A Walk in the Park

Today Chris continued to work on the brush pile, and Brenda took the girls up to Mill Island Park in Fairfield. The last time we were here it was Fall, and the leaves were turning colors. It looked a lot different today!

The park is on an island in the middle of the Kennebec River, and there used to be a mill here (hence the name "Mill Island Park").  There are lots of old ruins left, like the stone foundation below.We took the path down to the river's edge, and the girls contemplated this iced-over puddle for a while.Finally Emily decided to walk across it. The girls loved the sound and how the ice broke up under their feet.It was pretty frosty out, and the girls had to wear their puffs (puffy jackets).  Emily had a great idea of wearing wool socks on her hands instead of mittens, so she could still throw rocks, and mom agreed.  In the photo below, you can see the piece of green felt that Chris sewed into Kate's puff so that the zipper wouldn't rub on her chin.Emily loves throwing rocks in the river.  It's hard to tell yet if she's right-handed or left-handed, because she throws pretty well with both.On the way back to the car, Emily climbed a tree.  It was the first tree she ever climbed, and she was very proud!

Home Depot

Today we went to Home Depot to order blinds and pick up some outdoor christmas lights.  The girls always get a lot of comments when we go there.  In the photo below they are basking in the attention of a nice older couple.

Ordering blinds takes a long time (especially on the saturday after Thanksgiving!), so the girls needed some extra entertainment. They found some coloring books, and that occupied them for awhile.Then they played with the big hanging rugs. Swinging the rugs on the big hangers seems to make them feel powerful, like they are able to move walls.  This was fun, until somebody wanted to actually shop for rugs and we had to stop swinging them.

Then the girls found the big snow globe display by the front door.  There are probably these same snow globes at every Home Depot in the country right now.  When you push the button on the front, they play music and the snow swirls around.These were a big hit!  We felt sorry for the Home Depot workers who have to stand near this display, because every kid who walked by pushed all the buttons and the music was constantly playing.After we got home, Chris worked on our outside Christmas light display.  She wanted to put up a decorated tree that could be seen from the road.  Tonight we turned it on after dark, and it looked great!

Yard Work

One of the preparations we have to do for winter is to put in markers so the plow guy (Scott) will know where the edges of the driveway are.  Today the temperature warmed up, so we all went outside to put in the markers.

We put in two kinds of markers, since this is our first winter and we don't know which kind will work better. Emily is posing by the plastic kind with the red reflector, above. We also tried the fiberglass kind with the reflective tape, below.

Just a note on Kate's outfit:  She is at the age now where she INSISTS on wearing certain things, such as the flower shorts and mismatched mittens, above. We have realized that if we ever want to get out the door, we have to compromise a little bit.  She got to wear the flower shorts she wanted, but we insisted on pants and long johns underneath.

Chris has been steadily working on clearing out the brush piles that the seller left behind when he moved out, as well as the new brush that she cut. We borrowed Grandpa N.'s truck in order to get it done a little bit faster.

She has made quite a brush pile--it should make a great bonfire in the spring!

There are still a couple rolls of hay left in our field. Farmer Steve tried to get this one about a month ago when the ground was too wet, and you can see the tracks left by his tractor.  He got stuck and had to bring over a truck to pull his tractor out!  Kate was taking a nap, but Emily watched the whole thing and still brings it up.

Cupcakes from Diana

Last night after Thanksgiving dinner, Tory brought over some cupcakes that her mom, Diana, had made for the kids.  They had chocolate frosting and looked like little turkeys.  We saved ours and the girls had them today for a snack.

The cupcakes were a big hit!  Emily likes cupcakes, but Kate really loves them.  Kate has quite a sweet tooth.  Thank you Diana!

Giving Thanks

Today was Thanksgiving, and we went out to Nana's for a big dinner.  The girls slept on the way over, which meant they were full of energy when we got there.

Nana cooked all day, and the food was delicious!  We had turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, cranberries, pumpkin pie, and apple pie.  Yum!  Uncle David came up from New Hampshire for the 4 day weekend. Grandma and Grandpa L. enjoyed the wonderful meal also.After dinner Uncle Seth, Aunt Sara, and their kids came over for dessert.  The kids wore themselves out running laps around the house, and wrestling in the living room.Everyone got a little silly, and had a great time.Some of the things we are thankful for this year are our wonderful children, our friends and families, and our safe move to Maine.We feel so lucky to be surrounded by such love, and we wish the same to all of our blog readers!

Cid-ah

Tonight Chris bottled her first batch of home-brewed apple cider. She was very excited about it! First, she sterilized the equipment, including the glass bottles. They have special flip-top lids.

Then she carefully pumped some cider from Batch B into three small bottles. The pump is specially designed to preserve the carbonation. Notice how the cider operation is taking over her bike workbench.Then came the big moment...and it tastes great!She took some measurements, then calculated the alcohol content at about 5%.  Of course, we'll have to recheck her calculations tomorrow, when she's not.... um.... drinking cider!

Hockey Game

Brenda plays in a local hockey league, and usually the games are at night, after the kids go to bed. This weekend her game was in the morning, so the kids got to come and watch. The rink is less than 10 minutes from our house.
The girls had a fun time even though the rink is very cold. They bundled up in their "puffs" (winter jackets) and cheered for mom. They also really liked the zamboni (who doesn't?).

Just this year girls' hockey became a varsity sport at the high school level in Maine (it has been a club-level sport for awhile). Brenda plans to get the girls on skates soon!

Dinner at Nana's

Today was very cold-we even got a dusting of snow!  We went out to Nana's house for dinner. This is the house that Chris grew up in.

Kate was fascinated by Nana's fireplace--she had never seen one working before! Emily remembered our fireplace in Seattle, and she wasn't quite as impressed as Kate was.We visited with Nana while the girls ran around.The girls got so warm from running and dancing that they insisted on taking their shirts off for the rest of the night.The McKenneys stopped by for dinner!  Dwain, Diana, and their daughter Tory enjoyed Nana's delicious soup and pumpkin pie with us.The McKenneys have been Nana's neighbors for over 30 years. It was really nice visiting with friends and family tonight.

Gymnastics!

Emily is a very physically active kid, and seems to be a natural athlete.  She loves to run, climb, and jump, so we enrolled her in a toddler gymnastics class this fall.

The class has been a lot of fun for her--and also a good way to hang out with other kids her age.

She has learned to do all kinds of fun things, like walk the balance beam...

...swing from a bar (she's trying to kick the balloon below)......jump off really tall things......do backwards somersaults......crawl over a bridge like a bear......and her absolute favorite, swing from the rings like a monkey!She has also learned great stuff like how to wait her turn, and how to listen quietly and follow directions.  All good things to know for preschool!After the first class, Emily wanted to know if she could LIVE at the gym.  She loves gymnastics!

Town Library

Tonight after dinner we visited the town library, which used to be a roller rink.  Chris remembers skating here with her neighbor Susan in the early '80's, and every time she sees the place she gets the Bee Gees song "Sad Eyes" in her head.

It's a library now and has great hours:  It's open most weekdays until 8:00 p.m., which makes it a perfect spot to take the girls between dinner and bedtime.They have a real nice children's area with books, toys, blocks, a reading table, and a puppet theater.The girls love it when they see things that they recognize.The display box by the front door varies--right now it's trains!  Santa is starting to notice how much the girls like trains.Someday Emily will probably like playing checkers, but right now her attention span is long enough for only one move.The girls really like playing on the computer, "just like mom."  This one was actually turned off, but they didn't seem to care.

The girls can't wait until they turn five and can get their library cards!