Adventure Chronicles: Mothers Day!

I had a really great Mother's Day this year!  We got away for a much needed family weekend, but more on that later.  First, a look at the awesome projects the kids did for me at school. 

Norah did a book, that included hand print artwork, coupons for various things, and - the highlight - the following list and picture.

My Mother
My Mother's name is... Shauna
My Mother's favorite color is... pink and purple
My Mother's favorite sport is ... tennis (!)
My Mother likes to ... paint with me :)
My Mother's favorite desert is... a chocolate/vanilla cookie
My Mother likes it when... I clean up my toys
I love it when my Mother... makes guacamole and I help her :)

The list was accompanied by this picture, of her and I painting at the table, including the 4 chairs!

Roddie also put together a book... it was a "Day in the Life" kind of thing, with various pictures of him throughout the day at school, with his own artwork in the background on each page.  All of the pictures are adorable, but the piece de resistance was the last page..

I love you too Buddy!

We went to our favorite weekend getaway location, New Hampshire, for the weekend.  We were able to leave around mid-day on Friday which extended the weekend a little.  We stayed at Eagle Mountain House, an old school New Hampshire Inn... featuring a dining room, beautiful front porch, 'bird cage' style elevator, and a suite for us on the 3rd floor!  Roddie loved walking up the three flights of stairs, and was immensely proud of himself each and every time we ascended!

Saturday was a beautiful day, and we decided to take the kids on a hike - the longest one they'd ever been on, at least under their own power, but one with a payoff at the end - a 200 foot waterfall!  Arethusa Falls are about 1.5 miles through the woods, and up about 800 feet from the trail head.  We started out with Roddie in the kid-backpack, but he soon decided he'd rather walk... and walk he did, for about 80% of the hike!  We nearly turned back after about 2 hours, but then a passer-by (in that they passed us both coming and going) told us we were nearly there... we persevered and were rewarded with the awesome view of the falls on a beautiful day... as we like to say to the kids "This is Livin!"  We were worried about the walk out, but some talk of waterfall princesses and their costumes kept Norah occupied, while Roddie kept insisting on "Own!" (ie on his own)  I was extremely proud of both kids, who seemed to enjoy themselves, and we're already thinking about what hike to tackle next!

Enjoying the view after the long hike up!

Pre Hike Photo... note, this was the only time Rod spent in the carrier!

Another View of the falls and the happy campers!

We rounded out Saturday with mass at Our Lady of the Mountains and dinner at an old favorite, Horsefeathers.  This left us free for Mother's Day brunch at the Red Fox and a lazy meander home, including a few stops to enjoy the scenery.

Mother's Day Happiness at the Red Fox

Cupcakes!

Stretching our Legs at Lincoln Woods