An Autumn Visit to NH

Two weeks ago Bob took a long weekend and we drove to NH to do some leaf peeping and enjoy autumn-like activities.  The leaf peeping went really well on the drive over and we got to see some really nice foliage.  We planned some great activities, and fortunately the weather held out a little bit because for the most part it was pretty rainy.

I'm just a tad late in posting about it because my baby girl turned one yesterday and it was a pretty big deal.  Two weeks of bawling preparing for my baby to become a toddler... but more about that later.

I really want to share all the cute photos of MiniM.E., but it takes a lot of time and effort to be witty, funny and informative in my posts, so for the sake of time, this and the next few posts will be light on text, heavy on photos.  Thanks for understanding!

My favorite part of going home is just relaxing... seeing my family and having an extra pair or two of hands to help out with MiniM.E.

We really enjoyed playing outside this trip...

Playing in the leaves

Calling the Kitty

Running through the leaves

Helping rake

NOT liking being in the leaves

Being rescued

Swinging with Mommy

All by herself!

In the treehouse with Daddy

Down the slide!

Wheelbarrow ride with Mommy (who broke it)

 And seeing MiniM.E.'s boyfriend, H.

And with H. (after it got fixed!)

More Orchard Fun

I've noticed that having a baby toddler means finding something your child likes to do and repeating it multiple times.  Not that I don't love feeding the ducks at the pond, riding the carousel, and going for wagon rides.  I do those things are awesome to do with MiniM.E.  Things I don't love quite as much include standing in the spider-infested-shed pointing at and naming things, reading my least favorite children's books hundreds of times, continuously making my cell phone "play music", and climbing up and down the stairs searching for invisible pieces of dirt.

In the case of things fall-related, I'm in repetitive-toddler-activity-heaven.  Never would have I convinced myself it was necessary to visit an apple orchard (the same apple orchard) twice in less than a week just because it's a cool place and happens to have apple cider and donuts.

But NOW, I have an excuse.  MiniM.E. really likes the playground and the animals and the pumpkin patch.  (And really, without a toddler, it might be just a bit strange for me to be hanging out feeding the goats.)

Yesterday we went back to Bowman Orchards with one of our playgroup friends T. and her daughter, H. and our other friend, M.  They hadn't been yet... so what a great excuse for us to go again- we had to show them how awesome it was!

We decided against apple picking (because when there's a playground and animals, who has time for that?) and headed straight for the playground.

MiniM.E. loved it just as much the second time.  In fact, I think this time was even better because unlike last week when the playground was full of school groups on field trips, we were the ONLY ones there.

We had the playground all to ourselves.

And since there were no kids lining up to feed them, the animals were extra friendly (and extra hungry!).

We spent some time playing in the pumpkins.

And I may have given in to my love of obsession with all-things-fall-flavored obsession with some cider and donuts.

A Cold, Rainy Day

I used to like cold, rainy days.  I love to grab a good book, a cup of hot chocolate and some cookies and just curl up on the couch for hours.

I am not so much a fan of rainy days anymore.

MiniM.E. likes to read... but only for a few minutes.  She can't drink hot chocolate... yet, and as much as she likes cookies, I don't think I could bribe her to sit with me on the couch for hours with all the cookies in the world.

So, so much for my hours on the couch for a few many years.

MiniM.E. loves to be outside (as you may have noticed in previous posts).  She now knows that she needs shoes on to go outside so she will sit and try to put on her shoes by the door.  She'll stand up and bang at the door and cry if she gets really frustrated.  I suppose spending time outside is good for both of us, so usually I help her put on her shoes and out we go.

But not in the rain...

A plus to a rainy day is that if it's darker, MiniM.E. takes longer naps.  But once she wakes up and realizes we can't go out,

there's only so much I can do to distract her from walking over to the door and holding out her shoes...

Fortunately, we found the play area at the Wilton Mall.  Rainy day life-saver!

MiniM.E. loves it.  She goes off on her own and I can just sit on their benches.  She even plays with the other kids!

Extra bonus?  There is a teeny tiny carousel that MiniM.E. was so excited about the first time she saw it, she almost jumped right out of the stroller.  For a meer $.75 she can ride for a fun-filled 60 seconds.  (The first time she rode it I was afraid she would let go and fall off so I walked around in circles beside her and held her on.  Note: BAD IDEA.  Nothing like feeling like you've just been on 20 carnival rides when you have to entertain a baby.  Note #2: boy, I'm getting old...)

