Baptism

The triplets were baptized in August...God bless them!!

Six Flags New England

Last weekend we took the family to Six Flags New England. Our family friend, Judy met up with us at the park.

The day was very sunny and hot! We arrived right at 12:00 p.m. and stayed until 5:00 p.m. I think the next time we go we will get a hotel nearby and make it a two day event. I'm also thinking we'll go later in the day and stay into the evening when it is much cooler.

The park was very clean and the staff friendly. We spent the majority of our time in two specific areas; The Wiggles area and the Looney Tunes area. The lines were not long and Zac got immediately onto the rides.

The excitement of my day came when I was told they have a "baby center". (photo below) I know everyone might not find this exciting but if you have babies and/or multiples you will appreciate the center. The center seemed liked an oasis perched atop of a hill. We walked into a sparkling clean building with air conditioning! We considered just spending the entire day at the baby center.

The layout of the building is that when you walk in you are greeter by the person working. She will offer you wipes or whatever you need and can sell you food, drinks, etc. To the left you will find a nursing room and in front of that a kitchen area with highchairs, sink, dish soap and a microwave. To the right you will find a big living room area with toys, couches and tables and in front of that is a bathroom and a changing room that has 4 changing tables which include the tear off paper like at the doctors office.

I could go on and on about the Baby Center. We were able to put all of the babies in a highchair in order to give them their lunch. Zac played in the living room with toys. We all appreciated the clean bathroom and air conditioning.

All in all I consider it another fun family day. The only thing I would change would be to turn it into a two day event and go later in the day. We are anxious to go back and do up Six Flags New England!!

Ben & Jerry's

On Saturday we went to the Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory in Waterbury, VT. Zac felt the best part of the trip was the playground!

The drive was approximately 3 hours and 15 minutes. Upon arrival you crowd into a small area to purchase your tour ticket for $3. The tours run every few minutes and while waiting you can crowd into a rather small gift shop.

Once they announce your tour you are directed into a small theatre to watch a 7 minute video about the history of Ben & Jerry's. After that you are directed into a small glassed in area to watch the operations of the factory. Unfortunately the day we went the factory was not making ice cream so we simply had to watch a video about the process. We were told they do not produce ice cream on the weekends; I would encourage you to visit when they are making ice cream as I think it would have been more interesting.

Once you learn about the ice cream making process you are directed to the tasting room where they give you a small sample of a preselected flavor; ours was Boston Cream Pie. The ice cream was yummy but the sample very small.

We finished our tour and headed outside to the small area where they sell ice cream; seating is minimal but the views are awesome! John and Zac stood in line for what seemed to be an eternity and returned to our table with no ice cream. John got frustrated with the line not moving and said, "let's just go to DQ!" LOL

Zac's favorite part of the Ben & Jerry's experience was the playground located out by the parking lot and the Ben & Jerry's flavor graveyard. We were surprised that the facility was so small and lacking the "wow" factor. All and all we're glad we went while in the area but have no need to rush back.

Strawberry Festival

We attended the Strawberry Festival in South Berwick, ME on Saturday. The festival was celebrating its 35th year.

The festival is always the last Saturday of June and runs for one day only. I was actually surprised that it wasn't a two day event with longer hours. The festival begins at 9:00am and ends at 4:00pm.

We didn't arrive until 2:00pm as we waited until after the kids had napped and had lunch. The first thing we noticed when we arrived was the aroma of the BBQ chicken they had going on the grills. We also spotted the huge strawberry shortcake which should be huge at $4 per slice. Since it was after we had lunch we didn't eat anything, however, we'll know next year to go for lunch!

The festival was full of firsts for Zac. He had his first pony ride on Cupcake a 21 year old pony and went in his first bounce house. Zac seemed to love the pony but was a little slower to get the hang of jumping in a bounce house. Once he did get the hang of it he wanted to stay and it was a bit difficult to get him to come out!

The Strawberry Festival was a lot and if still in the area we'll return next year. We will plan to go earlier in the day as they break it down at 4:00pm sharp.

The weather was glorious again this weekend. We had another wonderful weekend full of family time and fun!

Pawtuckaway State Park

We spent Father's Day at Pawtuckaway State Park. The park is 5,500 acres with an 803 acre lake and is located in Nottingham, NH.

The beach area is lined with tall pine trees which offer a lot of shade. Also lining the beach is plenty of picnic tables. On the backside of the trees you will find a nice playground and a building that contains actual running water restrooms. The paved parking lot is very large and accommodates a lot of visitors.

The park boasts a variety of landscapes. You can hike the trails that lead to many special points of interest, including a mountaintop fire tower, and extensive marsh and an unusual boulder field.

Hikers walking the three miles to the 908-foot summit of South Mountain will be rewarded with a spectacular panoramic view from the fire tower. A walk on the Fundy Trail, bordering Burnhams Marsh, can be very enjoyable, especially in the early morning or evening when the beavers, deer and great blue herons are most active.

The Boulder Field is a geologically unique area where many large boulders, called glacial erratics, were deposited when glacial ice melted near the end of the Ice Age. They are so large that rock climbers practice different climbing techniques on them.

The park is very large and unique. We enjoyed our day at the park and will visit again!!

Ogunquit Beach

Friday we took the kids to Ogunquit Beach in Ogunquit, Maine. The weather was near perfect. We really enjoyed our evening at the beach.

Ogunquit beach is a clean little beach with the aroma of the nearby restaurants running through the air. The sand was white and fine. I really didn't think we would be able to get Zac to leave the world's biggest sandbox!

Upon arrival the tide was still up. However it seemed as though we looked away for only a second to look back and find low tide. Zac and I were able to walk way out in less than ankle deep water.

Ogunquit, Maine is a neat little town. The town offers a lot of cute little shops, sidewalk restaurants and a variety of accommodations. The locals are very friendly and helpful. I would recommend it as a place to visit if ever in the area.

Dual Purpose Mom

Yesterday I became a "dual purpose mom" and it was a brilliant time saver! I hope this idea can help you too!

I was at Target last weekend as the kids needed pajamas. I found a bunch of pajamas called "sleep n' play" which look like little outfits but are soft like pajamas. I also grabbed some more Trumpette socks which look like socks and shoes but are just socks.

I gave all the kids their bath and dressed them in their sleep n' play wear with their Trumpette socks. We then ran our errand to Babies R Us, came home, changed diapers, fed bottles and the kids were all ready for bed; no changing of the outfits.

I tell you it felt much less hectic and much more enjoyable to cut out that single step. We moms are already multi-taskers and need to reduce as many steps as we can in order to spend as much time as possible with our children.

Try it moms and let me know what you think!!