Happy to Get Away

We've made it a tradition the past few years to take the week of Thanksgiving for vacation. This year we decided to stay in Massachusetts and rent a house in the Berkshires, an area we'd been anxious to explore. It was very nice to have a short two hour drive for our vacation!

How can I not snap a picture of that smile?

Our house was wonderful. Very spacious with nice room for all of us, a great kitchen, wood burning stove, and an enormous yard and wooded area (about six acres) - perfect for a lot of exploring. I did a terrible job of getting picture on this trip. One of these days, we need to get a family picture.

We loved exploring the little towns - such charm. We had lunches in historic taverns, shopped in old time country stores, saw picturesque churches and rolling hills. It was a wonderful time.

We spent a morning at the Berkshire Museum. It was as you'd expect. They did have a cute aquarium area with a touch pond that the kids loved. Our favorite exhibit was the 200 community decorated Christmas trees. Though I walked quickly by the one decorated with a silver garland - made of condoms... What?
It's great fun to watch Gabriel get right in there with the big kids.
Now, when the kids were asked what their favorite part of vacation was, they unanimously agreed it was the Bounce House playpark. We spent a cold afternoon getting rid of some pent up energy.

Yes, those are pink cheeks and sweat soaked hair!

We found a really neat nature center with a large beaver population. No beaver sightings but we did see their lodges and lots of trees in the forest that had been chopped down by the beaver. We took a family hike there and the big kids and Daddy were set on returning to hike to the top of the mountain!

Gaby and I took a nice nap on that afternoon!

The hikers are ready. Even the lady at the center was surprised that the kids were going to do the hike!

They made it!

Everyone was so proud to make it to the top and down again, 3 miles total. They told me that they could see New York from the bench. A stop at the ice cream store topped off their day!

And finally, some playtime pictures from adventures in our vacation yard!

I Will Blog Again - Someday!

Sorry for being radio silent for so long! I received a new camera and I can't for the life of me find the cord to get the pictures to my computer. I think Gabriel may have recycled it and of course they didn't have what I needed at Target today. Anyhow, I thought you'd enjoy some Halloween pictures of Tinkerbell, Captain Hook and Peter Pan.

My 3 1/2 year old wasn't too thrilled about all the picture taking. He's not too thrilled about a lot lately. He did sleep for 15 hours, yes 15 hours, last night to recover from a low grade fever. It worked! He awoke at 10:15 refreshed and ready to go.

I'll be back updating the end of the month when we return from the Berkshires and I find/buy a darn cord.

All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth!

It was a wiggly twisty little tooth. With Daddy's help, out it popped. He was splattered with blood and she was so excited! The very next day, Theo hit her with something and she ran toward me. I was sitting on the ground and she slid down to sit in my lap catching the other tooth. Out it popped onto the floor! Two front teeth out in two days.

So cute!

Two Boys in a Boat

There's nothing like an empty box and some wrapping paper for fun!

Royalty Party at the Windsor Club

One week after Halloween, we pulled out some costumes for the Royalty Party at the Windsor Club. It was really well done with treasure hunting in hay, crafts, a parade and cupcakes. Though it made me a bit sad as I think Maddie is at the upper age range to enjoy a party like this. Nevertheless, a good time was had by all.

Cider Days

Two years ago, Maddie and Nathan ventured to Central Mass to Cider Days (I was home tending to my 18 month old with a broken heel who was not allowed to walk!). Nathan returned with a new hobby - cider making. And so we ventured into the world of home brewing - and all it requires. This year, we were happy to head out as a family on a crisp beautiful day. Our first stop was a family farm that presses their own cider. We spent a long time helping mash apples and press juice in the shed.
Nothing like roasting your own hotdog! They didn't serve ketchup for some reason, only mustard which I clearly found strange. We continued on our tour stopping at a few more cider day festivities. Nathan even got to do a tasting and listen to a talk for a bit. We ended the day at a farm where, no joke, we pulled our car up to the barn, tromped out with our 10 gallon jug, stuck the cider hose in and filled er up with cider for our brewing. It was real old school. Now, we'll see if the cider turns out. The batch from two years ago was pretty rough.

We Heart Vanessa

She's a lifesaver!

Leaf People

We had a nice dry fall making for unsoggy leaves - perfect for playing. The kids loved it!

Nothing like a leaf nap.

Where's Maddie?

Hooray it's Fall!

All Nighter

Doesn't Gabriel look like he pulled an all nighter?