A Farm Birthday Party

This weekend we were invited to a birthday party at Bowman Orchards. Usually we think of apple picking and fall fun, but a springtime visit was fantastic. We were the only party there and since the farm was otherwise closed to the public, we had full run of the playground, got to ride the moo moo choo choo, and fed all the animals.

A Playground and Worms

Welcome May! A nice warm day for an afternoon at the playground:

And a rainy day perfect for puddle jumping and searching for worms:

A Beautiful Sunday for a Wedding

My cousin, Steve, got married this weekend so we drove down to CT for the day. The ceremony was held at a beautiful state park. The girls were so excited for their first wedding and to dress up.

Afterwards, we all went back to the house for a backyard reception- lots of food and lots of playing for the kids and socializing for the adults. I'm glad Baby 3 didn't make an early appearance so we were able to attend!

A Hike At Moreau

Since we caught salamanders at the beach at Moreau the girls have been begging me to go back. This certainly hasn't be the week for beach weather, but I had been wanting to try a hike around the small part of the lake to see some beaver dams, so I offered up the suggestion of hike and playground for today. I might have suggested that a friend's daughter made her mom do the same hike at least once a week before her baby brother was born so he would come out sooner and that might have influenced MiniM.E.'s excitability about hiking around a lake.

Even though she is usually not a walker or a hiker, MiniM.E. did really well and hardly complained. It was probably a good mile and a half, but with three beaver dams, lots of rocks to find and a big hill that promised a chocolate bar at the top, there was plenty of motivation to keep walking.

It was only towards the end that MiniM.E. suddenly became concerned about being lost and not finding our way back to the playground. But within minutes, we were back and the girls had fun playing on the few things that weren't wet and mucky from all the rain. We didn't have long to play anyway...

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!