End of Summer and School!

 I finally found the time to put up our end of the summer/school pictures.  Now that we are well into the school routine and all the leaves have turned and fallen, these seem like a distant memory now!  Here we are hiking Mt. Philo on a gorgeous day...

 The kids got bikes for their birthdays and learned how to ride them on our town's high school track.  Taylor just took off without training wheels... she was so excited!  I think Taylor went around the track about 15 times that day.  Will also did great with his big boy bike.

On Taylor's birthday, I gave her my American Girl Samantha doll that I had when I was a little girl.  I was probably more excited about it than she was, but I still think she was very pleased!

 We made lots of trips to The Mill for creemies, of course.

 On the Friday nights that we weren't walking to The Mill, we went to Burger Night at the Bread and Butter Farm.  This year, they had a fun wagon ride that picked you up at your car and took you into the farm. 

 Taylor and Will really got into the live music... I couldn't tell if they were technically dancing or wrestling.

 Finally, it was time for Kindergarten at Orchard School!  Taylor was so excited about going to school and was also thrilled with the idea of riding the bus.  The day before her first day, we went to open house and got to meet Mrs. Garland and see her classroom.   She wasn't nervous at all- just excited. Her mother, on the other hand, was a bit of an emotional mess, but I hid it well with large sunglasses.

 Then we went to lunch afterwards...

 And Taylor's final request the night before kindergarten was a "dance party." 

 Here we go!

Two months later, I am happy to say that Taylor still loves school and still loves getting on that bus!

Will started Discovery Preschool for two mornings a week this year.  Here he is on his first day!

New England Road Trip

The week before school started, we took a family road trip to Maine and New Hampshire for a week.  Since moving to Vermont, we haven't really gone on a road trip, because we are usually flying back down south for our vacations.  We were really looking forward to an airport-free trip!  It was so refreshing to not have the pressure of fitting everything into a tiny suitcase or worrying about the size of my toiletries.  The kids loved being in the car... between all the toys, books, loveys, and movies we brought, they were very content.  Brett and I could actually see everything we wanted in peace!  Here was our first stop- the town of Ogunquit in southern Maine.  We had a lot of fun walking around Perkins Cove, eating lobster rolls and ice cream, and seeing some of the little shops.  The kids were also fascinated with the draw bridge. 

 

Rolling down hills= pure joy.

Next stop: Kennebunkport!  We stumbled upon the Bush compound... so fun to see!  They were going to have us over, but we were busy. 

After Kennebunkport, we headed to Portland for 2 nights.   Our favorite activity in Portland was eating "lobstah" and "chowdah"...  I literally had a lobster roll every day while in Maine.

  

 I miss you...

 We also saw a neat lighthouse in Portland...

 

On the way to Bar Harbor, we stopped in Freeport to see the flagship L.L. Bean store as well as all the outlets.  I actually got to shop for a solid hour by myself while the kids were off with Brett.

We stayed in Bar Harbor for 2 nights... so pretty and quaint.

We spent one entire day visiting Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor.  There was so much to do there.  We had enough time to visit the beach, hike, picnic and drive some of the scenic drives.   The photos just don't do it justice.

 

 The water was ICE cold!

We treated ourselves to a nice dinner the last night in Maine.  We knew what was ahead- Storyland and theme park food.  :) 

We liked walking around Bar Harbor at night... the kids couldn't believe we got to have ice cream every night.

Onward to Storyland in North Conway, New Hampshire...

Will tried a roller coaster for the first time!  Let's just say that he tolerated it but didn't want to repeat it.  I'm afraid he's just not a thrill-seeker like his sister. 

 The Hampton Inn where we stayed had 2 giant water slides that Taylor went down about a thousand times.  They were actually very fast and kind of scary to me!  One of them was totally enclosed so it was pitch dark flying down.  This is the best picture I could get of her coming down them... she's a blur.

So after spending two days at Storyland, we asked Taylor what her favorite part of the trip was.  She said the water slide at the hotel.  Go figure.  Ahh, parenting.