Cousins

We are fortunate that we got to spend time with all of the girls cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents at Christmastime this year. Even though we don't get to see Kieran and Uncle John often, the girls had a great time playing and reading with them.

O Christmas Tree

A week before Christmas we headed out to the land we own on the other side of town to get our Christmas tree, as we've done almost every year with the girls. It was bitter cold but sunny, and there was snow so deep that the best mode of transportation was by sled.

This year's tree, waiting to be carefully packed into the car.

After some revitalizing hot cocoa and snacks, the girls were excited to hang up the lights and ornaments. They were very good at helping each other put the ornaments on the branches.

Just add water

Two parts corn starch to one part water. It's more like a liquid than flubber, and just as much fun! My favorite part was watching it run through the metal strainer. Bridget believes that it is a great material for body art.

Chester Greenwood

The inventor of earmuffs, Chester Greenwood is one of Farmington's most famous citizens - after snowboarder Seth Wescott, of course. To celebrate Greenwood's achievement the town puts on a parade in early December each year. It's a great excuse to get outside for a bit in September, and just as much fun as the 4th of July parade...although a bit chillier. Below are the girls sitting in Doug's lap, all bundled up.

Lots of people wear earmuffs, and they appear on almost all the floats:

Usually there are all kinds of entries in the parade, but the bitter cold this year seemed to deter some of the regulars like the draft horses and larger-than-life puppet troupe. The girls were just as thrilled to see a snow plow:

...and Santa!

Snow Day!

We're all home from school. The perfect day for a sled ride with your sister!

Train Love

Sure, we enjoyed a tasty and fun Thanksgiving meal with Doug's family. We also went to the beach, saw Cath's rabbit and guinea pig, and played the piano at Grammy and Granpa's house.

But, the highlight of the holiday was a train ride to Cambridge! We joined the crowd exiting southern Maine last Friday and rode the Downeaster to North Station. The girls were fascinated with everything you could see out the windows, especially coming into the city.

We met Granma and Granpa D in Cambridge for lunch, and Uncle Neil treated us to a visit to the natural history museum at Harvard.

We had a great time walking through Harward Yard picking up leaves, and the girls went crazy in the museum. Fossils! Birds! Eggs! Beetles! What's this? Look at that!

Not only did we ride the train, but we took the subway and rode the escalators. The excitement level was pretty much off the charts all day, leading to...

The First Snowy Day

Just a moment to post a few photos from the first snowstorm. I'll be back later with our Thanksgiving weekend adventures.

Who knew that just an inch or so of snow could be this much fun? The girls were ecstatic to play in the yard, and didn't want to come inside. The snow was even moist enough to put together a snowman, although Bridget was very upset that we didn't have carrots for his nose.

Center Hill

Center Hill is a beautiful spot in the middle of Mt. Blue state park. From the overlook, you can see Tumbledown, Saddleback, and Mt. Blue as well as the smaller hills that surround Webb Lake.

Sunday afternoon we went for a walk on the scenic overlook trail from the picnic area. We were out for just about an hour, and the girls walked most of the time.


They were really excited to see a little bit of snow on the ground! It was the impetus to run all the way up the hill to find out if they could make footprints in it. It was a bit chilly, so they're pretty bundled up in the pictures, but they were in a fantastic mood the whole time and didn't mind being cold. Moriah is on the left, Bridget is on the right below.

This picture shows off some of the view (which doesn't show as well when you focus on people). Tumbledown and Jackson are right in the center. This is the view west. I have some temperature data loggers that are frozen into the pond on Tumbledown now. Here's hoping they don't get too banged up!

New Look for Monkeys

I'm trying a new template that's a bit cleaner, and I hope easier to read. All the old posts are still here.

The new look could also refer to the haircuts the girls gave themselves last week. We're not certain exactly who cut what hair, but there's a big chunk missing from the crown of Moriah's head and Bridget's bangs are very, very short.

She would like to cut YOUR hair! Look out.

Crafty

We're spending more time indoors as the daylight wanes, and the girls excited about some new creative opportunities.

Painting is a big hit! We've turned the living room into a gallery of their recent works both at home and from playgroup. They each have their own distinctive style; Moriah tends to work very carefully and deliberately, often only applying small stripes or circles of color. Bridget loves to apply lots of paint and mix the colors around.

