Weekending (and Boston/NH week catch-up)

September 22, 2014 by Summer

We made it safely home yesterday from a week-long trip to Boston and New Hampshire. To tell you the truth, this trip was not quite a vacation. For some time now, Jeff and I have been discussing the prospect of moving to the east coast. We both enjoy what California has to offer, but I believe we’re both craving something different. We’ve always wanted a little more land, a little more woods, a little more rural, a little more small town. We would like to buy a home someday soon and California is proving to be difficult, finding a home with our desires. Moving away from California would be a very big decision. One we are definitely not taking lightly. It would mean moving away from my family but moving closer to Jeff’s family. It would mean moving away from the constant warm days we have here and moving into a very different climate. Jeff grew up in Massachusetts but hasn’t lived on the east coast in some 20+ years. In short, it would be a major adjustment for all of us. But, it’s something we are still very much considering. So we decided to go out to the east coast, particularly New Hampshire for various reasons, and take a look at different areas. We stayed in Nana and Papa’s cabin’s by the lakes. Jeff and I would leave Ellie for a good portion of the day, each day (because our child does NOT like the car) and we drove all over the state. Ellie had many adventures with her Nana and Papa and Auntie Lindsey and did fantastically while we were away each day. We were always back way before dinner time and Ellie would tell us all about her adventures. Here are a whole lot of photos from our trip. We haven’t decided quite when and where we will be going, but this trip was very helpful in determining which areas of New Hampshire we definitely liked and which we definitely did not like.
The Morning we left, Ellie awoke to her very own Miss Mouse to take with her on the plane. It was a very useful tool through the airport and on the plane rides to and fro. I’m so glad I decided to make Miss Mouse for Ellie.

Flying with toddlers, even if you have a Miss Mouse AND a Pink Baby, is just no fun. Both flights were tough and tiring to get through, but we did our best and made it both ways without any major meltdowns thankfully.

We flew into Boston and then drove up to New Hampshire to stay near the town of Meredith in Jeff’s parents trailers by the lake.

This was the same lake that Jeff played in as a boy. I got to thumb through old photo albums of him and his siblings as babies, digging in this same sandy spot so many years ago.

For Jeff and I, the first stop on our tour was the little towns surrounding the lakes region of New Hampshire.

The next day, Ellie went to an animal center nearby the campground and the local library with her grandparents. Jeff and I headed north to the beautiful college town of Hanover.

Dartmouth University is the centerpiece of the town. A very elegant and lovely town. But, very north of Boston (maybe a little too north for us).

We drove through some of the smallest of New Hampshire’s towns.

Each day we’d return to a happy camper. (or a camper who has just woken up from a nap in the carrier).
We walked around the local town of Meredith together. It’s another lovely, little town.

There were statues throughout Meredith for an annual art walk.

The next day, Jeff and I headed to Portsmouth to see the seacoast side of New Hampshire. We drove through Durham, Newmarket and Exeter (three adorable suburban towns) and up the coast through Rye and then into Portsmouth. Portsmouth was quite a fun, little city that if we had more time, would have been fantastic to explore.

We stopped in the Portsmouth Brewery for some local brew and lunch, walked around a bit and then headed back to the campgrounds.

Heading back to the campgrounds, we went through another lovely little town in the lakes district called Wolfsboro. Quite amazing views of the lake from the road.

On our last day in New Hampshire, Ellie and her grandparents (and Aunt) spent the morning apple picking and then headed back to Boston ahead of us. Jeff and I headed west, toward Keene. I think Keene may have been our favorite town. A great size, lots of good-looking eateries and shops, a beautiful library and just an overall good feel. And Jumangi was even shot there!

An homage paid to Robin Williams, right in the center of town.

We had one more day in Boston before we flew home and so the three of us rode into the city on the train.

We checked out the frog pond and rode the carousel of course and then because Ellie seemed to be getting tired and a bit cranky, we quickly headed over to Faneuil Hall to pick up some new Boston hats for a Dada who needed a new one (his get yucky, quickly) and a little girl who’s outgrown her “infant” hat.

We had a pretty good (long) flight home yesterday and today was catching up on sleep and laundry and bringing a certain french bulldog to the vet to get a piece of a plant removed from inside her ear. (Our dogs always seem to make sure to let us know how unhappy they are when we leave them for vacations).
It was quite the whirlwind trip of driving across an entire state, being away from our baby longer than ever before (she thankfully, didn’t seem to mind spending so much quality time with her Nana and Papa) and making decisions upon our possible future. We haven’t made up our mind yet, but it was good to get out there and finally see these areas we’ve been reading about for ourselves. As of now, we’re all thankful to be home and come Monday, back into our regular routine.

(a side note: Thank you to my in-laws for being incredible with Ellie and letting Jeff and I get the time we needed to explore these new areas! They took such good care of my baby and of us)!

