Covered bridges, Dartmouth, Sharon VT, Cheese and Syrup

Lydia has this traveling thing down. 

We had no idea that our drive from Maine to Vermont through New Hampshire would be so crazy.  The drive was supposed to be about 3 hours so really not too bad but instead it took us closer to 6!  It was a beautiful weekend and Columbus weekend too and we had the craziest traffic.  This little town called Fryeberg was having their county fair and it is apparently not to be missed.  We could not believe the traffic to get to this fair.  We were driving the opposite direction and the lines went on for miles and miles.  We were trying to get to Conway, New Hampshire to check out the colors and some covered bridges something I was really looking forward to but our drive took so much longer than expected that the light was pretty much gone.  It was disappointing.  What we did see was beautiful and I can only imagine what we were driving by in the dark. We will just have to go to New Hampshire again!  Good thing we live out here.  Apparently they have tons of restored and not so restored covered bridges.  I have always loved covered bridges and am so glad we got to see some.

I love the mountains in the background too. 

 We stayed the night in Vermont and took a little time the next morning to hunt down some covered bridges.  They actually have them marked on many maps they are that sought after.  We found a few and then we headed to the first of our three destinations of the day: Dartmouth College in Hanover NH.  We thought it would be cool to visit an ivy league campus and check out the downtown area. It seems like most of these schools have cute little downtowns.  On our way to Dartmouth we drove by some signs for a Lake and Mark decided it would make a great drive so we made a short detour and it was beautiful.  We drove around the lake enjoying the views and then headed over to campus.  It was fun to walk around a bit and think of how prestigious the school is.

DARTMOUTH CAMPUS

After visiting Dartmouth we headed over over to Sharon, Vermont the birthplace of Joseph Smith. This was a beautiful area and where we got some of our best pictures.  We were the only people at the monument and enjoyed the calm spirit and picturesque Fall views.  It was so peaceful and beautiful.  A perfect Fall sight with awesome weather.  Mark and Sue had gone in 1993 and I had been in 2003 so it was fun to talk about the difference and be back.  It was nice to have it to ourselves as well.

 The contrast with the bright green grass was Mark's favorite. It is awesome. 

 These mums were amazing! 

After Sharon, Vermont we enjoyed a pretty drive to Sugarbush Farm in Woodstock, Vermont.  This is a running farm with animals,  maple syrup tapping and processing, cheese making and beautiful views.  Jared and Lydia enjoyed the animals and Mark, Sue and I enjoyed the samples. They have 4 grades of syrup and 14 flavors of cheese.  So yummy.  We also went on a little walk through their maple trees where they tap the syrup in the early spring and enjoyed seeing the tubes and the pretty trees.  They had their syrup room open so we walked through on a little self guided tour to see how the syrup is made  It would be fun to see trees actually being tapped but I am positive Vermont is way more pleasant in October thatn it is in early March.  We attempted some quick family pictures on our drive out but we were facing the sun and Jared could not handle it.  I agree it is not easy but I didn't think it was that hard.  I wish we hadn't stopped as it just left everyone irritated.  Then it was back in the car to search for one more covered bridge (found it with plenty of light left) just down the street from the farm.  It had a pretty waterfall and was a nice stop.

 Those colored blocks are the chess wrapped in wax. 

The plan was to stop in Deerfield, MA but there was too much traffic and road work.  We stayed in Springfield, MA that night and spent our last night in a hotel.  Monday would be a long day in the car. When Mark booked the hotels he made sure to choose places with pools and they made Jared and Lydia so happy.

Maine!

We spent most of Saturday in beautiful Maine.  My good friend Laura had recommended that we stop in Kennebunkport Maine a quint little town and we are really glad we took her recommendation.  Sue said it was her favorite part of the trip.  We walked down their cute downtown area and took in the storybook city.  It is right next to a bay and very picturesque.  Jared really took a liking to lobsters this past year and was so excited to be somewhere that featured them so much. I loved their beautiful trees and the festive Autumn/Halloween pictures they had out.

 Jared loves all things nautical and thought these planters were totally awesome. 

 This store by the bay had this awesome Halloween scene out.  

They had so many fun things out. Behind Jared is an old fashioned baby carriage complete with skeleton baby and adult! 

