Critters

I figure since I am going to try and stay more current with the blog that I should post some every day, average Johnson Happenings. Well, we seem to have some sort of back woods zoo in our house. We have had three skunks living in our garage this summer. Alan chased two of the skunks out one evening then sealed up the supposed entrances. We went away on vacation and came back to an awful smell in our house. Low and behold, there was still a skunk in our garage...and he had been trapped. So, needless to say, he did all his bathroom stuff in our garage and made himself quite comfortable. Alan tried to chase him out one evening (by the way, skunks are very docile creatures), and he kept running back in. I suggested we call the game warden, but Alan was certain that this skunk had seen its last day (he was not too happy to clean up all the pee and poop in the garage). Our friends came over for the day and Mark and Alan went to business. They finally succeeded, but the skunk did spray right before it died, and that is the most PUTRID thing I have ever smelled!!!! It is nothing like the skunk you smell on the side of the road (for those of you who don't know)...it is a very chemical smell that makes you dry heave....yes, all of us, including the children...oh wait....except Alan because he cannot smell. He kept saying, "I don't know what your problem is...I can't smell anything." Mark and Alan gave the skunk a proper burial, and now my house still stinks...nearly 3 weeks later.

So then, we come home from Alan's parents house after an evening of fun and food! I lay Jeremie in his bed, and something flutters above my head, I look up to see this furry little bat land on his curtain rod. Daddy caught it in a box, and we had science 101 at 9:00 at night. It was actually very cute and fascinating. We watched it for a good 45 minutes then let it go to eat all the bugs. We are still trying to figure out how it got in the house.
Then, today I went outside to greet 4 turkeys in my backyard. The kids came running out to see them, and I went in to get the camera but by the time I got back outside they were already leaving the yard for the safety of the woods. You never know what you will see in your house or yard when you live in a rural maine town.

Horse Back Riding

Kaylynn has been begging for horse back riding lessons. She has checked out nearly every horse book from the library, talked to anyone and everyone who knows anything about horse, so finally we gave in and took her for her first lesson. Of course, she LOVED it and did not want to go home. So now we have a horse back riding ballerina (maybe she can join the circus).

She was riding by herself by the end of the first lesson.

Acadia National Forest

We had an exciting vacation to Acadia National Forest and Fort Knox this summer. Alan's cousin Jeff came to visit so we all packed up and headed for the the coast for some camping. Brian, Louise, Gabe, Jaden, Ean, Kay, Les, and Jeff. We had never been to Acadia so we weren't sure what to expect, but we loved it. The weather cooperated for the most part; it only rained one day while we were there....although it rained enough for our tent to flood (the first time ever) so we had to stay in a cabin one night which the kids loved!

Here's Jeremie at Fort Knox attempting to pick up a cannon ball.

Kaylynn in the oven.

Alan and the kids in one of the old store rooms at Fort Knox.
This fort is so cool; we could have an amazing game of hide and seek here.

Yes, my son is peering down the barrel of a cannon.

While at Acadia, we took a leisure 3 1/2 mile hike around Jordan Pond. No touching the water...it is their drinking water. This was a beautiful lake, and the kids (with the exception of Kalli and Ean) hiked all the way around it!

The Beaver home we saw.

Taking a break.

Is that a sign of a beaver or a sign of a pregnant mama and her 6 year old?

Kalli hitching a ride.

Cute picture of Ean at Sand Beach.

Playing in the water at Sand Beach.

It was actually warmer this day.....and they are wearing their swimming clothes.

Jeremie was not too interested in playing in the water;

he and Gabe and Jaden were busy building a sand city.

Family portrait at Cadillac Mountain. This is one of the bigger tourist spots in Acadia. We were not too impressed because there were too many signs that said, "stay on the path" or "do not walk here." It frustrated the kids that they couldn't explore more of the area. So, we walked around, took a picture and went to the beach.

Kalli entertaining herself on the way home. Who needs toys?

Funtown Splashtown

Alan and I enjoyed a weekend all to ourselves this past July! Thanks Kay and Les for hanging out with the kids so we could "go away" for our anniversary! We enjoyed a fun filled day at Funtown Splashtown...a water park and theme park. We spent the first three hours zipping down incredible waterslides and then went on over to the theme park where we screamed on HUGE roller coasters (including the Excaliber - a wooden roller coaster) and laughed playing bumper cars. We avoided all the "dizzy" rides that we may have been brave enough for ten years ago. It was a refreshing weekend!!!
Here we are on the Funtown Race Track. We were so excited about these go-karts; they were really hyped up. Well, they went no more than 5 miles an hour and were not all they were cracked up to be. We had fun anyway. Although, I kept getting passed...and being that I am so competitive, I felt inclined to yell at people as they passed me "It's not that I am a slow poke, really, I have the pedal all the way to the floor...this thing just doesn't go any faster."

