Life's a Beach

Wow, I am so incredibly behind in posting the rest of the Maine/New Hampshire/Boston trip. I should be ashamed of myself! What kind if blogger am I? By the time I finish showing you this trip to Boston, it will be time for our next annual trip! Either I need to step up my game or we need to have more boring trips so there is nothing to talk about or show you ;) I think I'd rather step up my game than have boring vacations! So, hang in there. As soon as I finish documenting this trip, I have lots of other fun stuff to share with you all!

A wonderful beach in Ogunquit, Maine. We found this beach last year, and we thought about finding another beach to spend the day on this year. However, after searching all afternoon the day before for another beach, we decided this one was best! So we came back here the next day. We spent all day here and Hannah had a blast! She absolutely LOVES the water and sand. An improvement since last year she did not like her feet in the sand. At all. This year, she was happy as a clam in the sand! :) Well, a really cute clam without the claws, anyway.
We couldn't wait to get our suits on! We had to wade in the water in our clothes first :)

And just like her mama, Hannah wants to take lots of photos :)

And what would a day at the beach be without a GIANT ice cream cone? YUMMY! This was a medium! I wonder how big the large was?!?!?! Can't you read her mind? "Really? This is ALL mine? I get to eat ALL of it?" And she did! Minus about a quarter of it that ended up on her face, dress, and feet :) But what she lost from that cone was replaced by licks of MY swirl cone. So, not to fear, she got her fill of ice cream that day!

OK, tummy full of ice cream, changed into turtle swimming suit, re-application of sunscreen. All set for more fun in the sand and water!
Check out the awesome beach wheelchair we found! Matt was able to join us at the water and be a part of all the fun :) He spotted it when we went to get ice cream. Apparently, the lifeguard station "rents" them for free! We were so very grateful :) For those of you who might not know, pushing a wheelchair through sand is impossible!! (we had to drag Matt's regular wheelchair to this spot and then Papa had a place to sit, too) The narrow wheels of a regular wheelchair just sink and refuse to move in the sand. So these beach wheelchairs have giant wheels that glide very easily across both wet and dry sand!
Digging for buried treasure!!! All we found was sand. . . and more sand.



Hannah was very busy!
It was a wonderful day. But we knew it was time to leave and get dinner when Hannah started chasing the seagulls yelling at them to share the crackers someone threw at them with her, and crying when they ate them all and didn't give her any. I think that meant she was hungry!?!?! I don't know WHY!?!?! Afterall, she ate that monstrous ice cream cone and had a few handfuls of sand earlier. C'mon. That kind of "meal" could easily tide a person over until breakfast the next morning! (I bet the sand is still sitting her her stomach!) But, we obliged and took her to dinner anyway.

And no, we did not invite the seagulls to dinner with us. If they had been more friendly and shared their snack with Hannah, then perhaps we would've allowed them to accompany us. They missed out on some yummy clam chowder and seafood alfredo! Their loss.

Party at Wally's House :)

Mama and Daddy have a tradition. . .they go to a Red Sox vs. Yankees baseball game every year in Boston. They took me last year, but I don't remember. I think I remember something about ice cream? But that is about it. So, I was super excited to go this year! Especially since they told me about Wally the Green Monster who lives at Fenway Park! I've seen photos, and I like him! I couldn't wait to meet him. I WAS GOING TO WALLY'S HOUSE!!! WOOHOO!!!

All ready for the game! So when do I get to meet Wally?

More pictures before walking to Fenway. . .c'mon guys, I don't want to miss seeing Wally! Let's go!
Pretty gardens on the way to Fenway. I usually like to stop and smell the flowers on walks, but Wally was waiting for us! Walk faster guys!!!
Granny stopped to marvel this big tree. It was love at first sight. Granny wanted to take this handsome fellow to the game, but Papa was jealous. So, she had to "leaf" Mr. Tree behind!

I see it! There it is! Fenway Park! Hmmmm. Doesn't LOOK like a park to me?

Well, there was a cool statue of Ted Williams next to all of us, but the well meaning passerby who took this photo of us, failed to include it in the photo. Oh well!
Getting closer! My Wally doll was getting excited too! Doesn't he look excited?

Seriously? MORE posing for photos? Are we EVER going to see Wally?

Sausage from the Sausage King! Not too sure what to think of it, but Daddy says it is good. . .I'll try some later.

WOW! They have some really tall people here! How does he reach his feet to get his shoes on?

Game time! Look at all the people!
I think you know these people :)

Still working on that sausage. . .Mama and Daddy helped :) It was quite tasty!

Mama says I taste better, though :)

Papa really enjoyed the game :)

Look! Papa bought me this at the souvenir store before the game. For some reason nobody wanted me to throw it on the field? It has stains on it! I want a clean ball, so I thought the players may as well use it!?!?!

Hey everybody! I'm here!

My daddy is the best :) (hmmmm. . .if I keep being cute and hugging him, think he will buy me some cotton candy?)
Water is good. . .

Cotton candy is better!! It worked! Being sweet gets you sweets :) If Mama didn't steal some of it, I probably could've eaten the whole bag! But it's okay, I like to share :)

FINALLY! I get to see Wally :)

He was a monster of few words, though. . .

Practicing my catcher's pose while waiting to meet Wally! The REAL Wally!!!
WALLY!!! WALLY!!! WALLY!!!

