Fall Fun with Pam

In September, my life got ten times better when Pam, one of my oldest and best friends, moved to Boston with her fiance, Javier. For the first time in 11 years, we're living in the same place again! We're taking advantage of this by getting together at least once a week. And it's awesome.

Aubrey agrees, seeing as how she completely adores Pam and Javier. One time at dinner, when asked who her best friend was, she said Javier. When asked who she loved the most, she said Pam. We, her parents, have been eclipsed by the awesomeness that is Pam and Javier. And I'm okay with that.

D'awww. See? See the love?

Anyway, now to detail some of the adventures we've had together over the last few weeks (other than diaper blowouts and the like). Before the true fall weather set in, we went for a nice walk through the Arnold Arboretum in Boston. Aubrey almost left us to become a bush child...

... but then she remembered I had all the snacks. So she returned (and put her shoes back on).

We had a nice (unauthorized) picnic while we were there, and Aubrey insisted on biting her apple after seeing Javier (seen below sitting next to her on the bench) do it. No more stinkin' slices for her.

Oh yeah, lookin' goooood.

On another outing, we went to Adams Farm in Cumberland, Rhode Island. In addition to horses and cows, they had chickens...

... and pigs. And before anyone thinks of making any jokes, the pigs are behind the three of us.

After the animals, Aubrey played in the little kids' hay maze...

... before (of course) jumping ship and making a run for it.

She almost made it over the fence and into the cow's enclosure (seriously, she was climbing the fence), but Daniel was able to get her back before she had fully committed. 

Then we went into the corn maze path. Daniel stayed behind with Carter and the stroller, but the rest of us went. And it was long.

Oh, and there was a random chicken wandering around in there. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of it. I only managed to capture these guys...

Once we were done with all of the farmy activities, I made my kids do the cliche sitting-with-the-pumpkins photo shoot.

And then, finally, we picked out our pumpkins.

Yay Fall! Yay friends! 

Fall Stuff

Fall isn't over yet, but we've been doing so many fun things that I thought I'd make a few posts about it. I'll go chronologically. 

At the very beginning of September, Daniel's mom came to visit for a few days. Aubrey was glad to see Nana, and we took the opportunity to go on a nice "hike."

Look! So pretty!

Aubrey was a good sport and walked most of the way, though she did make me carry her a few times. We were awesome and, at the time, had no appropriate shoes for her to wear, so she wore her knock-off Crocs. With socks. 

But it's okay; she rocked that look. Amiright?

Yeah, she knows she's cute.

Anyway, Daniel (and Carter, though he had no say in the matter because he was strapped to Daniel) took the lead, blazing the trail for our little group.

I hung out in the middle. I was basically the glue of the whole thing. 'Cause I'm important that way.

And Aubrey and Nana brought up the rear. Every little stick, rock, and interesting leaf was an excuse for Aubrey to stop and dawdle. Nana was very patient.

Aubrey wasn't afraid to wander off the beaten path.

And she didn't let anything get in her way.

When she got to the top of big rocks, she was very proud of herself. Of course.

There was lots of beautiful scenery, but I only took the one non-person photo. And I already used it at the beginning of this post. SO... moving on.

With a yearly pass to the Capron Park Zoo just two miles away from us, we've visited the animals regularly. This is Ramses. He roared for us just before this, and we decided he was pretty cool. 

Without fail, Aubrey always asks to feed the goats (which I always say yes to) and ride the stupid rides (which I sometimes say yes to). Neither thing is my favorite, as both involve spending extra money to expose her to more germs. But look at this happy face!

Seriously, I hate these things...

Also, I feel it's important to mention that Carter goes with us to all of these places. But since he just sits in the stroller the whole time, all of the photos of him look like this:

Moving along.

On more occasions than I care to admit, Aubrey and I drive to Wendy's and split a Frosty in the car. She has started to call Wendy's "the ice cream place." We usually eat in the parking lot, because taking two kids into anywhere by myself sucks. Plus Aubrey thinks it's cool to hang out in the front seat.

One time I did decide to go in though. Aubrey was so adamant. And I did get these awesome photos as a reward for my efforts...

And, even though I should totally end on that awesome note, I'm instead going to end with a random photo of me and my offspring at the Blithewold Mansion (and gardens!). Because we went there. And because I took this one picture. 

Okay, weird blog post over! (Side note: This is why I shouldn't blog at 11:30 at night.)

Summer 2016 Adventures

With Daniel not having a summer job for the first time ever, we were able to spend a lot of time together as a family. This was particularly good because we added a new member at the beginning of summer. It was nice that Daniel could be home to help more with the adjustment from family of three to family of four.

And, of course, we had our parents come out to meet Carter and help as well. It was very nice.

Among other things, grandmas and grandpas took Aubrey outside to play, which was always a nice break for me and very necessary for this outdoor-loving girl.

Daniel also took Aubrey "hiking" to give me breaks. She's quite the mountain woman.

When I was feeling well enough, we went to Plimoth Plantation. Aubrey had a much better time this year than she did last year, thankfully. And because she's Aubrey, her favorite part was riding the bus from the parking lot to the plantation.

But she did enjoy the historical stuff, too. Here she is grinding wheat or corn (I don't remember) with Grandpa.

We also went blueberry picking while my parents were here. It was hot as all get-out, but it was still very fun. And Aubrey loved it.

Carter pretty much slept and snuggled with Daddy the whole time. Typical.

The farm also had animals, which Aubrey loved, but it was all about the swings, as usual. Grandma obliged.

Afterward, we had to get some ice cream at Bliss Dairy, of course. Aubrey discovered the cow, and the two became fast friends.

But she really loved the ice cream!

There was actually a lot of ice cream consumption this summer. But that's as it should be, really...

Aubrey takes her (and other people's) ice cream very seriously.

Anyway, we also went on picnics...

... and played at the various parks near our house.

 We tried to get Aubrey wet whenever we had a chance...

The best way to get wet was by visiting the beach in Newport, RI. We went twice.

The second time was a little colder at first...

But that meant I got snuggles!

And the sun did eventually come out and make things much nicer. 

Our second time around, Carter even dressed for the occasion! Our little island man...

Speaking of fashion, Aubrey totally rocked the summer look...

She also showed some serious American pride when the 4th of July rolled around...

But eventually, the fun had to end, and we had to get back to normal things, like grocery shopping. Here was my first trip out with both kids by myself!

And after all that, we're all still alive. Amazing! Now it's Fall, which is treating us very well so far. More on that later!