Story Land

It's about time I write about our trip to Story Land! For those not from the New England area, it's this amazing amusement park up around the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Picture every story you ever loved as a kid brought to life. So fun! I can't believe this was my first time here.

The drive was excruciating, especially after our road trip to Maine earlier in the week. 

Creepiest Humpty Dumpty I've ever seen. The eyes moved and everything.

Go figure, Addie loved the creepy egg, but went running from sweet Peter Rabbit.

Alice's teacups were a hit with everyone in the fam!

As was Peter the Pumpkin Eater's house.

Flying dutch shoes!

The tilt-a-whirl (aka Turtle Twirl) was Aubrey's FAVORITE RIDE EVER. I only lasted halfway through the first ride before I felt like I was going to lose my lunch (which was delicious.. pulled pork with coleslaw, onion straws and barbeque sauce on a pretzel roll! Probably the best thing in that park). I'm pretty sure she went on it about 8 times, making everyone in the family go on with her. Glad she didn't inherit my weak stomach!

We got to visit Cinderella's castle and even ride in her pumpkin carriage!

The swan boats were nice and relaxing after walking around for half the day.

Cousins!

Aubrey also loved the bamboo shoots. She went on them 4 times! You can see her little head in the front.

If you ever get a chance to go to Story Land, I would highly recommend it! The day before we went, we went to our library and checked out all of the classics and read them on our way up! Aubrey knew all of the popular ones, like The Three Little Pigs and Goldilocks, but there were some that she wasn't familiar with and I'm glad that we got the books to read. Some of the books we got included: Rumpelstiltskin, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks, Little Miss Muffett, Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, Humpty Dumpty, Peter Rabbit, The Old Lady in the Shoe, and Mary Had a Little Lamb. 

There were a couple rides that Aubrey really wanted to go on that she didn't quite reach the height requirements for, so we will definitely have to go back in the next year or two!

Interview with a 5 year old!

I still have to write about our trip to Story Land. Hopefully tomorrow. It has been a busy week!


Some has changed since our 4 year interview. She's still a Christmas loving, Red Robin eating, beach bunny whose favorite color is purple and best friend is Mackenzie. And even though Maroon 5 doesn't sing her favorite song anymore, she will still jam out with me in the car to some Adam Levine <3.

I'm so proud of the beautiful, sweet little girl our bright eyed baby is turning out to be. :)

Aubrey, age 5

Nicknames: aubs, pumpkin
how old are you? 5
what is your favorite color? Purple
what is your favorite animal? Horse
what is your favorite book? My little pony
what is your favorite tv show? My little pony
what is your favorite movie? Frozen
what is your favorite song? let it go
what is your favorite food? Pancakes
what is your favorite drink? Chocolate milk
what is your favorite snack? Fruit snacks
what is your favorite outfit? My little pony dress
what is your favorite game? My little pony rainbow magic game
what is your favorite toy? Little pony guys
who is your best friend? Mackenzie
what is your favorite thing to do? Play video games with daddy
what is your favorite thing to do outside? Hula hoop
what is your favorite holiday? “when santa comes!”
what do you like to take to bed with you at night? Rainbow bear
where is your favorite place to go? Owen’s house
what is your favorite restaurant? Red robin
where do you want to go on vacation? The beach
what do you want to be when you grow up? 6
what did we do on your birthday? Davis farmland!

Our Trip to York: Day 2

Day 2 started bright and early in our hotel! We packed up our things and went down for a complimentary breakfast. I think we both agreed we would have been better off tracking down a diner, but oh well. 

We got to York Animal Kingdom a little bit after they opened, but since it was a Tuesday it wasn't too bad, despite the school buses from summer camps (I assume) on field trips. 

Aubrey saw that she could ride a camel and HAD to do it. I was a little nervous letting her go alone but she promised to hold on tight and it seemed pretty safe.

The backpack carrier definitely came in handy during the morning half of our day. It was so much easier than pushing a carriage around and Addie loved it!

