Honey Pot Hill Orchards

Today was the perfect day to go apple picking! Bright blue skies, warm temps, and TONS of big apples ready and waiting to be picked. This was our third year going to Honey Pot in Stow. It's a bit of drive (a little over an hour) but so worth it. We started the day with a hay ride out to the orchard, spent some time picking lots of apples (and a few pears), then took another hay ride back to where we started. Then came one of our favorite parts of the day - fresh made, hot apple cider donuts - YUM!










A woolly bear catepillar - looks like
we are in for a long winter!!






Jack enjoying a donut!




Drew drives a tractor.

Big Boy Jack

We never thought we'd see this day.... Last night marked a HUGE milestone for Jack. Not only did he not wear an overnight diaper (this part isn't that surprising since he's been dry in the morning for a long time now) but he also.... drum roll please.... did not sleep with his duck (pacifier)!!!!!!!!!!!! He initiated all of it saying, "I want to wear underwear all night like a big boy. Oh, and big boys don't have ducks either". We jumped right on it, praising him up and down for a being a big boy and telling him how proud we were of him, fully expecting that he might give us a fight when he went to bed. But no, he went right to bed no problem, with his duck laying on top of his dresser so that he could see it, but not reach it. We've asked him to give up the duck many times before (he uses it only in bed and sometimes on long car rides especially when they are at night or around bed time) and as recently as a couple of weeks ago, trying to tie it in with going to kindergarten. But he was ready in his own time and it was wonderful to have it come from him. Way to go Jack - we are so proud of you!!

Jack Plays Soccer

All last year we heard, "When I'm five and in kindergarten, I can play soccer". Well, the day Jack has been waiting for finally arrived - today was his first day of soccer! The first 1/2 hour consisted of drills and then they played 4x4 for the second 1/2. There were a lot of goals scored (they don't use goalies) and it was hard to keep track of the score, but Jack got the last goal of the game! He was so excited and had a great time!!

Swim Lessons

Jack started his new session of swim lessons today. We usually went on Saturday mornings, but since soccer is on Saturdays, we thought we'd try something new and go mid-week. And what a difference! They have the entire pool to themselves and there are only 3 of them in the class - in his last class there was 8 and one instructor and at least four other lessons going on in the same pool!! And the new instructor, Chris, is fantastic. He's great at teaching them, but also pals around with them too and gives a lot of high-fives and words of encouragement. I have a feeling Jack is going to learn a lot from Chris and will be really swimming by the end of the session!! GO JACK!

After his lesson, he wanted to use the hair dryer to dry up a bit before going home. It was too cute (and funny) not to take a picture - the dryer is as big as he is!!

Drew's First Day of Preschool

Drew started preschool today! Hard to believe he's old enough to be going to school... We went earlier this week and met his teachers and saw his classrooms (he's in two different programs so he will be in two different rooms with two sets of teachers each week), so he was very excited to start today, meet his new friends, and play on the playground (which is what he remembered most)!

When we got to his classroom we hung up his backpack and went to wash his hands - the school has a very strict hand washing policy and the first thing you do when you enter the classroom is wash your hands. After he was all cleaned up, he was off! He wasn't sure what he wanted to do first, but ended up painting an apple and was taking it very seriously! This lasted about 3-5 minutes and I knew it was a good time to sneak out. I asked for a good-bye hug, but Drew wasn't too interested and said "Bye Mom! See you later!"... I forced a big hug out of him and said I'd be back soon to pick him up. A bit sad to see our little guy growing up....

When I returned, they were out on the playground having a great time! Drew said they sang songs, had snack, and read a book... sounds like a great first day to me! YAY Drew!

Drew's New Helmet

A a new bell for his bike too!

Jack's First Day of Kindergarten!

WOW - can't believe that Jack is in kindergarten now! Thankfully he was very excited about going and riding the "big bus" with the "big kids". He had a great first day and is excited about his new teacher and new friends!

New Pool

The hotel has a new pool so we ventured over there today to check it out. And boy, it is beautiful!! The boys had a blast - Drew kept swallowing water because he couldn't stop smiling (or laughing... or singing...) and Jack made some friends and was playing lots of water games with the "big kids".

Make Way for Ducks

Some feathered friends were looking for some food so Jack started to feed them bread. But he was going a little too slow for the duck, who got very aggressive! Then Drew gets in on the action and is chasing the ducks with the bread... This shows their personalities so perfectly!! Jack, more reserved and cautious, and Drew, a wild man chasing after the animals!

Birch Point Beach State Park

Another place we like to go to is Birch Point State Park. It was high tide and the beach wasn't as big as it was last year, but we climbed on the rocks and still had lots of fun!

Drew Gardens

Cedar Works

One of our favorite things to do in Maine is go to Cedar Works and play on all of their massive swing sets. The boys could spend hours and hours (and from the last picture, Daddy too!). Because no matter how big and how beautiful your own swing set is at home, someone else's is ALWAYS better!

Soccer Gear

We drove up to Maine yesterday and one of things on our list to do was to get Jack some soccer gear. His season starts on the 12th and he needed cleats, a size 3 ball, and shin guards. Josh and I took him over to Maine Sport and after trying on 4 different pairs of cleats, he finally decided on the ones he wanted. He's sooooo excited about playing soccer!!

While we were there, Jack climbed into the kayaks for some fun!





When we got back to the house, he wanted to try out the cleats and have "soccer practice" with Daddy.