PEI - Part 3 - Vermont

We left PEI at around noon on Thursday and drove until 7 or 8 pm and found another good hotel in Maine. Maine is a beautiful state too and the drive was very scenic.  We enjoyed a couple swims at the hotel and another very good breakfast. 

Friday we drove again through Maine and Vermont. This drive feels like you are going SO far out of your way but there is so much of Maine where there just are no roads so you end up driving way down and then way up instead of just across.

We made it to Dan and Sarah's about 4:30 Friday afternoon and then the fun began!! I had said to Jonathan earlier in the trip that Vermont would probably be the highlight for the kids and I'm sure I was right. They could finally let loose, run around, play with other kids and not sit in a van.  We love it at Dan and Sarah's too and we had such a fun time. The problem with Vermont is that it seems like there are about 100 fun things to do and you only end up having enough time for about three! 

But we crammed a bunch of fun things in our few days and are so glad that we made Vermont a part of our trip.  Friday night we decided to climb a mountain and watch fireworks from the top. Sounds pretty cool eh?!! It was, but it wasn't quite what we all expected. We left when it was light of course and started hiking. Jonathan had Konnor in his arms and Karter was already in bed.  We didn't get too far when we realized that the trail was VERY muddy in parts.  We decided to carry on b/c surely it would get better as we went along. It did. In parts.  But there were a lot of muddy parts all the way to the top. It was about a 1/2 hour hike and we made it up just before it started getting dark. The view from the top was amazing but I didn't have my camera. I was doing well to just get myself up!  Once it got dark enough, we could actually see probably 7 or 8 different firework displays - some backyard ones, but some city ones too. It was a very different way to experience fireworks b/c you were looking down on them and you didn't hear too much noise.  We didn't stay too long b/c it was getting late and then we began the trek down in the dark . We had our flashlights and it actually went really well. Jonathan did have one big slip when he landed flat on his back, but he hung on to Konnor and only his pants and back of his shirt ended up muddy! Who does these things?!!! It was a super fun experience - probably once in a lifetime for us and I'm glad we did it!

Saturday we headed for Ticonderoga, NY, and Sarah, Jonathan, Kade, Kylie and Josiah signed up to run the Montcalm Mile.  Kevin and Jacob opted to go for a big long bike ride to get icecream instead.

Jonny, Karter and I were happy to watch the race!

Jonny, Karter, Konnor and I were happy to watch the race!

Jonathan says this is the hardest race he has ever run.  He has never run a shorter distance like this so it was hard for him to know how to pace himself and how much to give at which point! 

They all did really well and it was fun to watch!

Jonathan came in 34th with a time of 5:03

Sarah - 6th female in with a time of 5:36

Kade - 5:46

Josiah 7:34 and Kylie 7:36

After the race there was a 4th of July parade.  The kids had a great time filling their bags, pockets, and mouths with candy!

Saturday night we just visited and hung out and the kids did more swimming, running around, having a campfire, and enjoying their cousins!

Sunday afternoon b/w services we hiked up another mountain to go for a swim!

By the time we got to the top we were ready to enjoy the water . . .and I wasn't even pushing a stroller like Jonathan and Sarah were!

It was a pretty cool experience to be swimming at the top of a mountain. The water was quite nice and it was good to cool off before we headed down again.

Kylie and Josiah are two peas in a pod and they had SO much fun together. They are fun to watch, fun to tease, and just plain old fun. They get along so well!

Konnor enjoyed the ride up and down!

On the way back down we stopped at the rapids and the falls for a bit. Jonathan lodged Konnor in these rocks in the water. Kind of felt like a Moses moment.

Karter was a little nervous. It doesn't look like it in these pictures but these rocks are somewhat surrounded by moving water.

The falls! (very high and kind of scary b/c there are no barriers!)

Night swim . . .

Good bye Vermont.

We headed out Monday morning for home and we had a really good drive home.  Why you may ask? Well, not sure if this had anything to do with it or not, but Kevin stayed behind in Vermont.  He ended up staying another 10 or 11 days and had such a good time. He experienced a lot of good things and now all he wants for his birthday, more than anything in the world, is a baby cow.  Hmmm.   We missed him a lot while he was gone, but we were glad he could enjoy this time with his cousins too. He didn't seem to miss us at all and felt right at home. 

Thanks Dan and Sarah for your wonderful hospitality during our stay and Kevin's extended stay!  We love visiting Vermont and Jonathan is already plotting a return visit.

It was good to be away and it was good to be home. It was great to experience parts of the country that we had never seen and to witness the great creativity and power of our God in so many different ways.  The heavens definitely do declare the glory of God!