Train Hop

The kids and I went to the Tree Lighting and Train Hop tonight.

I wasn't sure we were going to go. The kids were giving me a tough time. Ethan is in a phase where he just will not get ready to go anywhere. And then, when he does get himself in the car, he does something to upset Rachel. These are the faces of the kids I started the evening with.

Fortunately, photos of their miserable faces made them laugh so off we went for some Holiday fun!

By the end of the evening there were 2 of these trucks! They are so amazing to see and you can't help but smile and feel like a kid when you see them.

A number of businesses in the town had their doors open. Each had a train display and would punch your ticket. After you got your ticket punched from 5 places, you could turn it in to the raffel. Ethan didn't really like the idea of a raffel because not everyone gets something. It isn't that he wanted something but he felt bad for everyone who didn't get something.

We went to the library first. Then we hopped on the train in the parking lot for a ride around the building. Ethan ran into a bunch of kids from school. He thought it was really cool that they were all there. It was nice to see him excited about seeing his friends.

It started snowing (sleeting?) just in time for the tree lighting.

We came home and Ethan made hot chocolate.

Fall Day

After soccer and lunch, we decided to brave the crowd and go to the Shelburne Farms Harvest Fest.

The hay bale maze was a huge hit with the kids. It was the first and the last thing we did. Ethan was even brave enough to go in after Rachel and I by himself.



Some weird wood and rock game thing in the wood making section. Ethan was quite fascinated with this.



Jumping on hay bales. The kids could have done this forever. On off, on off, on off.





Ethan and Rachel grinding corn for corn cakes. (Ethan took the one of Rachel)



Their's is the big one in the middle. Ethan and I had some. A little dry, and the cornmeal was a little crunchy.



Wagon rides!



Bouncy balance boards.

And we ended the day with roasted marshmallows in our pajamas.

Soccer

Saturday's are now officially soccer days. We are soccer people.

Listening with his ears covered.

More listening. This time sitting.

I'm really not sure what he's doing here.

Water break. Ethan's favorite part.

It would appear based on these photos, that Ethan mostly sits while everyone else plays. However, this is only partly true. He has some really great plays then rests. Ethan says soccer is his favorite sport because he's good at it.

Rachel has found tree climbing to be a great way to pass the time.

Cape Vacation Day 3

Much warmer and sunnier! Sunny enough for a true beach day! The kids had a great time swimming (me too), building castles, and riding the waves in.

Ethan's castle was built with a security system. It had a passcode and if not typed in in 10 seconds, that yellow bucket of water would dump on the intruder.

After the beach we headed down the road to...



Where we learned all about how our favorite chips are made.

After a trip to the mall to pick up some extra clothes we came back to the cottage to play.

Cape Vacation Day 2

The kids woke up early despite being awake laughing with each other so late. Because Matt had been in California all last week and therefore still a bit on California time, I took the kids down to the water after eating breakfast. The kids played in the surf getting wetter and wetter. It occurred to me that perhaps the weeks worth of clothes I packed was not going to be enough. This was further confirmed later as more and more wetness and spills began to happen. Oh well, good excuse for vacation shopping!

Daddy's up! And, he's willing to brave to water at this time of day. Ok, it actually wasn't that bad and I did end up wading in.

But mostly I stayed with whoever was on the beach building sand castles.

After the beach and lunch we decided to go for a drive and check out the Children's Natural History Museum. The museum had exhibits on how the Cape came to be, who lived here, and what they did. It also had an aquarium with the fish found in the ponds and ocean around here. And outside there were a bunch of walking trails going through the salt marsh, a wooded island (with plenty of mosquitoes), sand dunes, and tidal pools!














After dinner we went for a walk around the "neighborhood".



And found a little bunny in the garden behind our house.

Cape Vacation Day 1

I've never been to the Cape but have always wanted to see it. This winter we decided that this summer would be the time to finally go. We set up a cottage rental online and hoped for the best. While this place is tiny it couldn't be more perfect. Well, maybe the bed could be more comfortable.


Rachel, being Rachel, drew and made "lists" for most of the trip.

While Ethan, being Ethan, listened to my old ipod mini that I had dug up and downloaded a bunch of kids songs to.

They both did surprisingly well we only heard "are we there yet?" about 500 times. We hit everything, blinding rain in Vermont, a major traffic delay in Boston, and sunshine as we entered the Cape.

Home sweet home for the week. That little part on the side is the bathroom! The front is a big screened in porch.

The kids room. They were excited to sleep in the same room. The first night they stayed up way too late talking and laughing.

The view from the front lawn. This is a parking lot for the public beach just down the stairs.

The stairs from our lawn to the parking lot.

Checking out the beach before heading out to find some dinner.

Kids in bed. Relaxing.