Welcome Autumn!!

Yesterday I went apple picking with Brad and the girls, and Bridgette and Nora. Here is my list of Why I am so excited about it:

1. The drive up was absolutely beautiful. The leaves this year are SO SO colorful, Autumn is my favorite season. I love to be outside this time of year and see how the leaves are changing, and feel the crispness in the air. It is not quite peak leaf season, but we're getting there.
   
2. It was such a treat to have Brad with us at the orchard. I love it when he has the day off so we can PLAY.
   
3. When we were in Iowa, we had the most awesome apple orchard near us, that really just can't possibly be beat. While there, we fell in love with Honey Crisp Apples. We would pick them every Monday night for Family Home Evening while they were ripe. I was told that New Englanders LOVE THEIR MACINTOSH, and don't stray from it....Thus that is what you find EVERYWHERE! Brad looked into it, and found an orchard that grows Honey Crisp!! Hooray!!
4. We have been eating Apple Crisp all day, and we have plenty more apples to make lots more!

Like I said.....Welcome Autumn!

For my Mom

Well, yesterday my mom asked me what we have been up to around my house, and I told her that mostly we have been taking TONS of pictures. I told Brad a while back that I think I have an addictive personality....not meaning that others become addicted to me, but that once I get hooked on something, I can't think about anything else. Last winter it was the wallpaper in my house....Now the wall paper is all gone, and I took a turn being addicted to blogs...which I have only slightly recovered from. Now, I am totally addicted to taking and photoshopping pictures. My POOR CHILDREN! They are constantly props. . . Anyway, in the middle of it all, I admitted to my mom (who lives way too far away) that all I have been doing is chasing my girls around with a camera. So, in the midst of this conversation, I promised my mom I would post some of the most recent pictures of her girls. HERE THEY ARE MOM! and P.S. WE MISS YOU!! P.P. S. For anyone who is worried about the welfare of my children, I promised myself that they get a vacation from the camera this week....maybe not the whole week, but at least a few days!

Ballerina

Little Miss Olivia started Dance Class today (Ballet and Tap), and it really was just the sweetest thing ever. She had a ball. I fully expected complete chaos, but they all really tried their best to follow Miss Sarah, their teacher. I think I may have had the most fun of all, just watching. I can't wait for their recital!!

More Please!

This is on the top of my list of cutest things babies do. Gwen just started signing "more". I remember having the same feelings when Liv started signing, it is just amazing to me to watch their little hands do it so perfectly. It is just so cute, I think I would give her anything!

Camping at Mount Blue State Park

I must admit that last week, I was not the "Happiest Camper", about the prospect of going Camping this weekend. We have been going and going without a break since the end of July and I was just plain tired. Don't get me wrong, I love being busy, but the thought of getting all packed up sounded awful... In the end.... I was proven wrong, and all my complaining was for no good reason, because we really had a great time, and the packing, and cleaning up after packing was worth it.

We drove down to Mount Blue State park, which is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. (The 2 hour drive is, however, not beautiful.) We camped with Family, and Friends of the family. They had a sweet set-up, which included an entire kitchen set up under a canope, complete with griddles, sink, and cookies. They cooked for us, and we ate better than Brad and I ever eat at home! I went to bed early, and had a great night sleep (I didn't even wake up until 7am, which I think is amazing considering we were camping). It was great.

and then we embarked on the hike...

2 miles up and 2 miles back, the part we didn't know is that it was about 10% slight incline, and about 90% straight up. Liv walked the first bit, and then alternated riding on different people's shoulders. Brad even took a turn carrying Liv on his shoulders, while back-packing Gwen as well! Oh, did I mention it was 90 degrees outside?? Needless to say, in the end we were all pooped!


Reaching the Summit was really neat. Just as we came over the last rock to reach the top, we saw that the entire top of the mountain was a big lake with an island in the middle. The lake cascaded over the edges to create waterfalls on all sides. I have never seen anything quite like it. The water up there was freezing, but it felt SO good! While up there, we sang to Gwen and gave her a bagel with a candle in it, swam, ate lunch, and bathed in the sun. Liv actually fell asleep while riding on Brad's shoulders on the way down. It was very sweet. Here are some more pictures.

Look Who Turned 1!!It was our sweet little Gwen-a-bean's birthday this weekend. I am amazed that she is already a year old, I am so glad she still seems like such a baby to me. We had a big weekend, and I am so tired after it all, I don't have the energy to catch up on this blog. Stay Tuned, for our 4 mile hike up Tumble Down Mountain with both girls. For Now, just a sweet picture of our Gwyneth enjoying her birthday cake-->What I love about my dear baby girl
1. How she cuddles right up to me and sucks her curled-up index finger. I hope they are never too old to cuddle with their Mom. This is my favorite thing ever!
2. Her little nose wrinkles right up, her eyes disappear into twinkly half moons, and she shows her crooked little snaggle teeth in a big grin when she gets really excited.
3. She says "Hi" over and over and over and over again, all day long to whoever will listen and smile at her.
4. Whenever you ask her to perform one of her tricks, she does it happily and then proceeds to do every other trick she can think of.
5. She is a sweet little mix of quiet, yet loves to make people smile, if you laugh at anything she does she will do it over and over again for you.

It is amazing to me how my heart just melts when I think about my sweet little girls. They are so special to me. I just love them so much it makes me teary. Gwen is such a sweet addition to our family, what an angel. I'm a lucky Momma! Happy Birthday Gwen!

Word to....

All you girls with cool blogger page set-ups. HOW DO YOU DO IT???? How do you get such cute back grounds, and headers, etc.???? I'm dieing to know your secrets....please tell all.

Thanks-Betsy =0)

It was a MONTY weekend....Yeah!!

I can't believe it has been a year since we moved from Iowa! It was so refreshing to see the Montys, and have a little bit of Iowa with us again. We were so so glad that the Montys were willing to drive up to see us over Labor Day weekend, and I think it is fair to say, we all had a great time.
We went to Seal Harbor, where the girls played in the ocean and searched for sea creatures in the tidal pools.

Went to Bar Harbor, where we perused the tourist shops, and enjoyed our view of the ocean while we ate our blueberry ice cream.

Had a shrimp Boil.....YUM! (See my fourth of July post for the recipe)

Spent some time on the Boat, relaxing, and learning to ski. Jumped off rocks, battled each other on the tubes. Stayed up late playing games, relaxed as our girls played endlessly with one another (many thanks to Bella and Alyssa for taking Liv under their wing!) Best of all, we had great company. Thank you Montys!