After spending some time there we headed up to Portland Maine to check out a lighthouse and take a ferry ride.  We did not go in the lighthouse but enjoyed the views of it.  The ferry was fun but pretty windy.  We tried to sit outside but it was too cold.  Half way through the ride we found a covered section and it was the perfect spot to finish the ride on.  We rode it out to Peaks Isalnd and then right back to Maine. On the ride back the ferry driver let Jared and Lydia sit in his seat for a few minutes and was very friendly.  He told us that in the summer the ferry carries over 400 people back and forth from the island to the mainland.  It was nowhere near that number when we were on it but there was a bride/bridal party and all their guests so it was fun to see them.  It was so beautiful and a fun things to do.  After the ferry ride we went out to lunch.  I am actually not a fan of seafood.  Sue just wanted clam chowder and Mark was good with that too.  Sue kindly treated Jared to a whole lobster dinner (which Mark had to take apart for him which Mark was was not thrilled about it. How do you really get all the lobster meat?) and he was on the moon.  It is so funny to me how he loves lobsters (isn't it random?) and yet loves eating them too. After our late lunch (it was a really popular place right downtown and we had to wait of ra god while to be seated) we headed up to New Hampshire.

Fall in New England, the beginning.

I have never actually made a bucket list. I don't know that I ever will sit down and write one out.  If I had done such a thing, seeing a New England Fall would admittedly be very close to the top. I really love Autumn.  It gives me energy and makes me happy, so very happy. I have always wanted to experience Fall in New England and was so excited when Mark got his job out here knowing that my chance of enjoying a great East Coast Fall had just increased substantially.

 In late August/early September Mark and his Mom had a phone conversation about her coming out to visit and in that conversation she mentioned that she would really like to take a drive into New England to see the colors.  I thought this was an awesome idea and it was decided that she would come out in early October and we would make the trip and get to celebrate Jared's birthday with her.  We picked her up from the airport last Wednesday (the 07th) and left after school the next day.  Jared missing two days of school to see Fall colors is totally okay to me. I am so glad that Mark's principal was okay with him taking Friday and Monday off so we could go. We knew it would be a ton of driving but were up for it anyway.  That is the tricky part of Fall colors you end up driving a lot to find them! Driving this far in 4.5 days was crazy. We went through 10 states, 11 if you count Virginia.

We stayed in Harrisburg PA for our first night to get us a little bit closer to Boston our first stop. We left around 7:45 Friday morning and enjoyed a beautiful drive through New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut and made it into Boston around 3:00. Connecticut was probably my favorite part of the drive.  It was so beautiful and we got it right at the peak.  So fantastic.  That is the tricky thing about Fall, planning outings during it is so hard. You just can't know when the colors will be at their peak and you may just be off by a day.  Either way it is beautiful but catching the trees at their peak is really kind of magical.  At first I had wisely chosen to sit behind the passenger side so I was not right between Jared and Lydia (who did so well with all this driving and sleeping different places and being up late) but then I found I couldn't see enough of the colors so I had to move to the middle.  By the end of each day I was totally done being touched!  I probably did a worse job in the car than them, they really were such troopers.

We went back and forth about what to do in Boston as we knew we would not have very much time there (we had to get to Maine that night).  We finally decided on a trolley ride through town only to discover that we got there too late (traffic getting into the city) in the day.  Instead we took a walk around Boston Commons and then went across the street into the Boston Public Gardens and had a great time walking around the BEAUTIFUL grounds.  About 10 minutes into our walk it started raining which was a bummer but we had an umbrella and our raincoats and enjoyed a nice break from the car. I was so hoping to take a ride in the swan boats they have there but they had packed them up at the end of September.  There is lots to do in Boston/the surrounding areas so I am sure we will make a trip up there again and pick a time when the boats are out. We loved the public gardens even in the rain.

 The weeping Willows were a big hit!  Just what they needed after hours in the car. 

We need to check out this book: "Make Way for Ducklings" stat. 

We ate dinner at a great little burger place and got back in the car to make it to our next stop, Kennebunkport Maine, a super cute quaint little town.

Jared at 6 years old!

