OCTOBER

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

from The Cat in the Hat

 We had our ward "Trunk or Treat" party on October 27th and on the 31st we went to Natick Mall trick or treating. The kids costumes were a hit that random people were asking for their pictures. Also, they had a costume contest at their doctor on the morning of Halloween and they won!!! We got a $15 gift card to a local bookstore. I have to admit, these were my favorite costumes. They were super easy to make and they scored BIG points. The only negative was that everyone thought Lanie was a boy and Maverick was a girl. Kinda funny!

Saturday with Daddy

Shawn had an appointment in northern Massachusetts on a Saturday, so we decided to go with him and explore. The appointment was quick and after we were able to do some fun things in Concord. We had lunch at Kimball Farms where they have a little farm boutique shop and yummy food. It was a darling area with wagons and tractors that Lanie loved. Then we went on a tour of Ralph Waldo Emerson's home which was very cool. We were able to see his study where he did a lot of writing and as we left, we went to Walden Pond where he would take thought provoking walks.

BERLIN ORCHARDS

We loved this place. It had all sorts of activities for miss Lanie to do.

APPLE PICKING

PETTING ZOO

MINIATURE HOUSES

PUMPKIN PATCH AND JOHNNY APPLESEED

Joseph Smith Birthplace

Sharon, Vermont

We drove 2 1/2 hours and met up with Auntie Pam and Uncle Eddie to see the Joseph Smith Birthplace. It is a beautiful and peaceful place. The 2 bottom right pictures are of the house and hearth of the house. So small. I found it interesting that Joseph Smith lived here until he was about 10 which means he had his leg surgery in this house. It would have been the tiniest house. I learned something very fascinating this time at the Birthplace. Joseph Smith's family were forced to move after a paralyzing snowstorm hit in June of 1815. This was known as the year without a summer. What happened is that Mount Tambora, a volcano in Indonesia, erupted which resulted in a horrifying snowstorm in Vermont which caused flooding and crop failure. The Smith family was forced to move and that is when they went to Palmyra, New York. Amazing to think that only 4 years later the First Vision took place.

The Old Stone Bridge 

This bridge, located on the Mack Family property, was for major crossing on the highway in the 1800s. It is build purely of stones. I could just visualize the horse and buggies prancing across this rickety bridge. I can't even imagine living in those times, but very cool to see.

We sure enjoyed this day with Pam and Ed. After going to the Joseph Smith Birthplace and the Old Bridge, we went our to lunch and to some cute toy shops in the area. We really love being close to family out here!!!

BOSTON

We love spending time in downtown Boston. This time we went to the north side of the city. This is my favorite area. There is a town called Charlestown just across the bridge which is where I would love to live one day. Lanie loves the tunnels getting into Boston and I love the bridges. The "Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge" is my absolute favorite with it's fan shape cables. We played in the park and Lanie climbed the rocks under the bridge. We stopped at Emack and Bolio's on the way in AND on the way our for smoothies and chocolate turtles. Mmmm....it was delicious!!! Family Funday!!! 

ALL DADDY'S DOING

Shawn is so good at making me laugh on a regular basis and this is how he does it. He dresses the kids up in the funniest things and then presents them to me. It cracks me up every time. The best part of him getting the kids ready are the outfits he and Lanie come up with. He doesn't know how to do her hair so she is always inevitably in a hat, matching or not. I love it for humor's sake and hate it if we really have to go in public. But shoot, at least the girl is dressed, right?

FALL FOLIAGE

Conference weekend we took a walk in the park to enjoy the beautiful New England Fall weather. It was breathtaking. Lanie picked some of the giant leaves and wrote letters and mailed them to some family in Utah. She talks about them constantly.

"ROCKET SHIP"

Lanie's favorite TV show these days is Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. On one of the episodes, they build rocket ships. So Lanie, being the creative little girl that she is, took our laundry baskets and pretended like they were her rocket ships. So one rainy afternoon, I decided to use her creative juices, and make a cardboard box rocket ship. She loved it, for that day, and the next day went back to using the laundry baskets.

THE HOME FRONT

We love this little round head Maggot. He is the happiest, fun-loving little person. Everyone needs a Maverick in their life! And yes, that top left picture is his giant bib courtesy of Grandma Judy. The kid is always puking!

A typical day: 

coloring, playtime, dress up, Maverick on roll baking duty (okay that's not typical), 

playdates with friends, and daddy time. 

This is one patient little guy. These pictures are from 2 different occasions. One was when I was putting Lanie down for bed and he screamed and cried himself to sleep while he waited on the floor for some attention. The other was when he had a cold, he was playing while I was in the kitchen. I didn't hear his little voice anymore, so I went into check on him and found him passed out, worn out, sleeping at his play gym. They were precious little moments that I had to capture.

OUR CLIMBER

This independent child refuses help going potty and washing her hands. This is her dangling trying to wash her hands "ALL BY HERSELF." Shortly after this, she begged to go back into diapers which we graciously did (more selfishly did). I don't think she liked how much work it ended up being for her to actually go potty. If only she'd let us help. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

Shawn, Gayle, and Auntie Pam surprised me with a huge party for my birthday. I was truly surprised because Shawn isn't one to really celebrate birthdays (you know, having his on Christmas and all). A bunch of families from church came and Pam, Ed, Anthony, Lily and Ashley were here. It was wonderful. Shawn even spoiled me with lots of gifts. Nice work, Honey! 29 should be a good year!