Mooselookmeguntic Lake Teen Center Big Three Outdoor Adventure

We had the opportunity to help out with the Big Three Outdoor Adventure with the teen center this summer! We had a blast enjoying Maine's backwoods (the places that have no cell service). Above is a great picture of some of the teens during morning devotional time. This was after 70 miles of biking and 40 miles of canoeing and right before they left for their three day (very intense) hike. Needless to say, they were exhausted! But they are troopers. We have volunteered with the local teen center for almost a year now and have enjoyed getting to know these teens and loving on them. Many of them come from places that you and I cannot even imagine, but they hang out with us! I could tell you story after story, but the best part is building relationships with them!


This Heron let us get so close to it! Kaylynn watched it all week. Every morning she would get up and head through the woods down to the lake to see if HER heron was there. She claimed it from the first day. It stayed with us faithfully all week.

Fishing with one of the teens, Randy. He is a patient, excellent teacher! Thanks Randy!
He was the one who encouraged Kaylynn to kiss the fish she caught.

Jeremie fishing with Randy. Randy became Jeremie's new best friend during this trip.

Playing with Seth. The kids kept shining their flashlights on Seth,
and he pretended like he had no idea what was happening.
The kids were laughing so hard I thought they were going to lay eggs.

S'MORES

Kaylynn playing fetch with this dog at the lake.

I think it was the owner's dog. It reminded us of Dodger.


So then Kalli wanted to play fetch with the dog; she even found her own stick!
Unfortunately the dog didn't chase her stick.

Reid State Park

Another favorite place of ours is Reid State Park. There is a nice, warm lagoon, plenty of rocks to climb on, and miles of sandy beach. We frequented there this summer, and played in the freezing cold water (even though it rained nearly every time we went).

Alan and his friend, Mark riding the waves.

Alan and Mark right after they road the wave; they are so proud of themselves! I did not capture the moment after this when a wave snuck up behind them and knocked them both into the water. You can see Alan getting a little tippy in this photo. And yes, of course, he is wearing his jeans because once again, we were not prepared for swimming. When the water temp is only 50 degrees you never expect to actually go in, but we did!

Kids drying off in this cool teepee thing we found.

Kaylynn enjoying the freezing cold water!

Daddy and Kalli running from the waves.

Kalli in Action!

Jeremie in action!!!

We always have a wonderful time visiting the Maine ocean beaches. There is something for each one of us to enjoy! This trip we enjoyed with our good friends Mark and Tamara and their lovely children Jasmine, Lily, Owen, and Daisy. So glad they braved the freezing water with us!!!

Two Lights State Park

One of our new favorite places in Maine is Two Lights State Park. Next time you come to visit, we will definitely take any of you there! We took a trip with Kay and Les this summer and had a BLAST!!! Kay and Les enjoyed having a swinging contest...I think Les won.

Me and Jeremie in front of the Atlantic Ocean.

Alan with the kiddos in front of the Atlantic.

What fun!!! All the rocks we climbed, all the forts we saw, the lighthouses, the park, running from the HUGE waves, and of course, all the treasures we found (including this crab). Don't forget to look at Kalli's face. That was her instant reaction to daddy picking this crab up.

Summer Fun!

Kalli LOVES dressing up. Here she has Kaylynn's dress,
a lovely pink scarf, and Mr. Potato Head glasses.

Kids enjoying the pool!!! They spent as many hours as they could in it. Thanks Mark and Tam.

Garden

We had our first garden this year!!! Here are some early summer pics. I will post the later summer pics after I catch up the blog! The one above is broccoli and the one below is the whole garden before everything really starting growing. We grew pumpkins, cantaloupe, watermelon (all of those died though), chives, cucumbers, radishes, peas, artichokes, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, cilantro, onions, beets, carrots, and beans.

Kaylynn and Alan weeding! They worked out a nice system with these chairs.

Hiking

We have enjoyed many hiking trips this summer, and this was one of our favorites, right around the corner from our house (Perham's Rock Quarries). The hike was a nice incline and took us about an hour and a half. The kids made it all the way up...through the mud, rocks, and water. We found many beautiful rocks and minerals at the top along with some amazing views!

I just want you to notice what Kalli chose to wear on the hike (her ballet tutu).

The View from the top.