Bye Wally! Thanks for visiting with me :)
Hey! Yankees players, can I have a ball, please???

Ball please! Throw it right here!

HEY! It worked! The Yankee bullpen catcher threw me a ball!!! :)

(I tried to throw it back, but Daddy, Mama, Papa and Granny tackled me and saved the ball! I am still trying to get the shoe prints and tire tracks off my shirt and pants. Thanks a lot guys! All you had to do was TELL me not to throw it! it's just a BALL people!)

It was this guy :) Couldn't see his face. . .still not sure who he is! But he was nice enough to throw a ball to a little girl in Red Sox hat and shirt, sitting with a whole family of red Sox fans! Risky! But perhaps he was thinking I am still young enough to be persuaded to become a Yankee fan. . .FAT CHANCE! But thanks for the BALL! An awesome souvenir :)

Look at this guy! He's. . .green!
And he REALLY liked Granny! He tried showing off his awesome dance moves near her seat. . .but she is spoken for. See Papa peeking behind them? He looks nervous! He should be! Especially after her trying to run off with that tree earlier!

Game is over. One last time with Wally.

Um. Granny? What are you doing? 1st the tree, then the green dancing guy, now WALLY???
Can we take Wally home with us??? I promise to take good care of him!
Reading Wally stories before bed. . .
Night night:)

ADORABLE VIDEO: Excited to meet Wally :)

**Mama's note: On the walk back to the hotel, Hannah said "Mama? I tired. Party at Wally's house." I thought it was so adorable that she thought Fenway Park was Wally's house! A party indeed! Wally has lots of friends :)**

Stairs!

If you ask me what one of my favorite things was to do on the trip, I'd have to answer climbing STAIRS! Oh goodness! What a wonderful invention! We had them in our suite in New Hampshire, and there were more on the concierge level in the hotel in Boston! SCORE! I was thrilled!

Ye who have stairs at your house probably think I am nuts. But apparently, my parents and grandparents can't afford such a luxury. Don't judge us! We have to rent rooms at hotels or visit other more fortunate relatives and friends in order to use stairs. So don't take your stairs for granted people! There are poor, deprived people out there in the world like ME who don't have stairs. *sniff* We need to put an end to this insanity! Little kids my age should not have to go without stairs! I am thinking of starting a telethon next year to raise money for people like us. . . I'll start taking donations now, though if you feel so inclined :) *wink wink*

So, I made the most of the time I had with these wonderful things called stairs. I made sure to go up and down every waking minute in both hotels. Not sure why my Mama was begging me to stop after hour 126 of stairs, stairs and more stairs!??! Perhaps she was just feeling bad knowing soon enough we would be going home and have no more stairs to climb for hours on end. It's enough to make anyone cry!

As much as she grumbled about it, Mama had some fun on the stairs too! OH! And I am supposed to tell you that her fanny is not really THAT big in the photo below! This photo is not very flattering. Whatever. . .I say the big bowl of clam chowder she ate at dinner the night before, and the Chicago hotdog and italian beef she snarfed down at the Chicago airport layover on the way here just *might* have a little something to do with it. She's in denial. But just humor her, OK? It's no fun to see her cry :)

Doing my morning work out. Stairs, stairs, and more stairs. . . before I have breakfast! I counted each and every one, almost every time! So it was a great learning tool, as well. There are 16 stairs to be exact. Thus, I can count to sixteen now! WOOHOO!

Just ONE more time? I swear this is my last time going up the stairs. . .until I come down and then have to go up again :)

After a lengthly rain dance in the sprinkler (in another blog to come), I topped off the evening with. . .you guessed it! MORE stairs!

Here I point out the "tricky" steps. (and at the end I try to imitate mama and put my "foot up" to climb onto the railing so I can slide down. Granny helps :) (it might sound like I say "shut up" but I am saying "foot up")

Stairs at the hotel in Boston! Just my luck!

Ode to the "Wally-pop"

MMMMMM! Riding on a plane to get to Boston was a FUN! I loved going fast and flying way up high in the air! Higher than the birdies! Well, I enjoyed the ride for the most part, but having to ride TWO planes to get to Boston was a little much. It felt like it took forever! But I was so patient. . .until about 40 minutes before we were ready to land in Boston. I was anxious to get there! I started to get antsy. . . So, like any loving, caring mother would, my mom rushed up to the cockpit and politely asked the pilot to please hurry up because I was READY to get off the plane! Ummm. Yeah, she didn't REALLY do that. If she did, we'd be raising bail to get her out of jail, I'm sure. Instead, Mama popped a lollipop in my mouth after I loudly exclaimed "all done plane, people off plane!" (I am an experienced traveler and know that my daddy has to be the last one off the plane, so we have to wait for everyone to get off) Unfortunately, the pilot did not hear my pleas and didn't land the plane. And apparently the other passengers ignored my request, or perhaps they just didn't pack their parachutes, so I decided to be mature and just sit and enjoy my "wally-pop" for the remainder of the flight :)

I enjoyed my "wally-pop" so much, I made up a little song to go along with my experience. I was in love with my wally-pop and made certain it knew it how much I appreciated it! I chanted "wally-pop wally-pop wally-pop" over and over again between every tasty, sticky lick :)

WALLY-POP!!!
Here Mama! Try this! It is sooooo yummy :)

Video of Hannah and her "wally-pop" chant: