"It's Been A Long, Long Time"

After Nate and I had our wedding blessing in Rangeley, we immediately started the search for a new home. We had been living in my parent's camp for 2 months and it was time to start thinking about heading back to work and finding somewhere...anywhere, to live. But since our move from the woods, we had yet to go back. Until now!

We just got back from our 4-day getaway to Rangeley.

Amazing.

Breathtaking.

Perfect.

We started our weekend with a hike in the Bigelow Range, to Cranberry Peak. I have to say that I'm quite positive it was the most challenging hike of my life thus far. I've hiked Katahdin, Gulf Hagas, West Kennebago and many other intense trails, but none were quite this steep - over the entire 2.9 mile climb to the top. We took Indy with us (which was a huge mistake) and luckily she needed just as many breaks as I wanted, so she was my excuse to stop every now and then for water and to wipe the sweat pouring from my body. Indy might be a bit dramatic, but on the descent she just gave up. Whimpering, panting uncontrollably, lying down on the ledges rather than climbing down. There really was a moment where she had that look of, "Nope, you better get a helicopter. I am DONE with this hike!". Poor thing. She looked so pathetic.

From there, we hit the town (Lucy was with Grammy and Grampy) for dinner and some drinks. It felt so good to be back.

We happened to be in town the weekend of the Saddleback Bluegrass Festival. YAY! We only saw the last 2 hours, but it was fantastic. Lucy loved the music and wanted nothing more than to dance, wiggle and shake when it came on (I can't imagine where she gets it from...).

There were so many other kids and babies around that she was incredibly entertained. She was exhausted, so next time we know to go after she wakes up from a nap!

There's nothing sweeter than taking morning walks in comfy clothes with a coffee in hand, Lucy on hip and Indy on a leash. Every morning we would walk to the overlook, watch the fog rise off the lake and take a deep breath of the mountain air. It's so refreshing to spend a weekend away in a place you love with your family. It was just what we needed.

When deciding what our "wedding song" was going to be, we went through numerous suggestions, libraries on both our computers, and even searched wedding songs on the internet to see if it would spark an interest. About a week before the wedding, Nate's music was on shuffle and we were cleaning the camp. I was sweeping the floors in the kitchen and he was in the living room picking up some of Lucy's toys when suddenly, it hit us. Bing Crosby's "It's Been A Long, Long Time" came on and we both stopped what we were doing, made eye contact and smiled. This was it. A perfect description of the love, devotion, passion and longing while he was away. It was, indeed, a long, long time.

And Rangeley, it's been a long, long time...and we won't let it happen again.