Happy Halloween!

Nana and Pa were up visiting. Actually, they're thinking of getting a vacation home up here. We spent the past couple of days condo hunting and they found a really cute, New England colonial style detached condo that is 4 minutes from our house! It is perfect! Very cute outside and inside is pretty much completely updated! The area is great and they've actually talked to a few of the neighbors already and everyone seemed very friendly.


We started our Halloween morning at Goss Farm. We've never been to this farm before, but we really wanted to take the boys through a corn maze. We let the boys lead the way, with a little bit of encouragement of course, and we actually made pretty decent time. The boys were in the wagon, which we chose to use just in case they got tired, but it ended up being a good thing that we did, the trail was pretty muddy. After that, the boys and I went on the cow train they have, which took us around the corn maze. The boys loved that! Then, the boys played in the corn box, which is just like a sand box, but with corn kernels instead...it was pretty cool. We decided to get some kettle corn and watched them make it fresh for us...it was delicious!

They had some animals...not many

Pretty much this whole month, Devin has been sporting the witch hat. Here's a shot of him checkin' out the scary skeleton

The boys in the wagon

Entering the maze

The Cow Train

Ryan decided that he was going to be SpongeBob this year. He was actually the hit of the neighborhood. A whole group of teens gave him a standing ovation and said he was the best costume they'd seen. Devin chose to be Wall-E...he looked really cute!

Halloween Eve jammies

Cute ghost decorations

SpongeBob

Wall-E

Halloween night jammies...ooh scary!

JoAnna Telschow, M.Ed

It's official! I finally finished up my Masters! Only took me 7 years! Today I had my oral comprehensive examination. I met with a panel of three people that basically asked me questions about my field and experiences. I was a little nervous in the days leading up to it, but actually that morning and when I was in the room with them, I felt totally comfortable. Everything went smoothly and I passed! Yay me!!!

Scary Snack

We decorated our house and made some scary snacks today. Halloween is our favorite, well at least my favorite holiday. Last year my mom got us this cool recipe book full of Halloween themed foods. Today we decided to make marshmallow and popcorn ghosts.

Here are some pics:

Anheiser-Busch Clydesdales

We met up with Jamie and her parents at the brewery to look at the horsies. The kids love running around on the grounds and seeing these beautiful beasts. It was a very nice morning.

Here are a couple of pics:

Free Fun Day!

Keys to Learning (in Nashua) was having a day of fun, that was free! And, since we never say "no" to anything that is free...we went! Clifford was there, and although, that was something that was originally something that made the kids excited to go there, they were not-so-impressed with him in real-life. Anyhow, they enjoyed the bouncy house, stamps, cookie decorating and of course, eating the cookies...here are some pics:

Devin wants....

an umbrella! Yeah?! an umbrella...

oh, balloons...

Ry wants...

a bee! A white bee? Never heard of 'em...

and cookies...

oh yeah, cookies!


and Clifford! Yay!

Although, we really only like you in books. In real-life, you're kinda creepy...

(and want nothing to do with you...sorry)

Brookdale Farm

First we took the kids to Parlee Farms to run around the hay maze and to get some of their apple donuts, of course! We were going to go to the Lull Farm hay maze, but we didn't realize you had to pay. Last year, I guess we just went in without paying and didn't even realize it...oops! Anyway, we didn't have the 20 bucks (!) to do it. We were shocked at how much it would have cost us! We've since looked around and holy crap, $5 per person is actually cheap! Other farms charge even more! The mazes are much bigger though and most of them allow kids 3 and under free, so I guess we'll have to buck up and pay since it's a must-do fall activity.

Anyway, since totally talked up the corn maze and didn't end up doing it, the kids were super disappointed. So, we drove up the road to Brookdale Farm and let the kids each get a pumpkin, which we were thinking would be cheaper but these small piece of crap pumpkins were $3.50 each. I never realized how money hungry farms were...geez! Who knows, maybe if we were made out of money, we wouldn't care...

Here are a couple of pics we took while there:

Jump On In

I took the boys to Jump On In today...it was their first time ever being there, which basically meant that I had to do everything with them. Let me tell you, it was quite a workout, but definitely fun. They had huge inflatable slides, bounce houses, and obstacle courses. The kids absolutely loved it!

