Let's Talk About Maine....

 

Some of our friends in West Windsor, Barbara and her girls Coco and Jacquie, surprised us this summer with an offer to use their cabin in Maine for a week.  She shares it with her ex-husband and we spent the summer by the pool talking about how wonderful it would be for us to go there with them sometime.  I, being the eternal pessimist, thought it would be one of those things that just never came to fruition.  But a week before Sister Act closed she called and said if we could close down the cabin for the season, they would let us use it for the week!!!

We said, "YES PLEASE!!"  As soon as the curtain came down at Sister Act, we jumped in the car and headed straight to Norway, Maine.  We drove halfway that evening and splurged on a hotel room.  The next morning we got up and headed to the cabin.  It was about a 7 or 8 hour trip total.....the same amount of time it takes to drive from Lubbock to San Antonio (I think).  

We got there, hung out with our friends for a while and got busy exploring.  Our friends actually left to head home because they had already been there for a week.  But we did get to swim with them and sit outside together for a while.  It was great.  We spent the next 8 days being as "outdoor-sy" as we wanted.  No make-up, no bed times, no diet restrictions, no fancy clothes, all day long in our swimsuits and covered in sunscreen.  It. Was. Awesome.

 Chris and the kids wasted no time hunting for as many creatures as possible.  They spent all afternoon one day turning over rocks trying to find crayfish.  They caught quite a few!

 It was an unbelievable feeling walking out on the dock each morning to greet the sun, and standing there at night gazing at the moon and listening to the loons call to each other.

 The kids loved digging up the river muscles by the beach.  They put them all in big piles!

 Each day, at least 2 or 3 times, we went out in the canoe and kayak on the "little" pond.  It was the most beautiful water.

 When Barbara was describing the cabin to me she said it was like a tree house in the woods.  A PERFECT description for this A-frame home.  It really was as beautiful as it looks in the picture.  I took this from the dock. 

 Jaron was not much help paddling in the canoe!

 Here's our friends before they left.  Jacquie is next to Jaron and Coco is next to Jordan.  They have always been good buddies.  The girls love Jaron because he is wired just like they are.....they love to play with little animal figurines and dinos.  Just like our little guy.

 Jordan hitching a ride!  See that inner tube?  My favorite thing to do was paddle that out to a sunny spot on the pond, drop the anchor and sunbathe!  

 That screen door made the best sound when it opened and slammed shut!

 This is the living room, where Chris and I slept....more on that in a minute.  Rustic, cozy.

 This is the bed Jaron chose, up in the loft.  With those great big windows it was like sleeping in a tree.

 Jordan chose the bedroom and had her bag unpacked before the rest of us could even get out of the car!!  This is why Chris and I slept on the floor in the living room, so the kids could each have their own special place.  Btw, these windows in Jordan's room looked out over the pond.  The view was breath-taking.

 Chris was in HEAVEN being able to take a canoe out and fish multiple times a day.  This was the perfect vacation for a person who spent 6 days a week commuting in and out of New York City.  Plus, he got to watch his son fall in love with bass fishing.  In fact, we all ended up catching some fish!  Jaron and Chris caught the most by far.....so many that we lost count.

 Getting ready to head out!

 Swimming in the pond!  Eeek!!!  One day we were all close to the shore just playing the water, swimming, floating in the tube when all of a sudden Chris pointed to something swimming in the water.  Yep, a snake.  The little booger was heading straight for me in the tube!  He was surprised when he saw me there and disappeared under water.  There was a mad dash for land.  10 minutes later we were back in the water ;)

 Do you spy Jordan??

 That kayak was SWEET.  We all used it and loved it.  Towards the end of our vacay, we explored down the pond a little ways where it got marshy.  We discovered an osprey's nest with the mother and father osprey in it!  They were there every time we went back there.  It was so cool.  I assume it's similar to an eagle's nest......high up in a tree, made out of big branches.  Big enough for a human to sit in.

 This is another view from the dock.

 The road we used to get to the cabin.  About a mile of unpaved road.  It was nice and secluded but not too far from civilization.  We were close enough to go to Walmart, Taco Bell, McDonalds, etc.

 More muscles.

 Good ole' game of checkers.

You can barely see it in this picture, but we caught lots of cute, tiny tree frogs.  

 

There was even a fire pit.  We spent several chilly evenings around it, just talking, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows and even setting off some fireworks.  It was the most wonderful time.  We were all very sad when it was time to leave.  We still talk about it with lots of fondness.  I don't know if we will ever get to go back.  If we don't, we will always cherish the wonderful memories of the summer we spent a week in Maine.  Thanks, friends for being so generous with your home!!!!!

Scenery

 Just thought I would share with you some of the pictures I have taken of buildings and bridges over the last year.  There are some OLD structures in this part of the country.  I find the Princeton Township sign so interesting.....it says "settled in 1685".  Geez!  That is a long time ago!  The above is a tower on the Princeton University campus.

 City Hall in Philadelphia

 

Clark House in Princeton.....the backyard is........

 .....the Princeton Battlefield.

 Entering Penn Station in NYC

 Columbus Circle, Central Park

 Ben Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia.  Truly one of the prettiest bridges I have ever seen, at night especially.

 This is the ceiling of one of the arches on the PU campus.

 I just had to throw this one in....Starbucks in NYC!

 Some crazy tall building next to the theater Sister Act was in (now Cinderella is playing there).

 The subway station at 50th Street has scenes from Alice in Wonderland on the walls.

 George Washington Bridge...connecting Jersey and NYC.

