Franconia NH

I am sitting here on Monday morning having a really hard time dealing with reality : ( I miss my girls and Chris and the day has not even started yet. I miss waking up to the sound of nature and the cool crisp morning air that will soon disappear and leave a hot sunny day. Most of all I miss not having an exact plan but knowing whatever the day holds will be fun and stress free.  We headed out Friday morning around eight in the morning to Franconia NH to the Fransted Camp Ground. It was probably more like 8:30 because I completely put off packing until that morning. Chris’s father and his family go every year and they bring everything, I mean EVERYTHING. I knew we needed the bare necessities, so for once I was not stressing over packing. The night before camp Randi my Mom and the kids came over for dinner, we had Cajon chicken pasta that was SO good.  We all hung out until 9-9:30 laughing and talking, the kids were playing so well together. Normally I would not let visiting get into packing time but it is summer, and I need to relax! It was so nice to visit and enjoy the far too few summer nights.

This camping trip is a yearly tradition for Alan, Paula, Josh, Fayth and Samantha. They go for 10 days of relaxation and family fun. I can imagine just how much this trip is needed for them, we are busy with two kids I can’t imagine having four children. When I say they were all set up the day before we got there, I mean it. Their camp site looked more like a circus then a camp site. They have a huge blue tarp that takes up most of their site. Around the fire sits cozy camp chairs, there is a train of coolers lined up with tons of food. We knew we would primarily be at their site so our site was pretty pitiful. We had a tent, an empty fire pit and a picnic table.  Chris went to the office to check in and I set the tent up while he was gone. I was determined to get everything set up before he returned! We headed over to find family and began to RELAX.  Chris’s aunt Nancy (Alan’s sister) and her Husband Paul were visiting for the day. Paul and Nancy’s daughter Laura (Chris’s cousin) her husband Sal and their two kids Joseph and Rachel were camping for the weekend as well. The last time we saw them was 6 years ago at Paula and Alan’s wedding. It scared me a little to see how grown up their kids were. The last time we saw them they were the girl’s age and now they are 12 and 14 Gahhh.

We ate dinner around the camp fire, tubed in the river, talked, made memories, played volleyball, the kids played on the play ground, we ATE, explored, but most of all relaxed.  The big adventure was Story Land! All three girls, Ry, Dev and Samantha were so excited to go. We left at 9:00 and drove about 40 minutes to get there. You could see pure excitement in the kids’ faces as they smiled and skipped ahead to the next exciting ride.  We waited in line for what felt like forever for the pumpkin coach to arrive and take us up to Cinderella’s castle. Devan my not so girly girl was beyond smiles when she saw the princess, Ry of course was also excited, I just didn’t expect Devan to be as happy as she was. They each got to speak with the princess and pose for pictures. Up next were more rides, lunch and ice cream. We rode the train around the park just for a break from the heat and crowds. The kids never complained as we passed more attractions.

We visited at Clarks Trading Post for a minute on the way home.

We left Story Land and headed to Lower Falls, this is on the Kangamangus Highway, and the views were beautiful! The mountains are quite something.  After getting back to the camp site we ate dinner together (all the families) then went to bed a little sad knowing we would be packing up in the morning and heading home.  We ate a huge breakfast in the morning and packed the car to head back to Maine.  The girls did not sleep at all on the way back; they were wide awake playing the whole time.  I am sad to be back home, mostly because summer is coming to an end and this was our last planned vaca before school starts  : ( I am going to miss summer. We have to plan lightly during the school year because the girls need downtime on the weekends; they are so busy during the school week they crash on the weekends.  We have a few more weeks to squeeze all the fun we can into this summer though! No more big trips but I am sure we will find fun anyway.