Fall Fun

We spent our Columbus Day at a local garden for their apple festival.

 We loved the alpacas, especially Hamilton.

 Gorgeous view of the surrounding land and the water peeking through.

 Popcorn in bags, ready and waiting for the tractor pulled hayride.

 The gardens offered a tour of the historic apple fields with trees dating back into the 1700's, even some apples that Thomas Jefferson had on his land like a Yellow New Town.  Royce decided to take a little break.

 It was so interesting to get to taste so many different apples that are not commercially grown.  Some bruise easily, others have odd textures or colors and are not suited to today's market.

It was a perfect day to go and enjoy the fall activities with the family.

Our First Family Visit

 We had our first visit from family, Aunt Joan & Uncle John, and we were so excited!  We enjoyed gorgeous gardens and perfect weather just as fall is approaching.  The kids loved this hidden bench swing in an old tree.

 Syd couldn't get enough of the butterflies...

 ...and Royce was endlessly fascinated by the giant bumble bees.

 So happy to get to spend time with Aunt Joan & Uncle John.
Thank you for the visit, we hope to see you again soon!

Playing games before dinner got competitive!   Some chose brave strategies and were vocal about their intentions while others kept their lethal plans quiet.

Back to School 2012

This blog is a little behind but we will catch up!

 Beautiful views on the steps of a historic church close by.

 First day of school, 2012.  Favorite outfits perfect for the first day at a new school with Syd's zebra prints and Royce's purple Transformers shirt.

 Snuggling together to warm up on a cool morning.

So excited to ride the bus...good luck!

New Digs in MA

We're just getting settled here in West Boylston.  Now that the dust is clearing, it's starting to feel like home!

This is the view of our front yard from the driveway.  We have about an acre with plenty of areas for forts & hideouts

Our front porch, just coming home from Sunday commitments.

Our back yard including the back porch and deck.

Our back yard from the other corner.  Here, you get a better view of the L-shaped deck.

Drive Across America!!

We had a great time with our 8-day road trip from Logan to West Boylston.  It was great to see so many places we've never been, and all the land between here and there.

Our first stop was Laramie, WY.  On the way out through Cheyenne, we were surprised with an air show!  (sorry, no pics.  Half the time, we were enjoying the trip so much, it never came to mind to get the camera out!)

The next night, we arrived in Omaha, NE.  It was hot that day, and the whole midwest is suffering from a drought, so apparently the cornfields weren't as high as they should be.

This was at the great pool they had at the Omaha hotel.

The next day, it was on to Lansing, IL (Just below Chicago).   The drive took us through Iowa, which was a prettier stretch than Nebraska.  We saw this truck drive past us.

This was the view through Iowa.  We stopped in Iowa City, home of the Iowa State Hawkeyes, and ate  at a sports pub.  Apparently, football is a bit of a thing there.

Goofing around on the drive.  Some of the stretches were long, and we had some time to kill.

After IL, we drove through Indiana on our way to Cleveland.  This town, Shipshewanna, is an Amish community just off the freeway. (thanks Berth for the suggestion!)

The best part of the town is interacting with the locals.  We took a horse and buggy tour through the town with Leroy, and got to know a little about the inner workings of the place.

Leroy was kind enough to pose with us.

Definitely one of the highlights of the trip, certainly the most anticipated, was our stop in Cleveland at the Melt Bar and Grilled.  Featured on Man vs. Food, we all shared the Melt Challenge, a 4 pound meal with 14 different kinds of cheeses.

I really enjoyed my share of the sandwich.

This is typical of the kids activity in the car.  Here, we're stopping for gason the way to Buffalo, NY.

After a night in Buffalo, we drove about 30 min to Niagara State Park.  This is one of the bridges crossing Grand Island.

It's always interesting to experience a place that you've heard a lot about and seen pictures of; it's never the same as seeing it in person.  I loved walking around the grounds and feeling the spray from the falls.

Just a few feet away is a 150-foot drop!!  It was to see so much water spilling over.

At the park, they have a memorial to Nikolai Tesla, the not-so-well-known contemporary of Thomas Edison.

Then, on through upstate New York.  We made a stop in Palmyra, and went to the top of Hill Cumorah.

We found Indian Ladder Farm, a pick-your-own farm just outside Albany.  It was beautiful to say the least, and we trekked out into the blueberry fields to pick a couple quarts.

This is the view on the way back from the blueberry bushes.  After, we ate at their diner for lunch, and enjoyed homemade food from local ingredients.

After Albany, we drove to a hotel in Worcester, and went to our new home in West Boylston to get a preview.  We moved in the next day, but that's for a different post!

Goodbye Party!

Before leaving Logan, we had a 'going away" party for the kids, complete with water games, a hot dog cookout, and plenty of downtime.

They had fun with this "fill the bucket" game, running across the river.

Climbing trees is always fun.  I wasn't sure exactly how they all were going to get down.

I couldn't believe how many friends & family showed up.

And there were some fun going-away presents.

One of the best parts:  floating in the river, relaxing.

Royston's Bday and Scouts

For Royston's bday this year, we did a Minecraft/lego/Angry birds theme.  And how did he want to spend the day?  Stay home and do lego's in his underwear...  all day.

He loved the Minecraft figures and streamers we put on his door.

He built these lego towers specially for the occasion.

Not long after, he joined the bear clan and earned his wolf badge in cub scouts.  Way to go!!

 Hanging out with Grandma Lucie in Green Canyon.

 Shooting arrows with Hortin Hears a Who & Grandma Lucie.  Royce kicked some serious butt, but Hortin & Grandma were catching on pretty quickly.

 Playing chess with Grandpa Buggy.  Grandpa won, but Syd held him off with 1 man for some time!

 We were able to spend some time with cousins, & decided to take them to the zoo with us!

 We saved the best for last...the train!

 The next day we spent some time at the gardens.  I think they may have liked this even better than the zoo.  The weather was perfect & they had plenty of time to run around and play however they chose.

 Snack time in a cute hideout under a tree with handmade wood chairs in the children's area.

 We went to dinner for Grandma Lucie's birthday and these three decided to share a meal.  Syd very maturely ordered a chimichanga plate with a side of fries for them to share.

 Happy Birthday Grandma Lucie!  Thanks for inviting us to be a part of the celebration!

 Royce taking a break during fishing to look for bugs.

Royce has wanted to build a trebuchet for years, and he finally got the chance!  Uncle Glenn and Ty helped him to build this model & they were launching huge rocks & then finally water balloons.  A dream come true for that man for sure!