Weekending!

September 8, 2014 by Summer

This weekend was dinner with friends by the beach, farmers markets, spending way too much time trying to get a little one down for naps, walks downtown and walks with the grandparents along the beautiful coast. How was your weekend?

-joining Karen over at Pumpkin Sunrise!

Weekending!

September 2, 2014 by Summer

Our Labor Day weekend was made up of long car rides to barbeques with cousins, in pools I used to swim in as a child. Steak dinners with the folks. Hot, hot weather for our little beachy town (hence the half-naked child running around with popsicles). Welcoming September with a major tending to the garden. Tomato picking (and eating). Pulling homegrown pumpkins from their vines already. Granola making and lots and lots of play.

-joining Karen over at Pumpkin Sunrise.

Weekending!

August 25, 2014 by Summer

Whew! What a whirlwind week and weekend that was! We sent Nana and Papa back to Boston today after a lovely, very busy two weeks. We will miss them but will actually be out that way in a few weeks, so we won’t have to wait too long to see them.

This weekend we visited the farmers market, after a few weekends missing it. We spent lots of time with Nana and Papa and took lovely walks and little hikes with them in the town they were staying in (this little hike gets you to an area where you can see seals. We got to see a few swimming in the ocean this time). And the excitement for Jeff this weekend was the picking of his hops. It’s harvest time and Jeff got to pick (with Ellie and his parents) half of what we had growing. They are currently drying in his home office. I fear our whole house is going to smell like a brewery!

It was a busy, nice weekend. We’ll be headed back east for a little late summer vacation in a few weeks, so I’m sure I’ll be revving up for that in the coming days and weeks. And I have lots of crafty things to post about in the coming days as well as some things I’m working on.

Hoping you had a lovely weekend!
*weekending with pumpkin sunrise!

Weekending

August 18, 2014 by Summer

This weekend we enjoyed some time with Jeff’s parents, we got the house back in order from last weekend’s birthday party and today, I had the honor of attending a beautiful memorial for one of my oldest and dearest friend’s mother, who passed away last week after a long battle with cancer. It was touching and quite surreal to be there. This friend and I have known each other since middle school and although I didn’t know her mother well, being there to celebrate her mother’s life and hug and cry with her really touched my soul. I sat next to my other dear childhood friend throughout the service, her five-week old baby cradled close in her arms, and the emotions I was feeling were so very strong. It was something else. I can’t quite put my feelings into words, at least not eloquently. Never the less, I was honored to be there and hear stories about a life well lived and loved.

-joining Karen for Weekends.

Weekending: Second Birthday Edition!

August 11, 2014 by Summer

More birthday fun was had as it spilled into this weekend. We had a pretty large party with lots of family and lots of friends. I think at times it was a bit overwhelming for Ellie (she did NOT want to blow out candles or have people sing Happy Birthday to her) but she enjoyed her one on one times with many of her friends and family members. There were lots of smiles and busy play and presents this year took on a new, much more exciting meaning too. It was a lovely day with so many wonderful friends and family to celebrate with.
The “Two” wreath I made up-cycling from last year’s. Ellie is a big Sendak fan (Where The Wild Things Are, The Night Kitchen and One Was Johnny are some of her favorite books), so I felt a watercolor “Max” would be perfect.
A shot of our little house decked out for the party. I printed out Ellie’s Monthly Photos from 12 months to 24 months and hung them banner style in the main room.
I could not get a decent shot of the centerpiece I made (so forgive the darkness in this photo). I worked on this centerpiece for weeks to get it right. Last year, my mom made hot air balloons as the centerpiece and this year, since one of Ellie’s most favorite things is riding the carousel and another favorite book of hers is Up and Down The Merry-Go-Round, I thought I’d try to recreate a little merry-go-round for her.
I bought blank wooden horses from here and sanded them till their edges were smooth and rounded, wood burned the designs on each of them and then used watercolors to paint them. Lastly, I sealed them with a non toxic sealant and rubbed them down with beeswax so give them a softer texture. I was very happy how they turned out and Ellie has been carrying them around all weekend (they aren’t attached to the carousel).
The carousel on the other hand was a lot more difficult to figure out. The base was just a round wooden blank clock piece I found at the craft store. I used an old lamp shade, cut it in half and mod-podged a whole bunch of fabric scraps to it. Then I sewed a mini tent for the top, attached that to the lamp shade and made a banner for the very top out of felt and fabric. Everything is attached to the base by a simple wooden dowel. I hot glued some straws to the wooden base and attached ribbons to each of them. Then I placed the horses in front of the straws to make it look like they were attached. It ended up a bit on the crooked side, but I think it still worked. Ellie loved it, so I guess that’s all that matters right?
Another angle.
We had a little mac and cheese bar for the little ones (with all of Ellie’s favorite veggies like peas and broccoli) and a make your own sandwich station outside.
A line full of fabric scraps to brighten it up outside.
With one of last years tee pee’s making an encore appearance, we had books and balls and musical instruments and tunnels and two sensory bins to keep the kiddos busy.
And Jeff worked overtime the night before, cooking 75 carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. We were all frosting, minutes before guests arrived (and no, we didn’t have 75 people. We just wanted to make sure we had seconds. This recipe was so delicious thanks Shannon)!