Aubrey loved petting the deer, who in turn ate our map. Yay.

They have a butterfly room with tons of butterflies! This was our last stop before grabbing lunch and Addie was getting hungry, so we didn't spend a ton of time in here.

I read reviews that the food was gross and overpriced at the zoo (for what it's worth, I saw what other zoo-goers were eating and it didn't look bad at all), so we headed to a local spot for some pizza. Thanks to Yelp, we ordered our first ever gas station pizza. I know.. it sounds iffy. But they have a whole little to-go counter with subs and sandwiches and all sorts of yummy stuff. And it was some of the best pizza I've had in a long time. If you are ever in York, you need to go here. They also had mudslide iced coffee that was out of this world.

After lunch, we went back to the zoo and surprisingly got a decent parking spot. We decided to forgo the backpack carrier since we knew Addie would be going on rides and it's kind of a pain to get her in and out of.

Keith wanted to try out the batting cages, so the girls & I decided to hit up the carousel. Their faces said it all.

After our go-round, we decided to get some fried dough. It was humongous! There was more than enough for the 4 of us and it was delicious.

Aubrey wanted to try out the haunted house. I'm a super wimp and wouldn't even go in this thing when I was like 12. I told her I didn't think it was a good idea, especially when we saw a 10 year old coming out running and crying. But she insisted, and she did great! No tears, just a little jump when they triggered a loud alarm.

We had a really great time at the zoo. It was my first time there and it did not dissapoint! We will definitely go back!

Our Trip to York: Day 1

Since I had to work the day after Aubrey's birthday, the "official" kick off to our vacation was on Monday. We rented a room for a night up in York, Maine and had 2 days of fun! To avoid making this post too picture heavy, I split up the days into different posts.

Our day started bright and early Monday morning. After a much needed coffee stop after I only got 4 hours of sleep from working the night before, we were on our way!

We got to York Beach a little after 9:30 and claimed our spot for the day. 

The water was FREEZING. I got as far as right below the knee and I was all set. 

The cold water didn't bother these three:

Keith took Addie into the water for some solo time and Aubrey & I explored the rocks. We found lots of cool stuff, including a snail that she wanted to take home with us. Sorry kid.

Halfway through our day, we decided to grab some lunch. They offered breakfast all day, so Aubrey & I were all over that. Keith got a burger and a root beer float and the girls were all over it (well, Aubrey just wanted ice cream. She refuses to drink soda. Proud mom.)

Addie pretended she didn't like the lemon, but she ate the whole thing.

We went back to the hotel for a bit to wash the sand off and get ready for dinner at my favorite restaurant in Maine: Robert's Maine Grille! I went there last summer with my best friend and the food was phenomenal.

We tried the Sebago Simmer Down Ale, which had notes of tropical fruit and mango, and it was brewed right in Maine. I love trying local brews and this one didn't disappoint. 

Keith & I shared the seafood platter and demolished it. I'm not usually a huge fan of coleslaw, but theirs is amazing!

It's hard to tell from this photo, but there was a thunder and lightening storm while we were eating. It made dinner so much better, just watching the rain over the water and listening to it hit the roof of our covered patio.

I was a little worried because I wanted to go to Nubble Lighthouse, which is the top photographed lighthouse in America, and it didn't look like the rain was letting up. Eventually it did, and we were on our way!

I *almost* didn't even tell Keith about this place because I figured he would find it lame and touristy. But I'm glad I didn't, because not only did he think it was a cool idea... I got these two photos.. which have jumped into the top 10 of my favorite family photos of all time.

We stopped at the gift shop before leaving and I got a bookmark to hang at my desk along with the above pictures, and we also picked up a Christmas ornament of the lighthouse. This started the tradition of getting an ornament whenever we go somewhere new. I think it will be fun to look back each year and remember the family trips we have taken.

We went back to our hotel room and hit the hay pretty early.. we had another early morning coming up!