Pumpkin Picking

It's that time of year when even the most pickiest of children can be persuaded to venture outside in search of the perfect orange vegetable: the pumpkin.  Our two are no different, and we took Annabel & Thane to Treworgy Farm last weekend to select the perfect specimen for their Jack-o-lanterns.  Their standards are not particularly high.  Simply stated, their motto is: "The bigger, the better."

We also bought some freshly picked apples and spent a few minutes admiring the horses on this wonderful farm.

The Colors of Fall

It's autumn in New England - the very best time of the year as far as I am concerned.  And Mother Nature has pulled out all of the stops.  It's been a breathtaking year.

 

Keeping Busy

I tried to keep the kids busy while Jordan was out west hunting.  We went to southern Maine, scheduled play dates, shopped in Bangor, attended festivals & fairs and celebrated a birthday. 

Thane especially missed his Dad.  In part to cheer him up, Thane's teacher and classmates surprised him with camo cupcakes.  Best.cupcakes.ever.

We tried to spend as much time outside as we could, knowing that frigid temperatures will be coming soon.

We definitely missed Jordan, but we had a lot of fun.

Fairs, Farms and Family

Southern Maine and the Fair were a blast, but what was really special was getting to reunite with family for a couple of days.  Here's the Ahlquist clan that were able to hang out in Freyburg:

After the Fair we headed over to visit my Great Uncle Leon and Aunt Ann, who have a miniature horse farm.  The kids had so much fun feeding and looking after the horses.

Thane leaned on Uncle Carl to help out (literally!)

The next morning we had a wonderful breakfast with Uncle Ron and Aunt Sandy at Cracker Barrel.

What a wonderful weekend!

Fryeburg Fair

I have a confession to make.  I was raised in Maine and have lived here for over half of my life, but I've never been to the famed Fryeburg Fair.  I've always wanted to go, but I was either too young or too busy.  At long last, I can finally check that off my bucket list.  

The kids and I left Downeast Maine on a Friday afternoon, spent a short night in Scarborough, and then headed over to Fryeburg at 5:00am with my Uncle Carl, Aunt Judy & Cousin Liz.  The early bird truly gets the worm as we were the 7th & 8th cars in line.  What a day!

We visited the booths (here's Thane with the marine recruiters), shopped, viewed all of the animals in their respective barns and literally ate our way through the grounds.  In a rather foolish turn of events, we opted to go on the rides AFTER we ate - not the smartest thing we've ever done.

We met up with Uncle Dale, Cousin Katie and her two girls, and I even saw a few people from Machias including Christine, a co-worker from UMM who gave demonstrations on cranberry processing.

It was a chilly, smelly, loud, crowded, whirling, gut-splitting, hilarious day - and we wouldn't have wanted it any other way!