Connecticut Visit for Godmother Amber's Baby Shower 2013!

You can kind of tell that this is a late post since Mom has already  been to Connecticut to visit the baby that this event was thrown for...man, I get so behind sometimes...but anyhoo, that doesn't make it any less fun, right? I am mildly embarrassed that this so late, but then again, I am fairly shameless....so that makes it OK.

The event was a lot of fun! The party was thankfully very monkey friendly, so Monkey got to tag along with me. We had a blast hanging out with everyone!

My godmother seemed to have a great time as well! She got to wear a little crown, and had lots of great food and fun times with her friends and family.

And there were OBVIOUSLY lots of really pretty presents!

I got to spend a lot of time with Mom's side of the family. Gramma Mindy, JustRichy, and Aunt Mallory were in attendance. They enjoyed the time at the party, too!

One of the things Mallory enjoyed doing was taking fun pictures of Monkey and and showing them to me...luckily, one of my favorite past times was having pictures taken of me and then shared with me.

After the party, I brought out the superheroes that I had brought specifically for Aunt Mallory and I to play with. I knew even before I went up there that the Incredible Hulk was all Mallory's (She does an awesome "Hulk Smash") and I was going to be Batman (I do an awesome emotionless gravelly voice that lends itself well to parody)

While Mallory and I were playing, JustRichy worked on building a new castle that Gramma Mindy had gotten me. It had lots of pieces, and easily the worst set of instructions on the face of the Earth. Seriously, it's like someone who didn't know how to put the castle together wrote out the instructions, and then gave it to someone and said "Hey...this makes too much sense. Can you photocopy it on an old 1992 Konica Black and White copier that is at the end of its useful life? YEAH...that looks PERFECT! THAT is what we're putting in the box...."

So good on Richie, he got it mostly put together, and I got to travel back in time with my knight figures (Which, even when the castle isn't assembled, are pretty awesome toys on their own)

There was a drawbridge so I could keep out the bad guys....

And there were lots of turrets for me to post guards at....it was a really cool toy.

Luckily, Mom had time to get over to Gramma Debbie's house during this trip, and I got to spend some time playing with her and Nicholas...to drive home how long ago this visit was, Nicholas moved into his own house (with his Mom and Dad, of course) already, and doesn't even live there anymore.

Oh...and Nicholas has a lightsaber. An ACTUAL lightsaber, people!

**Disclaimer. This lightsaber is only a toy, and cannot actually be used a laser sword.

BUZZ LIGHTYEAR!

It's been awhile, but I figured you guys needed a break after that massive post from Maine last month....
Just before we went to Maine, actually, I got a present from Mom and Dad (using a Christmas gift card to Toys r Us from some very generous friends) it was something I had been hoping for and dreaming of for a long time...

Are you ready for this one? My very own...

BUZZ...

LIGHTYEAR....

TOY!

Look at this thing! We went to Toys r Us and picked out the Buzz Lightyear that I wanted (it came in a spaceship box JUST like the Toy Story movie!

I got to pick out the one I wanted (it even came with a certificate of authenticity! It's my very first certificate of authenticity!

Look at this guy! He's just like the one in the movie! He talks and moves, and has gadgets, and his wings pop up, and he makes flying sounds, and his head moves, and his helmet pops open, and his communicator and laser REALLY work (well at least as much as they did in the movie. As Woody the Cowboy wisely noted, Buzz is "JUST....A...TOY!!!!"

I can't tell you how super psyched I was to have this guy....

It's a lot of fun to play with, and he was actually a great travel companion both in the car going to Maine and while I was there. Now...I bet he'd like a Woody doll to play with...

Maine Vacation 2013!

Once again we journeyed North to the cabin in Maine that our family owns, and even though the drive is loooooooooong....it was a great week!

You can check out previous years here:

2009

2010 

2011

2012

On the way up, we stopped at a restaurant on the way that both Gramma Mindy and my Mom had been to years and years ago...it was a nice little roadside diner type place, that was fun, and featured some killer shakes and desserts...

Finally we ended up at the cabin, and we started the week off with lovely weather. This year it was me, Mom, Dad, Gramma Mindy, Uncle Mat, Aunt Mallory, and their dogs Marley and April...

Right off the bat, we were visited by a family of ducks that came by to get the bread we fed them. The dogs were so excited, and Mat Mallory and I kept the ducks around by giving them so much bread. 

We also decided at the last minute to start the week off with a kayak ride. Dad was unprepared to jump right in and go kayaking right away (Mom had no idea....she was in the shower!) and so we went right out on the lake for our first ride. It was lots of fun. Dad and I pretended that we were in a monster's garden, and had to destroy his vegetables. It was great. We won!

Luckily I brought Buzz Lightyear with me, so even when we weren't out on the lake, I had lots of fun stuff to do! He and I played some nice long games in that nice long car ride, too...there is always so much to do at the cabin!

Mom and I were goofing around, pretending to drive the paddleboat, before Uncle Mat repaired it and made it seaworthy again...

And Dad and I were also goofing around (Do you sense a theme) getting out traditional yearly hammock pic taken.

Mom and Gramma Mindy taught me how to play Uno. It was one of Dad's favorite games growing up, so he was super excited. I played for almost 4 whole minutes before I went into a rage because my updating of the rules were not taken seriously. It was a solidly fun 4 minutes, though....

