Coast of Maine

I hate how hard I work trying to pick just the right pictures and then they load backwards. I also hate that I am lazy enough to leave them this time. But I am. For our last weekend in the Boston area, we headed to Portland, Maine. WHAT A TRIP! It was so much fun! Here are a few highlights.

Jonas eating the sand. This time he ate BIG hand-fulls. It was really funny until he tasted it and threw a MAJOR fit because...duh...it's yucky!

We found this little baby starfish on the beach at Kennebunkport. Jonas wasn't sure about holding it.

Jonas had his first taste of Cotton Candy at Old Orchard Beach. {It was a beach with Carnival rides and a long pier. It was fun, but windy, windy, windy both days we were there.} He liked the taste, but not the part that it would stick to his hands. He got really mad about that.

Eating more sand

This little boy L-O-V-E-D the beach! The sound of the waves, the sand, the water (Despite the fact that it was a bit cold). My Dad is worried he is a City Boy. Sorry Dad, I think you are right!

Feet in the sand

The water was so cold that Jonas would pull his legs up so they wouldn't get wet! Really, once your feet were numb it wasn't so bad :)

Me and Wrinkle-Nose Jonas. (his latest trick)

Pemaquid Point- Probably the coolest thing we saw on the trip. There is a lighthouse here, so we went to see it, but the beach was really neat. It was rocky, rocky, rocky. Smooth rocks, almost cliff-like, but low enough that you could hike them. We hiked for hours along the beach watching the waves crash into the rocks. It was a beautiful sight. My friend Diana said she thought Maine was romantic. I totally agree. I felt like it was a scene from a romantic movie where the couple was walking along the beach (or hiking in this case).

Jonas and his BEST friend.

Jonas and his Mom-who mostly just provides food for him when he's hungry :)

Portland Head Lighthouse

Devin and Jonas in front of the giant boot at L.L. Bean in Freeport.

The best friends at Pemaquid Point.

The whole family

In only 3 days we are headed HOME! (as in Maryland). Remember when I first moved to the East Coast and I hated it? That has changed. I really like living here (I use the term HERE loosely). I have enjoyed Boston too. It's been a fun adventure. We have seen so many fun things, been to a lot of cool places, and spent a lot of time together-which ultimately matters the most. I am glad that we were able to come with Devin. Three months with out him would have been impossible for all of us. We feel blessed to have been able to be here. BUT we are ready to get back to a schedule, a new home, our friends (oh how I have missed my friends), and our everyday life. I will miss having Devin home until 8 in the mornings, home for lunch and then home by 5. That has been the best part about being here. So long Boston.....Maryland.....here we come!

Cape Cod

Last weekend we were in Cape Cod. It was a nice, quiet, relaxing weekend. We played on the beach, went to a BBQ with some friends, and stopped at Plymouth Rock on the way home. It was a good change from all the Chaos in NYC. It would be fun to go back when the weather was a little better though! The water was cold and due to the wind and rain, Jonas was not too excited about dipping his tootsies in it :) He did, however, love the sand and didn't even eat it-much to our surprise!

BBQ with friends. (I should mention that our host, Luiz, bought 42 lbs of meat-we ate A LOT!)

At Plymouth Rock Beach

Plymouth Rock. Lame. This was it. I was expecting something....BIGGER!!

The boys checking out the water. Jonas loved the waves. Devin would run away from them pretending that they were going to get wet and Jonas would laugh and laugh.

Jonas-not eating the sand :)

They were a Lobster, but Jonas' face was too cute, so we zoomed in a bit.

Not sure about the cold water

Not sure about having dirty hands....my child...I think so :)

Jonas and his Mom, whom lately he could care less about. Especially if Devin is anywhere near us! He YELLS Da-Da-Da-Da-Da until Devin picks him up. He will only come to me if I have food or am close to Devin. Oh yea, and see the fog rolling in? It was actually really pretty, except you couldn't see very far out into the ocean and it was a little cold.

We Love Cape Cod!

Next Stop: The shores of Maine (please pray for good weather-I can't take this "spring" anymore)

>>WARNING<<

The Following posts may not be suitable for people who have the following conditions:

• Tired, Sleepy Eyes
• Issues with seeing peoples bare backsides
• People who are jealous :)

...Enjoy...

{Happy Birthday}

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE CAPTAIN!!!

We hope you have a great birthday! We are so thankful to have you as our Brother, Uncle, and Friend. Even though you take crazy pictures with our camera and we don't know about it...we still love you! We hope your day is full of fun. We love you so much and miss you like CrAzY! Give Aunt Natti hugs from us!

Top of the Rock

This should really be at the bottom of this mile long post, but it was my favorite thing that we did in NY, so it's going here. Instead of going to the top of the Empire State building, our friends (who live in NY) suggested the Top of the Rock instead. It was incredible! Devin and I decided it was almost like it was fake. You could see for miles and miles. It was so pretty!

This was looking to the West of Manhattan as the sun was starting to set.
Its hard to see how high up we really were. There were times that it was scary if I thought about it!
I love this picture of the men having a lunch break. How scary is it that they don't have harnesses on or anything? Yipes!
Looking across to the Empire State Building

Jonas was much more interested in his Graham Cracker that having his picture taken. All that green to the right of me (not my jacket) is Central Park.

