Cape Elizabeth, Maine

I met Katie when I first moved to Maine. At the time, we were only 12 years old. As we lived on the same street, we rode on the same bus to and from school, and coincidentally we were also in the same 7th grade class. So we became fast friends, and were soon having sleepovers, doing each others make-up, and crushing on boys together. We spent summers at Katie’s camp playing Risk and pretending to be mermaids in the lake. We hung out at the mall, ate teriyaki chicken, and kissed random boys in the food court. We graduated from middle school together, and started high school. We had fights over guys but we always made up. We applied to different colleges and grew up, but never grew apart. And somehow through babies and husbands and more than 15 years, Katie is still my best friend. She speaks her mind, and is a brave, independent woman. She’s the kind of girl who knows what she wants in life, and easily takes it. I admire many things about her, from her beauty to her strength. If you can’t tell from these kind words, I absolutely love this girl, and am trying to cram as much Katie-time in as possible while I’m in the States this summer!On Saturday morning, Katie, Casey, Charlotte, and I headed over to Katie’s Aunt and Uncle’s house, which is freakin’ massive, and situated right on the ocean in Cape Elizabeth.

The house is beautiful, with manicured lawns, a big pool, and private waterfront access. Katie actually had her rehearsal dinner here, so in addition to being gorgeous, I have lots of happy memories at this place!

As much as I still love playing with Katie in the sunshine, Charlotte, Katie’s daughter, is an even more enthusiastic play-buddy these days!
Having kids around makes it socially acceptable to fly on swings, cartwheel on the lawn, and splash water in the pool. . . . some of my favorite things!The best moment of the day occured when Charlotte was drinking iced milk from a Dunkin’ Donuts to-go cup. When Katie and I get iced coffees, Char always wants one as well – she just loves being one of the girls! So Charlotte enjoys her kid’s milk while we sip iced-almond lattes. I couldn’t get over how cute Char looked in her mini fedora with this huge orange Dunks straw!So much so that I had to ask her to smile for a photo . . .

Which unfortunately caused milk to dribble all over her face, legs, and towel. I burst out laughing at her pure cuteness, but wet and covered in milk she started to cry. Maybe I’m a bad Auntie, but tears and all, I seriously think she’s the cutest little peanut ever. We spent the next few hours in the pool, floating around, splashing, and trying to teach Charlotte how to swim.At one point, Casey, Katie, and I took a photo together. Afterwards, when we turned the camera around to look at the view finder, Casey exclaimed ‘what a cute photo!!’ Charlotte, feeling left out from girl-time, stomped away and squealed ‘it’s NOT cute – I’m not even in it!!!’ The Char quote of the day! So we did a re-take with all four of us, three lucky smiling aunties and one cute little Char-pie :)