Gramma Mindy bought me some great puzzles to play with...puzzles are a tradition at the cabin, and it was nice to have some nice new ones just for me. Whenever I got some major sections of the puzzle done, I did my patented victory dance...

I really got into that victory dance, man.

On the cooler days when we weren't in the lake, I just explored the grounds (and sometimes the woods around the cabin with Dad) Sometimes I took April and Marley along with me. They were great dogs, and we all got along very well.

I played lots of games out on the dock. My favorite was "The Penny Game" where I'd walk with a small pebble, pretend to drop it, and then freak out dramatically (while whoever I was playing with ALSO freaked out dramatically) because I lost my money in the lake. If they had been actual pennies, this game would have cost me about $200. That is literally how often I played it, and I never got bored of it. Hilarious.

Uncle Mat built a fire outside one night so we could makeS'Mores. He was pretty good at it!

Mom and Dad helped me toast my marshmallows...

 ...and then I assembled them together with my chocolate and graham crackers....DELICIOUS!

All of us got into the act, sitting around the toasty (and somewhat smokey) fire. We stayed warm, ate our dessert, and chatted.

The next day, even though it was cold, Uncle Mat jumped into the lake....his exact words were that it was "bracing" whatever that means....he was a brave guy to be jumping into such a cold lake.

The lake and accompanying dock provided tons of opportunities for my imagination! In addition to the aforementioned penny game, I also played a game where I dug a little lake for myself, and then walked away....I returned, pretending to be a bad guy that looked just like me. The bad guy then filled in the lake, and made Dad very mad. He then had to explain to Sam when he (I) returned that the bad guy had destroyed his lake again...tragic.

Lots of digging was on the menu for the week, and luckily there were lots of buckets to play with up there. I think that this year I broke the record for "most dirt and pebbles left on the dock"

Dad was very excited to show me all the frogs that hung out around the dock!

Mom and Dad and I took a couple opportunities to take the kayaks out again...

...while Uncle Mat and Aunt Mallory took the dogs out. How hilarious are those two dogs!?

We also took the canoe out, and we went all the way out to one of the islands. Mom, Dad, and I went on an adventure, exploring the entire island after docking.

There were also some quiet moments during the week where we took some time to generally rest and recharge our batteries. There are so many nice places to just tuck yourself away and relax.

Hey....check out what I can do! It only took me three tries to hurt myself, but while I was doing it, I felt pretty cool...I was suspended between the chair and the side table, seemingly floating in zen-like serenity. Cool, right? I was in the zone, man.

The week wouldn't be complete without several visits to the Houlton Dairy Ice Cream Stand. I stuck with my traditional chocolate ice cream on a cone (which always proves challenging to eat in the warming evenings, but luckily it was pretty cool out)

 

Mom, Dad, and Gramma Mindy tried a variety of different ice cream treats and flavors during our various trips to the stand, and were nice enough toshare with me (though I'm sure I ended up eating more than they expected. Tee Hee.)

There were a couple rainy days in Maine, which sounds like it might be a bummer, but really I had been hoping for a rainy day so we could do some of the rainy day activities that had been brought up for just that occasion. Uncle Mat taught himself to make balloon animals (Solid purchase, Gramma Mindy) while Dad and I went down to the dock to play out in the rain.

We discovered the pool noodles and spend about an hour out there using them as swords, drinking straws, and other similarly silly things. (Try saying THAT ten times fast!) It was rainy, and cool, and awesome. So much fun!

We made it back inside, and I helped Dad blow up a balloon for more animals (Uncle Mat had an awesome sword waiting for me. That sword wasn't even IN the manual! He just made it himself!)

Dad started pretty simple with a snake. I really thought it turned out cool, though.

We all worked our way up to a dog and some other fun stuff. I'm really glad we had a few rainy days....good times!

Rainy days also meant some time chilling out playing video games on Dad's iPod, while Aunt Mallory encouraged me. She was knitting during her stay in the cabin, and it looked like she found that to be a very relaxing hobby.

During our slower days, I also worked on my puzzles...

....finally finishing my Toy Story 3 puzzle right before we left. YEEEEEAAAAHHHH!!!

Aw heck....let's have one more shot of me enjoying some awesome ice cream. The ice cream alone is worth the trip to Maine, I kid you not.

Before I left, I of course had to sign the name board since it was my first visit there where I was skilled enough to sign my own name. I don't know what happened with that "s"....I never do that. I chalk it up to being tired since I signed it late at night (Notice my cozy pajammies) Also, the "i" above my name is supposed to be an exclamation point. Also, I may have cancer now since that board is apparently made of asbestos. Hardcore, right?

Mom and Dad signed above me, so we could all be signed in together as a little family unit. The first time all three of us were able to sign the board together. :-)

 And then we were off! Vicious rain storms slowed our travel, but we carried on towards home (and a nice visit to Gramma Debbie's) watching movies, reading books, and playing with toys.

We stopped at a Wendy's to have the world's slowest lunch (I socialize when I eat! Sorrrrry....) and Mom built me my new motorcycle toy that I got in my kids meal....

 On the way home, we made our yearly pilgrimage to Hebert's Colonial Candies. This place had every kind of candy you could imagine, so we bought some fudge for Gramma Debbie (her reaction: "Oh! I was hoping you'd bring fudge!") some candy for Mom and Dad, and I even got to pick my own candy....I chose some of the turtle confections. The almonds were a little much, but the cashew ones were amazing...

I literally feel like a kid in a candy store...

See you again soon, Drew's Lake....