First Day of Preschool!

Caroline had her very first day of preschool this morning! We've been eagerly awaiting this for weeks. We are so pleased with the school we've picked for Caroline, and so far we are off to a great start!

This little man couldn't understand why he wasn't allowed to stay and play, too.

I'm so excited for you to start preschool, Caroline! I know you will have a wonderful year full of new friendships and learning many new things.

Camping... Princess Style

I have been waiting for the right time to take Caroline camping and decided she was old enough this summer to head out and give it a try. So, this past weekend we went on her first ever overnight camping trip and, I have to say, we had a great time together.

After packing up our gear--2 parts candy and treats to 1 part stuff you actually need--we left Saturday morning and headed out to the beautiful Tully Lake campground about 1.5 hrs Northwest of Boston. The weather was perfect and we had plenty of time to set up camp before kayaking out to one of the small islands on the lake--aptly named "Mermaid Island" by you know who. Each tiny island had little sand beaches and we spent the afternoon making sand castles, looking for fairy houses, and watching family-friendly "pirates" sail by in their canoes. All in all, just another magical day with my girl.

That night we cooked beans and roasted hot dogs and sweet corn for an appetizer before the main course of smores. As you might of guessed, the smores were a HUGE hit!

After filling our bellies we got all ready for bed and (yes, this is probably cheating) got all snuggled in our tent for movie night. We watched Tinkerbell on Caroline's portable DVD player. It was a great way to wind down for the night and not worry about all the terrifying crickets outside.

The next morning we cooked a nice breakfast and spent a few hours exploring some of the trails all around the lake, some of which led to some really amazing waterfalls.


The highlight of Sunday, though, was Smokey's 65th birthday party put on by the Rangers at the campground--that is after I convinced Caroline that Smokey was a dress up bear and not the real kind. To sweeten the deal, Smokey even had bear-sized pieces of cake and goodie bags, definitely a hit with Miss Sweet Tooth.



All in all we had a great time together and I even got a "I'll probably go with you again Daddy" which, in my book is mission accomplished. Let's just hope Smokey celebrates his 66th birthday next year...

Blueberry Picking

We spent a gorgeous early-fall morning blueberry picking today. We met up with some of Caroline's buddies from last year's preschool class at a charming little farm not far from our house. The farm included an apple orchard, a corn maze, and a fabulous little store chock-full of freshly grown/homemade goodies, but we were mainly there for the blueberries. I love that we have all of the advantages of living near a big city right at our finger tips, but that we can also be out in the "country" in less than half an hour.

William spent most of the time screaming "ball!" every time he saw a blueberry. It's his favorite word. :)



Photography peeps - I'm working on learning to use aperture priority mode. How am I doing?

Can you believe all of these blueberries? I thought the season was over. The thicket was just gorgeous.

My camera wouldn't auto-focus for this picture. Hope nothing is wrong with it. I love the picture even if it is a little fuzzy.

Thanks for a great morning, friends!

All Boy

William and I are just finishing up our weekend together. Oh my goodness, this child is so easy. I've always known that, but after a day and a half of just him, I'm really appreciating how truly easy going this child is. It's been awesome to just enjoy him, let him take the lead, and go at his own pace. Seventeen months is truly an awesome age.

So what's new with the big boy? Running and climbing. He's discovered both recently, and that's pretty much all he wants to do - preferably outside. The kid loves to be outside.

Here he is, running away from me up our block - our current favorite outside activity:

And climbing up the swing set. He's also gotten very good and pushing things around so that he can scale even higher heights.

Other items on his short list of favorites? Dogs (woof woof) and cats, trucks (vroom, vroom!), shaking his head no, cheese, books, the sandbox, and big kids who give him attention.

I love you, my sweet boy. You bring so much joy to my life.

Camping

Straight from Steve's blackberry to my blog. . .



That's right, Steve and Caroline left earlier today for their very first camping adventure. Caroline was full of excitement about the s'mores, hot cocoa, and trail mix. Oh, yeah - and 24 hours in the great outdoors. :) William and I are holding down the fort in civilization. I am - sigh - trying to enjoy my cup of tea and book on the sunny (bug free) front porch during William's 3 hour nap while I could be camping with them. Maybe next year when William is old enough we'll go along. Or maybe next year Steve can take them both and I can have some REAL peace and quiet.

I can't wait to hear all about the camping adventures when my little girl returns home tomorrow. :)

And for the record, Caroline was worried that she "didn't look fancy" in this outfit. Love that little girl.

Choo Choo! Friday Adventure, Part 2.

This little boy thought the train was terrifying for the first 3 minutes, fascinating for the next 15, and then totally boring for the last 5 or so.

Did I mention I had a great day with my little man? And judging by the look on Steve's face when we met him and Caroline downtown, he had an equally awesome day with his little girl.

After a fun dinner, we headed to Steve's office where he had left his blackberry charger. Our children ran like lunatics up and down the halls of Daddy's (deserted for the weekend) building. It was like the most fun thing they had ever done. Makes me think he should take them to work EVERY day. Don't you think?

Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho, It's Off to Work She Goes!

Caroline went to "help" Daddy at work this morning. And if his usual work day includes a trip on the ferry to the Boston Harbor Islands to see a princess and pirate play, we've got some talking to do.

Here she is, hard at work:

William and I are having an awesome day at home. It's a gorgeous fall-is-in-the-air day: blue skies and cool temps. We started the morning with a long walk, met a bunch of friends at the park, and now I'm enjoying some quiet time while the little man is napping. As soon as he wakes up, we are going to catch a train to meet Caroline and Steve in the city for dinner. Not a bad way to start the weekend! I hope yours is off to an equally lovely beginning!