Out and about!

Today was the last day of Jacks library toddler program...we're pretty bummed out, Jack really enjoyed going every week.  Today he got to participate in one of the stories by putting a flower up on the story board!  Then we made a bookmark, so Jack and I can keep reading all summer long!  The good news is, there is a summer reading program that we can take part in and it sounds like their are going to be really nice events that we can go to such as the Mystic Aquarium touch tank there!  A great big thank you to Miss Anne and Miss Kathy who put on such a great program that Jack got to take part in for the last couple of years!

Later in the day, we had to run to Norwich to sign our tax papers, so we decided to grab a quick letterbox while we were there!  I'm glad we did...it was located near the town green, and you had to walk up a steep set of rock steps to the top of a huge cliff.  I knew the stairs were there, but I never realized what was up on top!  What a view!  There is a huge cross and many benches and you can see all of Norwichtown! 

Jack liked being able to see the hospital where he was born, and we got a very up close view of the LifeStar helicopter going by!

Jack found the letterbox pretty quick and really liked the stamp for this one...a lizard! 

Now, some garden work at home, dinner over Marks moms house then off to work for me!

letterboxing and animals!

Yesterday, Jack and I decided to try out our new letterboxing stamps that I carved!  Our first letterbox was in Lisbon, on a trail behind the Congregational Church on Rt. 169.  I never even realized their was a trail there, so I was glad we did this one! 
It's the Newent Woods Heritage Trail and Old Lee Road...a road that goes through the woods that is no longer used.  Jack and I had such a nice time walking this trail, talking about everything from preschool (that he'll be going to in September) to what animals are in the woods and where they could be hiding!  I wish I could hold on to that moment forever...

The trail led us down to Bicentennial Park, where we found the remains of the Asa Griswold homestead...and found our first letterbox of the day! 

Jack stamped his gecko stamp into the book and signed his name!!

Right near the letterbox was railroad tracks...Jack thought that was pretty cool, he's never seen REAL tracks before, just the ones on his train table!

Jack checked out the different shape leaves just starting to pop from the trees and the ground after a long winter!  He liked this fern...he said it looked like a big feather!

We really enjoyed our time on this trail...lots to see and explore!!

On to our next letterbox.....we headed over to a very familiar spot.  It was where Josie's General Store used to be in Canterbury...unfortunately, they closed down last month.  With the road being closed right down the street, they just couldn't stay open.  We know the owners Rob and Julie.  They have a beautiful spot there, with a little pond and a bunch of cute animals.  There are still goats, chickens, a llama, an alpaca, a peacock to see there, and they are pretty friendly.  They came running over to greet us at the gate as soon as we pulled in!   This black goat is Einstein!  Jack loved feeding him some hay!  Their are some really friendly chickens too!

This is a place that Jack and I like to visit often...it's so pretty and peaceful!!  There is now a new store there, a chocolate store...but it was closed when we were there.  Their is a letterbox hidden here as well as a geocache (that Jack and I hid ourselves!).  We found the letterbox quickly....

Jack and I stamped our books then said goodbye to our animal friends.......on to our last letterbox of the day!

Our last letterbox was in Hopeville State Park in Griswold.  We found a couple there last week, but there are still a bunch to find!  We walked across the big field at the park and Jack found two golf balls in the grass!  People always practice their golf swings there, so you can usually find a golf ball if you look hard enough!  Jack spotted the letterbox in a stone wall underneath some loose rocks! 

Well, I think we did pretty good...3 in one day (and some quality bonding time too!)

Thanks for another great day my little buddy!

Easter...take two! And letterboxing!!!!!!!

Today we had an Easter Egg Hunt!  I know it's a week late, and we've already done a few of them, but Jacks grandmother (My husbands mom) has one every year at her house.  This year, it was scheduled for the day before Easter, but my niece and nephew were both very sick Easter weekend.  We postponed it until today so that all five kids could participate!

Namie (That's what the kids call Jacks grandmother) hides so many eggs and puts quarters inside instead of candy!!  She even hides a few 'special' ones with a dollar inside!!  This year we had it over my sister-in-laws house.  She lives next door to us, so it was nice just walking over.  The kids had a great time, and Jack ended up collecting 28 eggs (and a total of $7.75!).  He quickly added it to his piggy bank...he's been saving his money to buy a car when he's older.  (Yes, he came up with that on his own!).  He's been collecting water bottles as we finish them to collect the 5 cents per bottle.

Here are a couple of pictures from the egg hunt....

When we got home, I got started on making rubber stamps for our new hobby, letterboxing!  It's pretty similar to geocaching, but you hand carve your own personalized stamp that you use to stamp the notebook in each letterbox.  It's your own personal 'trademark!'.  Inside each letterbox that you find, is a handcarved stamp that is made especially for that box.  You use that stamp to stamp your notebook that you carry with you.  You end up collecting stamps from all of the letterboxes that you find!  Pretty cool!  We've seen some really nice stamps, their are a lot of talented people out there!

Here are the stamps I hand carved myself today....not too bad for a rookie!

This one is mine....it's my favorite bird (bluebird) sitting on top of a branch.  I love bird watching!!  It's a pretty simple design, but it was my first time making stamps myself.  My 'trail name' is Jacksmom726 on http://letterboxing.org/ and on http://atlasquest.com/.

This stamp is the one I made for Jack....he really wanted a gecko, and I think it is kind of cute!  Again, it's pretty simple, but he really likes it, and I am pretty proud of myself for making them!  His 'trail name' is JackZag.

