finger lakes: the farmhouse

We took advantage of the long (Columbus Day) weekend and headed up to New York for what turned out to be an absolutely beautiful fall roadtrip. The weekend was perfect in all ways. Except one big one. Ben had to work and wasn't able to join us. I'll try to make the weekend sound as lame as possible for his sake.

The Finger Lakes area of New York turned out to be a central meeting point for Virginia, Vermont (my brother), and Michigan (my sister). We rented a cool old farmhouse in Naples (home of the famous grape pie) for the weekend and just enjoyed hanging out and admiring the beautiful scenery.

We headed up Friday morning and the kids did great on the 6 1/2 hour journey. We only stopped once for lunch. We usually have a "store" on long roadtrips where the kids can earn fake money throughout the drive and then "buy" things from the store every hour (usually a supply of dollar store items to keep them busy). But since I would be driving I just pre-wrapped a bunch of items (the Halloween window clings were a huge hit) and had the girls open them periodically. Although a bag full of presents sitting within their reach was definitely a challenge for their patience.

Oliver kept busy with licorice.

And now a random assortment of photos taken around the farmhouse during the weekend:

The kids loved all of the green open space to run and play.

Cousins! Three months between each.

Dan made a roaring fire one night so we could enjoy s'mores. It was a chilly weekend!

The big kids.