I took Jared to the Doctor last week for his 6 year old well check. 6 years old! I can't believe how fast time has gone by.  He is currently 48 inches (4 feet tall, 90th percentile) and 49 pounds (70th or so percentile) Jared is a kind, smart, silly, sensitive boy.  This past year has been a big year for him.  Some of his milestones included: learning to swim, learning to tie his shoes, learning to read, learning to ride his bike (well right when he turned 5), starting Kindergarten and many more. He and Lydia can be each others best friend or the person they most want to be away from.  Sometimes I worry that Jared is a little more focused on himself then I would like but I hope that we can help him learn to put others needs ahead of his own, to think of others more.  He will still often start crying when he is upset (did I mention he is pretty sensitive?) but I can see him trying to think of other ways to handle his feeling which makes me proud of him. He has come a long way in the past year or so. It is so hard to teach kids how to deal with big emotions.  Crying is not a bad thing but there are some situations where I feel it is a bit much.  I think he really thinks that world should be "fair" to everyone but his views of fair are not always the same as the worlds.  He is a sweet boy who makes me smile.

Since he has been in school his writing has really taken off.  I really enjoy seeing his work.  The other day he picked a calendar assignment from school (they get a monthly calendar with fun little "assignments" and need to complete 2 - 3 each week) where he needed to draw a picture with a bat, pumpkin, and moon. He did so and added every other Halloween item he could think of.  I loved seeing him try his best to draw things on his own.  For such a long time he would only draw pirate ships which he does very well but I love seeing him try other things.  He even said that art was his favorite class at school which I did not expect. Another days assignment was to write about his picture.  When I would have him write (very minimally) before he was in school he would drag his feet.  This time he chose to write about it and did an awesome job describing his drawing.   He has made some good friends in school and enjoys going to school.  It has been a really long transition for us but I feel we are pretty much there now.  I am glad he enjoys school and his teacher. He loves doing races in PE and often finishes first which makes him very proud.  He has been playing soccer this Fall (when it hasn't been rained out which has been most weeks) and enjoys it.  I feel he places a lot more emphasis on winning than on just having fun so we are really trying to teach him that exercising and being active and with friends is more important than just winning. I am not sure he believes us and hope he can learn to be a good sport.

He is learning the Articles of Faith (has 1 - 4 down) and seems to really enjoy scripture study with our family.  We have been reading the Magic Tree House books and he loves doing chapter books. We are going to try the Little House series next. He still loves Pirates and wants to be one again for Halloween. He loves our family movie nights and playing with my phone which is funny because he loves taking pictures, using the maps app and the weather app (my phone is pretty boring). He still needs to wear his eye patch for 2 hours each day and dreads it but has been a good sport about it.  I wish he didn't have to but want his eye to improve so we will keep at it.  Maybe by January when we see the Dr. again it will have improved enough.

Mark and I went to our first official parent teacher conference on the 21st.  I was so anxious I had a terrible stomach ache and am so glad I didn't have to go alone. Jared is a good kid so I am not really sure why I was so nervous.  We met with Mrs. Franklin and had a good conference.  Jared is doing really well academically.  He met all the PALS (first state test of the year) benchmarks for first quarter and is performing basically as if he was in the third quarter of kindergarten based on their benchmarks.  Mrs. Franklin said he is doing really well with sounding out words and reading and understanding what he reads. She said he is a hard worker and wants to do well. Earlier this year he was having a hard time getting his work done in the set amount of time and she said that has really improved and most of the time when he doesn't finish something it is because he is very meticulous about his work. I didn't really expect to hear that.  She explained that most kids just scribble on it and try to get it done but he tries to stay in the lines and do it perfectly so it takes him much longer.  It will be interesting to see if this is a long standing habit. There were two main areas she hoped to see him improve in and both are very social.  One is that he still cries when things don't go as he wanted.  Such as if he wanted to do the listening center (his favorite) and it filled up before he got to do it then he did not handle it well.  She said that he is coming out of it really quick now and turning it around (especially compared to the beginning of the year) and ends up having fun in whatever center he ends up in.  Along with this he seems to only want to be with his friend Tyler.  She mentioned that a lot of other kids want to play with Jared and try to include him but he just wants Tyler.  I really like Tyler and am happy Jared likes him too but I really want him to understand that its important to get to know other people.  Next year he and Tyler may not be in the same class or Tyler may make new friends and want to play with them. If Jared is ignoring other kids they will give up and then he will be sad and lonely.  So we are going to really try to encourage him to get to know other kids. I know he is only 6 but I really don't want him to be a needy kind of friend of a monopolizing one.  That never works out well.  I am not entirely sure how to work on this but hope he can understand what we mean.
I asked her if he seemed like he was happy at school and he liked being there and she said she thought he was.  I can't really ever tell when I pick him up.  I am not an overly excited/emotional person.  I do get excited but I don't really show it much. Maybe Jared is that way too. I really don't know why I was so nervous. I know he is a good kid and tries hard to do what is right.  It is strange how well he does academically but needs to work a lot more on social hitting lI can't imagine what it would be like if he had started last year without this extra year at home. It is also nice to know that I really did teach him a lot and he is doing so well in that area.  I hope he can have a good experience at school and not dread going.

