Hiking Mt. Pisgah

I'm not sure why they call it a mountain but it's basically a trail and a loop at that. Perfect for my kids and the 30 minutes we "hiked".

Raspberry Picking

Today Tyler and I met some friends for Raspberry picking at the local pick your own farm.








We went last year to a different farm and it wasn't so great but this year it was yummy, fun & easy! We could have and probably should have picked more. Tyler is becomming quite the pro at picking his own fruit.


Kendall didn't get to join us because she had school today but Tyler and I had a fun, we played at the playground for a bit then headed over for the berries.















Tyler was too cool for school with his hat and sunglasses on.

Making Some Wicked Good Cookies

Today we met some friends at a Create a Cookie place (Wicked Good Cookies, that's the name not what I think of them, though the cookies are good). We got to cut out and decorate some cookies.

The kids had fun though listening to directions and waiting for others isn't exactly the audience they had; it all seemed to work out anyway. I tried to drop my controlling sense of self and just let the kids do their thing. Which was a good thing because Kendall didn't want any of my help and when I tried to help her she would just yell at me. "I DO IT" We had fun and it's nice not to have to clean up afterwards.

Six years of Wedded Bliss

Today Kevin and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary and by celebrated I mean just spent the day together doing nothing. We're actually really excited for Grandma & Grandpa Q's visit in a month because they've volunteered to watch the kids overnight while Kevin and I spend the evening in the city. Whoo hoo! Anyway it's been the best six years of my life and I really couldn't ask for a better friend, husband & father to my awfully cute children.

Outdoor Pizza and Movie Night

The nearby town had free Pizza and the plan was to show the movie Bolt to the kids on an outdoor screen after.
We got there just in time for our free Pizza.
And then had time to run around a bit in the open field and park.








Then we looked up at the sky. We skipped the movie and came home early. I'm pretty sure they didn't even show it. As we were driving home it just started down pouring. Doesn't rain all week and the one night we have something to do outside, it gets canceled. Tyler was really looking forward to it. Oh well, maybe next year.

Hopkinton State Beach Park

We really need to start taking advantage of the last days of summer. I can't believe school will officially be starting next month for Tyler. Kendall has been in year round but even she gets assigned to a new classroom the end of this month. I just signed the kids up for all their Fall Programs. We're going to be busy with Hockey (not ice skating yet), T-Ball, Soccer, Karate, gymnastics, basketball and swim. You should have seen me the other night, I needed a spreadsheet to get it all right with both kids. Anyway as August comes to an end summer weather has finally kicked in here in New England. It's been in the 90's with about 101 point humidity level. I'm not complaining though, I know in just a few short months it will be 20 degrees and I'll be begging for this weather again. Anyway we went to a new lake beach front that's only about 20 minutes from our house. I wish I would have known about this place sooner (even though it's been raining for most of our summer) it's just the perfect place for us. Shallow enough for Kendall to have fun but deep enough for Tyler to do his laps. With clean sand, water and bathrooms; you can't ask for much more. The water looks weird because it's orange but that's because I guess there are high levels of iron in it. Anyway Tyler loves to swim and Kendall loves to pretend she can do what Tyler does. I hope we get a chance to go again before the summer is over.

Storyland

We decided to take a little mini vacation at the last minute and we headed up to New Hampshire for two nights. Apparently there is a ton to do up in the White Mountains but all we did was visit Storyland. Except for the three hour drive up there I can't wait to do it again. I think this will become an annual event for us. And we will have to check out some of the other things to do as well. The kids had a blast, of course we heard "Are we there yet" just 2,ooo times too many. But once we were there it was fun. The kids just loved staying in a hotel. It was so hot the day we went to Storyland, looking back I didn't take many pictures, I think it was just frustrating having so many people there and the heat just took it out of me. Kendall was just a bit too short for some of the rides that Tyler could go on but I made sure to take her on some her own size while Tyler and daddy waiting in line for their rides.












By the end of the day we were all pretty exhausted. As you can see Kendall especially, she was so tired she almost immediately fell asleep in the car and Kevin carried her all the way to the room without her waking up, she didn't nap very long because she heard Tyler say he was going to the pool and then her 15 minute power nap was over. If you ask the kids what their favorite part of the trip was they would tell you the hotel swimming pool. Sure they liked Storyland but with 90 degree days all they really cared about was the pool and splash area at the hotel. Fun Times!

Quack Quack Honk Honk

This evening we went out to feed the ducks. I wasn't sure if we were allowed to do this anymore but I asked around and found a place where they still let you. You know how everything is all PC and environmentally sound nowadays, you have to be careful. The last thing I want to hear about is how because people feed the ducks these animals are losing their natural instinct to get their own food source or whatever the argument could be. Anyway Kendall had them eating out of her hand and yelling at them when they tried to "steal" the bread out of her hands. Tyler was just throwing whole pieces at them. In fact he wasn't all that happy about the geese he just wanted to feed ducks but they were behind a fence on the lake so they couldn't access the bread as easily which is probably better. I was sort of afraid of an angry mob of ducks and geese coming after our stale bread.

Blueberry Picking

Today we went to a new place, Honey Pot Hill Orchards, to do some blueberry picking. I highly recommend it. Blueberry picking is so easy to do and easy for kids to do too. We picked two baskets full and had lots of fun. Of course we did have a slow start since Kendall especially just wanted to eat her berries. I think she thought it was a race to finish the berries in her basket. Daddy even helped while mommy took pictures and snacked on some berries.


It's amazing how different they taste then the ones in the stores.












After we were all done picking and snacking, we headed over to a tractor they have there. Tyler loves his tractors.

The Breakers

Today I went with a couple of friends to do a historic home tour down in Newport, Rhode Island. We only saw two homes because I think that was all we could handle. These houses were incredible and just to think they were only summer homes used 8-12 weeks a year! Fully staffed with at least 40 people. Ya I could live like that. They wouldn't let us take pictures inside but here are a couple of the Vanderbilt's summer home called The Breakers outside. Front, side, back and back lawn.