Happy Halloween!

We took some pictures of the kids in their Halloween costumes last week. Addison had her school party yesterday and Arilyn had hers today. They were both so excited! Trick or treating is on Sunday, so there will be more pictures to come...

The kiddos in their costumes.

Arilyn the ladybug.

Addison the princess.

Owen the lion.

Surprise Trip to Ohio

My sister graduated from nursing school last week. I told her I couldn't come because Shawn was going to be in California at a medical conference, but came home to surprise her. It was so fun. She said she had a feeling I was going to come- probably because I almost told her about 50 times before we came. I had a hard time keeping it a secret! My Aunt Sue came home from Arizona and was a surprise also. Lisa had NO idea about Aunt Sue. It was great! We had a wonderful trip- even with the 11 hour drive, which the kids did awesome with. Congratulations Lisa!!

At my mom's house. The weather was beautiful while we were home, so we were playing outside.

Blowing bubbles with Grandma.

My nephew Isaiah turned 2 while we were home, so we got to celebrate with him at his party. My brother and his family hadn't seen Owen in person yet. They bonded well!

Poor Isaiah- he woke up from his nap to a house full of people and was not in the mood to celebrate. This was the look on his face for the entire party!

Arilyn playing at the party.

My niece Melinda teaching Arilyn and Addison how to skate on a skateboard.

Melinda giving Addison's boo boo a kiss, which was completely UNrelated to the skateboard! Addison fell while they were running around.

Addison and Isaiah sharing a chair and playing together.

The Graduation!!

The crew, patiently waiting for the graduation to start.

More of the crew at the graduation.

My dad.

Addison waiting so patiently for the graduation to start.

Owen loves my dad, so when it was time to take pictures of my sister Owen sat with my dad. He gave Owen his cell phone to play with and he figured out how to turn it on three times! It was so funny!

Isaiah sitting with my mom.

My sister waiting to walk in.

Waiting to get her pin.

Lisa getting her pin. YEA!!!

Lisa Baddeley, RN!!!

This picture is for Aunt Sue- this is her good friend, Kim on the right and a good friend she used to work with on the left.

Addison really enjoyed playing with my niece, Edwina this visit. Edwina sat beside her at graduation and drew pictures with her. Addison even told my brother- Uncle Mike! This is my friend Edwina! It was so cute. This is them laughing at my brother playing with Owen.

My mom and Lisa

My dad and Lisa.

Aunt Sue and Lisa

My mom, Lisa, and Aunt Sue

Owen's First Haircut

I took Owen 2 weeks ago to get his very first haircut. I took him to a hair place just for kids because I was too nervous to do it myself. I thought he might cry or not sit still, but he did great! He sat in the chair and played with a few toys. I only took a few pictures because he wasn't strapped in and it was making me really nervous!

Being a big boy sitting in the chair.

I was very impressed with the girl who did his hair. She was moving so fast and would move with him when he moved his head. It was funny to watch.

Playing with a few toys.

Looking like a handsome boy!

No more curls or as Shawn would say- no more mullet!

Pumpkin Picking

It was a gorgeous fall weekend and Shawn was home so we got out and enjoyed it. We went pumpkin picking! It was a lot of fun...

Me and the kiddos on the hayride.

Shawn and Addison on the hayride.

As we were getting off the hayride, Arilyn says- I want to get a the biggest pumpkin! This wasn't quite the biggest one, but she couldn't lift it!

So she just sat on it!

The girls in the pseudo pumpkin patch. Their website said 'a hayride to the pumpkin patch' so I figured that meant to the actual field, but no. They just had all the pumpkin already picked. It was a little disappointing to me, but the girls didn't care.

Arilyn in the pumpkins.

Owen was having a good time, too.

Trying to get a good picture of all three- didn't happen, but this one is cute.

Addison in the pumpkins.

Owen on the hayride back.

The farm had these wagons to take your pumpkins back to your car. When we got back from the hayride there was a magician performing. We stopped to watch (he was actually really good) and the girls took a seat to watch.

Addison watching the magician and hanging on to the pumpkin.

Owen wasn't so into the magician. He was almost falling asleep on Daddy's shoulder.

There was a corn maze for kids under 8, so while the girls were enjoying that, Owen was enjoying the wagon and pumpkin.

Vacation!!

This might be our last fall here in New England, so we decided to experience all that fall has to offer. We drove up to Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. And it was beautiful- even though there was a tropical storm that hit and it rained all but one day! We were in the car a lot, but the kids did great! We had a great vacation-even with the rain. Here are the highlights...

This was Owen's first hotel experience and he liked it. Well, he liked playing with the air conditioner/heater!

His hair blowing in the wind.

--LL Bean--

First stop...LL Bean! We visited the original LL Bean store in Freeport, ME. It was awesome!

There was a huge aquarium with a bubble in it that the kids could stick their heads in. The girls loved it!

Arilyn pretending she was swimming underwater.

Looking at the fish.

And again...

We spent a lot of time in the bubble!

The entrance to the kids clothes.

