New York, Part 1

There's already been a peek into the visit and here are even more pictures of the visit.

EMN and MTN on the plane ride. Both are great travelers and so is Teddy Bear.


Going to Grandma Hitchcock's to get water.


Playing in the playhouse. This house factored big into my childhood and it's fun to see my kids using it now (although it seems much smaller now that I'm older!)


A picnic lunch down at the pavilion overlooking the creek.

Throwing rocks into the creek (or crick).

The bigger rocks are below the bridge and the kids spent a long time hunting for the biggest rocks they could carry and then making the biggest splashes they could.

And yet sometimes, the biggest splashes were to each other. This is at the dock at the small pond.

Hanging out on the Ford Tractor with Nonna.

My big girl - she's growing up so fast!

And my big boy - looking so handsome.

Off to see what Grandpa Tom is up to at the barn. Grandpa Tom has projects and toys and all the fun stuff that little boys love!

Helping Nonna pick out flowers for the planting beds.

Nursing two skinned knees. No summer is complete without a few injuries ...

Hugs from Aunt Phoebe.

Playing a modified version of "Go Fish" with Uncle Andrew and Aunt Phoebe. The kids had so much fun making up new rules as they went. Or was that Andrew ... They all had fun and it's so great they were all able to spend so much time together.

Happy 4th of July!!

Mike and I made dinner for the family on the 4th.

So that's the trip to NY up until the 4th of July. Plenty of time spent with family, catching up and relaxing. We're blessed to have such a great family to go home to!

Year in Review (or at least since the summer)

Happy December! I'm celebrating the new month and the end of the calendar year by reviewing what our family has been doing (and I haven't been covering on the blog). Today I'll start with photos from our trip to New York in late June and July. Specifically, all the various trucks, tractors and vehicles MTN had the pleasure of seeing while we were there. It was as if all these various sightings were orchestrated solely for his pleasure! And while Grandpa Tom owns several of these trucks and tractors (and so the previous statement is partly true) things like the the log truck and street sweeper were just happy coincidence. MTN was in little boy heaven!

Let's see how many of these names I can get right.

MTN driving the Case.

EMN got in on the action too! She's driving in the photo below :)

Driving the John Deere. Then mowing the lawn. EMN bailed pretty early on (not exactly her cup of tea) but MTN stayed and eventually took a nap in the trailer.

A cement truck came to pour the floor in the barn so the kids got to watch that truck in action. Here the truck is cleaning up after a job well done.

The Walters truck is pretty loud. They enjoyed sitting inside and learning how to operate all the bucket controls. That's where Nonna and I were riding and the kids got a kick trying to dump us out.

The Dynahoe. MTN was overwhelmed by it's size and enjoyed climbing up in the cab.

A replica of the Case that got a workout in the multiple mud puddles.

The Ford that I used to spend hours on mowing lawns. MTN provided his own sound effects until Grandpa Tom would take him out for spins around the field.

An eagerly anticipated pile of dirt for young MTN.

A pedal car that he put miles on.

Some Caterpillar creation that's articulated and dumps. Whatever it is, MTN loved it.

Cousin Peter received a shipment of logs while were visiting. Perfect timing! MTN got to sit in the truck and chat with the driver.

A street sweeper visited too. How often does that happen in East Jewett?? Thankfully, while MNT is there!

A propane truck stopped by Grandma Hitchcock's. Another chance to sit inside and even toot the horn.

And there you have it. The trucks, vehicles and toys big and small that MTN got to see during his summer vacation to NY! A very memorable trip indeed :)