sweet dancing Ben

Ben is growing up sooo fast! Charley was his age when we first moved here and now I can't believe Ben is already 19 mo. old!! He's such a cutie with his little blond hair and big smiley cheeks! He's always grinning about something. I just had to write b/c I want to remember later that he loves to dance. Anytime he hears even a couple of bars of music, he starts bobbing his head and, if he can, moving his legs. It's so cute. I guess he's going to be the music lover in the family. It's just so much fun to watch and he is usually able to get the whole family started too. Once Ben starts, then Charley follows and pretty soon, we're all dancing around and being goofy.

We especially enjoyed one of these moments this past Saturday when we went to get our Christmas tree from Escobar's Highland farm, here on the island. We brought it home, turned on some Christmas music, heated up the cider, and the dancing and celebrating began. We got all the Christmas boxes down and had such a fun time together. I know it might seem a little early, but this is the first Christmas we won't be traveling in years, which means, I get to decorate! :) We plan on having a low-key family day, simple, easy, fun. (that's the plan) :) We'll miss all of our extended family, but if you've been reading, we've traveled quite enough in the past few years, and with very small children. Anyway, since I know we're going to be here, I just couldn't wait to get everything out and decorate for Christmas so I can enjoy it this year.

In other news, we enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with my Mom and brother, Grant, who flew from Houston, TX to be with us. My Mom was here for a week and my brother, who had to finish finals, was here for three days. Will and Grant went to NY on Thanksgiving day because Grant had never been in this area before and wanted to see it. They had a blast, and then we celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday. My Mom and I stayed home with the kids on Thanksgiving day and since it was such a beautiful day, we had a blast doing a ton of pruning and yard work. The kids played outside and it was so much fun! We also did crafts with the kids (finishing a handprint apron for the grandma's) :) and while my Mom (Nonny to the kids) was here, we also got to have a fun shopping trip to Providence place and did some sewing together. We had such a great time and it was so great to see both of them.

Well, back to chores and stuff while Ben naps. Charley has pre-school today to it's an errand day. :) All part of the fun!

Blessings!

apple picking

The next craft I undertook came from a "Country Home" magazine I picked up while I was waiting for a flight down to Baltimore. It was all about decorating with pumpkins and apples. One of the decorations was an apple garland, heavy, but pretty. :) So this past weekend, we went apple picking at the Rocky Brook orchard on Wapping Rd. here on Aquidneck Island. It turned out to be the perfect weekend for picking MacIntosh apples (according to the owner). The boys didn't quite get it, but we had fun and got a lot of apples. The owner even let me get two bags of cheaper apples that had fallen on the ground for my garland! I have a lot of baking to do this weekend so if you live close and want an apple pie, I'm making them in bulk when Will comes home this weekend. Anyway, I hung my garland above the door. You bore holes in the apples with bamboo skewers then put twine through them. It's holding well. I don't have colorful leaves to put on it yet, but I'm looking. I also made an apple wreath which I haven't glued together yet, but hopefully will finish this weekend as well.

Next, I want to carve pumpkins, but I'm afraid a bunch of pumpkins and the garland would be a little too much produce for one front door. The garland is supposed to only last about 2 weeks, so maybe I'll wait until then to go pumpkin picking on the island. :)

in bloom

These are for my Mom. She asked me to take some pics of the flowers around our house. We have Japanese iris, rododendrum, purple lilac, (all pictured). We also have bleeding heart, creeping geranium, petunias, and spirea (bridals wreath). They're all in bloom right now. Spring really is beautiful in Newport. Before that, the azaleas, daffodils, narcissus and tulips were blooming. See, there is a point to the really cold winter! :) I still miss the bluebonnets though. Anyway, enjoy!

Sachuest Point

This past April, when the weather finally got a tad warmer, we visited Sachuest Point, a wildlife refuge on one end of Aquidneck Island. It was really pretty and we all had a blast running up and down the paths and even ventured onto the rocky beach. Unfortunately, we kept the boys out too long and had a major meltdown on our looooong way back. ugh! It was still good to get out and see part of our pretty island. The top pic is Charley pointing at a plane I think. :) and the bottom pic is Ben in the back pack with Will and Charley all climbing on the rocks. It makes a great day or afternoon outing and the paths are stroller friendly for the most part, although
I'd still recommend a backpack for really little ones. http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=53543 is the web site for anyone who's interested in checking it out.