think of the children's book, 'miss rumphius' when i see them.

rory found this injured butterfly.

mating horseshoe crabs. k corrected me and said "no mama; they're dating."

sandy point beach. had dinner al fresco with our friends. we all smelled like bug spray.

it's book sale season in maine. bumchuckawawawa. my dirty little habit.

around the house

1. reading. latest finds from the library.
2. washing. prepping the fresh ramps for a pesto.
3. arranging. a peek at josh's work space. 

metropolitan museum of art

you know a trip to new york city would not be complete without a museum visit. the metropolitan museum of art is what our family of twelve decided upon. my brother-in-law researched tours we could take and found a company called art smart tours. joanna was our private guide for two hours around the museum and i would highly recommend it. she had a PhD in art history and made the tour interesting for all ages. we could ask any questions and she made it so relevant and current to our lives. i swear if i would have taken a tour like this when i was a senior in high school she would have inspired me to major in art history. thanks, joanna!

easter in new york city

our family of four met josh's parents and his brother's family of six in new york city for easter weekend. it was the first trip to new york city for k+r. i was waiting with bated breath to see how they would react to the stimulation, crowds, beauty, architecture, design, entertainment, good eats, and culture. would it be crash and burn or would it light their little five-year-old flames? 

well, k cried when we left and said "can't we stay another day?" bless her heart. (clearly not knowing how much a hotel night costs in the big apple:)and r exclaimed the first day we were there, "new york city is my most favorite state." (i love this age because the difference between a city and state is a little confusing.) so i guess you can say new york city delivered like she always does. 

two little girls found the magic in the city by visiting the central park zoo, walking by the plaza hotel where eloise lives, slurping up big bowls of homemade fettuccine alfredo in little italy with gelato cones for dessert, playing hide-and-go seek with daddy in bryant park and riding the carousel (that looked like it was plucked from paris), eating new york pizza, watching matilda the musical on broadway while sharing a bag of twizzlers, walking through chelsea market, the highline, falling asleep on their cousin's lap at dinner, visiting the metropolitan museum of art, and last but not least slathering syrup all over their pancakes with little individual jars from the hotel's continental breakfast (they couldn't believe they got their own personal jar of syrup). 

it was a different trip to the city then josh and i ever experienced. no paula rubenstein. no john derian. lots of sweets and syrup. but i got to see my girls' eyes light up with wonderment and awe with the new experiences they made. i would take that any day. their happiness is really what fills me up and makes me smile these days.