He is really a great kid who I love more than I could ever describe.

2015 Birthday Interview:

What is your favorite color?  Blue

What is your favorite toy?  Blanket

What is your favorite fruit?  Strawberries

What is your favorite movie?  Any with Pirates in it

 What do you do well?  My morning work at school

 What do you like to do with Daddy?  Play with him

 What makes you happy? My blanket

What is your favorite scripture story? Ammon

What is your favorite song?  Row your Boat (alligator version) 

What is your favorite animal? Raccoon and Cat

What is your favorite book?  All the books

Who is your best friend? Tyler and Sam (Shaw)

Where is your favorite place to go?  A playground

 What is your favorite thing to do outside? Swim and ride bikes

What is your favorite drink?   Sprite

What is your favorite holiday?  Halloween

What do you like to do with Mommy?  Play with her

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Cereal

What do you want for dinner on your birthday?  Ham, Potato and Broccoli Soup

What do you want to be when you grow up?   President of the United States

Happy Birthday Jared!

Jared is 6 years old now! We had a great and busy day celebrating him. We started the day off with birthday balloons and his birthday breakfast choice: Lucky Charms.  After eating we opened presents and then hurried off to school.

 Mark blew these up and then we had fun decoration them. 

Personalized balloons? Super fun! 

I told him that I didn't have time to make his lunch so I would bring lunch to him at school and surprised him with luck from Chick-Filet.  He was so excited. I had yet to meet him at school for lunch this year and had a fun time sitting with him and his classmates. It was funny how they referred to me as "Jared's Mom."

After lunch I hurried home to finish any dinner prep I could and then went back to his school with Lydia and Grandma Sue so we could share some birthday popsicles with his classmates.  It was fun to be in his class. His teacher does not encourage parents volunteering (makes me sad) so I have not been in there at all really. We have parent teacher conferences next Monday and I am so curious to hear how he is in class. I really can't tell from his teacher.  She has not sent home concerns so I am hoping for the best. I was surprised he picked popsicles to bring in.  He sure made my life easy this birthday.  Cereal for breakfast and popsicles for his school treat.

After school we hurried home and go ready for his friends to come over.  We didn't plan a full out birthday party just invited some friends over for ice cream cake.  I din't even make his cake this year!  He wanted an ice cream cake so Mark was in charge.  I was slightly sad to not be making him a cake but got over it.  Mark did a great job.  Jared requested vanilla with chocolate chips and chocolate with peanut butter cookie dough.  We played for a little while, had cake and opened presents, and then went on a scavenger hunt that Grandma Sue organized.  She had asked Jared if he wanted to be given his 20 dollar bill (he has been dreaming about that 20 dollar bill for over a month) or if he wanted to find it.  He chose that latter and had a great time searching for it with is friends.  We didn't expect Jared's friends to bring presents since it was just a get together for cake but they did and he was so happy with his presents.  He has been wanting a Pirate LEGO set and planned on using his 20 dollars to buy it but ended up getting not one but two Pirate LEGO sets.  He was so thrilled.  I was so impressed that our friends (the Farnsworth's and Shaw's) ended up picking different sets than each other.  There are only 3 that I have seen so the probability of that is not very high. He also got some glowsticks from the Wooters and was so happy to light one up tonight.  It was really fun.  I am so glad Jared has such nice friends we could celebrate with.

We made his favorite dinner Ham, Potato and Broccoli Soup with Meat Rolls and did his birthday interview.  Then Jared and Mark rushed off to soccer. If Mark wasn't the coach I would have kept him home so he could play with his new stuff but thought Mark better go.  He really enjoyed building his LEGO sets and did a good job following the directions and figuring it out. He has never done a set before and seemed to really enjoy it.  We got him a UVA piggy bank (he has wanted one forever) and a stuffed lobster from Maine.  (Because we went there last week... and all over New England.) Lydia found some sword toothpicks and picked those out for him.  I would say he had a really great birthday!