The Great Moon Camping Trip of 2015

So, remember that time we took a family camping trip where all six of us and our dog camped for nine straight days in the same tent.  Where we drove through ten states and travelled more than 2,500 miles together pulling a trailer...going slower than the speed limit.  Where we stopped at what seemed like every single rest stop on the highway.  (There's an awesome app for finding those by the way)!  That time when we bought the new inflatable mattress right before the trip, but it clearly had no ability to hold air throughout the night.  Where we forgot to hook up the brake lights on the trailer one day and drove through heavy city traffic and some rain without any problems.  Thank you, Jesus.  That time where we hiked, kayaked, swam in the ocean, watched sunsets and sunrises, searched for seashells, ate lobster and saw a beautiful light house.  That time where we realized you have to get up at 4:45am to (barely) catch the sunrise off the coast of Maine, because the sun rises freakin' early there!  That time where we had tons of campfires, too many s'mores, and used lots of bug spray. 

Oh, right, that was last week!  We just got back from basically my dream vacation.  I've always wanted to travel to Maine.  Always.  Chris got excited once he started looking at the map.  He found just about every state and national park or forest along the route to check out.  And we had so much fun along the way.  Seriously, we didn't even get sick of each other which I'd say is a pretty big miracle because we spent a lot of time together!  

Since I took over 600 pictures - yikes - it's really hard to shrink that experience down into one blog post, but here goes!  

Gettysburg:  We listened to a LONG cd and drove through the park.  Chris loved every second of it.  Sam thought he was going to see a battle.  He was a little disappointed, but found every cannon he could to play with.  We also got to spend some much needed time with cousins we haven't seen in way too long! 

 

Eastern Pennsylvania:  This place was not your classiest campground to stay, but look at this sunset over the pond.  Not bad, right? 

Birthday Boy:  Sam turned seven while on vacation.  It was a bit pitiful really.  It was one of our heavy driving days, we went through six states that day.  He got some toys early in the morning at the campground.  Then that night we celebrated with some grocery store cupcakes.  The poor things had gotten turned over in our cooler and were completely smashed and gross looking.  He really didn't mind too much at all! 

The Lighthouse:  This was the number one thing I wanted to see.  It was beautiful, especially at sunset.  And my crazy kids - and dog - loved climbing around all the rocks on the coastline.

 

We checked out Old Orchard Beach before leaving the Portland area.

 

 

And you have to be a little touristy and stop by LL Bean when passing through Freeport.

 

Acadia National Park:  We had a great time camping out and cooking on the grill!

 

 

 

This tent is AMAZING!  It seriously comes together in a couple of minutes.  The poles are built in.  So, so nice! 

 

The kids played in the unbelievably freezing cold ocean.  If you look closely, they're the only crazy ones actually out in the water! 

 

 

 

Can you believe this coastline was only a 5 minute walk from our campsite? 

 

 

We were silly tourists who tried lobster and blueberry ice cream in Bar Harbor!

 

 

 

We kayaked one morning in Acadia and Max tried out his new life jacket.  He was a bit nervous at first in the kayak, but he started to settle down after a while. 

 

He looks thrilled!

 

We hiked up to the top of the Bubbles and drove up Cadillac Mountain to check out the views.

 

 

 

We ended our visit to Acadia with a sunset picnic at the ocean where we a ton of beautiful seashells. 

 

 

Vermont:  Then we headed to Vermont and found a great campground that only cost $10 in the Green Mountain National Forest.  You guys, you've got to visit Vermont. Every single town we drove through was ridiculously charming.  Every. Single. One.  Like quaint little ski towns that are overflowing with flower boxes and old fashioned street lights.  I so want to go back there! 

 

 

And look at this view in the morning when we headed out! 

 

Lake Erie: Then we drove to Headlands Dunes, Lake Erie and got to see it at Sunset! 

 

 

 

The kids had a lot of fun here and the water was warmer than the ocean! 

 

And finally, we headed home the next morning.  Such a great vacation!  Chris is already trying to figure out where to go next summer! 

The 4th of July...A Day Early.

We celebrated the 4th of July a day early this year by attending Freedom Fest in Winchester.  It was so much fun and the evening really was a complete act of God!  The entire day (week really) was rainy and the forecast looked bad.  The radar showed rain, and lots of it.  But we had a chance to see Among the Thirsty and Tenth Avenue North for free, folks, so we were going - rain or shine! 

As soon as the concert started the rain finally stopped.  And it literally held off until the fireworks were over and we were back in our cars.  So awesome!  Lots of answered prayers!  Here are a few pictures from the night. 

 Among the Thirsty!

 

Look at my baby's curls...I know he needs a haircut, but he's so stinkin' cute! 

 Tenth Avenue North!  Front row baby!  No zoom required.

 Fireworks!

This was such a fun evening.  We're definitely going to go again next year!   

Son of a Preacher Man....

Last week our family went to Cincinnati for the North American Christian Convention.  Lots and lots of preachers and their families.  The kids got to hang out with a couple hundred preacher kids - and it's always nice to spend time with people who understand a little about your life.  Because frankly, not many people understand what it's like being "in the ministry."  It's not like most people whose dad is a doctor, teacher, plumber, etc.  When you're dad's in ministry, the whole family is in ministry. 

I thought about writing about that experience, but instead, it might be more fun to just show you a few pictures through the eyes of Sam.  He had a great time!  You guys...if you know our family very well at all, you know Sam is my number one source of laughter every. single. day.  He is a complete goofball and I love him.

Like all good conventions, there were vendor booths.  Sam enjoyed this part a lot and got a lot of goodies to take home.  I have no idea how many pairs of sunglasses the kid came home with. 

 

  

Sam also loves to dance.  I mean, really loves to dance!  He heard the music, saw the spotlight, and started dancing.  Then, he saw he was on the tv.  I'm pretty sure he could have stayed at this booth all day long! 

 

 

And of course, at a Christian convention you can get a free communion sample.  Sam insisted that they all take communion... in the middle of the IHOP parking lot.  Because that's how we roll, folks.

 

He also took the opportunity to take one of the stages.  He had a lot to say!

 

 

Staying at a hotel meant swimming for fun!  That's rare when you're in the pool everyday for practice. 

 

And he got to eat out at a few restaurants - a rare treat in our family.  So sitting on a hamburger stool was super fun! 

 

We all had a great week and came back refreshed and ready to keep serving God the best way we know how.