Happy Halloween!!!

We have had a busy few Halloween themed days! We started off with a pumpkin decorating get together:

Followed my a small Halloween Party on Saturday night. The kids played "donuts on a string" which was HYSTERICAL to see (the adults also had a round, but alas, no pictures):

Henry carved his first jack-o-lantern:

And then tonight we gathered with a group of friends for trick or treating!

Some of the houses go crazy with their decorations....

Happy Halloween!!!

The Flash

It was our annual MOMS Club Halloween Party this afternoon, so we broke out the Halloween costume for the first time:

Our speedy little guy chose very well this year!

He was serious about his muscles:

Once at the party Henry hung out with his friends:

Danced to the music:

And did some crafts:

An excellent start to the Halloween season.

Lookout Farm

We needed a few more pumpkins in preparation for next weekend, and decided that instead of a regular, plain pumpkin patch that we would head over to Lookout Farm with Henry's friend Jake. Lookout Farm has it all - lots of pick your own fruit, a "train" ride to the various orchards, animals, rides, a giant children's play area...

Henry loved the playground:

He and Jake climbed the hay pyramid:

Went through the maze dozens of times:

Got on a camel with me (by the way, camel riding is scary! Note the grip I have on Henry. The kids were unphased, though.....)

Rode the caterpillar ride:

And watched a magic show:

Oh yes, and we did manage to get some pumpkins on our way out:

Soccer

As Daylight Savings (also known as 4 PM sunset) and the thought of impending snow starts to fill our minds, we begin the annual tradition of desperately looking for ways to fill our time during a long Boston winter. Today, a group of us tried out a new soccer program for the kids...one that has INDOOR SPACE (oddly rare for here). This soccer class seemed a lot more fun for the kids than the one we tried the other year - the coaches were very enthusiastic and seemed more equipped in general in dealng with the pre-school set. Henry and his friends had a blast:

So, now we have at least one winter activity set!

Vermont

We had our annual Columbus Day Weekend trip to Vermont this past weekend - always one of our favorite trips of the year. This time we mixed things up a bit by changing our location to Stowe (we usually stay in the Manchester/Dorset area) and by staying at a resort instead of renting a house. Even with the lack of foliage (it has been a very warm fall) and the damage from Hurricane Irene, Vermont was gorgeous as always.

We stayed at the Stowe Mountain Lodge which was absolutely wonderful:

We had a nice view of the mountain and ski slopes from our suite:

We got in on Friday afternoon and hung out at the resort for the rest of the day. On Saturday morning we headed over to the nearby Von Trapp Family Lodge (yes, THAT Von Trapp family) to take a hike on their beautiful grounds:

Then we had a great lunch of Austrian food at their restaurant overlooking the mountains.

Back at the resort Henry and Mike perfected their shuffleboard skills:

Then we drove around a bit to admire the local scenery:

On Sunday we rented bikes and spent the morning on Stowe's great bike path- they had various art installations scattered about on it which Henry really enjoyed:

Back at the resort that afternoon we checked out their outdoor amenities.Henry went on the bungee jump, which may have been one of his favorite activities of all time:

Then we took the chair lift up to the alpine slide (alas, no pictures of the slide since I was holding onto my brake with a death grip. MIke and Henry started at the same time as me, and I finished a good minute after them. A daredevil I am not)

On Monday we took the scenic way home and stopped at a local orchard to do yet more apple picking. I apparently was camera-ed out though, since I didn't take a single picture for some reason. It was a wonderful trip, and I definitely think we will be returning to Stowe!