Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Camp Cady- Part 1

It's been busy around here as you've probably noticed from my lack of regular posting. Eliot's sister Elissa was visiting from mid-June to mid-July and we wanted to spend time with her.  It's been a few weeks since she went back to California, and I'm slowly getting back on track with my blogging.  Eliot and I had a blast and we were sad to see her go.  But we're going to see her again one month from today at Disneyland!  Yay!!!

I wanted to write a recap of her trip and I'm just getting to it now!  We've dubbed Elissa's long summer visits "Camp Cady".  She had a list of things she enjoyed last summer that she wanted to do again this year.  Eliot and I were more than happy to oblige. (Her list included a few of our favorite food places.  Yum!)  It was a great trip and we had a lot of memorable moments together.  Here's an overview of the fun we had during her month long visit to Maine!


The first weekend Elissa was here, we took her down to Massachusetts to Six Flags New England and the Yankee Candle Village.  We really wanted to take her last summer, but there simply wasn't enough time to do it.  This year, we planned ahead, even having her come out a week early so we could fit it in!  It was a blast.  I'm not a roller coaster person, but Eliot and Elissa had a great time riding them.  Their favorite was the new "Wicked Cyclone," the old wooden coaster that was just converted to steel tracks.  The first day there, Eliot and I went on Blizzard River, a ride like Kali River Rapids.  That's more my speed.  Unfortunatley, we got soaked and it had just started raining when we went on the ride.  We stayed at the park a little while longer before calling it a night, going back to the hotel and getting changed into dry clothes.


That night, we decided to go see Inside Out since it was the first weekend it was released.  We went to the local theater and it was so much fun.  The theater had a painting on the window with T-Rexes, Minions, Anger and Fear.  We loved the short "Lava" before the movie. It's one of my favorite Pixar shorts now!  Inside Out was amazing too.  We really enjoyed it and all wanted to see it again.  After the movie, we took photos with the giant Inside Out sign.  Then, Elissa found an Inside Out photo booth so we took a few photos in that!


The next morning, we got up early and headed for the Yankee Candle Village since it was still raining.  Our plan was to spend the morning and early afternoon there.  By the time we would be leaving, the rain would have ended and we could go back to Six Flags for a few hours.  However, things didn't go quite as planned.  We ended up spending twice as much time in the Yankee Candle store.  (Ok let's be honest, I knew that would happen... the store is awesome!)  The store was really quiet, although it was the Sunday of Father's Day.  It probably isn't usually that empty!


We enjoyed having most of the store to ourselves; we took photos, found gifts for family members and got a few things for ourselves.  Shortly after arriving, I found a rainbow Minnie Mouse plush that fell in love with instantly.  In fact, I carried her around the entire store before purchasing her.  (She's going to live on my desk!)  There was a good sized Frozen toy display that I enjoyed browsing through.  (I'm such a kid.)  I never realized they sold Jim Shore Disney figures!  I also admired those for a while.


In fact, the store had quite a few Disney things on display.  The best one of all... the Frozen village set with Elsa's Ice Castle. Over and over I told Eliot we didn't need it, but he insisted we get it since he knows how much I love Frozen.  (He's the best!)  I can't wait to put it on display this winter!  It's stunning lit up.


After shopping, we took our bags out to the car and went back inside to get something to eat.  Yankee Candle has a great selection of food and we ordered plenty.  We sat next to the fountain while we enjoyed our meal.  Afterwards, Elissa ran over to get some gourmet popcorn and then we bid the Yankee Candle Village goodbye.


We went back to Six Flags for a few hours that afternoon.  Coke was running a promotion where you could make a small soda can with your name on it.  We really wanted to do that so we headed there first.  We also got cans with my parent's names on them.  (My Dad loves Coke items.)  Afterwards, Eliot went on Bizarro, the insanely tall roller coaster they got me on a few summers ago when his other sister Sara was visiting.  Elissa and I ate ice cream bars while waiting for him.  Before we left, Eliot and Elissa went on Wicked Cyclone one last time.  Our weekend getaway was a great way to kick of Elissa's stay!


Back home, we found plenty of things to keep ourselves busy.  Elissa hung out at the house while Eliot and I were at work.  At night, we'd try to watch movies.  We also hit up a few of the local stores.  Elissa and I enjoyed looking at craft supplies at Michael's, ACMoore and JoAnn's.  Elissa was a fan of JoAnn's selection of Disney fabrics.


We enjoyed wandering around Wal-Mart.  Our local store had a great section of Disney stickers and posters.  One night, Elissa and I went to Kohl's and found the Lauren Conrad Minnie Mouse collection red skirt in my size!  (And it came home with me.)


We also went to the mall a few times.  Hot Topic is a personal favorite of ours.  They carry a lot of Disney items.  Elissa and I were on a mission to find Inside Out items; we weren't disappointed!  We both left with Bing Bong shirts and Inside Out socks.


The following week, we took Elissa to Old Orchard Beach to watch the fireworks.  Over the summer, the city has fireworks on the beach every Thursday night.  Eliot and Elissa bought Pier Fries and I got an ice cream and we enjoyed the beautiful sunset and people watching.  The fireworks display was a lot longer than I expected!  It was a great show.  After, we played on the beach for a little while before calling it a night.


The second weekend Elissa stayed with us, we had the Color Run.  (Read more in my Color Run post.)  Long story short, we had a good time even though it poured.  It was really great to see our friends!  We also had fun making our Tinker Bell inspired outfits!


Just like that Elissa's trip was already half way over!  Check back in a few days for the recap of the second half of her stay with us!  °o°

2 comments:

  1. Camp Cady sounds like so much fun-no wonder Elissa comes back each year! And I so love how you find Disney items wherever you go.......

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    1. Thank you! We had a really great time with her. Yes! We always seem to find the Disney items, or maybe it's the magic finding it's way to us! We definitely leave a trail of pixie dust everywhere we go!!! :-)

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