::post thanksgiving in Vermont pt 2::

After the lighting ceremony we headed back to White River Jct. Most of us stayed in the Econolodge there. And it was great! It was probably the nicest Econolodge I've stayed in. It had a pool and everything (much to Max's delight).
After the kids were in bed the grownups all played canasta in the lobby. It was really fun, but we had to quit just about when we got the game figured out which was too bad.
In the morning we got up and we all had breakfast together (accidentally) and then headed out to do different things and head back home.
I had heard about a cool gorge not too far from where we were staying, so I had looked up directions and stuff. We tried to follow them and ended up totally lost. So we looked up the town on the GPS and found it, but it wasn't anywhere near where we were really supposed to be. When we finally found the gorge it seemed that maybe it was just a bridge to drive across. There was noplace we could see to get out and check out the scene on foot. But then we found a little trailhead of the side of the road. So we decided to brave it. We headed out to see what we could find.

We didn't find the gorge. Of course.
We found a lot of other stuff though.
We found a dam. It wasn't a particularly cool dam, but the river was cool looking. It was scenic enough for us to feel the need to take some pictures. Pictures of ourselves in front of it that is.

(why is Max making that face? I'm not sure. He was pretending to be surprised about something. What I don't know.)

(could it have been the same thing that surprised me in this photo? could anything really be that surprising? Bigfoot sighting? And Max is way beyond being surprised by whatever it is at this point)


The rest of the walk/hike Max spent finding and picking up pinecones. There were some pretty impressive pinecones on the ground, that's for sure. We thought it was cute to watch him running around picking ones to stick in his pockets.

Cute little boy gathering pinecones.

He ended up with so many they were spilling out of his arms and he couldn't keep ahold of them at all.
So I helped him. I was carrying some in my hands, so I had Kris hold the camera for me.
With which he proceeded to take a picture. And yes, I'm only wearing one earring. Wardrobe malfunction?

Little pinecone boy was just adorable until we got down to the car and realized that each and every pinecone was covered in sap. And not just covered, crusted and dolloped with sap. Max's arms and hands were full of them, his coat pockets were full of them. We were in so much trouble.
We went in to the little giftshop where we'd parked, hoping to scrub our hands. They only had freezing cold water. I got most of the sap off of my hands, but Max was still as sticky as could be. We got in the car and he had to hold his hands straight up in the air and not touch anything--no easy feat for a 5 yr old. It didn't go so hot.
We finally found a little hardware store, bought some industrial strength handcleaner and scrubbed him down in their bathroom. He was clean. But his coat was useless for the rest of the trip!

After that little adventure we went to a nearby town and did some shopping at cute funky way too expensive stores. WE didn't buy anything but it was a really fun place.
After that we headed home--with only one puking scare on the way we made it in time to pick up Sultan from the kennel and watch the BYU vs UT game. Which I have to say ended up very satisfactorily (before the press conference, of course).
What a great weekend!

::thoughts::

I've never seen more people wearing polar fleece type vests than when we were in Vermont. It was amazing. At least every other person was wearing one. We felt very out of place. And yes, it could've been mostly the Canadian tourists sporting them, but I doubt it.

Our house is being insulated as we speak. Our landlord is a great guy--very responsible, and he's making sure our place is nice. I'm excited. It hopefully means our heating bills will be low(ish) and we won't freeze all winter like we did in our last place. That would be so nice.

All I can think about today is muffins.

It's getting colder, but it's not really cold yet. The sun has been out the last few days and that's a really nice combination with the brisk cool air. It makes me want to go pick apples and pumpkins and cook spicy cobblers with lots of crunchy sugary stuff on top.

Kris's mom is coming to visit us soon--in about a week and a half and we're so exciting. Having visitors out here is so fun. We really feel starved for family, even though we get to see ours more than a lot of people that live so far away do.

Max seems to like school right now. When he first started he was not a fan at all. I think the main reason is because they were making him color. He does NOT like to color. One of the teachers told him not to be so "scribbly dibbly" and he took great offense to that.
But we stuck with it, and I tried to help and encourage him a bit with the coloring. It was hard because he's very stubborn, and when he decides he "can't" do something it's hard to change his mind.
But now he's coloring a lot better, and seems to be enjoying his short little school days. That makes me happy because I hate making him go when he doesn't want to. It just doesn't feel right, especially with kindergarten. It should be fun!

October is the birthday month for my family. Both Cammon and Char have b-days within two weeks of each other. It was the best month growing up. Cakes twice, maybe some parties. We'd also go out to dinner to the b-day dude's favorite place and often do a fun family activity that day, like bowling or something.
It's such a bummer to be so far away and to miss out on the b-day going out and the cakes and the present giving. Boo hoo. So just know I miss you all. And Murphy.
And in closing, here's a great old photo of the said birthday brother and sister wrestling. Cammon is having fun, but is Charlotta?

She doesn't look exactly prepared for wrestling with her purse and scarf...