Spring Break with Jessica and Quin

We enjoyed two wonderful weeks with Jessica and Quin here during the boys' Spring Break.  They are flying home right now, so instead of being sad, I'll blog about the great time we had together.

Quin finally meeting Grandpa Dodge - best buddies!

Quin with Trevor, he even got Trevor to smile!

Quin with Curtis - he was nervous to hold Quin at first, but got better at it.

We went on a few day trips close by (Quin doesn't like his car seat or being put down for naps).

Jessica, Quin and I enjoyed the afternoon at the Butterfly Garden

After Jessica and I went to the temple, the boys met us and we went to North Bridge in Concord where the Revolutionary War began.

First day of Spring Break we played mini-golf at Mel's Funway

Nature Hike at the Audubon's Massabessic Center

Scenic Massabessic Lake (notice Jess' tick protection)

We went to the beach in New Castle NH

Curtis was the only one brave enough to go in the water

Quin loved feeling the sand (and even ate some)

Picture Perfect!  Jessica is a such a great mom--I'm so proud of her.  She says Quin makes her look good.

Our last outing was to the Shaker Village in Canterbury NH.  It's been a museum since the last Shakers left in the 1990's.

 It was interesting learning about the Shaker's history.  Only 3 are still alive. They are dying out becuase they don't believe in procreation.  I think communal living would have some benefits in the 1800's, but lack of privacy would be hard.

It was opening day and they had demonstrations such as butter churning, broom making, and the printing press.

We also enjoyed some down time at home, playing boards games, eating yummy meals...

Our 32 new chicks arrived (26 for meat, 6 more layers)

Quin: "Napping is OK as long as someone is holding me"

Quin "Jump Up" and exploring the hall closet

Relaxing in the Hot Tub - Quin loved it, but was hard to hold on to.

Winter's End

The snow is finally thawing and I feel it's safe to say this winter is finally at an end.  It was one of the coldest in decades, so we had major snow accumulation.  One or two storms a week of 8+ inches piled up in January thru mid March.  

I learned the hard way last winter--you have to clear the way for the mailman or you don't get mail

You may think I'm exaggerating because this shows what was "blown" off the driveway, but we still had to move the snow to get from the garage to the street, so you can still be impressed.

Our front walkway goes from puddle in afternoon to ice overnight as the days get warmer.

Pathway to the chicken yard

So, what do you do for fun in a long New England winter?  Winter sports!

Curtis and Trevor both improved their skiing skills.  Curtis took lessons thru the school ski club every Friday for two months and Trevor often came along to ski on his own.

 

We tried ice skating at the local park (very bumpy)

We decided it's much more fun at the indoor ICEnter

Curtis

 

Trevor's harder to capture because he moves so fast!

 We even went to our first professional ice hockey game (it's a big deal here).

Another thing we're trying for the first time is maple sugaring (it's kind of like making lemonade out of lemons).  Here's some pics of Trevor and Jonathan tapping our trees.

 

Here's the set up--tap, hose, milk jug

 Now that the afternoons are warm, the jugs are starting to fill up.  The downside is one gallon of maple sugar boils down to 1/4 cup syrup.  So, it's cheaper than the beehives, but not as much product to show for it.

Jonathan, Curtis and Trevor went on a winter campout with the YM.  They did lots of outdoor activities, but slept in cabins with woodstoves (the high temps were in the 20s and lows below zero).

November 2013

The last two months have really flown by.  I was called as Relief Society president in a newly formed ward the beginning of October.  The responsibilities are overwhelming at times, but I have really enjoyed getting involved and better acquainted with sisters in this new ward.

Here are a few highlights from November:

We butchered our 16 Cornish hens on a cold Saturday

2 missionaries from church helped all morning - took hours to pull all the feathers off

It took several more hours to gut, portion and bag the birds.  They weigh about 5 lbs each and taste great!

Jonathan's twin brother, Nathan, spent a few days with us before they both flew to Boise to visit their parents and brothers Rusty & Keith.  They had a great time at this mini-reunion.

Pre-Thanksgiving dinner.  On Thanksgiving day, Sheryl and the boys went to some friends, the Hensches, for dinner.

Day after Thanksgiving, Curtis and I went to the Museum of Science in Boston.  It is a huge, interactive museum. 

The coolest exhibit was about how Pixar makes it's animated films.

The road less traveled (Fall in New England)

Our latest venture in hobby farming--raising 16 cornish hens for meat.  These cute baby chicks quickly outgrew the bins in our closet and Trevor and Jonathan had to quickly partition the chicken yard and build them a coop (with heat lamp).  They are growing so fast and will be big enough to butcher at 8 weeks!  

My parents came to visit for a week.  I rearranged my work schedule so I could spend the whole time with them.  We had a wonderful time visiting historical places, walking in the woods, and hanging out with the family.

 We spent a day in Concord, MA.  First at the Orchard House where Louisa May Alcott lived with her family and wrote Little Women.  We went to the Concord Historical Museum that had exhibits from 1600's to present day.  Important events in the Revolutionary War (shot heard round the world) and Civil War occurred here.  Also many prominent writers settled here in the 1800's and were friends: Alcott, Emerson, Longfellow, Thoreau

This is beautiful Walden Pond where Thoreau lived in a hut and wrote.  We hiked the perimeter of the lake (about two miles) and enjoyed the fall colors.  It is very peaceful here.

 The next day Jonathan joined us.  We visited the Robert Frost farm in nearby Londonderry.  He lived there with his young family early in his writing career and it was the inspiration for a lot of his writing throughout his life.  Frost wasn't a good farmer, but really loved being out in nature.

 After lunch at a cute diner (fried pickles-don't try these at home), we went to Stonehenge is Salem, NH.  This is one of the compass points that is astronomical.  There are stone dwellings dated back to BC.

Trevor accompanied us on many nature walks

 On Saturday, we took the boys with us and went to visit some property in Maine we are thinking of buying.  It is very wooded with a few trails through it.  It is 90 minutes north of where we live but only five miles from the coast.

Curtis braved the wind to dig in the sand

We went for a blustery walk along Marginal Way in Perkins cove.  I love the rocky Maine coastline--it reminds me of the Oregon Coast.

We played lots of board games. Trevor and Grandpa were evenly matched.

Monday afternoon we went for a walk through the woods at the Audubon Center in Auburn.  This is the shore of Lake Massebesic.  I love autumn in New England!!!