Friday, November 4, 2011

Indian summer to Halloween snow

Coming off of our vacation to Puerto Rico was a letdown, but we stayed busy in September. Here is Dad's company picnic at Kimball Farm. Caroline is big enough for the bumper boats.

The bubble rings were more Erin's speed

Caroline reunited with her old pony friend Po for not one but two pony rides

Erin couldn't be wooed by the ponies, but she did give the driving range a try...

...where she quickly learned that throwing the ball was way better than trying to hit it with a funny looking stick. Smart girl.

Lately we've been bringing home lots of artwork from Caroline and usually it has mirror writing. According to the Internet this is a common practice in four year-olds and simply means that she has mastered laterality but not directionality. Thanks to The Shining all mirror writing by toddlers kind of creeps me out.

We met Claire & Peter and co. in NY. This time Heather got in on the fish catching.

We re-enacted the 10-year anniversary of Claire & Peter's wedding

We had four flower girls

Erin will finally cooperate with the camera

Happy Anniversary

You all may be seeing this photo again come holiday season

I've been trying all year to get a picture of both girls smiling and here it is!

The older girls

The October 30th freak snowstorm spared our neighborhood. We received ~4 inches of wet snow but our trees were fine. Elsewhere in town there was widespread tree damage and 70% of the homes lost electricity. School was cancelled for two days and the town tried to officially postpone Halloween until November 5th.

We flouted the rules and trick-or-treated anyway. Despite the cold weather and icy sidewalks the girls took in a respectable haul.



Erin isn't as cooperative as her sister in front of the camera. We did get her to say a few of her particular pronunciations.


Caroline will still sing her own songs, bless her heart. One wonders where this one would have gone had Erin (sans pants) not interrupted it.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Vamos a la playa

This year we splurged on a getaway beach vacation to Puerto Rico. We were joined by two of Dave's college friends and their families. Besides Caroline and Erin there was another 4 year-old and two 1 year-olds. We stayed in a huge villa in Dorado that had access to pools, water parks and ocean beaches. It was low season because of the hurricane risk and we hit the lottery with perfect weather that dodged two tropical storms. Good friends, good food, good beaches, good weather - que perfecta!

The water in the ocean was 80s and the kids could stay in for hours

On our second night we put the kids to bed early and hired a private chef for a grown-up dinner

One of our delicious tapas courses. (Ansel came down to join the party)

At the big splash park with life-jacketed Erin

Dad helps Corinne play on the fountain deck

Dad & Caroline in the lazy river

We each took turns preparing pina coladas. Jon's recipe was the best.

Back at the ocean beach. The breakwater was key for making this beach so fun. Otherwise we would have been pounded by tropical storm-force waves.

At the airport-themed playground

Pilot Ansel and co-pilot Caroline

Back at the hacienda

Our only outing was to old San Juan. It was a long hot slog up the hill to the sites.

The long march to the fort

But the view of San Juan harbor was spectacular

Heading back home on the ferry with exhausted kids

There was another kiddie pool playground in the complex that was completely deserted. It was our own private pool.

Running away from the troll under the bridge

And the perfect poolside snack, Doritos!

We even made it out to the outlet malls to load up at Gymboree for the fall

Erin needed a full hosing off after this popsicle

Our final night we ate dinner at the ocean beachside cabana

Caroline colored to pass the time as we waited for dinner service to start

Family photo

Ansel & Caroline had a lot of fun together

Hanging at the bar

Three amigos. We missed you Andy and Keith, wherever you are.

Cinco ninos bonitos


Listen to those tree frogs


Adios Puerto Rico