I made it to Alaska! OK, it was just New Hampshire

I'm telling you though, it felt like Alaska!  We went to pretty much the most northern part of NH there is.  Lots of pine trees, lakes, rivers, and mountains!  AND... that's about it!  The town we stayed in, Errol New Hampshire, has a population of 291 people.  There is an elementary school on the main street, which I later read has 13 students attending.  There is a working payphone (cell service was super spotty- we drove about an hour and a half with no signal) in the center of town, which also houses a convenience store, gas station, and a sporting goods store called L.L. COTE (sound familiar??).  For such a small place, there were quite a few restaurants which I found surprising (I highly recommend the turkey club at Northern Exposure Restaurant and Pub), however if you are looking to eat dinner after 8pm (or get gas, or milk, or a candy bar), you're pretty much out of luck.   Basically, if you are looking for night life, shopping, and fine dining, this is the exact place NOT to go.  If you are looking for amazing 4 wheeling, snowmobiling, kayaking, wildlife, or just all around beauty and tranquility this is THE place to go.

The NH trail system is absolutely amazing.  I am going to let the pictures do the talking, but I do have to tell you about one of the towns we went to, Berlin, NH.  This place is like nowhere I've ever seen.   The town itself is surrounded by mountains, and you can drive your 4 wheeler (or snowmobile) on the roads alongside the cars and trucks!  We came off one of the trails, drove our ATV into town, parked, and had lunch at a charming little restaurant.  Crazy, right??  I'm sure this is commonplace for some of you, but where I live, you just don't see 4 wheelers and snowmobiles driving down the road beside you!

Berlin, NH (not my pic)

I was REALLY hoping to see a moose on our trip.  I SO want to see a moose in the wild!  And since we were smack dab in the middle of moose country, I thought my chances were pretty good. Apparently the moose know how much I want to see them, and are therefore deliberately denying me a sighting!  Yup, no moose.  We did, however, see a very large black bear which was pretty cool (thankfully it was running away from our ATV and not towards it).  So, my quest to see a moose shall continue...

OK, lets get down to the good stuff.  Here is a review of our trip in pictures.  I hope you enjoy!

Our little lakeside cabin

 

 

 

On the way to the waterfall in Berlin

Jericho warming hut

 

The payphone!!

Windmill farm

Gorgeous trails!

Life Lately

Is it really the 2nd week of July already?  Where does the time go?  I feel like summer hasn't even started yet and here it is half over! 

Here's a recap of our life lately...

4th of July weekend
We started the festivities out on Friday night at my aunt's party.  The kids had a ball running around, riding bikes and eating S'mores. 

We had plans to head to the state park on Saturday for some beach time and a picnic.  However, the weather did not cooperate.  Rain, rain, rain.  Most of the day was spent inside playing with Legos and watching movies. We decided around 5pm to head out for some pizza and ice cream (the rain also put a damper on our grilling plans).  Then guess what... it cleared up!  After dinner we headed down to the riverfront to watch the fireworks.  We were lucky this year that our little town was doing their own fireworks show so we didn't have far to travel!  This was Alec's first real experience with close-up fireworks.  You can tell from the picture he was not too impressed!

My attempt at a patriotic snack

Sunday ended up being a beautiful day so we made it to the state park after all!  The kids LOVED the lake and playing in the sand.  Before we left, we stopped at the playground to try and tire the boys out just a little more.

Sunday night I stayed up late because, drumroll, I am on vacation this week!!  Our daycare is closed this week so it's been just me and the kids.  I had all these plans to take them on little day trips but you know what they say about the best laid plans...  Instead, our week so far has been pretty low key.  Monday we went out to lunch and saw Inside Out.  Tuesday we made cookies, colored pictures, played dress up, and watched movies.

Can you guess who decorated these??

Today the plan was to go to Animal Land, but it's raining.  So I'm not quite sure what we will do.  I DO know that a Target/Starbucks trip will be in our near future.  Alec has been up since 4:30AM and this mama is TIRED!!  I also need to get packed for my little getaway with the hubby.

So friends, that's pretty much what we've been up to.  Since I'll be out of town on Friday, I won't be doing a Friday Favorites post this week.  But definitely stop back on Monday for a post about our 4 wheeling trip!

Have a great rest of the week and a wonderful weekend!

Friday Favorites- Happy 4th!

Happy almost 4th of July friends!  Since I'm sure we're all super busy and can't wait to get the holiday festivities started, I'll keep it short and sweet this week!

Number 1: Starbucks Cool Lime Refresher
OMG, this is sooo good!  Even better than the Very Berry Hibiscus!  How have I not tried this before?!  And seriously, how cute is the flip flop on the cup!

