A Wonderful Day in the Neighborhood

We have been overwhelmed by how welcoming our neighbors have been since we moved to Salem this past summer.  To thank everyone, and to celebrate making it through our first October in Salem, we hosted a party for the neighborhood during the first week of November.

Here is Alice, working on some cookies for the party:

All dressed up and waiting for our neighbors to arrive!:

The neighborhood is full of kids for Alice to play with, and they had fun playing in the craft room!

Our next-door neighbor, Jodi, and her baby daughter, Mia:

The house was full of great company, great food, and everyone had fun watching the Patriots game as well:

Alice enjoyed tagging along with our 11 year old neighbor, Corin:

It was great to relax and spend time getting to know everyone.  We look forward to the warm weather ruturning so we can get together with everyone outside for a backyard BBQ!

Here are the rest of the photos from the neighborhood party.

Our First Halloween in Salem

Our long awaited first Halloween in Salem arrived along with a visit from Uncle Eric!  Aside from Alice having the flu, which put a damper on things, we were excited for both events!

This was, remarkably, not Alice's Halloween costume:

Grammie and Grampie came up to visit for Halloween night.  Here we are checking out some of the activities around town:

Alice's cold meant less running around and more snuggles while Uncle Eric was in town:

Even though she was feeling a bit under the weather, we did manage to trick-or-treat for a short while:

Back at the house, it was a crayon party!

Alice was such a curious, but good little crayon, waiting for the trick-or-treaters to stop by and ring our bell:

She kept a good eye on the candy...

And only an occasional hand on the candy!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Here are some additional shots from our Halloween Fun around Salem.

A Picture Perfect Fall Day

Recently, along with Uncle Dan and Auntie Chris, we took part in a traditional New England fall activity: visiting a local orchard to go apple picking!  We also realized that a perfect, warm autumn day would be just right for attempting to capture a photo for our annual Christmas card.

Here is Alice, all dressed up for the holiday photo - super cute!  (Also, notice the Scott bomb!)

We had a few practice shots first before trying to take the actual Christmas photo.

Once at the farm, Alice enjoyed checking out all of the animals.

Always a fan of Uncle Dan!

Even though we discovered that the orchard was done offering apple picking for the season, we still had a great time.  Yay for an awesome hayride through the orchards!

Alice, checking out an antique tractor:

Happy Holidays, from our house to yours!

Click here to check out the rest of our holiday-card-photo-taking and apple-orchard-visiting adventures!

Ponytails, Cookies, Goofballs & Chalk

Alice has been up to some fun adventures recently.  The other day, she came home from school with four ponytails in her hair (probably because her hair is too short to support one or two).  She looked really cute!

That night, Alice and Daddy started making some chocolate chip cookies while Mommy was on her way home from work:

Our little chef at work:

Once Mommy got home, it was time for some cuddles and some games on the iPad:

After dinner, the cookies were done and cool, and it was time for Alice to try her creation.  Yum!

Sometimes Alice is such a silly goofball - she always keeps us smiling!:

Alice also had a chance to take advantage of our paved driveway and her new sidewalk chalk recently with Mommy.  Here she is, admiring their artwork:

Here is a link to some more recent pictures of our silly little chef and her adventures.

Halloween Weekend at the Campground

Each year, the campground where Grammie and Grampie spend the summer hosts a "Halloween Weekend" in mid-October.  This was our second year attending and our first group costume!

Here is Daddy painting Alice's fingernails yellow to match her costume as Grampie looks on:

Alice with her pumpkin, waiting for the chance to paint it:

The artist at work:

Here we are, in our full glory!:

Here is "Yellow" - the cutest crayon in the box:

Here is a link to the rest of the photos from our exciting weekend as crayons at the campground!

Helping Out Around the Yard

Having an actual yard has been an adventure for all three of us, and Alice has certainly gotten in on the fun.  In early October, shortly after Grandma and Papa's visit, our next-door neighbor, Deb stopped by to help us plant some bulbs that will make an appearance in the spring.  This was a fun project for Alice and Deb to do together.  Here they are digging one of the holes:

They even came across a worm or two as they dug in the dirt:

While Alice and Deb worked at planting the bulbs (and Mommy took pictures), Daddy got some yard work done in the back.  Here they are, trading stories from their adventures:

Here is a link to a few more photos from the day of yard work.

The Willows with Grandma and Papa

A visit to Salem with Alice is not complete, of course, without a visit to her favorite attraction - The Willows! - and Grandma and Papa could not wait to share in the fun.  Here are a few shots of the fun times we had at the Willows with Grandma and Papa:

With Grandma on the Carousel:

Racing Grandma and Daddy:

In the Photo Booth with Grandma:

On the Pier having fun with Grandma and Papa:

On the last day of the trip, we managed to squeak out a couple of extra hours for a second trip back, and a second ride on the Carousel:

Can't wait to see you again soon, Grandma and Papa!

Here are the rest of the photos from our fun at the Willows!