Are we there yet?

Devin had some work to do in New York, so Jonas and I decided to tag along. It was a great trip, but didn't start out that way! We got to the airport on time only to find out that our flight had been cancelled. They said it was due to the fog at Laguarida, but Devin and I think it was because there were only like 10 people on our flight. We had to wait two more hours for the next flight. It wouldn't have been so bad, but Jonas was pretty bored. Lucky for us we found this play area. He loved it!

He wasn't so sure about the slide at first, but he loved it by the time we left.
Our baby (who is growing too quickly) rocking in the Massachusetts Rocking Chair.
He loved to turn these puzzle pieces. When he got tired of sitting up, he laid on the floor and turned them with his feet. What a silly kid!

NeW YoRk CiTy!!!

There were so many stores, we didn't know where to start! It was in our best interest, however, so keep it kid friendly. Jonas was not a happy camper when we started out. So this was our first stop!

After our annoying wait at the airport in Boston, we finally made it. After we checked in at the hotel, we headed for 5th Avenue where all the stores are. This is Devin and Jonas at World of Disney. It was three floors of fun, fun, fun. It had so many fun things. See the Witch from Snow White in the background?
This was another BIG toy store. It was fun to walk through all the toys. Remember the Piano that Tom Hanks plays in Big? It was here that he played it, and it's still here. I took a picture, but didn't post it.
The Apple store was down-stairs. We didn't want to fight the crowds so we didn't go down. The apple in the picture is suspended in the air.
I stopped at the Tiffany's store, but didn't go in. Jonas needed to stay outside. It was nap time.

sUnDaY & TiMeS sQaUrE

Sunday was a BEAUTIFUL day! We decided to make the most of it and ride the Staten Island Ferry. It takes you past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, and its free! We wanted to go to the Statue of Liberty, but they aren't re-opening the top until the 4th of July and then they will only be allowing 10 people at a time to go up. It was fun to ride a ferry again. I haven't done that since my family went to Seattle/Canada in 1993!! It was almost 16 years ago (right Kaylee:)

Devin and Jonas (and a woman's backside) in front of the entrance on the Manhattan side.
Guess who fell asleep? It was SUPER windy. I didn't post the picture with my hair flying all over to prove it, but I should have!

Here She is! It was exciting to see her. She wasn't as big as I expected (then again I was zooming past her on a ferry), but it was fun! I took so many pictures, you'd think I'd never seen it before :)

Sadly, you can't read his sign, but it was hilarious. It said: "Jennifer Aniston won't go out with me because I don't have enough money. Please Help." or something like that. It was a good one. We saw a lot of creative homeless signs while we were there!
This is the sight where the World Trade Centers once stood. It was surrounded by tall construction fences so you couldn't see anything. There is a visitors center, but it was really busy so we didn't go in (that, and we're cheap). There is such a heavy, sad feeling in the area. It was a major eye opener for me to actually see the sight. The pilots knew what they were doing. The WTC were surrounded by several buildings in the area, and yet they hit them just right. It was sad to see it, but a great reminder of all the heroes that emerged that day. There is an NYFD right across from this picture and there were lines of people getting pictures taken with just a few of the heroes from that day.

It goes with out saying that Times Square is totally awesome. I loved all the excitement and seeing the things I have seen on TV forever in real life. Jonas loved the lights and was mesmerized by them.

The giant Toys R Us
I took this for Mom and Kaylee. Wicked, and Sbarro's Pizza :)
This was our Hotel! Right in the middle of Times Square. It was a really nice place! The elevators went SOO fast that my ears would pop as we went up or down.
Another shot (I took like 1000)

Blurry, but you get the idea

MoNdAy

On Monday We went to the Central Park Zoo. It was a little pricey, and very small (I know its inside of a park, but it was still small), but overall it was fun. They have potential to have some cool animals, but they didn't have all of the exhibits open. I was able to spot a RED Panda that no one else could see. Thanks Dad for teaching me how to spot things :) I took a picture, but he was hiding in a tree, so all you can see is the color of him, not much of his face.

The Polar Bears were very active while we were there. They were swimming around, playing with their toys and being very entertaining. It was fun to watch them!
These little turtles were everywhere in this pond. What they were lacking in animals, made up for in turtles (if you like them anyway).

They had REALLY neat looking birds in the Rain Forest section. I was busy trying to take a bunch of pictures and then....

This happened. One of the birds flew right over my head. I screamed, everyone laughed, and this is the result of the picture. It was funny, but I was disappointed that I didn't get a better picture of this bird. It was beautiful. It flew away after "the incident".

Jonas slept for the first part of the Zoo and woke up REALLY cranky. (did I mention he cut a top tooth while we were there...why does he always have to do it while we are on vacation?) I tried everything I could think of to try and make him happy, but he wasn't having any of it. I walked by this little path with the Lilly pads that went to the other side and decided to see if he would like them. He threw a major fit when I sat him down until he noticed the water. Then it was all I could do to keep him for falling over to reach it. There was a big sign that said, "Please don't play in the water, our Ducks make their homes here." We broke the rules. The ducks had to share their home with a cranky, tooth cutting, 9 month old! It was worth it to be rebellious. He was so happy when we left. I could live with him again!