Hotel & Boston fun!

Trot trot

To Boston to visit Dan and Rachael.  We stayed in a hotel, used the pool, went on the train, saw the red sox parade, visited the aquarium and saw an Imax show.  What a weekend!

Snow!

We had our first snow fall recently, and the kids were so excited to run outside and play with it.

 Yesterday was my birthday and the kids had the house all decorated and ready when I got home from work. They made me pictures, had cake and ice cream for me. It was a great birthday!

Trick or treat!

What fun we had trick or treating this year.  Marty was Elmo and Lizzie was a witch.

 This dress is at least 30 years old - I wore it as a costume as a kid and it was handed down even before that, according to Mom.  Well made, I should say!  This picture doesn't capture it, but she is also wearing sparkly sneakers (the closest I could get to Ruby slippers), and holding a broom.

 Our first (and only!) trick or treater!  It is so fun to take all 3 kids out together on these adventures.  It was raining, but that didn't slow us down a bit.  We made a few stops and then headed to the fire station for ice cream, donuts and a special tour of the station from Uncle John.  Mimi and Auntie Angi joined in too!  What fun!

Pumpkin carving

I missed pumpkin carving this year, so Ryan grabbed a few pictures.  By the end of it, we had a pumpkin face, a dinosaur and a cloudy moon.  Very spooky! Ryan is always very creative with his pumpkin carving.

 Apparently was very intent and focused on this task - I think he liked it!

 She was very excited for Halloween!

Fall fair

Our local library had a fall festival again this year and we made a point to visit it. What a lot of great activities for the kids!  Face painting, pumpkin decorating, popcorn,  petting zoo and a free ice cream truck. You can't beat that!

 

Drums

Both kids love to play the drums. We only have one rule - you must wear ear protection! Both kids help themselves to the drum set and we love to hear them play. You should hear Marty sing while he drums!

Playground

When the weather starts to cool down, we seem to head straight outside. We are realizing we only have a limited amount of time to enjoy the good weather before it will be too cold to be outside for long stretches.  A few weekends ago, we took the kids to the playground to get some much needed outside time together.  Here are the two girls. Maeve's hat is adorable!

 Lizzie is so brave on the playground!

 Maeve is always on the go!

 You can't see his mouth, but his eyebrows tell me he is smiling.

 Kate just finished making new hats for the kids - in perfect time, too!  The kids put them right on this day.

 See how long Lizzie's hair is here? We are using yarn extensions every so often to make her hair longer for different styles - she loves them! A great way to keep her hair natural and give her some different choices.

 I love this color on Marty - so handsome!

October catch up

I seem to have lost the cord that connects my camera to my computer. I have ordered a new cord, but meanwhile, this has been a pretty quiet space.  I ran my 3rd 5k of the summer in October. After the race, the kids got a chance to run an obstacle course too!

 This is the first time all 5 of us have run together. Hopefully the first of many!

Litchfield Fair!

Another great Maine weekend!  We look forward to this every year. Here Lizzie and Timber are riding the bumper cars.  Lizzie loves going on rides - she is fearless!

 Mimi and Marty watch from the sideline - he can't wait to be tall enough!

 She was all smiles - the whole time (well, I think they both were).

 Lizzie picked out her own colors for the yarn extensions.

 Lizzie and I went on a couple of the bigger spinning rides together.  We both had a great time!

 It is a good thing she Mimi and Timber buy her a ride bracelet - she goes on them over and over!

 Marty gets a ride around the fair.

 Our first stop at the fair was the antique tractor section.  A big hit with Marty!

 Both got a chance to sit on them.

 Lizzie was a big helper to Marty on the rides - this was his first year on most of them.

 We also enjoyed the exhibition halls. Lots of blue ribbons for Mimi and Timbers produce and canned goods. Then a trip in the petting zoo! The kids had their faces painted and had balloon animals made.  What a great day!