Thanksgiving in CT

We headed down to CT for Thanksgiving this year.  We've done Thanksgiving in Vermont with friends for 8 years, so we figured it was time to travel.  Because the kids, John and I have the better part of a week off, it certainly makes it easier.

We were able to convince Bumpa and Grandma to come with us to NYC to see the Museum of Natural History with the kids.  I have been wanting to go there for year.  It was quite an adventure!  The kids loved it!  But we hardly saw it all.  The place is enormous and overwhelming for a science teacher like myself.  It didn't help that there were no maps and tons of people.  

The kids loved the Human Origins exhibit.  Hazey found his people:

By 3:30, the kids and the parents had had their fill.  We sent them on a taxi back to Grand Central and the John and I had another date, this time in NYC.  I had bought him ticket to see Jersey Boys on Broadway.  At first he was bummed that I bought the tickets.  I even tried to sell them........ Alas, it was just the two of us for an evening in the city.  We walked through the park, drank coffee at Lincoln Center, ate amazing Thai in the Hells Kitchen, hit a great show, and then headed to Brooklyn for an evening with John's old buddies who have a UVM connection but settled in the Big Apple.

Our 24 hours in NYC was so great.  But by the time we got back to CT on the train, I was done with cities for a little while.  I'm a country mouse at heart.  Fortunately, we had a lot of down time in CT.

beach time baseball

Hazey on the Cat Condo

Cousins on the beach 

Fancy Kids

Handsome guys

Turkey!

The kids had a great time with their cousin, Will and Aunt Nif, Uncle Rob, Grandma and Bumpa.  They love riding bikes to see the tiger, going to the library and just hanging out together. 

We made it up to Nana and Grandpa's for lunch on Friday and then got back to Vermont so that we could have a weekend to "recover".  We got out to ski at Smuggs and made it to Cara and Tom's to see their grandson, Julius.  The kids love him!

Birthday Boy!

Everybody loves a birthday!  And this guy had some snow for his.  He got to start his day with breakfast in bed, skin and skin in the morning and then head to his parents for a birthday dinner. 

Peg was sweet enough to make a delicious lasagna dinner and John had his favorite cake from an Italian bakery near his parents house. 

Meanwhile, the kids were so excited to ski on the new snow...... even if there wasn't much:

10 Years!

Ten years ago..... we became a "thing".  We moved beyond being "just friends" and turned our long history of orbiting around each other into a real relationship.  Once we crossed that line, everything happened quickly.  I was introducing him to my family by Christmas and we were engaged within 8 months.  Within a month of being married, we were pregnant and the rest is history.  I can't even believe all that has happened in a decade!  And I've never looked back.  My life became complete when John came to my apartment in Burlington that dreary night in November.  I find my match.  John is my best friend, favorite adventure partner, intellectual challenger, and more.  He loves me for exactly who I am, but invites me to be a better person by standing up for myself and communicating my needs.  He has been my biggest cheerleader through it all. He makes me a better person. 

November was a rough month.  With the election, lots of work obligations and some other yuckiness going on for John at UVM, we needed a break.  Fortunately, our dear friend and "Godmother" of Hazey offered to watch the kids so we could go on a 24 hour date.  We headed north, to Montreal. 

We stayed at a super cool/bohemian Bed & Breakfast in the center of the city, called Auberge de Bon Matins.  We had stayed there 9 years ago and it did not disappoint.  The suite was huge and had a lovely jacuzzi right in the middle of the enormous bathroom.

We hit the town for some shopping and delicious Indian food before hitting the hay by 10pm?!?!?!?  Not what you'd call a rockus evening.  But, we slept until 8am and ten hours of sleep is what we both needed.  We had a delicious breakfast, packed up our room, and then headed east to do some mountain biking.  We had no idea where we were going, but a quick google search sent us in the right direction.

We ended up running into these two guys in the parking area.  They were so nice and let us tag along for an epic 3 hour ride at Bromont.  It was a gorgeous day and the riding was top notch.

We returned home to some happy kids who were excited to celebrate us!  They made us a sign and a cake (with the help of dear Cara).

We are so, so luck to have found each other, established such an amazing family, and have such a wonderful network of friends there to help us celebrate our love.

These two...... are too cute.  John invited them to come to the Outing Club's Thanksgiving celebration.  Even though they were treated for lice prior to going, they cleaned up so nicely and were thrilled to go.  Neither John nor I had anything to do with their outfits.  They just like looking "fancy"

Halloween!

 

I'm starting to be a little less of a curmudgeon about Halloween.  It helps when the kids have their costumes all set ahead of time.  Cally decided at some point during the summer that she wanted to be an owl this year. Hazey was just fine with using the brown costume that has been utilized for the past three years to be a bear.  Costume arrangements for him involved purchasing a bear mask.  Super easy!  

I started searching for store bought owl costumes in September.  The prices made me cringe, so we decided we could do it ourselves.  I found a few youtube videos that made it look really simple......... After spending $40 at Marshall's and nearly having a nervous breakdown trying to figure out how to sew wings onto a t-shirt, it all came together.  Fortunately, Nana was able to help in a major way while she was visiting.  And Cally was really into doing the mask and the feathers on her own.  I think it turned out great!

Even John and I had a costume this year:

The kids spent the day before Halloween at Shelburne Museum (notice the last minute costume change)

Cally went with the owl theme and carved her own pumpkin, while John and Hazey carved their own little monster.

We even were able to squeeze in a visit to the pumpkin glow on Ciley Hill Road.  Below is a very big pumpkin:

And, if you can believe it, my friend Amy and I were able to ski on October 29th!