mountains and lakes

we took full advantage of our three day weekend
and drove to new hampshire friday night.

on saturday we started with a hike to explore our new scene.  we found 44 red-spotted newts, 1 hopping bunny, and some deer tracks.  we were on the lookout for those newts after i almost stepped on the first one jeremy found.  we were like a bunch of 5 year olds hopping on rocks hunting for lizards.

after romping around in the woods, we enjoyed some lunch on our patio.  (check out my veggies!!  we are making so much progress around here.)

many meals were consumed on this patio, every meal we were home for was eaten on the patio now that i think about it.  how could we not with these beautiful views?

the rest of our saturday consisted of golfing, laying by the pool, going out for mexican food, and playing ping pong.

sunday we went to church, drove around the neighborhoods imagining what life would be like if we lived there, and then visited weirs beach of lake winnipesaukee.  i had no idea we were going to be so close to lake winnipesaukee.  i thought we were just going to the new hampshire mountains.  it was a fun surprise.

we people-watched on the boardwalk while making plans to come back on monday for the scenic train ride.  we wandered home on the back roads, made some pizza, played some ping pong and guitar hero, enjoyed dessert with some old buddies we found at the same resort (so crazy!!), and rocked the night away on the rocking chairs on the front deck.

monday we started our day with some tennis, the weather cooperated beautifully.  then we got our ducks in a row in time for the scenic train ride along lake winnipesaukee. 

leo was our conductor and he was a hoot!  he was sure sweet talking these older ladies behind us.  the train was way cooler than i expected.  they came around asking for lunch or snack orders as we marveled at the lovely lake and huge homes we passed.  we declined because we packed our own lunch to eat on the boardwalk after the adventure on the train tracks.  we also found some ice cream!

then we wandered home on the back roads.
for our afternoon, jeremy went out to golf, while i read by the pool.

for our last night, we had dinner at the resort restaurant.  we both enjoyed the steak tips, they were delicious (we tend to order the same thing at restaurants, it always makes me laugh). it was such a relaxing dinner, the resort had emptied out by this point, so there was only one other family eating there. we got a table right by the window, here was our gorgeous view:

we had to get some more rocking in after our bellies were full.  i decided that i need a rocking chair. an old-fashioned, wooden rocking chair to rock my future babies to sleep.  jeremy said he would make that happen as soon as we jumped on the baby train.  incentives, incentives... jeremy is the best.

we of course played ping pong til the sun went down (this resort totally rocked!).

we rearranged our tuesday schedules so we could wake up to this sunshine tuesday morning before coming back to real life.  totally worth it!

weekends spent exploring new places are my favorite!!

see you laters

i have had to say far too many goodbyes this week.

one of my dear friends at work moved this week to chicago, and all of the 4th year dental students are shipping out as well.  one family and their three kids to texas (one of which we taught as a sunbeam), one with four kids (brand new twins) to new mexico, one with there two kids heading to california (our next door neighbors who would do anything to help anyone), and another couple with a bun in the oven is leaving this weekend for idaho.

i can't take anymore goodbyes.  in fact i refuse to say goodbye, i just say see you later.  it's moments like these were i am so glad to have all that social media to stay connected to friends all over the world.

i miss you all, already!

cucumber party

things on the veggie front are moving right along.  

i had a burger wrapped in lettuce with bell peppers (no GF buns at five guys, sad face), i survived a salad at chick-fil-a on saturday night, i have been snacking on red peppers the past three days, and yesterday i tried cucumbers at work thanks to my good bud erika.

i told her cucumbers were the next veggie i wanted to try. --this veggie project is pretty much a team effort and since we are experts at working with fear foods, my friends have jumped on the train of exposing me to veggies.--  she had one at work she could slice up (who has cucumbers on hand??) and we scheduled a cucumber party for 1:30.

the first, and only other time, i tried a cucumber was way back when i was a kid at a neighborhood block party in salt lake city.  my friends victoria and rebecca encouraged me to try a slice of cucumber.  i didn't like it much and i probably grabbed more chips or cookies for my plate and ran on my way. 

i avoided cucumbers my whole life based on that one taste, until yesterday at 1:30.  i ventured to erika's office, she cut some slices for me, and threw in some carrots for good measure.  the funny thing is cucumbers don't taste like much - it's like crunchy green water - so i guess it's something i can keep eating.  i will dip them in some dressing next time to jazz them up.  and the carrots are getting a little better, so i suppose i can't write them off yet either.

rain to sunshine

on saturday jeremy and i hopped in the car and headed north to visit our friends in portland, maine.  portland is one of our favorite places to visit around here.  it was raining on the drive up and we were afraid our adventure would become a soggy one, but the weather slowly cooperated with us.  

by the time we arrived the rain had subsided and the fog was thick, so we went to the best lighthouse (cape elizabeth) to watch the waves crash on the rocks.

then we drove over to portland to get some lunch while the fog drifted to sea.  we started with some potato donuts at the holy donut, because why not eat dessert first??  they had gluten free options which rocked my socks.  first donut in months!!  

then we ventured to flatbread company which was right on the wharf. and they had gluten free options, too!!  portland has got it going on.  we sat right by the action and ate our weight in flatbread.  so yummy!!

 we walked around downtown for a bit, bought a souvenir sticker, and drove to the eastern promenade.  that's when the sun came out to play for good, so we were pretty excited about our sweet luck.

 after our little walk, we ventured back to eric and noelle's place which is a 5 min walk from the beach.  holler!  the views were beautiful and the sun played quite a show on the water. 

 the girls dipped their feet in the frigid atlantic,
"it's like an ice bath" - noelle.

 and the boys jumped over the gushing rivers.

we took some jumping pictures, because... why not?!

 and i stalked jeremy with my camera... it's his favorite.

 we walked along the beach and took in the views....

maine is gorgeous!

it ended up being such a beautiful day.  i can't wait to soak in the sun this summer.  more day trips are certainly on the horizon, i spent the ride home dreaming of our next destinations.