Did I say $.75? I should have said $3... because that's how much money it took until she finally would let go.

Not Enjoying Fall Quite So Much

Did I say we'd been enjoying fall?  Because we definitely have been.  Though yesterday I was cursing fall weather (specifically the cold rainy kind) and my ridiculous desire to see fall foliage.

Last year I was super pregnant with MiniM.E. when we decided to go foliage hunting.  Remember this post?  This year I was determined to see some foliage.  After checking the weather (partly to mostly cloudly, high 58) we decided to drive up to Hadley Mountain for a hike.  We'd heard from a friend that the hike was fairly easy and the view was supposed to be fantastic- miles and miles, all the way to Vermont.  I figured from up there, we'd be able to see all sorts of beautiful trees.  And we'd been wanted to take MiniM.E. for a hike in the frame pack since we bought it at the Katrina Trask Consignment Sale in the spring.

When we left it was raining.  Probably the first sign that we should have just driven the car back in the garage and sat in the living room playing Toddler Tunes all day.

When we got to the trailhead parking lot, it was still raining.  Probably the second sign that we should have just called it a nice Saturday drive and turned around.

BUT the parking lot was full.  We even had to park on the street dirt road.  Might as well give it a go, we thought.

So we packed up MiniM.E. with her nylon jacket in the frame pack

and started out.

The hike did not go as expected for a few reasons...

-We have not been hiking in years.  Especially with a 20lb. kid strapped to either of us.
-We did not wear hiking boots.  I actually have some, but have never worn them hiking and was afraid of blisters.  Looking back, the blisters might have been better than rolling my ankles 17 times.
-It was not an easy hike.  Especially the parts where we had to scale 45 degree rock inclines made slippery by the never-ending drizzle.
-MiniM.E. didn't seem to enjoy it.  Was it being in the frame pack and jostled around? The cold? The damp? The constant drips from the trees?  ... Probably all of the above.

Let me say, a year ago if you had told me I would be singing "Wheels on the Bus" for an hour while hiking up a mountain in the rain with a baby strapped to my husband's back I would have laughed hysterically at the mental image that conjured.  Laugh no more... that's totally what happened.

When we arrived at the top, we were greeted with views reminiscent of our trip up Mt. Pilatus in Luzern, Switzerland.  The views were amazing non-existent.  We could see for hundreds of miles tens of feet.

We did get to see one of the few fire towers left in the Adirondacks.

That's as far as I let them climb.  Can't trust a fire tower...

By the time we reached the top (almost two hours later) MiniM.E. was not a happy camper.

Why would you keep going? You ask?  Well... I blame the 4 or 5 "Almost there!"s we received when we were still only half-way.

At least we can say MiniM.E. made it to the top of her first mountain?

We had hoped for a large flat area where she could walk around a little (holding our hands, of course- can't have a baby careening off the top of a mountain...) and where we could eat some snacks.  BUT the top was less than hospitable.

We found the cabin where the firemen who manned the fire towers must have stayed.  It was boarded up but at least there was a porch with a few feet of dry spot.

We had some snacks and MiniM.E. walked around a bit.

But when we didn't let her crawl around on the wet rocks and in the spider-infested swampy grasses, she wasn't happy.

To be honest, I felt pretty much the same way.  We were tired and cold and wet.  There was no view.  AND we had to climb back down.  With cranky baby.  Had we gotten cell phone service I would have called for a rescue helicopter.  But alas... no bars.  Good thing we signed in at the bottom of the mountain...

So we packed up the cold, wet, cranky, tired baby and started back down.

The climb up must have tired her out because she fell asleep right away.

Fortunately when she was rudely awakened by screaming children half-way down, she seemed in good spirits and we only had to sing "Wheels on the Bus" for a few minutes.

I was proud of us for making it up, but SO glad to see the car when we were finally down three hours later.

MiniM.E. was happy to see the car too.  The best part of the day for her was "driving" while we packed up the car.

She was so glad to be warm and dry and off the mountain that she didn't fuss at all on the way home.  And MiniM.E. is not a great car traveler.

The positive of the trip?  We saw some nice foliage on the drive.

When I was taking German lessons, when we learned about seasons there was a statement for each.  For fall, it read "In the fall it is cold in rainy.  The people stay inside."  Lesson learned.