I made some flubber for class the other day, and brought home some of the leftovers. For the uninitiated, flubber is in the same family as silly putty, but easier to work with. The girls love - they can break it, roll it, stamp it, bounce it, squish it...you get the picture.

Using their safety scissors and playing with stickers are also big hits. We bought some nice alphabet stickers in town today, and Bridget's first idea was to put them on the wall. They've also gotten creative with the scissors - I'll save that for another post. We'll continue to keep an eye on them while they're crafting.

Arrrr, Mateys! Halloween!

This was the first year the girls went trick-or-treating. They stayed out for over an hour, covering about a mile of neighborhood and pulling in some great loot. They loved dressing up as pirates, and would say "Arrr, Matey" and "Shiver me timbers" sometimes. They wore some birds pinned on their shoulders as parrots, pirate boots, and special pirate socks (my knee socks) over their pants. I made their hats out of a sheet of posterboard and some white chalk.

Their friend Alex and his dad came over to go trick-or-treating with us since they live out of town, and we all got a kick out of his Spiderman costume.

The girls helped me cut the jack-o-lanterns the night before. Moriah asked for a happy one, and Bridget asked for a scary one.

Now We Are Three!

The girls celebrated their birthday with grandparents and friends galore. They had a great time partying all afternoon and into the evening. We had three of their buddies and parents over for cupcakes and playtime in the afternoon, and they all went to town with the helium balloons and punching balloons that we had. We received so many lovely new books as gifts, and the girls have asked to read them over and over.

They are very excited to be three!


Highlights included:

Balloons

Cheeseheads

Blue and purple cupcakes (Bridget asked for blue, Moriah asked for purple)

Outside playtime with friends

Hugs from Granpa Daly!

Potato Hill: The Return

With the colors peaking in the hills nearby, we headed up Potato Hill again ten days ago with Phaedra. The girls were happy to enjoy a snack on top, a fantastic view, and we were able to squeeze in one last hike with Phaedra during her visit to Maine. We hope she comes back soon, or we'll have to go to New Zealand.

The girls think Phaedra is the greatest hiking buddy! She carried Moriah on her shoulders on Saddleback and Potato Hill. They were very excited that she came to visit, and I'm so pleased that they were relaxed and very friendly even though they haven't seen her in a year. She got lots of hugs and kisses when she said goodbye.

Moriah, Phaedra, and Bridget

Moriah and Mt Blue in the background.

A rare photo of me with the girls.

Wedding

What a great time we had at Dave and Mouse's wedding this past weekend!

The girls were flowergirls, and enjoyed wearing their special dresses. Here they're coloring before the start of the ceremony.

Mouse and Dave!

We had a lot of fun playing in the leaves outside the chapel. The girls had a terrific time at the reception, and really danced the day away. It was too good to capture on film.

Fair season

September weekends were busy with fairs. The local county fair and the Common Ground Country Fair overlap, so we devoted one Saturday morning to each. The girls loved them both! They were most excited about seeing and petting the animals. I was most excited to visit the fiber tent at Common Ground with Phaedra, but I managed not to make any yarn purchases.


Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures at Common Ground because we were busy feeding sheep, listening to music, sliding down hills, watching sheepdogs, eating falafel, and buying apples. We did get to meet up with Phaedra, and see her put her pin on the world map to show that she had come all the way from New Zealand.


The Franklin County Fair had fewer people, but just as much fun. See below!

Sheep, white and black

Mama and baby donkeys
Cows getting washed up for their showings

Tomatoes

Three varieties are coming in these days. Doug only likes the really red ones - he says the unusual color (on the left) puts him off. More for the rest of us! The girls love to eat these fresh, in salads, on pizza...you name it.

Wonderland

Bridget told me that Bar Harbor was "all closed up now" today. I guess summer has really come to an end? We were talking about our visit to Wonderland, and I remembered that I hadn't put any pictures here from our walk there in July.

It's a little bit of a walk from the parking area to the beach, so we had to take lots of breaks to play in the puddles.

Both girls really enjoyed playing with all the different kinds of seaweed on the beach, and investigating the little creatures they found hiding there. Here's Moriah holding some Irish Moss.

Wire Bridge

Just off Rt 2 to the north of us is this beautiful bridge crossing the Carrabassett River. It still takes car traffic, but there is a small parking area on either side for those who like to walk. Below the bridge on the east side of the river is a small park and beach, perfect for a quick splash on a Saturday morning!