Sebago Lake is awesome

It doesn't matter what toys you bring to the beach, it's the random item that captures a child's attention. Our friends invited us for a dinnertime boat ride and picnic on Sebago Lake and packed a bunch of toys to keep all our kids entertained so the adults could relax.

But even with all the careful planning of my friend, it was a paper plate that her 19-month-old found fascinating -- and threw like an ultimate frisbee pro.

I have loved spending time on Sebago Lake since I was a teenager. It was great to spend some time on a boat with my kids and now watch them enjoy it. We don't have a boat right now but I'm working on Fino to get one.

The kids loved the boat ride around the lake and letting their hair "blow dry" in the wind. Then when we anchored at the Sand Bar, they spent nearly all their time in the water swimming and playing with barbies.

We eventually dragged the kids out of the water for dinner. And then dads built a small campfire afterwards and asked the kids if they wanted to toast marshmallows. As usual, the kids definition of "toasting" meant lighting marshmallows on fire. I can't say how many times I've tried to show the girls how to get the marshmallows golden brown but they don't care. They want them hot any way they can get them - and as soon as possible.

Here's a few more photos from our Sebago Lake boat trip. Did I mention how much I love Sebago?

We drove around Frye Island.

The Sand Bar has a couple of fire pits and was a perfect dinner picnic spot.

Yeah, nothing better than enjoying a sunset on the lake.

Ant treks and traffic-stopping ducks

We went to opening day at the Ossipee Fair yesterday. The kids have a bunch of their 4-H projects in the exhibit hall so in addition taking in the sights around the fairgrounds, we also served as monitors for the hall for a few hours (an expectation for each 4-H club entering exhibits).

The highlight in the exhibit hall, besides the girls being pleased with their blue riboons for their photography projects, was the ant dragging string across the floor.

Yeah, we even took video of the little ant that could. We were all just kinda fascinated watching it work its way across the floor.


And I really enjoyed this photo by L. "It's tail action mom, just like (G.'s) chicken action!"

And no trip to the fair is complete without some of these.

Or this.

And then I noticed that the girls had some kind of animal leg theme going on with their photos yesterday.

The pig scramble was enjoyable to watch until the pigs were put into bags. "Those poor pigs. They put them in bags without air holes! I don't like that," huffed G. She had a similar reaction at the Oxen pull with the whips. The girls like the animals and don't like to see them being hit or distressed. I guess they're really not cut out for the farm life. They'll stick with their errant ducks and crazy chickens.

And speaking of ducks, we had another run in with someone else's pesky birds last night. We had to come to a very quick stop driving home on Route 25 in Cornish because several ducks decided to cross the road around 9:45 p.m. They took their own sweet time getting across that road too (and blowing the horn didn't even phase them, let alone get them moving faster).

"Geeze mom, ducks are a pain in the butt aren't they?"

Yup.

Going with the flow

The girls and I were feeling a little landlocked this morning so we decided to go to Dundee Park in Windham to rent a paddle boat.

We rented a paddle boat because the kids' leg muscles are in much better shape than their arms are for canoeing right now. We haven't been canoeing at all this year because our friend with the canoe moved out of the area. Not a good excuse I know, but I wanted an easy, stress-free afternoon so I went with what I thought would be easiest for us.

And we did have a great time on that little boat - well worth the $5/hour rental fee we paid. Of course we had the typical paddle boat steering problems (going in circles before getting the hang of the rudder). And because we switched positions several times, everyone had their chance to steer and not get us where we wanted to go - me included.





At one point L. decided to jump off the side to take a little dip.



But G. decided to pull out her book and read for a while.



Then G. decided to take command of the camera and as usual, it was amusing to see what she chose to photograph.

A creative approach to chores

The girls were sorting their clean socks from the laundry basket. Generally, the girls don't care if their socks match, but every once in a while I like to do an inventory.

So as I was checking email, I heard a lot of laughing and then some crying while they were supposedly organizing the socks.

"Girls, what's going on," I yelled from the other room.

"Nothing, we have it figured out," G. replied.

A little while later they were laughing loudly and I went to see what exactly they had "figured out."

Swim goggles?

Their solution to not getting hit in the eye with a flying sock during their sock fight.

Nice.

Purple pine cones, a bunny and a snowman

We went to the Arboretum in Augusta the other day and even though thunderstorms were threatening, we managed to explore quite a few of the trails (and have a quick picnic) before the storm.

The girls took over the camera for most of the hike and continue to surprise and amuse me every time I download the pictures.

So here are the photo highlights of the Arboretum from their perspective.

