Sunday, October 25, 2015

Parent's do New England, Boston Style

After such a wonderful weekend in Vermont we came back to Boston to explore with Mom and Dad. Our first stop was the temple. We had worked on a lot of family names so we were able to take them to the temple and seal a large part of Jennifer's side of the family together. It was an amazing two hours. 
American Gothic: Lon and Jennifer Style
After the temple we headed back to the apartment to change and then ventured out into the city. We went to the library first and spent the majority of our time exploring its unique features and then we went to the North End for some seafood and Italian pastries.
Wednesday we went apple picking at Honey Pot Hill Orchards and had a lot of fun. I have been in a baking mood so I was really looking forward to some fresh apples so I could make some yummy fall desserts. When we got there Dad was super excited to find a little creature running up to him. It was almost like the chipmunk wanted him to pet him, but it turned out that Dad was standing on top of his hole. As soon as he walked away the chipmunk ran in.




We wanted to find the best apples to bake and cook with, so we were told to pick the Cortland apples. We taste tested them just to be sure they were good and they were YUMMY! Don't know why Nick and I look angry as we were eating. Must be all the intense energy required to savor these fantastic fruits. I promise we really enjoyed the apples.

While we were there we also had some warm apple cider donuts. The first time we heard of these donuts was at the Deerfield Fair and they were so delicious we had to have them again. We also grabbed some apple cider and a small pumpkin for the road.

Mom and Dad's visit was definitely a treat for us and we enjoyed their company. We can't wait for their next visit so we can go explore Maine!

We had a great time together! Family time=fun time and great memories!


Saturday, October 24, 2015

Parent's Do New England, Vermont style

If you are a puzzle lover, like myself, you must wonder where those colorful-mountainous farm pictures come from. While driving through Vermont I found out and I will forever have this place pictured in my mind, instead of dreaming about it from a puzzling point of view.


Come on.. wouldn't that picture make a beautiful puzzle?

Visiting Vermont was Lon and Jennifer's idea. They wanted visit the Joseph Smith Birthplace memorial, so why not spend a long weekend in Vermont at a gorgeous Bed and Breakfast. Well we did just that and it was a much needed vacation for us all .

Our Bed and Breakfast was located just a few minutes north of Stowe in Morrisville. If you want to check out the place click here.

The house was huge. It had an indoor pool and jacuzzi, a home theatre, and a beautiful eating area. Our bedrooms were large and comfortable. We had a kitchen and a balcony.

On Saturday we headed out early for adventures. Our first stop was for some Vermont maple syrup.
We also grabbed some maple taffy and a piece of bacon maple taffy. It was surprisingly good.
The trees behind the outlet were so beautiful we had to take a few pictures.
After the outlet we decided to explore Smuggler's Notch. On our way up we discovered this covered bridge. Let's play a quick game of spot the Nick.

Now let's play another game called help Nick out off of the tree before he falls in. If you have read all of my blogs you will know that Nick likes to climb rocks/trees/whatever is near water. This usually results in wet shoes and pants. However, this time was different. I heard Nick screaming, "Help" so I walked quickly through mud to see this...
Nick was hanging upside down, sorry this picture is so bad.. I was laughing so hard and Nick was yelling at me to put down the camera and help him. However, there was a huge hill between him and I and there was no way I was getting down there.
 So I picked the camera back up and took more pictures of him struggling to get up.

 Mom tried to help with a stick..
He made it up!!!! Maybe Nick's luck is changing... Maybe

After this we still had to explore the covered bridge.
 Can you see Nick, Lon and Jennifer in the window's?

Lon and Jennifer at the bridge!
After we explored the bridge we drove up the mountain. We parked near the top to check out the view.
It was worth the climb!


We got back in the warm car and drove through the Notch. The Notch was the peak of the mountain where the road went from 2 lanes to 1. It was very interesting how the road went between two rocks. I was concentrating on the road, even though I wasn't driving.

On our way down the mountain we stopped at the Von Trapp Family Lodge and did some hiking! As we walked the trail I couldn't help but take pictures of Mom and Dad because the were so cute!