GWB at night.

Enjoy!!!

So long, 2012!!!

 Dearest family and friends, I know many of you have used this blog to keep in touch with our lives here in New Jersey.  That is precisely why I started it in 2007; to keep you informed and involved in our lives half way across the country!  And, well, since I got an iPhone, I just haven't really been on our regular computer.  Therefore, our blog has fall by the wayside.  I am very sorry.  Fortunately many of you are on Facebook so you can see the pictures I post regularly.  I even post alot on Instagram, simply because I can do all of it from my phone.  Anyway, this is a meager recap of part of 2012 in pictures.  We have done alot this year.  Chris and I were just talking about how this was a challenging year for us.  We, by no means, have had to deal with anything even remotely close to what families in Connecticut have faced, thankfully.  There has just been alot that's happened, good and bad.  I tend to be a very pessimistic person, so I must admit, I am posting these pics as much for myself as for you!  We all take pictures of the good times in our lives, so I look back at these to remind myself ALL that I have to be thankful for. 

The pictures above were taken in Princeton, still one of my favorite places to roam around.

 My little angels in our backyard

 Philadelphia Museum of Art (the one with the "Rocky" steps)

Turtleback Zoo

 Going to check on the frogs :)

 Pretty :)

 Girl Scouts campout

 Archery at the campout

 NYC cab advertising Sister Act!!

 Us :)

 Jaron and his second grade class

 Boy Scouts Memorial Day Parade

 Concert Night!

 Friends at the pool!  Unfortunately, saying goodbye to Robbie and Emma who moved home to Virginia :(

 We took several beach trips.  They are the highlight of our summer.  Living an hour away from the shore is nothing compared to how far away we lived from the coast in TX!!!

 Us again :)  I tell Chris all the time he is my hero.  He thinks I am just being silly.  I am not.

 Princeton fountain.  This reminds me, we took this pic one Monday....Chris's night off from the show and after I had been at work all day.  This was the first summer I worked since 2001!!!!!  I taught drama and music at a summer camp in South Brunswick.  I complained about it alot, but it actually worked out really well and was a good experience!

 Looking for snakes......sheesh.

 This a sad pic.  We lost both of our sweet guinea pigs this summer.  Ron passed away first.  Harry was soon to follow.  Again, I complained daily about their smell, cleaning up after them, etc. but I sure do miss those little guys!

 More beach!!!!  Spending all day with your toes in the sand, playing in the waves, looking for seashells is just paradise.

 We also spent plenty of time in the city.  Most Sundays we would ride in with Chris, he would do his matinee and the kids and I would go to church.  The Sister Act theater and Times Square Church were 2 blocks away.

 Such a BEAUTIFUL baby.

 A bittersweet moment here.....this is from the last performance of Sister Act.  We found out in June that Sister Act would be closing in August.  We knew it was coming, but that still didn't make it any easier.  This pic was taken as all the actors were arriving at the theater.  These ladies here are super talented, and so is that handsome man!!  It was actually so neat to be a part of their final show, to see all the emotion and the goodbyes.  It was exciting and very sad all at the same time.

 Right after the curtain fell, we hoped in the car and drove straight to Maine.  Some friends very graciously offered us the use of their cabin on a lake for a week if we would shut it down for the fall!!!  We had one of the best vacations I can remember.

                                  

 It was rugged and perfect.

 This little boy was an excellent fisherman!!!

 We were really sad to say goodbye.  Especially since we had to go right home to start school and move to a new apartment.

 First day of school!!!  3rd and 5th graders!

 More sad news.  We lost a very special grandpa.  And a special uncle, both in Chris's family.  So hard to say goodbye and so hard to watch others grieve.

 And then the hurricane.  I told someone, I lived in TX, in Tornado Alley no less, for 30 years and never had to go through a tornado.  We have lived in NJ for 5 years and already had to deal with 2 hurricanes!!  This one was by far the most devastating.  Some people and places are still trying to recover.  It will be interesting to see what our beach looks like.  It will NOT be the same, that's for sure. 

 In October we moved from West Windsor to Plainsboro.  They are neighboring towns, and actually the same school district.  But our rent is cheaper.  Thankfully.  We were paying for location in West Windsor, and it had just gotten way too expensive.  But on to more important things!!  This is Jordan in her Halloween costume outside of our new apt.  Ain't she cute?!?!

 Perry the Platypus....no, it's just Jaron!!!  This little boy continues to be a walking encyclopedia.  He has fallen in love with platypuses, even wrote a book about them!!!!  Now he is working on a book about dinosaurs....are you surprised??  They both had to change schools, but they are still in the same school district thankfully.  They have been troopers about it.  Jordan especially still misses her old school, but fortunately will meet up with old friends next year in MIDDLE school.  Geez!!!!!

 At the park

 My adorable scout.

 We took this pic the day we got lost on a hike, hahaha!!!

 This holiday season Chris sang quite a bit with some Phantom friends at Redeemer Hoboken church.  And they even let me sing with them one service too!  It was great!!! 

 And now I feel I have come full circle.  We are ending our winter break and have really enjoyed this Christmas season.  However, we miss our family terribly.  I mean, terribly.  We really need to see you all again.  We watched some home videos tonight, and it just made me appreciate and love all of you even more!  2012 is gone now.  And it took with it all of its loss, disappointment, death and hurt.  Thankfully.  Here's to a hopeful new year.  And here's to the only hope we, the Texas Bohannons in New Jersey, have....and that's the eternal hope in Christ.  May He be with all of you until we see you again!!!!