Unfortunately, I did not get a great picture of the birthday girl in her handmade Gramma dress.

But it was adorable on and Ellie loved the pockets and I’m so grateful I have a mom who can sew up a special birthday dress- she’s amazing!

We sent everyone home with a little hand-painted birthday gnome.
Realizing days before that we had more children coming than I had anticipated and therefore was short on gnomes, I’m thankful I am connected to an amazing online community and Claudia was able to send me out more little blank peg dolls just in time for me to finish these guys for the party.

It was a really wonderful day and I hope one that Ellie will remember, or at least enjoy seeing pictures of later on.
The rest of the weekend was a nice one. We had Nana and Papa with us (they are here for two weeks staying in the next town over). We enjoyed some time at the beach, played with new birthday toys and Ellie really enjoyed seeing the super moon and reading about the moon (a new fascination these days).

*those lovely wooden moon toys are from here.

-joining Pumpkin Sunrise for Weekends.

Weekending!

July 28, 2014 by Summer

Wow! What a magical weekend we had (as you can see by all the pictures. I went a little hot air balloon picture-taking crazy). We went to the annual Citrus Balloon Festival for the second time this year. Here is last year’s visit. Like last year, we thought we knew what we were doing and showed up before 9am to see all of the balloons fly. Unfortunately, we missed the 6:30am fly time (their website needs a little work) and only got to see two balloons. But, it was pretty exciting seeing just the two and we hung around to meet up with friends, check out the live music and take a train ride around the event arena. We were disappointed that we missed seeing all of the balloons again and knew coming back that evening was probably not going to happen with Ellie’s bedtime. However, after a very long and late nap, it seemed the stars aligned and we attempted our first “night-time outing” with Miss Ellie boo bear. While she napped, I whipped her up a mama-made Hot Air Balloon PJs top to wear to the Balloon show. And I’m so glad we went. It was so magical seeing all the balloons lit up. Seeing Ellie’s face light up and to hear her so excited was priceless. She told us when she was ready to go home, did very well on the drive home and fell fast asleep as soon as we got home, I’m sure, dreaming of colorful balloons filling up the sky.

-joining Pumpkin Sunrise this weekend.

Weekending!

July 21, 2014 by Summer

We headed downtown this weekend for an art show after the farmers market. It was interesting. Each artist had their pieces inside a POD and they were all placed throughout the downtown area. We got to see ukulele players and some performance art as well as take in a nice walk.

How was your weekend?

-joining Pumpkin Sunrise with Weekending.

Weekending!

July 14, 2014 by Summer

It was quite the musical weekend as you can see. One of my life long goals was to learn how to play the guitar, so that I could accompany myself singing. Eventually it evolved into wanting to learn so that I could sing and play along with the children in the preschools I taught at and now, it’s become about playing simple songs while singing with Ellie. Jeff has inspired me with his eagerness to master the banjo. He’s less than a year in and can play so well already. I felt it was time I tried and I thought maybe something smaller like the ukulele would be just the thing for me. Jeff agreed and even went searching for ukulele’s on his own the other day for me. He’s going to learn right along with me in hopes of us helping each other.

Everyone got in on the ukulele action though. We brought it to my parents house on saturday for dinner and then my parents came over tonight and we jammed into the evening. It felt so good to be able to play a simple tune and sing along with it. I’m loving the ukulele already. Ellie is enjoying her jam sessions too.

We also enjoyed two lovely homemade dinners this weekend, lots of crafting during naps and swimming lessons and some fantastic “trial birthday cupcakes”.

A very nice weekend indeed. How was yours?

-joining in Weekending with Pumpkin Sunrise.

Weekending : July 4th Edition!

July 7, 2014 by Summer

We had an extra long Fourth of July weekend. I spent the majority of it recovering from last Wednesday’s oral surgery. Surgery went well and although I was quite out of it for a day or two and then in some pain for days after that, but my mouth has been feeling better every day. Even though I was in some pain for the actual fourth, we still managed to walk in our town’s push em pull em parade and enjoy the street fair for a little bit (We had Gramma and Grandpa with us too). Then the rest of the weekend was spent resting. Lots of time in the backyard, tending to the garden, running around with flags, declaring our independence and eating lots of watermelon!