Number 2:  Sidewalk chalk
My boys can entertain themselves for close to an hour with this.  And that's a LONG time at my house!  Bonus:  Look how thin I look in this picture!  I'm the one on the left if you can't tell...  :)

 Number 3: THIS

So true.

  

Number 4:  July Sister's Style (Jamberry)
LOVE this new wrap! And yes, I have already ordered one.

Number 5:  VACATION!!

I am off for a week!  Woo hoo!!   The kids and I will be doing some fun day trips for the first part of the week, then at the end of the week the hubs and I are taking a little trip to New Hampshire.  This is what we'll be doing (well, something very similar).... 

There you have it friends!  So tell me, what are your plans for the 4th?  We have a family party tomorrow night, then on Saturday we're hoping to head to one of the state parks to enjoy the lake, playground and a picnic.  Then Saturday night will be fireworks!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

As always, linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals for Friday Favorites

One of those currently posts

I'm in the mood for a currently post!  How about you??

Currently I am...

Feeling:  Hungry!  I just started Weight Watchers and I could really go for some chocolate or a pizza right now!!

Reading:  I will be starting Station Eleven very soon.  Like hopefully tonight!

Watching:  Wayward Pines!  OMG, I think I have found my new go-to show!  I can’t wait to tune in every Thursday night.  If you liked shows like Lost, X-Files and Twin Peaks, this will be right up your alley!

Thinking:  How happy I am they caught the 2 escaped prisoners in Northern NY!   I went to college only about 20 minutes from the prison they escaped from.  I have lots of friends still in that area, and one of my besties currently works at Clinton Correction Facility as a counselor!  So needless to say, I am very relieved it’s over. I’ll admit, it was an exciting story to follow though!

Wondering:  What I should do for my 40th birthday.  Hard to believe I’m turning 40 soon, right?   (OK- the end of December so not tooo soon).  I really want to take a trip somewhere,  Maybe New Orleans?  Florida? Somewhere closer?

Looking forward to:  Lunch tomorrow with a great friend I haven’t seen in years!  I am also looking forward to a week off from work next week (woo hoo!!) and the little 4 wheeling adventure the hubby and I are going on!

Looking at:  The July picture on my calendar which is of Bar Harbor, Maine. Can I transport myself here right now??

Hoping:  For better days for some very good friends who have had a lot of sadness lately.

 

Linking up with Anne and Jenna for their monthly Currently series

That time of the week again!

It's that time of the week again... Friday favorites!!  Unfortunately this is my first post since last week's Friday favorites.  But next week I'm realllly going to try to make an appearance here 1 or 2 times before Friday! 

Number 1:

OK, this could quite possibly be my FAVORITE Friday Favorite EVER!  Have you guys heard of Pley?  It's basically like Netflix for Legos!  You pay a monthly fee, make a "playlist" of the Lego sets you want to build, and then they send them to you!  Then when you're done, you send it back and get another one!  Shipping is free on both ends, and they even sanitize the Legos for you!  If you decide it's a set you really love, you can purchase it at a discounted rate.  Let me tell you, this is going to be a godsend in my house!  If you've been following this blog for any amount of time, you know that my 5 year old is obsessed with Legos.  We could probably pay for his college education with the money we have invested in Legos!  Now I just pay $20 a month and get unlimited Lego sets for him to play with.  And I'll be honest... when he's building Legos, he's not chasing/running/fighting with his brother which makes for a more peaceful home all around!

Here's the site if you want to check it out...  https://www.pley.com/ 

Number 2:

My friend Irene just had a Scentsy party.  I've heard of Scentsy, but had never tried their products.  Well I am so glad I did!!  I think it's my new addiction!  The scents I got are amazing and they have some really beautiful warmers.  And best of all, there is no open flame!





This is the first warmer I purchased... even prettier in person!

Number 3:

My favorite picture of the week!  My hubby sent me this picture yesterday from our Disney photo pass.  Love it (even if Alec looks like he is going to pass out from fever in it)  :)

Number 4:

I love my new placemats!!  And yes, of course I got them off Etsy!  Check out Creations by Mary Ellen - she has all sorts of cool stuff in her shop!

Number 5:

Isn't this the cutest little coin purse?!  It's the perfect size and so pretty!  Check out Designs By Dragon Lily if you're looking for something similar.  Oh, and she does super cute kids' aprons too!! 

There you have it!  Some very random Friday favorites!  Now- please tell me what you're up to this weekend!  It's supposed to rain here pretty much all weekend so I am in desperate need of ideas!  So far the only thing we have planned is a birthday party Saturday morning (um, did I mention I actually showed up for said party last Saturday?  As in a week early?).  Anyway, I need to get some activities planned so we don't go insane inside all weekend! 

Linking up with Andrea for Friday Favorites