Just A Month Or So Ago

To start off Mr. Yankee's MBA, he went through a grueling week of business classes that started at 7 am and ended at 11 pm. In preparation for this week, I asked my Mom to come visit so I wouldn't be alone all day. The timing worked out well for everyone, so my mom, dad, sister, and niece all were able to come.

Since I had only been in the north for all of two weeks and 90% of that time was spent unpacking and the other 10% was spent in Maine, everything was brand spankin new to me as well! We had fun exploring the city and taking tours. I learned the subway routes and where a few things were, but I use those terms very loosely.

We told Mr. Yankee to have fun in school and went on our way to have some fun of our own.

We played in the splash pad.

 

And got more wet than baby whimsy and baby gator combined.

 

They left a little traumatized from the shooting water that hit their faces and heads.

 

Baby gator sought comfort in baby whimsy.

 

Baby whimsy offered him one her pretzel.

 

Baby gator decided eat his button instead.

 

We took a harbor cruise and they even got to steer the boat. However, they were not pleased with this experience and both decided to cry.

 

Could have been a priceless picture for the future.

 

If only, if only......

 

We fished out some lobstah from the ocean, cooked em, and ate em all up.

 

Of course I'm only kidding....

 

We scarfed them down.

 

"Hi Grandpa."

 

 

"I kinda like you."

 

"I kinda like you too Whimsy."

 

 

 "Gator what uh, watcha doin there..."

 "WHAT IS HAPPENING......"

 

Traumatized.



 

 

"This spot looks even better....."

 

 

"Yum."

 

 

Andddd that was our week.

First Taste Of Atlantic

Instead of trying to find the best local restaurant in Maine, we thought we could take a foodie tour and sample a little from many different places.

 

We were hoping to eat a little lobster.....

 

Maybe a lobster rolls....

 

A little clam chowder....

 

An oyster here and there...

 

Hungry yet?

 

Well we were. After all we ate light so we could fill up on all the amazing seafood we were about to eat.

 

Boy we were wrong.

 

On our foodie tour we ate none of the above items and left a little hungry. We did however get to see and learn about some pretty unique local places, so it made up for not getting to eat some tasty seafood!

 

We met this fella a local fish market.

 

 

 

We decided to take matters into our own hands and treat ourselves to some local lobster since we didn't eat any on our tour.



 

 

Baby gator didn't know what to think of this new creature.

 

Was it a toy? Something to chew on? And why did it smell soooo tasty?

 

He then got a little frustrated that he wasn't able to have any lobstah as the locals call it, and decided to hang his head in disappointment.

 

 

 



While we toured Acadia National Park we found a spot for baby gator to touch his toes in the water.......and not just any water, the Atlantic Ocean! Next up, the Pacific! Just kidding, at least I think I am....

Whale Talking

On our last day in Maine we took a whale watching tour. We really, really wanted to talk to the whales like Dory in Finding Nemo.

 

The information for the tour mentioned that we should bring warm clothes. That usually means bring a light jacket in the South. Not bring clothes for crazy cold winds.

So being really on top of things I brought us all jackets, gloves, scarves, ear warmers, and hats.

And I of course forgot all of said items in the car except for the jackets and things to keep baby gator warm.

I blame it on the excitement of getting to see the whales.

 

Or the fact that I wanted to make sure baby gator would be warm and was covered head to toe, after all he is the most important out of the three of us to keep warm and he did come from the swampland.

We arrived early and got to pick our seats.

We picked awesome seats on the top near the back.

Perfect view.

Also was a perfect place to freeze.

This boat went FAST. I was expecting cruise ship speed. So as soon as baby gator woke up, we went to the lower level to stay warm.

 

Because we were on the lower level we had a totally different experience than we would have if we stayed on the top deck. We saw so many sweet people getting seasick and many bored kids (they obviously didn't watch Finding Nemo like we did). We also had to run back and forth to each side of the boat to see the whales. It was a fun and very cold experience! I highly recommend going in the future if you have the chance!

Watch Out For Moose In The Road

We visited Maine.

 

Mr. Yankee (reason for name change is in last post) and I had a constant fear that we were going to get stuck in a snow storm the entire trip.

Here's a few reasons why.... 

There were many signs about Maine being a place you vacation (I'm glad they have come to terms with how cold it gets there).

 

We wore jackets in the morning....in August.

The wind had a mysterious chill to it, that said ya its nice now, but just wait.

The town seem to dwindle down in the evening creepily. 

The beautiful and amazing landscape seemed like a place no one has ever explored. What it must have been like to be Lewis and Clarke or even the first settlers I cannot even imagine!

Even the sunset seemed to give the warning of its time to go inside now.

I know you think I'm crazy.

And I probably am.

But in all other northern places where it snows you can tell that the locals like the cold and act like its not a big deal to live there in the winter. In Maine, the locals don't mess around with the cold.

Local baby apparel

The Last Box

We did it. We are finished unboxing. 

There may be a "new" box that I put decorations in for the time being, but we are finished! 

Thank you for letting me take a short break from blogging. After we got here and the movers came and left,
everything became really really crazy. 

Boxes were crushed during the move.

