Hot Chocolate

Today Alice had her first solo cup of hot chocolate. She was a little nervous at first and ate all the marshmallows first. And as you can see, after the first sip it was love!

Halloween at the Campground 2012

It's time once again for Halloween at the Campground!  This year was twice as fun since we had a second little person to celebrate with - Baby Mae!:

We enjoyed pumpkin painting.  Everyone got in on the act:

The Artist, hard at work:

Uncle Dan proved his pumpkin painting abilities:

Mae loved Grampie's pumpkin:

Proud Papa:

The playground at the center of the campground is really fun and Alice really enjoys having a friend closer to her size to swing with now!

Alice was proud of the pumpkins everyone made:

We stretched out the crayon costumes for one more year (it is unlikely Alice will fit in her yellow crayon next Halloween!).  We enjoyed dressing up in them again:

Baby Mae, Auntie Chris and Uncle Dan also had a cute themed costume.  Mae was a shark, Auntie Chris was a lifeguard and Uncle Dan was a swimmer.  They ended up winning a prize for best group costume at the costume contest!:

Cutest shark around:

Waiting in line for the Haunted Hayride:

Daddy and Baby Mae enjoying the campfire after the Halloween festivities:

Waiting for a table at the local restaurant:

Alice showing Grammie and Grampie how to use the iPhone:

Alice, Mae, Mommy and Auntie Chris spent an extra night at the campground while Daddy and Uncle Dan had to work on the Columbus Day holiday Monday.  Here are the girls and the camping gear, loaded up in Auntie Chris's car, ready to head back to Boston and Salem!

Happy Early Halloween, Everyone!  Here is a link to the rest of the Campground Halloween Fun!

The Perils of Living in Salem

Kids living in Salem need multiple Halloween costumes.  By the time October 31 arrives, the kids have likely attended several costumed events throughout the month and as the saying goes, "They don't make Halloween costumes as sturdy as they used to!" (or the saying should go like that!).


The month of October is called "Haunted Happenings" in Salem and there are multiple Halloween themed events every day of the month.  To kick off the month with the locals, the city of Salem hosts the "Grand Parade" in which all the schools in town and clubs, restaurants, etc put together floats and throw candy.

Alice was excited to wear her skeleton costume to watch the parade but it turned out to be a misty evening.  Since we were saving the skeleton for Halloween night, we couldn't risk it.  We had to get resourceful. 

Daddy had a brilliant idea!  Here, we present to you, 'Inside Out Girl'!  (She has every piece of clothing inside out! Ha ha).  She was happy to watch the floats and marching bands and catch all the candy!

Happy Haunted Happenings, Salem!

Learning to Swim (Continued)

Alice is taking swimming lessons once again!  This time around, her swim teacher's name is Dominic, and there is only one other kid in her swim class, so she has been able to receive a bit more one-on-one attention, which has helped a bit it seems.  Here are some shots from the lessons:

Playing "Catch the Teacher":

Receiving instruction:

Making a train!

She seems to be learning, slowly but surely!  Here is a link to these swimming lesson photos.

Secret Gardens and Autumn in Salem

As usual, we have been having lots of fun around here as September has wound to a close.

Alice and Mommy have enjoyed spending time in a local "secret garden" in Salem we recently discovered:

Alice is getting very skilled on her bike.  Here she is, tearing up the basketball court down the street from our house:

Here is our little "ballerina" showing off her moves!:

A favorite weekly activity of Alice and Mommy is visiting the Peabody Essex Museum each Wednesday morning, for the story time called "PEM Pals."  Here is Alice, listening intently to "I Want My Hat Back"!

After the story each week, the kids do an art activity related to the story.  This particular week, the kids made hats.  Here is Alice, modeling her creation:

And speaking of art activities, Alice has begun to draw people, both by hand and electronically.  Here is her drawing of Mommy on the iPad:

Happy Fall!  Here is a link to these photos.

Joey Visits Salem

Daddy and Mommy's friend, Joey, recently came to Boston for a work conference and spent the weekend with us in Salem checking out the town!

Here is Alice, getting ready for Joey's arrival in her play kitchen:

Joey won over Alice's heart with a copy of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"!

We all enjoyed Joey's visit very much! 

Hope you will have a chance to visit again soon, Joey!  Here are the rest of the photos from our visit.