We caught a last moment together with Papa to celebrate three generations before reluctantly departing from Maine and heading out on the next leg of our journey.
Never enough time with the family, never enough...
The Little Engineer briefly became The Little Composer this morning, as he took a break from the authentic Skid Steer Loader that occupied most of his attention at the Maine Children's Discovery Museum and tickled the ivories as only he can.
Ace surely feels he is the master of all he surveys as he takes in the view from atop Cadillac Mountain in Acadia.
Our second and final day Down East brought better weather and wonderful visits with Uncle Kenny & Aunt Bobbi and Uncle Rod, Aunt Leslie, and cousin (one generation removed) Jennifer.
Mommy teaches Chase how to make seaweed explode at Sand Beach on Acadia National Park.
While rain shortened our night of camping (to an afternoon of setting up, then taking down our tent), we're thoroughly enjoying our time on Mount Desert Island.
Ace and Nanna catch up on the day's events after we picked Nanna up from Camp Andro this evening. Note the "flair" buttons on the proud grandmother's jacket.
The cousins strike a pose in front of the historic narrow gauge railroad, during a pit stop on our ride along the waterfront in Portland. Who doesn't love trains?!?
Ace enjoys the deserted beach at Camp Androscoggin, a few short hours before the campers arrive for the summer. He was especially happy that Nanna took time away from her preparations to play with him in the sand.
Chase had fun today playing with cousins James, Estelle, Maddie and Bella who came to visit from N.H. with Auntie Grandma. Here Chase is playing with a toy that Mommy and Daddy bought for James' birthday last year. Now if he'd only turn around, he'd see what a good job he'd done!
Ace serves as the High Fiving Finish Line as cousins James and Estelle race on our first full day in Maine. James may have won the races, but Estelle and Chase had plenty of fun running around in pursuit.
Now that Auntie Amanda's surprise B-day party is complete, we can reveal that we have, in fact, been on the East Coast for the last four days (Thursday and Friday's shots were in Grandpa & Grandma's Stamford back yard).
Father's Day began with playtime along the Charles River, a visit to the Yawkey Way store -- cool jersey, huh?!? -- and then a BBQ with Amanda & John, before heading to Maine. Chase is a whirlwind traveler, for sure. And, he sure loves his daddy!
The Little Rembrandt turned a fountain and broom into ink and paintbrush this morning at the Denver Botanic Gardens. He titled his works "Puppy" and "Bunny." Unfortunately for art lovers worldwide, this gallery installation was rather short-lived.
Despite temps above 90 degrees and no noticeable breeze, the Little Engineer insisted on an afternoon trip to the Sand Park to continue his research into scale models of civil engineering projects.
Even with deadlines looming and aspirations high, Ace could only operate at half speed in the heat, and wasn't able to put the usual energy into his studies. Yep, sometimes work makes him a sweaty mess.
We're not into potty training mode, yet, but Ace has started to initiate the occasional independent trip to the loo. Tonight, as he trotted around in "Naked Baby" mode, he announced he needed to pee, and into the bathroom we went.
Sure enough, he tinkled on cue and then gleefully poured the liquid gold from the potty into the toilet.
Think when we officially move away from diapers, it will go this smoothly?