Fish Stocking!

In Saratoga Springs, stocking the Geyser Stream at the State Park with fish is a big deal.  We first went when MiniM.E. was three. She remembers it being the best time of her life, but I more remember the cold, mucky weather and waiting in line forever. I did post about how we would definitely have to go back the next year.

But... we skipped last year because MiniM.E. was in school. Now that we're home, it seemed like a good "field trip". I should have looked back at my post and remembered to get there at 10, not 10:30, but as it turns out, being towards the end of the line worked in our favor. Our spot in line was right in the middle of the playground so the girls could play while I kept an eye on them from our spot. Another huge bonus, this year there was a "one fish per family" sign. I knew that wasn't going to fly with my girls. They were both excited for their own fish. But they must have realized there were plenty of fish to go around by the time we got to the fish trucks because they happily took both our buckets and each girl got her own fish.

MiniM.E. knew what to expect and was thrilled with her jumping fish that actually jumped out of the bucket once. LittleL.G. was excited to have a fish but was also terrified of it. And the bucket was a bit too heavy for her to carry. With help, they both successfully dumped their fish into the stream.

This year it was cool and damp, but not quite as miserable as the last fish stocking, so we stayed a while to make some fish crafts and practice fly fishing.

It was actually a very enjoyable morning. I will definitely add fish stocking to our calendar next year.

Happy Easter Weekend!

We drove to NH Friday night so we could spend Easter with Gram and Grumpy.

Yesterday we met C. & H. at the local Easter Egg Hunt, dyed eggs, and played outside.

Today we went to church, came back to open Easter baskets, had a great outdoor Easter egg hunt in the beautiful weather, and by this afternoon it was warm enough to play in the sprinkler!

We even had Easter dinner outside, the weather was so nice.


What a great Easter weekend! Thanks for having us Gram and Grumpy!

A Happy 6th Birthday Party

One of MiniM.E.'s closest friends turned 6 yesterday. It is incredible to think that our girls have been friends since the very beginning (we started "play group" when H. was less than a year old!) and are still the best of friends now. And it is incredible how fast six years flies by!

The girls really enjoy playing together now, so they had a blast running around and playing chase and hide and go seek and eating cake and opening presents. And the second generation of play group is starting to join in too.

Happy 6th Birthday H!

Welcome Spring!

Thank goodness the cold is gone and we are having an unseasonably warm spell!

Yesterday we stopped by the library but it was too nice to stay for our usual classes and activities so we took a walk downtown and stayed outside until rest time!

 We spent the afternoon at the playground and playing in the yard.

Today, I promised to take the girls to the beach, so we packed up the sand toys and headed to Moreau Lake.

MiniM.E. remembered catching salamanders last year and we were lucky that they were out today.

Salamander catching was the highlight of our morning. LittleL.G. was disappointed I couldn't warm up the water for her so she could swim, but she got over it and made me lots of sand food instead.

It was a lovely first beach day of the season.

Well, Not QUITE Spring...

Even though I was hoping spring for when we got back from our trip, we aren't quite there yet. Maybe starting tomorrow though.

Today was Saratoga Springs EGG-stravaganza, and we were in need of an activity after the let down of coming home from vacation, so despite the wind and cold we ventured out for the egg hunt and activities.

We didn't last long.

BUT, both the girls were excited to see the easter bunny this year and they had a great time hunting eggs and riding the carousel. After a quick balloon animal, we'd had enough and decided to call it a morning. Brrrr....

The End of A Great Trip

Yesterday after breakfast we headed out to get Doughnuts from a cute shop in downtown Hampton. Then we stopped at the beach one last time to feed the seagulls.

After the beach, we headed to Auntie Jen's to say goodbye to Dan and Little Kitty.

Then it was back to the hotel to pack up and head out.

Even though we left on time right around noon, the 6+ hour estimated drive still took much longer than we expected after all the stops for snacks and leg stretching and bathrooms, etc. and even though we planned to get to our mid-drive hotel in time to swim before bed, we didn't end up arriving until after LittleL.G. had already fallen asleep and it was 9:40! Thankfully MiniM.E. was tired too and didn't put up a fuss about missing the pool.

Today we got up, ate breakfast and had a nice swim. We tried to hang around the hotel for a while hoping the girls would sleep a good part of the rest of the drive. MiniM.E. slept for a while, but LittleL.G. didn't fall asleep until we got off the highway at our exit and was so excited to see home that she didn't stay asleep when we got here. Oh well- early bedtime tonight?

It was a fantastic trip and I was so proud of the girls. Hope we can visit again in the fall!