Take a Hike :)

Okay, so maybe just a walk. But it's in the woods, so... we'll just call it a trail hike and leave it at that. We brought Levi to this trail for the first time last weekend and he did such a great job! I was thrilled and a little sad, too. My baby is not a baby anymore. And the weather this weekend was crazy! This whole month has just been "off," and it's kind of horrible because this is my favorite month and time of year, and we just haven't been able to be outside to enjoy it very much between the storms and the frigid, gloomy days. So when it's not pouring, we go!!

He maneuvered those rocks with pure finesse :)
Except for maybe once or twice. And then the whole world knew he wasn't happy.

Notice the addition of layers here, ha! Cold and windy, but it did feel really good to be outside in the woods.

Oops, his little face is blurry, but of course they had to find sticks to throw

The stairs leading up here made me puke in my mouth a little. Not a fan. But the view was so neat!

And wouldn't you know, the sun finally popped out about five minutes before dinner. Ugh. Again, at least it wasn't raining.

This is a busy busy week for us... our first official college tours begin with Jonah, midweek of all thing, ha! It just seemed like a better fit than to try to make it happen over the weekend. I'm so excited just thinking about it, even though it isn't that far away. Far enough. :)

Now that I've caught my breath from all the Trick or Treating orders for the shop, I'm starting in on Christmas. I can hardly believe it! I don't even have a sneak peek for you yet, but I;ll try to do that later this week. Hoping we all have a great start to a brand new week!

Fall Fun!

How on earth are we midway through October??!! We haven't had many nice-weather days like we're used to for this time of year, but yesterday was just gorgeous. After church, we headed over to a local apple orchard/farm stand and feasted on cider donuts, which was okay because we climbed up and down stairs to a lookout deck, ha ha. After Levi's nap, we went over to my parent's house to celebrate my Mom's birthday- it's a big one, so I'm taking her off for a little spa afternoon tomorrow for her real day. I'm looking forward to that, and since my birthday is exactly two weeks from her's, I suppose it's like a little early birthday treat for me, too. :) And then last night, Isabelle had basketball tryouts- I could tell she was super nervous, but she's a strong player so I knew she'd do fine. She reported that she made most of her shots and handled the ball "pretty good." Ha ha

Why did my babies go and grow up on me? Whyyyyy? I'm still not used to having just 4/5 around lately. But these four are a good looking bunch, right?

NH may be a small state, but we have so much! Mountains, beaches, crystal clear lakes, seasons, foliage- I have only NOT been here for fall one time in my whole life...my junior year in college when I lived in Spain. I missed the fall colors so much that year!

I had some major zinnia envy. Those blooms were HUGE! I'm definitely planting some of the bigger ones next year.

Levi was revved up for a turn on the big swing, but nope. He lifted one little leg before reconsidering and then ran in the opposite direction, literally saying "Nope, nope, nope." ha ha ha ha ha

That grey hooded sweater slays me. He will be wearing it until he's in high school.

Okay, Monday, let's do this!! I am currently finishing up my VERY LAST Wendy Darling dress and I think that deserves some major celebrating... we'll be heading to the grocery store later, does that count?? ;)

Catching Up! Our Back to School Tradition and 21st Anniversary!!!

I've been trying to get this post published all month long...and now it's October!!! Several years ago, my husband started taking the first day of school off of work, and we'd spend the day doing fun stuff. It's also kind of an anniversary day date, too, because that's always the first or second week back as well. It seems all our fun day trips this summer had the same thing in common: HEAT! This day was no exception, so we didn't walk through town like we normally do, but it was lots of fun. And no, I don't mind having our little third wheel along at all, because I KNOW how soon he won't be anymore.

We started off on Pierce Island in Portsmouth. Such a beautiful place to explore and visit.

Although, there was a group of women and kids in this area, extended family I think, and they were all smoking like chimneys and so, so loud. They were scattered...and in nearly every shot I tried to take, ha, so this is the best I got that morning.

Picnic by the harbor -
Levi was thrilled with the fact that he could step up and down, up and down, as much as he wanted, ha. It's the little things, I guess. ;)

Cutest little pink-cheeked boy I ever laid eyes on!

We braved the humidity and walked over to Prescott Park. I'm not entirely sure, because of the sweat stinging in my eyes, but I think it was as beautiful as ever. ha ha ha

The water you see in the background is the same as from the park, it's simply around the corner. Normally we walk all along the edge of the harbor and walk out onto the docks, but again, HEAT.

Mr. Rocket Scientist got himself some new anti-glare glasses, and we laugh because these are the first pair that seem to glow purple in natural light. :)

My favorite part!

I don't have one single picture from the second part of our day because I was sandy and my hands were full, ha. We went straight to the beach and got clam strip sandwiches from the boardwalk- they were good! It was super hard dragging the stroller through the soft sand, and the tide was in, so insanely crowded and not much sandy real estate. We finally found a spot and let Levi play in the shade cast by the stroller- he was pretty overwhelmed by the noise and the crowd, so one of us took turns playing with him while the other jumped into the ocean to cool off. Eventually he let me carry him out into the water and we jumped waves for a long time. Then my feet started to get tingly because the air was SO hot and the water SO frigid, so we packed up and headed for home.

Levi watched some Cars until he passed out cold. :)

I've read for years about decorating the door for the first day of school, and this year, I finally got around to it! Thank goodness for Prime! Ryder knows someone's coming!!

She loved it! I don't think the boys cared as much. Or maybe they really did and they just kept their excitement hidden inside. :)

I almost wrote Happy Monday since I tried to get this done yesterday, so... Happy Tuesday! ;)

Touches of Fall in our Home

Two posts in one week! Who dis??? Since I just love getting a glimpse of other people's homes and how they decorate, etc, I thought I'd share a few pics of our home with you. I mentioned in IG earlier that I don't normally decorate for fall before September, but this year, it's like I wanted everything festive and inviting- not summer worn out and tired- for when Ethan left for college. Kind of hard to explain, and lots more emotion all wrapped up in that than I'm going to post right now, but it just felt like the right way to send him off on his own. For a little while anyway. :)

This first picture makes me smile. You know I have a zero tolerance policy for nakey or undies pics online, but this has enough blur that I'm good. This captured moment represents such sweetness and joy to me. I love it.

Here is a better view of the fireplace. Mantel is arriving shortly...I hope! This is the first year I've put things up there, and even without the mantel, I really like it.

That little Target shelf getting some fall attention...thinking about adding a couple more things... Also, the Keurig is gone, since it was technically Ethan's, so that space got filled in with something pretty, but I miss what was there because it represents change. And change is so hard!

 Flowers from our backyard!!

I got the tobacco basket at Hobby Lobby for half off and have loved the texture it adds. I think that wall needs a little something else, but I haven't settled on anything just yet.

I just realized I forgot about the kitchen pics, but I've got to get going.... Happy Thursday! It's almost the weekend!