Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our holiday weekend here in New England has been just amazing! Sunshine and highs in the 60s have made the days feel more like September than late November.  We took advantage of the lovely weather to head outside!  On Friday, we headed up to Worcester check out the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store-- a warehouse full of surplus and donated building supplies.  We left empty handed, but found a pretty park where the kids ran around and climbed the absurdly tall bridges.

Pretty bridge in the park

Watching the geese swim by under yet another interesting bridge.

The next day, we headed down to Sharon, Ma to visit one of the many great Audubon wildlife sanctuaries in Massachusetts-- Moose Hill. In weather warm enough to wear short sleeves (!!) we wandered the hilly trails.  Eventually, we arrived at a rocky outcropping, overlooking a pretty valley.  A great end to a great November day!

This may be when the tick hitched a ride on Willow's back :(

Looking out to the valley below.

Resting after e great hike.

Blue Hills Reservation

Today we headed out for a hike up to the top of the Great Blue Hill in the Blue Hills Reservation in Canton, MA.  There were big crowds-- probably due to the close proximity of the trail to Boston-- but the views made it all worthwhile.  Jay and I were so impressed by how well the girls did on the steep, rocky trail.  They are going to be great little hikers next summer!

View from the top-- Looking East

Looking North, to Boston

The weather observatory on top

Girls' Room Makeover

We have done so much work to the house since we moved in three years ago, but the bedrooms have always fallen to the bottom of the priority list.  Now that Willow is in Kindergarten and starting to have more playdates, I wanted to give her ( and Julia) a room she could be proud of, with lots of handmade touches.

Here is what Willow's side of  the very long room looked like before:

And here is what it looks like now:

I made the duvet cover by sewing together squares of different blue fabrics to line the edges of a red polka dot fabric.  I am so happy with the way it turned out!  I also made the pillow case and throw pillow for her bed, in Willow's favorite colors of turquoise and red.

 Julia's side before:

Indigo sleeps in the (former) book nook!

And after:

I made a "J" pillow for Julia Indigo, along with a pillow sham in her favorite colors-- red and blue.

I added pom pom fringe (can you tell I love that stuff?) and stamped the shade with a feather motif.  I think it adds a little funk to the room.

I printed out the partial lyrics to the song "Julia", by the Beatles, which Julia was named after (along with activist Julia Butterfly Hill).  I added a little ocean themed watercolor at the bottom.  The frame was an ugly faux wood, until I spray painted it turquoise.

Willow's "artwork" is a horse portrait I traced from a coloring page and she then painted.  Love how she happened to choose the colors I am using in her room!

Above Willow's bed is lyrics to Scarlet Begonias, by the Grateful Dead.  We often sing this verse to Willow because her name pops up in it (and it is one of her Dad and I's favorite songs).  To make this I just painted an oval canvas turquoise, added sparkly letters, and painted a little Willow tree along the edge.

I love to make buntings!  I couldn't resist adding one above the dresser.

More projects and pictures to come!!!

Horses

Willow loves horses....

She also loves her new boots....

Boots that she thinks would be perfect for riding horses.  Maybe it is time for her Daddy and I to look more seriously in to riding lessons.

Crane Beach in Autumn

Today our little family headed to Crane Beach, in Ipswich, MA.  It was a beautiful, summer-like autumn day in the 80's-- warm enough that we could even wade in the ocean!  The day felt like such a bonus so late in the year, sand I am so happy that we took advantage of the long weekend and sunshine to enjoy one last beach day before the cold sets in.

Looking over the dunes toward the crowded beach

Shallow waters allowed Indigo to wade far from the shoreline.

Maine

This weekend we took a little mini trip to Portland, Maine-- our first, despite living only 2 1/2 hours away. Friday was an absolutely gorgeous fall day, with a high around 80 degrees and plenty of sunshine. We worked our way up the coast, stopping at beaches in Ogunquit and Kennebunkport.  The architecture and scenery were stunning!  At dusk, we arrived at our hotel in Portland and went for a warm evening walk along the harbor.  The next day we woke to fog and a drizzly rain, but the temperature was still comfortable, so we headed out to walk to check out the city.  We popped in to a few of the awesome little shops and had lunch at a cafe before heading to the Children's Museum while the rain fell.  On our drive home, we stopped by Portland Head Light-- the oldest lighthouse in the United States.  It was a wonderful little weekend trip that left us wanting to see more of beautiful Maine!

A beautiful day on the beach.

The Bush estate in Kennebunkport.  See the Texas flag?

Cobblestone streets on a rainy morning in beautiful downtown Portland.

One of the many lobster shacks in Maine.  I'm not sure why they are all called "lobster pounds"

Love the phonetic spelling of "chowdah"!

Willow in front of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland.  Apparently "cryptozoology" refers to unproven creatures. We didn't pay to enter,  but did enjoy the entrance display, which included a "jackalope", yeti model and this awesome cardboard cutout of President Obama wearing a yeti t-shirt.

Indigo adding her graffiti to the chalkboard in the bathroom in the delicious Local Sprouts cafe in Portland.  The food here was locally sourced, with lots of vegetarian and vegan options.  Plus, they have a great kids' play area and this entertaining bathroom!

Portland Head Light-- commissioned by George Washington in 1787!

FAAN Walk

On Sunday, our family participated in the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) Walk for Food Allergy.  This was our third year joining the walk and it is always so heartening seeing so many kids of all ages who are thriving with food allergies.  Indigo enjoyed seeing other kids who have to eat the way she does.  She also really liked being able to visit each of the food booths and actually eat some of the samples-- unheard of for her anywhere else! 

Face painted and ready to walk.

Enjoying the free apples and the beautiful setting at Hopkinton State Park

Life is Good Festival

On Saturday our family headed over to Canton for the Life is Good Festival-- a two day music festival for families.  We had a great time spending the day in front of the stage in the kids' tent, rocking out to great musicians like Keller Williams and bands like The Lori Berkner Band, Imagination Movers and Ben Rudnick and Friends.  Afterward, we checked out the many fun activities for kids and ate some of the delicious food--which included lots of vegetarian and vegan options. 

The shuttle ride over to the site was the most loved part of the day.

The festival is held on a farm in the Blue Hills Reservation.  The rocky hills surrounding the site were so pretty.

It was so nice seeing music at a kid friendly festival.  Clever signs were posted throughout the grounds remind kids that they are welcome here

More fun signs

Julia Indigo rocking to the Imagination Movers

Willow dancing to the fun tunes of Keller Williams.

It was all too much excitement for Indigo.  She slept through Lori Berkner's set.

Yogibo kindly provided their awesome bags for the kids to lounge on in the kids' tent during the shows.  Not only were they amazingly comfortable (see the photo of Indigo sleeping above), but the colors were so pretty in the sunshine.

Wellesley Trails

Goodness, do I ever have a backlog of pictures and stories for this little site! 
Here are a few pictures from a little walk we took in Wellesley last weekend.  There are so many pretty little trails within the town.  This one enters a forest and then follows the banks of Morse Pond.  We stopped at a picturesque little spot that felt more like a campground than a city trail, and enjoyed the view and a little snack before returning home.

Hurricane Irene left some big obstacles across our path

We made our way through, though.

Picnic spot along the banks of Morse Pond