EmBabble: August 2015

Holy Crap

How I know it's time to put the parental controls on youtube...

I'm making dinner tonight and I hear big guy yelling "holy crap!" at his toys. At first I thought I misheard, but then he kept saying it. After I had a minor freak out about how that isn't a nice word to say, he looks at me and says, "But the guy on the video says it!" Perfectly logical. Hello, parental controls!

Linvilla Orchards

Last friday I took the boys to linvilla orchards for some good farm fun. We were there a few hours and barely covered half of the fun that you can do. But we did get to pick some apples, which the boys devoured. They both ate 3 apples while we were there. And then we hopped on a tractor filled with hay and picked the biggest tomato I've ever seen, as well as some peppers. We then ate a quick lunch before heading over to the playgroud area to burn off some energy. We managed to get some fun farm related toys (small broom, tractor, farm puzzle that makes animal noises) and then get some cider and of course cider donuts. mmmmm. Overall, a great trip. Both boys were in good spirits and had lots of fun! And the weather was perfect. Warm, sunny, with a gentle breeze!

apple eating- after I took this pic, I noticed the sign that said, no eating in the orchard. oops

hello, apple

hayride to the veggie field

happy apple eating face

seriously, have you ever seen a tomato this big?

at the playgroud, filling up an old tire with yucky apples. guess how many of those he tried to eat?

can you tell they are brothers?

big guy- age 2 1/2 years

little man- age 14 months

Aquarium visit with the boys

On days off this summer, I've taken the boys to the aquarium a few times. We've had a blast. We've eaten quite a few soft pretzels, pet a lot of sting rays, got to eat outside on the terrace (awesome), and have seen a lot of sharks! Big guy has been obsessed with ocean life this year, ever since I got the membership to the aquarium, which has been worth every penny, if not more. It's just opened up his mind, vocabulary, excitement and interest in a whole new way. He's just awesome. Also, we've gone over to the camden children's garden and gotten some serious fun in! See pictures below:

We caught some butterflies

Ok, a lot of butterflies

played in a giant sand pit

had some hippo encounters

all while eating a giant pretzel

looked at some fish

hung out together watching some sharks

Down the Shore

The second weekend in july we went down the shore to Ocean city, nj and it was awesome! We drove down saturday mid morning and little man napped. Big guy played with his ipad mini (who we named Jorge while we were in NH a few weeks later!) We got there around noon. We checked into the hotel, ate some lunch, and then hit the beach. It was actually the most perfect beach day. Mid 80's. Not too hot in the sun. Not too cold in the water. Just perfect. Hubs and big guy were out jumping big waves. Little man and I were digging and getting splashed by the littler waves. Just awesome. We went back to the hotel to shower and get changed and then went to walk the boardwalk. We ate dinner at manco manco's pizza, a staple of course. Then had Kohl's custard for dessert. Then randomly ran into a friend of mine on the boardwalk! We slept well for sure.

The next day we took an early morning walk on the beach and big guy and I collected a ton of really great shells. Then we got changed. Little man and I went to the beach. Big guy and hubs went swimming at the hotel's pool. we met up around 10 at the pool and we all went swimming. We packed up to go and little man passed out in the car while we were looking for a parking spot in a lot a block away from the hotel. So instead of lunch on boardwalk, hubs and big guy got out and got a huge bucket of johnson's carmel corn and a big jilly's lemonade. We munched and talked about how great a trip it was the whole way home!

hubs on the balcony

Little man and I on the balcony

pizza for dinner

My dear friend J- who we randomly saw on the beach

View of sunrise from our balcony/room

morning walk

morning swim

brother love

asleep on ride home

look at all of our shells!

NH- day 9

Our last day we took it easy. We went to the library for a puppet show, which was really entertaining. We then had an early lunch, took an early nap, and spent the rest of the day at the beach, it was really awesome!!! The next day we insanely drove the entire way home. Which was tough, but at least we were home before everyone embarked back to the real world!

eating crackers and hanging out during nap time

The last day was the most beautiful beach day. It was warm in the sun, great sky, and just a wonderful ending to our trip!

NH- day 8

We went on the annual Hobo train ride. It was really hot that day and wasn't the best ride, but we did our best. The balloon animal guy was there and big guy got a frog. Very cute. We had pizza for lunch and then went to the beach in the afternoon. It was really hot for a few days!

We checked out the new swings pop pop and dino had hung up

Hobo train ride

NH- day 7

Another new adventure. First we went fishing, which big guy did an amazing job at, catching 10 fish all by himself. Ok, pop pop helped! He had a great time and it was just beautiful out. Then we had lunch in wolfeboro before going on a boat ride around Lake Winnipesaukee. It was awesome. Great breeze, fabulous views, and got to see where all the rich and famous own houses. Also, we saw a loon! Which is a very good indicator of how healthy the lake is. That afternoon, back to the beach!

apparently all babies/toddlers fall asleep on the boat ride!

NH- day 6

The next day we went on a new adventure to the Lost River Gorge and Caves. It was super cool. We climbed many steps and went up, down, and around a mountain. We climbed through caves where we had to twist and turn to get out. It was super cool and we only dropped one hat! A definite place to visit again. Everyone was really tired after that trip. We got home and went to the beach, of course!

Taking a break

On the suspension bridge

Dont' we look so sporty?

NH- day 5

We visited the squam lake natural science center on day five. We met a porcupine, which was super cool and interesting. Little man paid attention for a good 7 minutes before getting squirrely. He of course loved the mountain lion and bobcat. I thought the deer were fantastic, as usual. Big guy thought the birds were super cool. That afternoon we went to the beach.

the boys

annual measurement pic with deer

beach in the afternoon

the boys getting measured

at the botanical gardens where we eat lunch every year- guess what you aren't supposed to do at this fountain? Yup, throw rocks on it!

NH- day 4

the next day was the relax day. Hubs left for his conference in boston, so we relaxed at home and then later that afternoon went to spider web gardens for some outdoor fun.

Little man found a really big pile of dirt

Big guy and little man snuggling for a wagon ride

Solo wagon ride

Where big guy convinced gmom dino to pull the wagon!

NH- day 3

Our first full day in NH was a bit cool, in the 70's and cloudy. We went to the libby museum of stuffed NH animals. We did a scavenger hunt and played with shells. Then we headed to downtown wolfeboro to have a pizza lunch. We also did a bit of shopping at Black's, the everything and anything store. Then that afternoon, we went to the dump and went into the swap trailer where we got a boat for the beach, a pushy toy for little man, and a new-to-us snow shovel.