Wordless Wednesday: A Weekend Retreat in Kennebunkport, Maine

 

Lovebirds 6th Wedding Anniversary (Family Style!)

Sharing an anniversary kiss at Acadia National Park (a group of bikers saw us smooching and demanded we capture the moment on camera!)

One of my favorite bloggers Carol, of Girl Gone Travel, recently wrote this line as part of a post earlier this summer: 

"...my silence, here on the blog, is due to my doing exactly what I always encourage others to do which is to get out there and live. Live life to the fullest. Be in the moment, taking nothing for granted."

My heart flip flopped, and I nearly screamed YESSSSSS in agreement when I read this line! This is *so* spot on and encapsulates so much of how I'm feeling lately. It brings to mind a frequent reminder announcement on the cruise I was on with my mom which told people to put their phones away during performances and to take it in with their own eyes because that's the best view - not the one behind a screen.

At our first Portsmouth fireworks last Friday

While I'm very thankful for all the wonderful moments my family and I have been experiencing up here in New England (including celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary which I'll get to in a minute!) and the ability to capture special moments here on the blog, albeit delayed, there's nothing like stepping away from the screen.

Now on to the 6th anniversary recap!

We were greeted with this view

When Mr. Lovebird asked that we all join him for a family work trip up to Bar Harbor the same weekend as our wedding anniversary and Grayson's 1st birthday I was a bit skeptical. I had heard of Bar Harbor but never really had a specific desire to go, however when he shared the itinerary with me, being the Type A woman that I am, I recognized fellow Type A-ness in the creators of the event, and I knew we'd have a great time. 

I was right!

The air was brisk during our stay,  but the pool was heated!

Bar Harbor is 3 1/2 hours north of us here in Portsmouth, and I checked the weather in advance, saw it was going to be pretty much perfect and packed accordingly including swimsuits. We stayed at the Bar Harbor Regency Resort which is also a partial Holiday Inn property and while I was nervous about the Trip Advisor reviews, we had a good stay. The event organizers had a few planned excursions, but with a kids' camp scheduled each day with activities for them I knew I'd probably just want to take it easy during the time we'd be together especially because Uka would be in meetings most of the time. It also gave me a chance to meet other New England families who are in the same industry as Uka and we got a chance to plan our own little family field trip to Acadia National Park, which another local mommy friend provided several helpful tips.

Grayson enjoyed watching each night's post-dinner entertainment under the big tent

Lobster cobb salad made it easy to eat the rainbow!

Ahhhh Maine, I don't think filters are ever needed for you

A blurry hug - he loves doing this lately!

This pre-dinner popcorn bar had me questioning all the choices I made at my wedding - why didn't I think of this???

Cadillac Mountain

I was bummed the kids fell asleep when we went to Acadia National Park, but I shot this little video of the view at Cadillac Mountain:

One of my favorite parts of our trip to Bar Harbor was getting dressed up. I used Rent the Runway for the first time a few months ago, when I was still feeling very postpartum, and I have to say they didn't disappoint. Both times have been outstanding and I highly recommend RTR! I received so many compliments and it was fun to feel fancy on the night of our anniversary. The theme was "starry night" so when I saw this dress I snapped it up but then had hesitations that I wouldn't be the only one wearing it (I was wrong!). The conference also gave us a bottle of champagne too (and as I'm writing this I remembered that we left it in the hotel fridge - oops!) and to celebrate Grayson's 1st birthday a beach bucket with a bubble blower. So thoughtful!

I look forward to making it back up to Bar Harbor perhaps next summer. The kids did surprisingly well on the trip - it was so rainy on the way back and they pretty much slept the whole time! 

Celebrating our anniversary and Grayson's 1st birthday in the photo booth

Over the weekend we had a belated 6th anniversary date night and saw Jurassic World - I liked it!! I think alternate title should've been GMO vs. Organic agreed? 

Here's to another exciting year with my homeylovefriend (who's currently on his much deserved guycation in the Caribbean), and I'm excited for what's in store for our little family! Oh and a funny story courtesy of Nia: lately she's been obsessed with asking about what I was doing at specific ages and recently asked, "Mama, when were you a teenager?" I explained that when I was 13, 14, 15 etc. I was a teenager than informed her that at age 18 I met her daddy. Her eyes got big and she asked, "You were a teenager when you met Daddy?!" I replied, "Yes, and I thought he was cute and gave him a kiss!" She turned her nose up in disgust and loudly proclaimed, "EWWWWWWW!" 



*Speaking of IRL, I'll be back in NYC with my kids next week for BlogHer (and to see my parents who are also flying up from Texas to meet us!), and while in years past I've been super strategic about my plan of attack for conferences, this year I'm just happy to make personal connections and catch up with old blogger friends. Will I see you there?

A "Someday" Post . . . Cottages at Cabot Cove

For years I've had the Cottages at Cabot Cove in Kennebunkport, Maine on my list of "someday" places to visit. Well, I was visiting Elements of Style (one of my favorite blogs), and I saw Erin celebrated her 5 year wedding anniversary there and had an insiders take on the cottages. It really looks amazing, and I know I would thoroughly enjoy it!

Here are a few pics:

I've never been to Maine before, but I know it would be a fantastic summer destination, especially with a few blueberries involved!

I think I might have to drop a hint hint to Mr. Love Bird for a future stay there...

Check out Erin's post here!

 

P.S. I ended up finally going here in 2015 after we moved to New Hampshire! Check out the pics here.