Vermont (part 2)

The cousins had so much fun preparing and performing a show for us one night. Tickets were issued, there were multiple costume changes, script changes, dancing, lights, music, and a few tears over creative differences. (Elsa wanted to be a wolf and Amelia wanted Elsa to be her long lost sister. "But I don't WANT to be your long lost sister!" It added just the right amount of drama.) I'm pretty sure no ending was ever written for the show so we eventually had to shut it down with the promise that they could continue the next night (which they did).

 

Taking a break.

We spent one morning at a local ice rink that had a special session just for younger kids. They had crates for the kids to push around to help them learn. They could carry a bucket around on their crate and gather toys that had been scattered everywhere. Amelia and Elsa had never been ice skating and I was worried it might end in tears of frustration. But they both loved it and picked it up quickly. They both tried ditching the crates and did really well on their own and had fun skating with Dad and Grandpa. This was definitely a highlight of their trip.

We stopped for fresh bagels at a place that does Montreal-style bagels. They gave the kids dough and rolling pins to play with.

Oliver was worn out. And apparently dressed all in blue.

We got 4 or 5 inches of fresh snow that afternoon. Enough to make everything extra pretty but still make for an easy drive home the next day. Thanks for a great weekend Dan and Rachel!

Ice skating in action:

Vermont (part 1)

Amelia had two days off of school a few weeks ago so we decided to use the long weekend for a road trip to Burlington, Vermont, to visit my brother Dan and his family. We left Thursday evening (not ideal since we ended up in some evening commute traffic) and drove about half way (4 1/2 hours). We ended up somewhere in New Jersey for the night and then drove the rest of the way on Friday.

The kids were thrilled to see their cousins and had so much fun with them all weekend. It was great to hang out with family, enjoy some winter fun, and explore Vermont a bit. My parents even flew in for the weekend and joined the party.

We drove to nearby Stowe on Saturday for some sledding. The hill was pretty iced over so it was FAST. The kids loved it. Until the cold finally broke them down (I think the high was 15 degrees that day). My phone kept shutting down because it was too cold to function. I managed to get a few photos and a few snippets of video. Unfortunately it shut down during Ben's ride down the hill on the crazy skeleton-like sled. I was kind of a professional sledder in high school so I was sad to miss out (sledding seemed a little unsafe in my current condition).

 

We warmed up at a cute little malt shop nearby where we had a yummy lunch by the fireplace.

Sledding wore all of the kids out. James couldn't quite make it through lunch.

I had to see a covered bridge while in Vermont.

We stopped at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill where they make these amazing apple cider donuts (and delicious cider). We loaded up on some of each.

 

We also stopped at the Ben & Jerry's factory for more treats.

Saturday night my parents were generous enough to take over bath time AND bed time with all five kids so Ben, Dan, Rachel, and I could go out. We saw "Lincoln" which was a great movie. We came home to a quiet house full of sleeping, clean children. Date nights with free babysitting are the best.


Sledding in action:

a few inches.

Like most winters here, our snowfall has been pretty weak this year. A few weeks ago we had an inch or two of fresh snow in the morning. Just enough to delay school two hours and give us time to play in the snow and warm up with hot chocolate before heading to school.

sunday evening stroll: huntley meadows

 

It's fascinating to see Huntley Meadows change throughout the seasons. And even more fascinating to see what the beavers have done there recently, completely relocating most of the water with new beaver dams.

family photos.

Back in November I decided to attempt another family photo shoot with hopes of getting some photos for our Christmas card. I considered a few different locations but I just couldn't resist the gorgeous textures and backdrops at Fort Washington. So we used the same location as the previous year (see last year's photos here). And don't be surprised if you see more family shoots at Fort Washington in the future. I clearly can't get enough. 

And I clearly showed no restraint in narrowing down the photos.

Seriously! Look at all the gorgeous textures and colors on that wall.

Miraculously, I ended up with a few shots where everyone was looking at the camera/tripod (not always looking thrilled, but looking nonetheless).

Trying to get photos of all three kids was almost impossible. Oliver wanted nothing to do with the photo shoot. When I tried individual photos, Oliver just ran away. Amelia was grumpy and wincing through most shots. Elsa loved it and wouldn't stop posing for me. (Things certainly change in a year.)

 (Oliver starting to panic because Ben took away the iphone.)

I bribed the kids during the photo shoot with the promise of a big surprise at the end. When I had finally lost too much light and everyone was sufficiently tired of posing, we revealed the big surprise–that they were getting a new sibling! Elsa stomped her foot and said "That is NOT the surprise I wanted." I kind of figured she would be expecting something more tangible. (She was much happier about it the next day.) Amelia was immediately excited and in awe. "I can't believe we're going to have another baby!" I can't believe it sometimes either.