Sand Kitchen, Shell Crafts & Beach Time | Summer Vacation at MiM’s

The kids and grandkids came to Maine! I’m sharing our summer adventures and some of the ways I made their visit to Mim’s special.

Hello! I’m back, after a wild and wonderful two weeks with the kids and grands.

We were a shifting crowd, which, at its max, included 7 adults, two older toddlers, one young toddler, and a baby. (And don’t forget Maddie, Cisco, Izzie, and Tuck.) Plus, a bonus visit at the end by Leah’s college friend, her husband, and their 2-year-old. Phew!

As you can imagine, the washing machine never stopped running. We packed the fridge so full it started freezing everything. Throw pillows were tossed on the floor or crumpled on the sofa. A plastic potty graced the downstairs bathroom and bath toys spilled across the upstairs tub. There always seemed to be dishes in the sink, crumbs on the table, and a dishwasher needing to be emptied.

I just leaned into it all and found the joy in the chaos.

And our days were full — never venturing far, but finding plenty to entertain us both at home and nearby.

Today I’m sharing what we did on summer vacation at MiM/Mim’s — the sand kitchen, shell art, nature walks, beach time, touch tank, and more, including a lakeside baby shower for my son and daughter-in-law.

We had such fun! It truly felt like I was on vacation too.

Minus the professional cleaning crew… (Did I mention laundry?)

Here’s how I kept my little visitors busy and tried to make their stay at Mim’s special. I hope you might find some ideas here too.

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Fun at Home

This year, at 3 1/2, Poppy and James were the perfect age for some fun activities, so I prepared a few things in advance. I wanted them to have things to do here that were different from what they do at home — activities that felt like part of a summer visit to Maine.

Sand kitchen

Earlier this summer Leah visited a friend whose family owns a resort in the Smoky Mountains. When I saw photos of a kid-sized outdoor “mud kitchen”, it got the wheels turning. It would be the perfect play spot for the toddlers to get creative and a little wet and sandy (easier to clean up than mud — and definitely more on theme for my coastal home.)

I poked around online and settled on a kitchen from Etsy. There are lots of options out there, but I liked that this one was simple and made of natural cedar, which should hold up well to the elements here. Mine hooks up directly to the hose faucet, so the kids have control of the water. If you are handy, there are plenty of tutorials for making your own too.

To stock the kitchen, I visited the resale store at our town transfer station, choosing a variety of pots, pans, measuring cups, and utensils. I picked up a few plastic bowls and cups from Walmart for serving. And I added a blue metal stool and heavy plastic table for extra workspace. I opted for play sand instead of getting sand from the beach. As a final touch, I painted a “sand kitchen” sign on a driftwood board and nailed it to the siding above the kitchen.

I was immediately in love with the whole setup, but would the kids feel the same? (You never know with toddlers…). The answer turned out to be a resounding yes. And all the adults enjoyed plenty of “baked” sand goods served up by Poppy and James.

Note: Be prepared for a mess — in the very best way. I placed the kitchen under the roof overhang in the gravel drip line, which allowed the overflow water (there was a lot of it) to drain. The gravel was a big draw too — particularly for Mira.

If you have young grandkids (or kids), I can’t recommend this fun play space enough.

Crafting

Poppy is a creative little soul who loves arts and crafts. So I pulled together a bin of supplies for her before she arrived — colored paper, washable markers, paint sticks, stickers, and some wooden sea-creature shapes. (You know I can’t resist a theme…) I also collected shells from the beach to paint.

As you can see from my table decoration, Poppy was all in.

Note: I have linked the supplies I ordered below. The paint sticks are particularly great for toddlers and don’t carry the spill risk you have with regular paint. They cleaned up well too. We used newspaper to protect the table, but I will be ordering one of the silicone mats I included in their Christmas craft boxes for the next visit.

kite

I ordered a kite for last year’s visit, but we never ended up even taking it out of the package.

The kids are older this year, so we gave it a try at the beach without much success. My son-in-law Adam was able to launch it here at the house, though, and got it high enough that it required no tending.

Jamie was interested, but I think the adults might have had the most fun with it. Adam even took it out with him into the harbor on the paddle board.

Outdoor Adventures

Summer here is all about being outdoors, and while my property isn’t huge, between the deck, firepit seating area, lawns, wildflower meadow, and hammock there is plenty of space to do just that.

The kids went on nature walks on the path in the field, played hide and seek, and one night we did s’mores around the firepit.

