Fall, Changes, and the "Pumpkin Patch"

Fall and Changes

With the fall season comes changes. The falling leaves, the crispness to the air, and the wind. Fall is one of my favorite times of the year! It is the beginning to some of my favorite weather and holidays. Hopefully this fall will be one to be remembered for years to come!

Our little family has been busy! We have been trying to get all of the outside work done at the house in preparation for winter and snow! Rob built a woodshed over the summer and it is now fully stocked with cut and split wood! Over the weekend we spread two truck loads of compost in our yard and flower beds. We got it free from the City of Worcester. It's pretty progressive of them I think. They take all the yard waste from people's yards and all the leaves that they collect in the fall and turn it into compost! Compost is free to Worcester residents. Rob built me a beautiful raised bed, which has now been filled with compost, to grow veggies in next year! Rob has also been working on the car, our little $360 car, a Subaru Legacy. He wants to get the maintenance (ie new brakes, rotors, etc.) finished before it gets too cold to work outside comfortably. We pray the little car lasts at least another couple of years.

In September, we got a swing set for Clay and he would spends hours being pushed on the swings if there was someone who would do it for him. He usually can get a good half-hour out of me and then when Daddy gets home, more swing time with him. Granny and Grandpa Wannamaker are coming to visit in November, so Clay is hoping that they will want to spend lots of time outdoors pushing him on the swing. That's what grandparents are for, right? Also, coming to visit in November are Aunt Cassie, Uncle Kevin, and Jack! We haven't seen Jack since April, so we are excited to see how much he has grown! Plus it will be fun to see how the "cousins" get along with each other. We've got big plans for some sightseeing and tourist activities while they are here!


The "Pumpkin Patch"

After church last Sunday, we spent the afternoon at Tougas Family Farm! It was a beautiful fall day with just the right amount of crispness to the air. Our original plan was to get pumpkins for carving, but the selection was pretty slim. Not to mention the fact that the pumpkins were all prepicked and brought in. They were then laid on the ground in the "pumpkin patch" for people to "pick", kinda lame if you ask me. We ended up with a couple of little pumpkins to take home for the front porch, but too small to really carve. Clay's pumpkin patch experience this year was so much different. Last year he was in a backpack on my back and this year he is walking and picking out his own pumpkins. He would have taken home every squash there if allowed. He also enjoyed sitting on the pumpkins which was pretty cute. He would run over to a new one and sit on it! He is a silly kid. It wasn't until we were leaving the pumpkin patch that we read the sign that said "Please Don't Sit on the Pumpkins", oops!! Even so we had a great time feeding the goats and watching the chickens. We also enjoyed some hot, fresh apple cider donuts and apple cider itself, not to mention the hot dog that Rob just had to have. This coming Saturday we are planning a bigger trip to Marshall Farms in Fitchburg, MA, to pick pumpkins out of the field.

Well I will post some pictures soon!

Clay in the Morning!

Ashland State Park, Asland, MA

There are a lot of reservoirs in Massachusetts and Ashland Reservoir (located in Ashland State Park) is one of them. Last week we took an evening and went to Ashland State Park. It was nice to get out of our hotel room in the evening once Rob was home from work and dinner was done!!

Clay loved the water (he got his shoes all wet)! He has no fear of water and was ready to walk right! It took a tight hold on his hand to keep him out of the water.

Clay also loved the sand on the beach! He could have spent hours playing in the sand if we had the time!

Rob and Clay checked out the lifeguard's stand. It's not in use this year because the park isn't open due to budget cuts. They probably just don't have enough money to pay somebody to collect money for park usage.

Clay is always into meeting new people, especially animals. I think he misses his dogs. Every time he sees a dog his entire face lights up! Although this is not his dog, Clay sure had a good time following her around on the beach. I think that the dog was hoping that Clay had some food!

Bunker Hill Monument and Morning Walks

Bunker Hill Monument

Since we are currently living in a hotel, we are left with a lot of spare time. Our days which were previously filled with a never ending house remodel, a PhD thesis, a newborn, and work, are now strangely empty. So as not to get too stir crazy and since when are staying at a hotel, we might as well play tourist! So last Sunday we drove into Boston to see the Bunker Hill Monument. Yes, we have been there multiple times before, but somehow have never had a chance to climb to the top, all 294 stairs. That may not seem like a big climb, but the stairs were steep and wound up the column. Needless to say my legs were sore the next day! We also took the time to visit the Bunker Hill Museum across the street. It was nice to get out and about

The warning sign at the bottom of the column.

Clay was ready to climb all 294 steps by himself.......

But he ended up getting a ride from Dad!

Of course we had to check out the view!

At last we are back at the bottom!

Morning Walks

Since Rob goes to work every day (for those who don't know he got a job with the Department of Veteran's Affairs as an industrial hygienist) and Clay and I spend a lot of our time hanging around the hotel. For awhile we didn't even have a second car! To pass the time and because it's good exercise, Clay and I go for a jog/walk every morning. At this time Clay is really interested in the world around him! He is really involved with everything he sees. He is very hands on, but he also takes the time to sit back and really evaluate what he is seeing. He is alays dicovering something new on our walks and sometimes I take the camera.......

I can't get enough of him!

Days are hot, walks are long, so you've got to take along your water!

Checking out the flowers.

Good to touch!

Memorial Day Weekend

We spent Memorial Day Weekend together as a family. Being as we are back in Massachusetts it's just the 3 of us again. We decided to spend Memorial Day itself hiking at Wachusett Mountain in Princeton, MA. Wachusett Mountain is only 2,006 feet in elevation, but still it is one of the highest peaks in the state. One of the things I notice most when hiking here is the difference in the forest itself. There is very little underbrush compared to that in the Pacific Northwest and so you can really "see through the trees", nothing to get in your way. Our hike was about 3.5 miles including the Jack Frost Trail, High Meadow Trail, and Echo Lake Trail (yes there is a lake). We had a nice lunch sitting on a big rock at the top of the mountain! Afterwards, we enjoyed some wonderful ice cream at Meola's, an ice cream stand. Clay feel asleep in the car on the way home. I guess hiking is really hard work!

Clay riding high on Mom's back.

He loved every second of our hike!

A family shot at lunchtime.

Clay enjoying his lunch! YUM!

Happy 1st Birthday Clay!!!

Clay meets "Chuck"!

So I am a little late with this post, but we celebrated Clay's 1st birthday on December 30, 2008. We had a wonderful evening spent with family. Rob decided that we should take Clay to Chuck E. Cheese's for his birthday and so we did. We got a bunch of tokens to play the different games that were there. Clay's favorites were the "Punch-a-Duck" game and anything that could be driven. We also got to me the big mouse himself, Chuck E. Cheese, and Clay seemed most interested in his nose. We came home later for cake and presents. It was a great way to celebrate Clay's birthday!

Clay likes cake!

The Plumbing Inspector

Here is a little video clip of Clay that I thought you might get a laugh out of! Enjoy!