MonkeyBoy and Flower Child

So, the news moves a little slowly up here in the Great North Woods of Vermont, but we did want to share a story that's been circulating. Apparently, sometime around the 31st of October many of our neighbors reported being harrassed by two odd creatures -- a small monkey and a walking flower. Apparently, the only way to get these two characters off your front porch was to bribe them with sugary snacks. Luckily, most people in town had enough on hand to share, and there have been no repeat incidents since. ;-)

Happy Halloween!!!

Ally & Tyler's Third Birthday!

It seems impossible, but the tiny pair of premature bundles delivered to Lauren and I in 2003 somehow turned three years old this fall. Everyone says you should slow things down and try to enjoy each moment, and I really think we try to do that, but I still just can't fathom where three years have gone. It's been a great ride, and Ally and Tyler have brought more joy into our lives than we could have imagined.

So, to celebrate these three years, we joined a few other close friends and their families for a pilgrimage to Santa's Village in northern NH. If you've read the earlier posts, you may notice a trend here... what could be better than a herd of small children about to skip naps/overdose on ice cream, candy and french fries/and take in an entire amusement park entirely devoted to Christmas??? Sounds like fun, no??? :-)

Bear in mind, this trip came on a Saturday, and followed weeks of birthday planning ("Mommy, when is it going to be time for my birthday?"), a party with their other friends on Thursday (which of course included presents, cake and sleep deprivation), and preceeded our family party which would be held on Sunday afternoon (with additional presents, cake, and sleep deprivation). Despite this recipe for potential disaster, Santa's Village ended up being a LOT of fun for all of us. They do a great job of gearing the park for small visitors, as you might expect, and Ally and Ty really had a lot of fun going on just about every ride, meeting all of the elves, and enjoying a few treats:

And, just to make sure everyone knows exactly how much fun we all had, I couldn't resist including a pair of *after* pictures from our ride back to the hotel:

We really did all enjoy a great birthday weekend, and know how truly lucky Ally and Tyler are to have so many good friends and family surrounding them. Thank you to everyone who have been a part of their three very happy years!

August Camping Adventure

So... we've decided to introduce the kids to car camping this year, and just to make sure the stress levels reached their absolute apex, we joined six other couples in a weekend camping showdown. 12 adults vs. 11 children (none older than 5) in a faceoff with bedtimes, mother nature and mosquitoes.

My running camping log:

• Friday, 4pm: No possible way to fit tentzilla, 3 beds, 2 coolers, swimming gear, and biking gear into one vehicle. Despite the extra $1000 in gas, we're taking 2 cars. Good news is this is a major help with packing as we now have tons of extra space. We'll take all of our worldly possesions now instead of just the 80% we were previously shooting for.
• Friday, 6pm: Arrive at Branbury State Park -- we're earlier than expected -- just two other families ahead of us. Time to begin tent setup and gear unload. Thankfully, no rain.
• Friday, 7:30 pm: What do you know? Tent setup was not bad, gear unloaded, kids fed and in PJs. It's not even dark yet. I'm going out to buy a lottery ticket before my luck runs out.
• Friday, 8:15 pm: An eerie silence from the Cady Family Tent. Our kids have gone to sleep first, with almost no issues. I think I'll get two lottery tickets.
• Friday, 9:30 pm: How cool to have your kids sleep first??? Vegas is currently setting odds for the campground silence at 10:15 pm... I'd take the over on that one.
  
• Friday, Midnight: Despite the knowledge that no one sleeps well in a tent, and the fact that the first kid wake up will likely be no later than 5am, none of us has been smart enoough to go to bed early or refrain from one more beer. We may never learn.
• Saturday, 6:30 am: Our kids continue to excel. First to sleep, nearly the latest to rise. Outstanding! However, given the 15 minutes of sleep I think Lauren and I got between us, I'm still expecting a long day. Sleeping in a tent is awesome.
  
• Saturday, 8 am: Both children have easily already lost 2 pounds to mosquito bites. Somehow, this doesn't bother either of them at all.
  
• Saturday, 9 am: Decision is made to take all 11 children on a hike in the woods. The packing/planning begins.
• Saturday, 11 am: Just two short hours to get everyone organized. Off we go.
• Saturday, 12:30 pm: Nearly everyone has reached the summit of the 1.5 mile hike. Mike and Tyler, however, have stopped to use the *bathroom* twice, completely forgetting that toddlers don't have the ability to wait for such things, and also completely forgetting to bring any sort of wipes, tissues, paper towels or spare clothing. Leaves are not doing the trick. Stress levels are reaching code blue.
• Saturday, 1 pm: It isn't that Tyler ever showed any signs of being tired on our hike. Moreover, it was just critical to stop and examine each rock, stick and bug along the journey. My future scientist.
• Saturday, 1:30 pm: We begin our descent down the mountain to get back to the tent in time for the 1pm nap. You can imagine the flaw in our plan.
• Saturay, 2 pm: Ally has now picked up on Tyler's science expiriments. We may just build a shelter and spend the night here.
• Saturday, 2:15 pm: *Bathroom* stop #3... Tyler and I are both in need of one of those scrubbings you get after exposure to nuclear waste.
• Saturday, 5 pm: Things have settled. Tyler and I got detoxed, both kids took a nap, Mom and Dad had a beer and all is starting to be well again. Just a few short hours until bedtime. I should probably join the kids with an 8pm bedtime, but I'm not that smart.
  
• Sunday, 7:15 am: Hey, what do you know? Good bedtimes and full nights sleep all around. Today looks good! Nice breakfast followed by some fun on the beach and a pleasant ride home, right?
  
• Sunday, 7:30 am: Was that a raindrop I just felt?
• Sunday, 7:31 am: Uh-oh, that was more than one raindrop. And these new raindrops are about 12oz each.
• Sunday, 7:32 am: Time to get moving... 4 inches of rain down already.
• Sunday, 7:50 am: Kids and moms are huddled under a screen room trying to get everyone fed and dry. Dads have all decided that the best course of action when facing the elements is to tear down all of the other shelter we have. Somehow this makes sense.
• Sunday, 9:15 am: Two cars, one tent, leftover marshmallows and beers all packed up and ready to head home. I cannot remember the last time I saw rain like this. Lauren is quick to remind me that I would have dry clothes to ride home in if I hadn't tried to be a minimalist with my clothes packing. Have to give her credit on that one... brought everything I own except for a second pair of jeans (as if that really would've been the straw that broke the camel's back).
• Sunday, 11 am: We're out. Stopping for breakfast on the way home -- best cup of diner coffee I have ever had. A few struggles along the way, but all in all, a pretty nice weekend getting back to nature. Kids all had a blast -- definitely a weekend to repeat. Next year we will rent a full size U-Haul and just throw everyone's gear in the back.
  

Mike and Lauren compete in second annual 100 on 100 road race!

Mike and Lauren competed with the Phat Angels team in the second annual running of the Heart of Vermont relay this August. The team finished with a very respectable 16th place (out of 35 teams) and 6th out of 12 teams in the *Masters* division (yes, we are all that old). What an outstanding day and a great cause. Think about joining us next year!