Of course there is a strict “no waterfront” rule for the kids at this age. I look forward to the time when they are old enough to venture out on the water from the house.

Toys and Books

I have a few toys (Duplo, Lego, and Magna-Tiles) and plenty of books for entertainment too. (Though, as often happens, we read the same 2-3 books at nap- and bedtime every day…)

And naturally, as kids always do, they make everyday items into playthings. Mira was constantly pulling baking supplies out of a lower cabinet. James turned an old computer keyboard and expired credit cards into a “beep beep store”.

I am still finding items tucked away in unexpected places.

Fun Nearby

I didn’t realize when I fell in love with a water view on a chilly January day that this quiet winter town turns into a lively summer destination. That means there is plenty of fun to be had, all within a few miles. We got out of the house for an activity at least once each day.

The beach

I am lucky to have a great little beach nearby. This is not your typical soft, hot-sand beach, though. This is a true Maine beach — damp sand, tide pools filled with hermit crabs, barnacle-covered rocks, and plenty of seaweed. The surf is shallow and gentle, so it is perfect for little ones.

The kids had fun digging in the sand with beach toys, looking for shells and sea creatures, and venturing bravely into the chilly water. James and Poppy were spun around in a big tube float with a mesh bottom. Toddler hilarity ensued.

The beach is probably my favorite place to take the grandkids.

The lighthouse

We had fun at the lighthouse too, though.

The kids ran down the walkway like Forrest Gump, stopped in the gift shop for books and stuffies from Mim, and climbed on the giant rocks at low tide. We also had a picnic lunch there one day.

I think the rocks were James’ favorite activity.

touch tank

There was also the Herring Gut Coastal Science Center in Port Clyde to explore. This small but mighty gem offers hands-on marine and environmental science programs for children, adults and school groups, including tidepool explorations, sailing excursions, and the always-popular Touch Tank, which we visited.

The Touch Tank area just underwent a major renovation and features several tanks supplied with fresh seawater and filled with creatures found right here along the Maine coast — lobsters, several kinds of crabs, snails, sea stars, and more. It gives visitors a chance to see and touch some of the marine life that calls our local waters home.

Learn more about Herring Gut here.

Library

Our town library offers a lot for little ones to do too. There is a recently added cedar outdoor playset sized perfectly for toddlers, and a nature trail that leads out to a beautiful salt marsh. Poppy and I gathered a large collection of woodland treasures on our walk.

Inside, the children’s room is stocked with books and toys for all ages.

Pick your own Flowers

The farthest afield we went was with Poppy, before the others arrived, to pick-your-own flowers at a favorite farm stand. There were no poppies in bloom, but we came home with a huge bouquet of zinnias, sunflowers, strawflowers, and snapdragons.

Lobster Rolls

Of course no visit would be complete without an evening at McLoon’s for lobster rolls and blueberry bread pudding. Fun was had by all.

You can read all about The Best Little Lobster Shack in Maine here.

A Baby shower

The big event of the visit was the baby shower for Margaux and Jack. It was a beautiful day at Margaux’s family’s lake house, and while I made some contributions, it was Margaux’s family who really made the day special.

We settled on a “Hundred Acre Wood” theme, leaning into Winnie the Pooh and all his friends, the wooded setting, and Pooh’s love of “hunny”. There were white tents decorated with branches, wildflowers in honey jars on the tables, and gift bags filled with jars of local honey, custom honey dippers, and honeycomb soap.

A friend helped me by cutting quilt squares, which guests signed at the shower. I will piece them together to create a quilt of love for Margaux, Jack, and their baby. I’ll be sharing more on that as it comes together!

It was a day full of joy, with family and friends reconnecting, playing games, and swimming in the lake.

This Week Into Next

This is a glorious time of year here in Maine. The days are warm (finally!). The farm stands are full (yum!). The field is abuzz (literally). And the limelights are in full bloom (the six I added out front last year having already filled in nicely.)

Speaking of which — after 8 years, I think I might finally have come up with a name for my home: Limelight Cottage. Or something in that vein. What do you think?

Believe it or not, I have friends coming for an overnight this weekend, and then I am off on Monday to Maryland for a week. Zoë is heading back to work, so Maisie starts daycare, and I am going to help ease the transition for both mom and baby.

And then when I come back it will be September. How did that happen?! Fortunately it is always a beauty here — like another month of summer.

My calendar is already filling up, and I will have some fun things to share with you. And I should get back to posting regularly.

Enjoy these last weeks of August, and be well!