G. caught me once again in the act of of trying to wrangle L's hair into a ponytail before we hit the trail.

 

Lupine is L.'s favorite wildflower.

The kids loved the hosta garden. They spent a long time reading all the names of the plants and laughing about some of them. "Elvis Lives" is the real name of that plant. I never knew hosta gardeners had such a sense of humor.

 OK, what kind of tree is this? I thought it was a spruce variety but then started over-thinking it after looking at the Balsam Fir. I don't think I've ever seen purple pine cones. Post a comment if you know what it is.

I took this photo and asked L. if she could have tried to be more careful in the marsh. "Well look at you mommy!"

Ooops.

"There's a snowman and a bunny!" And I have to agree with her yet again, that I see that too.

The diversity of cantaloupe

Thanks for the blog suggestion about how "fun" cantaloupe can be L.

 

Kid Tracks Column: Hiking the Arboretum

The "Abba Dabba Do" hosta and a bunny and snowman tree. These were the highlights of the day for my 8-year-old at the Pine Tree State Arboretum in Augusta.

Even though it was likely we'd be caught in a downpour on a hot and hazy day, we set off to explore the trails at the Arboretum anyway. At the trailhead my 10-year-old discovered a "Quest" treasure map with riddles to solve based on various places on the trail. Of course we could not pass up something to keep the kids interested on the trail and the prospect of finding a treasure.

One of the first things my 8-year-old spotted was the beautiful blooming field of lupines, her favorite wildflower. After taking a few photos - in place of her picking them all - we passed by some pear trees with tiny fruit just starting to bud. My husband, Fino, knew they were pear trees but I appreciated the small plaque on the tree to identify them.

Then my 8-year-old spotted some trees.

"Look at those trees mom. They look like a snowman and a bunny!"

A few long branches stood taller than the rest on one tree and I agreed that they did resemble a pair of bunny ears. And the odd rounded shape of the other tree, with indentations in just the right places, did look like a couple of snowballs stacked on top of each other. That kid always surprised me with her a keen eye for details.

That might have been excitement enough, but as soon as we entered the hosta garden, the kids were really enthralled. Not necessarily with the blooms - only a few were actually flowering - but with the names of the plants. At first I thought the plaques identifying them were fictional. It seemed unlikely to me that names like "Elvis Lives" or "Abba Dabba Do" could be real. But to my surprise - and some online research later confirmed this - those were the actual variety names. The kids found the hosta garden so much fun that we walked up and down that part of the trail several times - and returned again before we went home.

After working out a couple of treasure map riddles and getting into the rhyming of the hosta garden and old well clues, the kids and Fino said they were hungry. Since we weren't far from the trailhead, we headed back to grab our cooler and sit at one of the picnic tables there.

Instead of taking the same trail back however, my husband decided to lead us through the fields of lupine and other wildflowers. That wasn't such a great idea. The soggy spring and recent thunderstorms had left the grassy trail very muddy. So much so that at one point, the girls almost lost a shoe in the smelly mud. Of course, no one was spared from getting splattered; after admonishing the kids for getting dirty, they pointed out that I had, too.

Back at the car, the kids gathered their clean boots, socks and pants (which I was glad I had anticipated the need for) and found the public bathroom inside the visitor's center to change.

"Hey mom, this bathroom is nice - and it's so big!" commented my 10-year-old.

There was a time when my kids were younger that we knew the color of liquid soap in every bathroom in the Greater Portland area. I don't quite understand the fascination my kids have with public bathrooms. I used to try to avoid them, but now I listen to the girls review each one as if we were in a store showroom.

We explored more of the trails after lunch and found the clues to almost all of the map riddles in about an hour or so. We guessed at the remaining riddle and found the prize box. My 10-year-old took the honors of stamping our treasure map and signing the log.

The Arboretum has a lot of interesting plants, flowers and trees to keep kids of all ages interested on these trails. And what Fino and I really liked was the ability to get back to the car fairly quickly (it was key for us with a threatening storm the day we visited). There are five miles of trails but our trek back to the trailhead could be cut to less than a 1/2 mile from almost any given point by following the easy to read trail map.

As for the kids' review of our day at the Arboretum? They're already making plans to visit again later this summer when more hosta varieties are in bloom.

NEED TO KNOW

Trail name: Pine Tree State Arboretum Nearest town: Augusta
Region: Kennebec
Length: 5 miles of trails
Difficulty: Beginner
Other: Trails are open every day from sunrise to sunset. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. Directions, trail map and more are available on the Arboretum's Web site.

Originally published in the Maine Sunday Telegram July, 2006