We had such a great time stopping to explore. As we got into the car I saw the horses and really wanted a picture of them. Nick grabbed the camera and ran to snap this shot. I love him so much!
We were beat after a fun day so we ate at an amazing restaurant in Stowe and headed back to our Bed and Breakfast for a soak in the jacuzzi. Sunday morning we woke up and got ready for church. We drove to where google maps said the church was but it wasn't there. We finally got out and went inside the church that google said was ours and asked where the LDS church was. Lucky for us it was only a couple more miles down the road. We finally reached it and as we are pulling in we notice the empty parking lot, who knew that it would be stake conference the day of our visit... apparently not us! We settled for some spiritual reflection and  meditation at a nearby waterfall.

Then we drove to the Joseph Smith Birthplace memorial. This place was gorgeous and I wish we had all day to spend there. I would have hiked the trails and taken more pictures. The sun was at the perfect angle to make the monument look like a candle.

I found a quiet place to sit in the grass. My thoughts were overwhelmed with gratitude and love for Joseph Smith and all of the hardships he bore. I'm so thankful that I was able to visit this memorial and learn more about his life. 

Monday we checked out of our Bed and Breakfast and went back to mountain for the Stowe Zip Tour at Stowe Mountain Resort. 
 Getting in the gear.
 Ready to go.
 Up the gondola.
 Nervous funny face.
This was the hardest part.. just dangling there. The view was amazing and scary at the same time. Nick and I zipped at the same time and Mom was a champ and went by herself on the first span.

 Dad took a lot of pictures of mom so Google made a gif.
In total there were 3 spans and we took turns riding with each other. It was a lot of fun and we definitely built some memories. 

After our zip tour we headed back to Boston for a relaxing evening at home. Our trip to Vermont was amazing. We caught the trees as they were changing colors right in front of our eyes. It was so nice to relax and have some fun with family!


Manchester, NH

For conference weekend Nick and I had access to a car so we decided to travel a little of New England.

When we first moved to Boston a high school friend contacted Nick letting him know that she and her husband didn't live very far away. We were invited to visit when we had time, so we took this weekend as the opportunity to visit Amber and Dave in Manchester, NH. Nick told me that they loved to kayak, hike and explore so I knew whatever they planned for us would be awesome. We were excited to learn that we were going to the oldest family friendly fair in the US.

Deerfield Fair was a blast.

When we arrived we had to take these pictures.


If you can't tell Dave and Amber have a fun personality!

The first thing we wanted to do was watch the tractor pulling contest. We got there at the beginning and only watched the first round of the pulls. Those little-old tractors were powerful. I'm a country girl but I have never been to a fair like this before.


Next up we walked through a petting zoo that had a KANGAROO! This was the first time I have ever seen a kangaroo in real life.. I think.. I have a horrible memory, but I will definitely remember this guy.
And this cute llama.. I wonder where his mama is?? haha.. if you don't own this book you wouldn't get my reference :)
Okay so I admit that I love animals. I think all of them are super cute and I secretly wished I owned a farm. which is why I was thrilled when Nick found a tractor to stand beside and asked me to take his picture. Maybe it's a sign of the future? I guess we'll find out as we track along.

Nick of course would drive the tractor on the farm and would probably dress up like this guy. This poor clown was playing the same song all day long. I don't know how he got it out of his head when he went home.. poor guy.

Okay enough clowning around... My favorite part of the whole fair was the FRIED DOUGH!!! I made sure mine had plenty of powder sugar :) oh and a few dashes of the cinnamon too.

We walked around all day checking out all of the different buildings. It seemed like they had judges for every category possible: animals, fruits, vegetables, paintings, jelly, cookies, pie, cakes, photography, school projects and so much more. Nick sat and watched as some cows were being judged. He found it fascinating as the judges explained why they picked the winning cow.

The fair had a section just for carnival rides, which we didn't even have time to visit.. nor did we really want to waste the money.

We spent time watching the Acrobatic show though and that was fun and impressive.


If you have good eyesight then you might be able to see the people in the air with red shirts on. They were tight roping and it was very cool!


We also watched this little guy get sheared. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her because it was cold outside and they took her warmth away.

I will leave you with the tiniest fire truck ever.. "No Fire Too Small"