Things in said boxes were damaged in different ways.

The damaged goods all had to be memorialized with pictures. Just kidding, but we did have to document with pictures and write evvvvvvvrything down, which took longer than I would have preferred.

These goods all had to be fixed or replaced as well.

It felt like a never ending process, but we are finally finished! Can I get a whoop?
 

But even more exciting than being finished unpacking, two very special things happened (besides the whole moving in/starting a new life in a new city/exploring new things).

 

1. Baby gator started eating solid food! Which created a whole mess of fun/problems.
 

 

2. Baby gator turned five months old!

 

Oh and Mr. Gator became Mr. Yankee because he made me move to the north where I will freeze :).

The Chuckles

Baby gator has new tricks. He likes to chuckle. Today he is currently practicing laughing/chuckling. 

At first I thought I was just being extra funny and I got excited.

Then he laughed at our friends dog. 

Next at a flower.

Then a window.

And then the real killer....the ground.

He is currently laughing at his hand. 

I no longer feel so great about my accomplishment. 

But I am very happy he's happy....pray that it lasts!

Oh did I forget to mention I'm about to go on a four hour flight with baby gator?

Seriously. Pray that it lasts :).

I Had So Say Goodbye To The Best

I discovered an amazing place while living here.....

A place that was within walking distance of our apartment

A place that I visited too many times

A place that may have been to close for my own good

A place where the owner knew my name

A place that satisfied my hunger and cravings 

A place that will forever be remembered as the best

A place that I frequented often during pregnancy because it was the ONLY thing that never made me sick 

A place that when asked what I would miss most besides our friends and church when we left, was listed as my number one

A place that is near and dear to my heart and will never ever be replicated or forgotten

This was no ordinary place.

And I had to say goodbye to it.

Sake Garden, you stole me heart. And so did your happy hour special of buy one sushi get one sushi half off.

Goodbye crunchy roll. Goodbye spicy mayo. I will miss you.

The Continuation Of Our Story

Our sweet friends threw us an amazing going away party on Tuesday! God is good and has blessed us beyond our imagination!

 

 

Here is how our merry go-round spun...

After we got married, we moved to the swampland.

 

 

We knew no one, but we ended up with so many sweet friends.

 

How you ask?

 

(This is where God is good.)

I don't know.

Mr. Gator doesn't know.

And baby gator surely does not know either.

 

But they are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we love them dearly.

 

 

We've cried together.

 

We've prayed together.

 

And our lives will forever be impacted by them all. 

 

See you in 3 weeks or less

Well....I wrote this at the beginning of last week and have struggled to post it because I am still struggling...

Last Tuesday was moving day. We currently are living in an empty apartment and sleeping on a blow up mattress and in a pack and play. I'll leave the guessing up to you for who is sleeping where.

If you are thinking about visiting us, which we would still love, plan on using the stairs as your table and the floor as your chair. Mr. Gator just realized we could have been using the angled closet underneath the stairs as a "guest bedroom" since a twin mattress would fit nicely in there. I'm very happy he just now realized this and not when we first moved in.

If you are thinking about robbing us, don't be silly, it's an empty apartment, unless you really want our scrapbooks. And if that's the case I will just make you one if you ask nicely. No need to take one of the seven objects in the apartment. 

We will be without our possessions for a total of about three or so weeks. Two weeks here and one week there. Surprisingly this little tidbit doesn't bother me. 

I do have the occasional thought that our truck will be the one truck that gets in a horrific accident. 

And for some reason they decided they would not pay to replace any of our items. 

Let's pray this doesn't happen.

Mr. Gator and I can't help but worry about the probability that something was broken during the move. Not because we are worrywarts, well Mr. G isn't at least, but there were a few too many crashing noises, boxes sliding down our stairs, and bumps and bruises on our furniture along the way for me to have any confidence in the well being of our things.

After feeding baby gator throughout the night after the move, I had a hard time going back to sleep worrying about it all. Each time I worried, I felt a little nudge reminding me that they are only things - and things don't matter at all in the next world. I also felt God asking me, "aren't I enough?" My reply was always yes, yes you are enough.... but it was still a struggle thinking of all our pretty things and the fact that we don't truly NEED them.

As I sit here trying to remember that God is enough, I know that are our things are most likely not broken and that we are so extremely blessed to have gone through this situation rather than an actual devastation (flood, hurricane, tornado, fire) like so many others have gone through recently.

Matthew 6:28-33

28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Nostalgic

Last night was our very last trip from the great state to the swampland.

 

For our going away present, both states gave us lots of traffic (luckily no one was hurt, it was only construction traffic I think). So in response to the traffic, we left them a stinky diaper. You're welcome!

 

Mr. Gator and I have always (for the most part) enjoyed our trips back and forth. Gives us good chance to talk. On this particular trip we remembered all the fun we had in the swampland and all the things we forgot to do. We enjoyed the view on the ride as always and soaked it all up for the very last time. We had lots of laughs (including baby gator) and a few cries (baby gator).

 

We feel so blessed that God brought us here and introduced us to so many lifelong friends. We will cherish this place forever, which is something I never thought I would say.