Most of the pics I took came out blurry because of all the jumping:

Parlee Farms

We took an impromptu trip to Parlee Farms. We met Jamie, Dawn H., and JoAnn there with their kids. Parlee had just put up their hay maze and the kids were able to run in, around, and on top of the maze. It took a little bit for the boys to feel comfortable jumping from bale to bale over a walkway, some of them were pretty far, but JoAnn's kids were a huge help. They're all so sweet! Anyway, it was a very nice day and the kids had a blast!

Here are some pics I stole from Jamie:

Labor Day Weekend

Jane and Alex invited us over for dinner. Before we ate, we went to a great park and Jessica showed us around. She's gone to camp there many times and was an awesome tour guide. Jess was really good with the kids, she pretty much hung out with and watched them the whole time we were there and they loved her. Jane made the best ribs I've ever tasted, seriously, they were delicious! We stayed pretty late, well late for the kids, but they were awesome and had a great time.

Here are some pics:

Canobie Lake Park

Kristian took off work today because the forecast was for perfect weather and it was! We had been here last year, but for some reason we missed all these rides. We had hours and hours of fun, mostly on the kiddie rides, but there were some cool ones like mini bumper cars, a mini-roller coaster, and the flume, that the kids tried this time around. SO much fun! They even had a water park there, but there was a lot of older kids running around, I think the kids were a little hesitant to jump right in there and have fun. BUT there were lots of other great rides.

Thanks Pamela for hooking us up with free tickets again!

Here are some pics:

Candlepin Bowling

Aunt Dani and Alex came up for a visit. We were supposed to go to Canobie, but the weather just didn't cooperate. Instead, we took the kids to go candlepin bowling. It was they boys' first time ever doing it. They were excited at first, but then they were really just interested in the ball return machine. Oh well, we did have fun anyway. We went to McD's after so the kids could play in the Play Place. A side note, on the way, our car started shaking and the wheel started smoking. Turns out we need new brake cables...about a $400/$500 repair. In the car we just got a new engine in! Does it ever end for us!? Anyway, we enjoyed their visit. If Danielle has any pictures, I'll post them.

Squam Lakes

Jamie and I are members at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, yet we'd never been there. It's about and hour and a half north of us, near the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. We took the kids and the weather was absolutely beautiful, a little chilly, but it felt like fall and I LOVE the fall!

The place was amazing! I was very surprised at how much was there. Everything was hands-on for the kids and almost each exhibit ended with some sort of slide or tunnel, they were all related to the exhibit. The kids had so much fun and there was so much there that I even learned a thing or two.

On the way home, I got pulled over and was given a $155 ticket for speeding. The whole thing is very suspicious. Oddly enough Jamie also got a ticket. We weren't even in sight of each other, but the cop pulled out to pull me over and then proceeded to pull over at least two other cars between she and I. I didn't even know she got pulled over! It was just weird. We compared tickets later and although he dealt with her at least a half an hour after me, the ticket was written for the same time. The amount of the fine is incorrect, at least according to the fee schedule that the cop handed me. We were also supposedly both traveling at the same exact speed and he somehow got 4 people clocked on his radar going the same speed. It just seems a little fishy, so we're going to fight it.

Despite the ticket, we had a really nice day at a really nice place. I'd highly recommend this place...it is definitely worth the drive!

Hampton Beach

The boys and I met Jamie and her kids and JoAnne and her family at Hampton Beach. It was the most perfect weather for it! The boys are definitely getting more brave when it comes to the water. This time, Ry was up to his knees and Devin up to his shins. I was right there of course!

It was a pretty exciting day at the beach as the kids found a crab and a starfish. I kinda felt bad for the sea creatures, but it was a learning experience for the kids. I just hope they both survived the excitement. Anyway, we stayed there 'til about dinner time then Jamie and I took the kids to McDonalds, a rare treat for my little guys, they were psyched!

Here are some pics:

(pictures to come)

Vacation For All From All!

From Normandy Farms, we brought the kids, including Fred, to the ferry. Nana and Pa met us there and took them back to NY with them...for 6 days!!! Kristian and I had a few Phish (Darien, Hartford, and Saratoga) shows that we were going to see and so Nana and Pa helped us out!

The boys had a great time on their vacation. They went to the aquarium, ecology center, a playground, and Fun for All...a fun-filled week! Mommy and Daddy had a great week too! Although we missed our little boys, it was nice to have a clean house that stayed clean for more than a day. It was also nice to sleep in and go out to a nice meal without having to rush through it.

Here are some of the boys in New York: