We haven't said anything about it yet, because at first the negotiations weren't any fun, and then we have been busy getting ready for packing, but we wanted to briefly share how excited we are about moving into our new house! A Gallery is here, but here is one of our favorites:
 |
| From House |
Tara had a 3-day weekend this past weekend thanks to a colleague who needed to trade an ER shift. Plans for Mom and Keith to come visit fell through, but we still wanted to take advantage of this rare gift of extended time off. We thought this would be a great opportunity to explore some of what New England has to offer. Unfortunately, Scott had fallen victim to one of the usual plagues that Audrey brings home from daycare, so he wasn't of much use in the planning process. As Tara wracked her brain and the internet for ideas, she remembered a place that some friends had mentioned, a must-see place for toddlers ... Storyland!
We drove up on Saturday early afternoon. We arrived at our B&B at about 5pm, after what was in theory a little over a 3 hr drive became almost 5 hrs with traffic and the lunch stop. The place we stayed was called the Cranmore Mountain Lodge. It was a charming little inn run by a French Canadian couple. There was a pool, which we took advantage of a couple of times, and a family room with lots of toys and kid videos. Our last-minute booking got us a room on the 3rd floor with no air conditioning, but we survived with the help of a couple of fans.
Storyland is an amusement park designed for children ages 2-12. It is hidden in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The rides and other attractions are based on a nursery rhyme/fairy tale theme. For instance, Humpty Dumpty is kind of the main guy, the engineer of Storyland if you will. They have Cinderella's castle (along with the glass slipper and the fairy godmother's wand), teacups ala Alice in Wonderland, and live animals representing such rhymes as Baa Baa Black Sheep, and the Three Little Pigs. There were also smaller things to explore and play with, like a visual representation of 1, 2, buckle my shoe, and the old woman who lived in shoe (complete with actual old woman handing out stickers).
Audrey had an amazing time! Perhaps the highlight for her was seeing Humpty Dumpty in a live show. Included in the admission fee are several different little 15 or 20 minute shows. While you wait in line for the rides, there is a TV playing clips from each show, and Audrey caught a glimpse of one with Humpty Dumpty. From then on, all she could talk about was Humpty Dumpty. Unfortunately, the next show was not for another 3 1/2 hours or so. We filled the time with lunch, other rides, and a nap in her stroller (praise God!), until finally it was time to go see “Humpty Dumpty in a show.” The show was the kind of thing that I'm sure other parents can relate to as being a little painful to sit through for those of us over 5 years old. But Audrey was in heaven as she watched Humpty dance and sing and help out his friends Little Bo Peep and Jack and Jill! 
Another highlight was Cinderella's castle, and meeting the real Cinderella! As soon as we got to the castle, she wanted to know where was the fairy godmother. We decided to defer that question to Cinderella, who simply said “she's not here right now, but she left her wand for you to see.” With that one settled, she then asked where the Prince was, and the best that Mommy could come up with was that he was at work, or perhaps at a battle. What do princes do all day anyway?
After a long day at Storyland, we a nice dinner of Wiener schnitzel at a German hotel/restaurant. Upon arriving home soon afterward, we all crashed. After we got Audrey down at about 8:30, Scott and I laid on the bed, only to wake up about midnight to realize we had fallen asleep still fully dressed! The next day we spent some time at the outlet malls, and drove home through the White Mountains National Forest on the scenic Kancamagus highway. Along the way we also stopped for a short “hike,” which I put in quotes because we have learned that you are lucky if you make it more than 100yards down the trail hiking with a 2 year-old. There are so many interesting things to see and an endless supply of rocks, sticks, and “cones” (pinecones) to pick up. It was nice nonetheless, and tired her out for a nice nap on the drive home.
Okay, more videos are up! I've backdated some of them so they show up in the proper order. To see them all, click on the "videos" link on the right hand side of the page, under "labels." Or just click here.
We've put some new pictures up in the 6-9 month album, including some Christmas ones. We had a great time resting up at home over the Christmas holiday, and both sets of grandparents were very happy to visit Audrey.
Today was a rare day of fun. Tara had the day off, and Scott was caught up with work, so we slept in, and then went to Middlesex Fells nature reserve for some hiking. We didn't go very far, but the weather was crisp and sunny, we were warm and cozy in our coats, and we had a great time showing Audrey the fall colors as we walked through the trees. Our trail climbed a tree-covered hill and ended at an observation tower, where we had a great view of the surrounding area, including downtown Boston. We've been very busy lately, but we were extremely grateful to have such a refreshing day outside.
Last weekend we went for our first family camping trip! We went to the end of Cape Cod, and camped at a private campground called Dunes' Edge. We highly recommend it -- it wasn't too crowded, and we had a nice little site surrounded by trees. We arrived late Friday night (setting up the tent in the dark), and departed on Sunday morning to get back to a visit with some friends, so we only really vacationed on Saturday, but it was lots of fun. Audrey did a great job sleeping in the tent, and we enjoyed cooking on our new camping cookset.
Saturday was cool and clear; a great day for sightseeing. We had a small mishap in the morning where, while mixing the pancake batter, Scott confused the small bottle of oil with the small bottle of soap. If you've never tried Soapcakes, then ... don't. After breakfast and Audrey's morning nap, we went for a hike on an un-advertised trail that our campground owner recommended. It took us through a salt marsh to a lighthouse at the end, on the ocean. After that we walked around the town of Provincetown, had lunch at a South-African restaurant, some obligatory vacation ice cream, and went back to camp in the afternoon for a much-needed nap. Hamburgers for dinner, and quarter-funded hot showers rounded out a great first family camping experience.
Thought we'd post some pictures of our new apartment, now that we're settled in and everything is put away (inviting friends over is a great way to get the house cleaned!). Click here, or just enjoy the smaller version below.
Okay, here is the much-requested blog. It will probably mostly have stuff about Audrey in it, but maybe we'll post some adult-oriented stuff as well. For future reference, we also keep a photo gallery through picasaweb.
