The Hills are Alive...

About a week ago, we realized we had a 3 day weekend coming up and figured that we should do something fun for it. So, we made a (somewhat) last minute decision, booked a room, packed the car to the gills with all of thr random STUFF a newborn needs (seriously, how can such a tiny being require so many things? And how did we not realize what a breeze it has been to travel with Henry and his one tiny bag lately?)and headed to Vermont.

We decided to stay at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe. When we had visited Stowe last fall we hiked on their gorgeous property, and that plus the allure of singing "Edelweiss" and eating bratwurst all weekends sealed the deal (Well, we may not have sung, but there was much bratwurst consumed, along with the beer they brew on property with hops flown in straight from Austria).

Elliot was a complete champ on the 4 hour car ride. In fact, he chose Saturday as the day to break the nap strike he had been on for the past 5 days (thank goodness). We left Boston early on Saturday and arrived in Stowe around noon. After a lunch (of bratwurst!) overlooking the mountains, we headed out for some hiking:

Then we explored the property, and Henry had a ball rolling down various hills:

On Sunday, we drove over to see Shelburne Farms. It is listed in our "1,000 Placed to See Before You Die" book, so how could we pass it up? (no worries, we have about 900 places left to see...). When we arrived Henry and Mike decided to take the tractor ride over to the main barn while Elliot and I walked. Here is their "American Gothic" pose:

The farm was absolutely beautiful:

The main barn had various animals for the kids to see and pet, a big room of farm toys and tractors, and lovely scenery.

The kids spent some time relaxing on the grass:

Then we headed out on a walk to Lake Champlain:

And drove back to Stowe, where Mike wonderfully took the kids while I had a masage (glorious!) and then we all had dinner at the resort:

Elliot was a fan of the hotel beds:

This morning we gave Henry a choice of activities (swimming, hiking, bike riding...) and he chose a horse drawn carriage ride:

Then it was back to Boston.... It was a great time, especially for our first "vacation" as a family of four!