Beautiful Maine!

We were able to have a very fun trip to Maine and enjoyed visiting with Michael, Mallory, Madie and Finn. It was a beautiful time of year to go to Maine because the autumn leaves were gorgeous. Everywhere I looked I could have taken a picture! Here is a summary of our trip.

We arrived on Oct 1, Mallory's birthday. So, not only did she have to spend her anniversary with her inlaws (at our family reunion in August), but she had to spend her birthday with us!!

We rented a minivan so we could all go places in one vehicle. Finn was waiting in the car while we got ready to go see Michael at work.

 This is the view from Michael's work.

 Jackson Labs - a beautiful setting for Michael to work in.

 We walked about 5 minutes from Michael and Mallory's house.....

 and came to this!

 They're very lucky to live so close to the ocean.

The area they live in is very wooded and smells so good.

We went to downtown Bar Harbor. This tree was so pretty - pictures don't do it justice!

 A few pictures of downtown Bar Harbor.

 There is a cute park in the middle of town.

Bryan and I went for a ride while Mal and the kids were resting and Michael was at work.

 
 We came to this beautiful park. It was so stunning!

 
 Unfortunately, due to the government shut-down, Acadia National Park was closed. However, we were able to park along the street and walk into the park to this beautiful lake.

 Papa and Finn

 Madie trying to skip rocks.

 Finn wanted to go into the water so badly!

 They finally stripped him down to his onesie and let him get his feet wet.

 We were thankful that Michael was able to take Thursday and Friday off while we were there. On Friday, we decided to drive down the Maine coastline. This picture is in Camden, Maine. We stopped there so Madie could ride her bike and stretch her legs.

Camden, Maine

We also ate lunch there.

 In Freeport, Maine, we saw this beautiful building and realized it was a McDonalds! I got my camera out just in time to get a quick picture.....

 However, I googled this picture of it because I wanted to make sure the picture I took was actually a McDonalds! It definitely isn't your ordinary McDonalds!

Michael was excited to go into this 3 story LL Bean store in Freeport, Maine. It was a beautiful store!

Inside LL Bean, they had an aquarium with a bubble you could sit in. Finn loved it, but it took a lot of convincing to get Madie inside the bubble.

After Finn went in, she finally decided it might be okay - although still a bit nervous.

Michael, Madie and Finn inside bubble.

We arrived in Portland, Maine and walked around town for a little while. It is another beautiful city.

Then, we went to this - I think this was the highlight of my day! Cape Elizabeth lighthouse.

Madie climbing the fence.

Mal and Finn resting on a bench.

I couldn't stop taking pictures of this lighthouse, as you can see!

Mal, Finn, Michael in a tree in the park next to the lighthouse. Madie didn't want to be in the picture.

Michael and Madie running in the park. After we visited the lighthouse and the park, we went back to Portland for dinner. Then we drove back to Bar Harbor - a 3 hour drive. It took us about 6 hours driving to Portland because we took the scenic route, but only 3 hours home on the freeway. It was a very fun day.

We were in Maine for General Conference weekend and in Maine, it doesn't start until noon. So, on Saturday morning, we took a nice walk along Carriage Road in Bar Harbor. I could just imagine carriages riding along this road and wondered if movies had been filmed here.

A creek along carriage road

Madie on the bridge.

This bridge is so beautiful!

Roots from a tree. Amazing!

On our way home from the walk, a lady on a horse rode by. I couldn't find my camera fast enough, but did get the rear end of the horse before she went around the bend!

Some of the views from carriage road.

This beach was across the street from the entrance to Carriage Road.

Also on Saturday, we were able to go to an apple orchard to pick apples.

Madie choking, I mean loving Finn!

Then, we went to this beautiful nursery to get pumpkins.

Looking for the right pumpkin......

Madie found the pumpkin she wanted!

On Sunday morning before conference, we drove to a lighthouse near Bar Harbor.

Madie looking at the ocean.

I love Madie's outfit. She had a cape on before we left the house, but decided not to wear it to the lighthouse! And, by the way, she cut her own hair about a month ago. I think she can pull this pixie haircut off really well - much as I miss her beautiful curls!

Picture at the lighthouse.

Oh, so beautiful!

On our way home, we stopped at a butterfly garden. We didn't see too many butterflies this time of year, but Madie loved the swing!

She wouldn't look at me, so I had to stick the camera under her head and take this picture!

Butterfly garden.

Papa modeling Madie's hat.

Michael and Mallory are in the middle of projects around their house. They have a cute home and it will be even more cute when they do all the things they want to it. They have this amazing greenhouse in their backyard. It is HUGE!

Story time with Finn. He loves books.

Monday morning, Mal had an eye doctor appointment in Bangor, so Bryan and I got to watch the kids. I had to take this picture of Finn because this is what I loved looking back at when we were in the car. He loves the blankie Aunt Holly made for him and as soon as he gets his blankie his 2 fingers go in his mouth.

Madie had pre-school and before we picked her up, we drove around to get a few pictures of more leaves. It was a windy day and a lot of the leaves were blowing off the trees, but it was still beautiful!

Madie goes to pre-school at the YMCA and we got this picture of her when we went to pick her up.

Monday night, our last night there, we finally had lobster! You can't visit Maine without having lobster!

Then, we got ice cream at this cute shop downtown.

And guess what??? They even had Lobster Ice Cream. Yes, we tried a spoon full of it, but it wasn't something I would have a full ice cream cone out of.

 We loved our trip to Maine and look forward to going back soon. Much as we don't like Michael, Mallory and kids being so far away, it is a beautiful place to visit. Thank you for making our stay so pleasant, Michael and Mallory. We loved every minute of it!