This waterfall was right outside LL Bean. The girls loved it! There was a Ben & Jerry's ice cream store right next to this, so we got some ice cream and enjoyed it by the waterfalls.

Mommy and the kids enjoying their ice cream. Owen did get a bite, too.

It was rainy off and on all day. It wasn't raining when we were eating our ice cream, but poured when we were walking to the car. Here is the dry Owen...

and when we got to the car. He was loving it though. He laughed the whole way to the car!

--Maine--

Next stop- Portland, ME. We didn't spend as much time in Portland as we wanted to due to the rain, but we did get to enjoy the coast for a little while and see a lighthouse.

This is the Portland Head Light- the most photographed lighthouse in Maine.

It looks like it was freezing by the pictures, but it really wasn't that cold- mid 60's, but it was drizzling rain and really windy, so it was a little chilly. Here's Shawn and Owen on the rocky shore.

Owen was enjoying himself!

This is the Lobster Shack, where we had dinner. Shawn wanted to experience a Maine lobster dinner and thought this was a neat place. It was pretty neat- right on the coast!

Shawn with his lobster- he's the only one that ate it!

Arilyn on the shore.

I thought this picture was hilarious because of Addison's face. She really was having a good time, but you can't tell from this picture!

Daddy and the girls watching the waves.

Mommy and Owen.

The family portrait. It turned out pretty good considering we just set the camera on a rock and set the timer! Addison is covering her ears because there was a really loud siren going off every few minutes to warn the ships of the coast.

--Mt. Washington--

Leaving Maine, we drove over to New Hampshire to North Conway, right next to the White Mountain National Forrest. Shawn was determined to hit another hight point, so we did the auto road to the top of Mt. Washington, the highest point in New Hampshire. Thankfully it was a beautiful day without rain!

The auto road going up the mountain had a bunch of pull off places to take pictures. Here's Shawn taking some pictures and almost getting blown off due to the wind!

The road going up.

Views from the road.

It was cold at the top of the mountain! It was mid 60's when we started at the bottom and was low 50's at the top! Adding the windchill it was mid 30's. And there were gusts of wind up to 60mph!! It was cold and SO windy! We had to bundle up!

This was the parking lot- the girls couldn't wait to climb on the rocks.

Addison climbing on the rocks.

Arilyn & Addison on the rocks.

Me and the kids.

Addison smiling pretty!

Mommy and Owen.

This was the actual summit and it was so windy! The girls almost got knocked over a few times and I had to really hang on or I was going to fall! It was so much fun and the girls loved it! Owen did, too, but wasn't too crazy about the wind after a while.

Shawn sitting at the summit.

Mommy, Daddy and Owen.

It was a cloudy day, so every so often a cloud would come in and you couldn't see anything!

And then it would clear up and was beautiful! The colors were amazing!

We didn't do it, but there is a cog railroad that goes to the top, too.

Arilyn & Addison enjoying the view.

Mommy & Owen in the wind.

Me acting like I was getting blown away!

A view coming back down the auto road. The pictures just don't do it justice, though. It was so beautiful!

Addison being silly in the car on the way down.

The view at the bottom. Again- the colors were so vibrant. The picture just doesn't show how vibrant they were.

This was at the bottom of the mountain. There were beautiful river's like this everywhere. The day after this we drove down the Kancamagus Highway- one of the most scenic highways in America. The Swift River runs along side it almost the whole way with huge rocks and boulders and waterfalls. It was so pretty, but it was raining so hard we didn't stop to take any pictures.

These signs were everywhere! I was hoping we would see a moose, but really wasn't expecting to. This sign was at the bottom of the mountain right when we got back on the highway.

Literally a few miles down the street from that sign there were a bunch of cars pulled off the side of the road. I say- maybe it's a moose! And sure enough there was a moose! I was so excited!! The girls were, too. Owen slept through it! Shawn jumped out with the camera. It was so neat!

I had to convince Arilyn that it really was a moose. She said- Mom, I don't think that's a moose. Moose have antlers and that doesn't have antlers, so maybe it's a deer. It was so funny!

Another picture of the moose.

And yet another.

Back at the hotel, the girls and Shawn enjoyed the pool. Shawn was giving them swim lessons.

Trying to get Arilyn to float.

--Ben & Jerry's--

Our last stop was in Vermont- the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory. You can take a tour and get a free sample of ice cream. The girls really liked this. It was pretty fun.

The factory tour.

The best part of the tour! Free samples! We sampled Milk & Cookies and it was yummy!

Arilyn & Addison enjoying the ice cream.

Shawn enjoying his ice cream.

Owen even got a little taste. He really liked it!

Again- it was rainy thanks to the tropical storm, but we still took some pictures outside by the cows.

Addison by the baby cow.

A huge pint of chocolate chip cookie dough.

Owen enjoying the rain.

By the parking lot they have a Flavor Graveyard of the flavors that didn't last.

Arilyn was disappointed about this one- she loves pb & j.

This was some kind of blueberry and Addison said it was her favorite so she had to give it a kiss.

Again- Owen enjoying the rain.