Fun in the sun!

You've got to love New England....one day it will be sleet and rain and in the 40's, the next day it's hot and sunny and in the 80's! 

Today was one of those out of the ordinary days....it hit 91 degrees, that HAS to be a record breaker!!

The last couple of days, actually, have been pretty nice!  Jack has been really enjoying this weather, after being stuck in the house for most of the winter months!

This picture was taken at Jacks grandmothers house on Easter Sunday, it was warm and we decided to play soccer with Jack.  He loves running after the ball and kicking it....I totally picture that being the sport for him!  Check out his expression...I love it!

Yesterday we went to a playdate then decided to find some geocaches....I use an iPhone with a geocaching application to find them so Jack decided that he would bring his (plastic toy) phone with him to help him 'find' the cache.  He must have spotted it pretty quickly, because he picked up his phone, said "My phone is telling me that the box is hidden under this rock...." and then proceded to grab it!  LOL!  He was pretty excited, it was a new cache just hidden a week ago, so the things inside were pretty cool.  He ended up taking a cool motorcycle keychain toy!

This is the sunset that we all enjoyed last night from our deck...I made some mandarin sesame chicken on the grill, and we ate outside for the first time this year!  Hooray for great weather!!

Today we had the toddler program at the library and got a nice surprise!  The Easter party that was supposed to be last week was cancelled due to the flooding, and many of the moms decided that they would bring in stuff to have the party today!  We listened to a couple of stories, made a cute Easter egg craft, then enjoyed some yummy treats!

We had to run a few errands, but decided we couldn't pass up being outside on this gorgeous day, so we headed to Hopeville Pond State Park to try some letterboxing!  We've been meaning to do this for a while, but for whatever reason never reallly got the chance to do it.  One of the moms at the library and her family do letterboxing, and have a few hidden at that park.  We headed out and had a great time!  (although it was very hot, I got much needed excercise pushing Jack around in the stroller!!)  We took a long walk around the beach area, the campground and on some trails.  Jack thought it was pretty cool using stamps to fill up his little notebook, and stamped his dragonfly stamp in the notebook in the boxes!  Pretty cool! We'll definitely have to keep up this hobby!

After walking around the park for a while, we decided it was time to soak our feet in the pond...another great day with my favorite little guy!! 

Easter Weekend!

I just wanted to share with you many of the pictures that we took over Easter weekend. 

It started with the kids checking out their Easter baskets, followed by a egg hunt....Easter bunny left about 60 eggs out in the side yard for the kids to find!!  The girls had to go back to their moms house, then Mark, Jack and I had Easter dinner at my in-laws house and went down to the stream behind where they live.  Jack had a great time throwing rocks and sticks into the water and having fun crossing the stream with Daddy!

We're going to head to my Moms in a couple weeks to have a 'late' Easter dinner!  :)

I hope you enjoy our pictures!

I guess we didn't make out as well as I thought with the flood....

At the beginning of the week, we had heavy rains for days.  Our area got over 8 inches of rain!  So many homes and businesses ended up flooded and some people are still not able to go back to their houses due to unsafe conditions or lack of electricity.  We bought our house only a little over a year ago, and didn't really know how the basement would make out with all of that rain, but thankfully it stayed dry.  We were fortunate enough to walk away with no problems......  OR SO WE THOUGHT!

I got home from work late last night to find a note in the kitchen from my husband saying we had no water....no brushing my teeth, using the bathroom and no shower.  Great.  All it said was "No water, call the well company in the morning".  That can't be good!!  I knew our well pump and tank were very old and we'd have to replace it sooner or later, but we were hoping for 'later'!  Come to find out, the little underground cement thing out in the backyard that holds the well tank and pump was under 10 feet of water!  It shorted out the well pump.  My 70 degree day where I was planning on going out geocaching and possibly visiting my sister and niece ended up being a day where I called all over looking for someone with a pump.  I called the Lisbon Fire Department and thankfully they were able to pump us out!  Hooray!!  Jack liked that the fire departments truck came to our house!  THANK YOU LISBON FIRE DEPARTMENT!!

Next, we needed to have the well people come out...I was really afraid that because it was the holiday weekend, we may not get anyone out to help us until Monday, but thankfully (again!!) they came out, replaced the holding tank and fixed the pump!  Thank you Riley's Heating and Plumbing!!

While they were here working on it, Jack and I enjoyed a little lunch out on the deck.  Jack had fish sticks and applesauce....Mmmmm!! 

We played on the swings, the slide, on the bouncer, played T-ball, built sand castles and colored on the driveway with sidewalk chalk!  What a great time we had!!  It was so beautiful outside!

Check out this cool castle and road that we made!  Of course, Jack thought it would be fun to 'bull-doze' it over right after I took the picture!

I made this little flower on the driveway, then Jack added his own flower and even a sun shining over in the corner! 

You're becoming quite an artist my little buddy!  Just like Daddy!

A lazy sunny day....

Today, the sun finally came out and it made it to 60 degrees!  We're getting there!  The weekend is supposed to be up in the high 60's maybe even 70 degrees!!  Woo hoo!!

We had a pretty uneventful day today...lounged around in the morning, then headed outside for lunch and for some fresh air time!!

Jack spotted the first flower of spring....some daffodils!  Then it was off to climb the apple tree!!

I love this one of Jack and Sasha!  They were just playing fetch and sat in the shade to relax!