vacation (part 4 and last)

I could not go away on vacation to such a beautiful spot without taking a family picture.  I was out of days and out of time to be picky.  My only chance was on our way to Santa's Village.  Although I would have rather taken a picture in the evening I did the best I could.  My little family. Gosh, how I love them!



And then we were off to Santa's village. It was sunny and hot in North Conway where we were staying, but good thing I had left the bag of sweatshirts and rain coats in the car. When we pulled into Santa Village (honest) the temperature changed and we froze until I pulled all of the "just in case" stuff out.

The girls spotted Santa right away. I love how Anna is looking at Abigail with delight in this one.



My carousel girl





Feeding the reindeer was the highlight of their day!











The rides were pretty great too.







Abigial and Anna are not afraid of anything!



Of course they were all into the shows especially when they could get up and dance.





They visited Santa again in his home.











I think we all loved our vacation... don't ya think?

vacation (part 3)

Away from Storyland for a day we decided to have a bit of an adventure.



The girls were just a tad excited! Yes, that is what Abigail does whenever she sees the camera! Her adorable girly girl pose.



And then I beg her to look "regular" so that I can see her face.



Daddy and his girls



When we rented the canoe for the day we drove to the staring point along the river, parked our car and were told where to exit along the river. Then we would be picked up at the end of the day. We had to wait for them to bring back a smaller life vest for Abigail since she has the body of a two year old!



Before we left Scott convinced me to leave my "good" camera in the car and he promised to take pictures with his phone. I agreed since I didn't know what it would be like, oh I wish I took it. the perfectly calm water was like glass. So the rest of the pictures are from his phone...



Within minutes I knew that this would be our favorite day of vacation! Cool and calm, beautiful and quiet.

We "pulled over" at our own little "beaches" to explore and have lunch.







The perfect day!

vacation (part 2)

It's fun to look back at vaction.  Right now we're knee deep into glorious summer.  I'm holding onto it with all my might.  I love summer with all my heart. 

Storyland.  It's such a fun family place.  We spent a day and a half there.  I love how it's nestled in the mountains of New Hampshire.  It's just so pretty all around there. 

First stop, driving the antique cars. 







Next stop, over the bridge to another favorite





I love this one, after the huge splash daddy and Anna are checking on Abigail.





She was so excited about this. She kept trying to tell us who she wanted her picture next to and we couldn't figure out who she was talking about until we were walking by and she said, "that's it!"








Trying to decide what to buy



Cotton Candy at the awesome circus

Field Trip Friday

Oh, how I loved our field trip today!  We went to the Wadsworth Atheneum, and the girls loved it.  I was surprised at how much time they spent in each gallery.  It was Anna's idea to bring notebooks to record "our findings."  They sketched their favorites in each room.  And when we came home they proudly showed daddy their own artwork. 

It was relaxing and a wonderful way to spend the afternoon with my girls. 







We ended up staying much longer than I thought they'd want to. So we ended up having lunch together in the Cafe. I only have applesauce and some crackers for Abigail, which she was fine with. Anna was delighted to be in such a fancy place for lunch.











My personal favorite in the museum. I think she looks a tiny bit like Abigail.



And... my favorite picture of Anna today. Love this one!



If I've learned one thing from our Friday Field Trips so far this summer it is this... a four and and eight year old can be stretched more than I thought. They're interested in so much more than I ever dreamed. I'm so very pleased with how much they've enjoyed the diversity of our trips. I suppose I never thought of these museums as activities for children. But they are. I can hardly wait until next Friday!