Christmas Celebrations Up North

 Despite the pandemic we were still able to make a visit to the Katahdin region to visit before Christmas.  It didn't look like other years, we didn't see as many people as we would have liked, and we wore masks. But, we still got to visit, play outside, ice skate, enjoy the wildlife, and make cookies. All in all a great break away!  

More Christmas Preparations!

 

I'll just admit that I am not a fan of making gingerbread houses. When the kids were little it was so unbelievably frustrating, things fell apart, things broke, it took forever, the icing wouldn't harden, the candy was disgusting and hard, someone always had a meltdown, etc. Every year my mom would insist on making one with the kids... it always ended the same way until she finally gave up too and we haven't done one for years.  Until this year when Gabe received one as a Secret Santa gift at work. I rolled my eyes and it sat on the counter for a few weeks... the kids kept asking, I kept deflecting... Finally, after explaining why gingerbread houses weren't as much fun as they looked they insisted and I relented.  As it turns out, they seem to have all finally reached an age where they can be patient, not break things, and not cry when it is taking too long or doesn't go their way;)  It was actually fun and everyone enjoyed making this village to add to their Polar Express train set. Now they have big plans for next year's gingerbread village... I heard mention of "home made"...

After the gingerbread village we moved on to something actually fun... cookie making. Since we didn't have to make the high volume of cookies this year for our Christmas party everyone participated with all of the steps.  We even upped our decorating game to include royal icing.  The kids loved it, but we certainly need a bit more practice.

The middle pictures are of the deer super highway that runs through our backyard.  They love to eat the apples that surround our property and don't seem to be worried about us living here too.  The irony here is that our friend, Dave, came to hunt a few weeks ago and didn't see anything.  Theses pictures were more "proof" that we really do have a strong deer population here;)

More Christmas Preparations and Fun

 

This week we were so excited to see Farmington Underground reopen!  We have had our gift certificate for almost a year and were just waiting to be able to visit the escape room.  We conquered the Dragon's Den and made it out with minutes to spare:) It was an awesome way to spend the afternoon doing something "normal".  

We did also get around to decorating the trees this weekend AND Noah and James started nordic skiing and are exhausted!

This week was also locals week at Sugarloaf.  We thought they just cancelled it for this year, but we found out at the last minute and took advantage of free skiing.  Naturally our schedules didn't match-up so Gabe enjoyed a day of solo skiing on Wednesday and the kids and I made the trip on Thursday.  It is definitely early season skiing with just a few trails open, but it was free and way better than no skiing:)

December 2020 Hike- Blueberry Mountain

After our really pleasant hikes in September, October, and November, we (I) decided we should make it a goal to take one hike a month for a whole year. The kids weren't super on board at first, but when I pointed out that we really only had December, January, and February left, it seemed less overwhelming to them.  This hike was also more appealing because we called it a "popcorn and hot chocolate hike" which is now the standard for winter hiking.  

December's hike was up Blueberry Mountain in Weld.  This was an interesting hike because we last hiked it our first summer living here (over 7 years ago!).  We haven't hiked it again since because it was a bit of a traumatic experience for all of us. I won't recount the story now, but it can be found HERE in a previous post if you are interested:) This hike went SO much better and we will add this hike back in to our regular rotation:)  

The Start of Christmas Preparations 2020

 

We didn't delay in starting Christmas festivities this year!  As soon as Thanksgiving was over we broke out the decorations, decked the halls, and picked out our tree.  It does feel nice to have some normalcy and something to celebrate even though it isn't the way we "normally" do things. 

Audrey spent a bit of time this week up cycling boxes and creating this pretty cool astronaut costume for herself.  It is tricky to sit in, but she doesn't seem to mind.  This fall in school we have focused quite a bit on Maine history/studies.  One area of focus has been Maine authors. They picked 4 of their favorites here and put together some great presentations.  

This fall we didn't have the opportunity to burn our burn pile like we normally would before winter due to the drought. So, naturally, we chose a warm-ish day (right after we put all of the hoses away so we had to get them back out again!) and had a burn day. Of course it started snowing, but we didn't realize it at first because the fire was so hot, none of the precipitation made it to the ground.  It was a fun night for s'mores in December and watching the fire in the snow... the hoses definitely froze, but thawed the next morning;)

Thanksgiving 2020 Style

 

It wasn't the Thanksgiving we planned for, but that just continues the theme of 2020!  We received a bit of snow for the kids to play in this week and they have spent so much time outside- so much sledding and snow eating.  We spent Thanksgiving day having smoothies and croissants for breakfast while watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and the National Dog Show.  We cooked, we ate, and we were very fortunate to be able to Zoom with our family who we missed seeing on this day.  Here is hoping to an in person Thanksgiving next year!  

November Adventures 2020

 

So far, November has flown by!  Since it is getting a bit too chilly to spend significant time in their secret base, Ben and Audrey have moved inside and started a detective agency.  Not to be out done by Louie's birthday party last month, last week we celebrated Easy Peasy's birthday too.  

Harriet and Rusty are growing well and are waiting for me in the morning when I bring out their food. We are very thankful for the scrap food buckets Gabe brings home from the hospital cafeteria. Harriet loves back rubs and Rusty does not like to be touched, but is tolerating it for food;)

A huge part of our school this fall has been focused on the structure and workings of both the state and federal government.  We have specifically focused on the election process and it was so great for the kids to know what it means to be an educated voter and how to access the reliable information on the candidates running for each office as well as what the job of each office it. This has also led to some great conversations about what the issues are and ways to think critically about how to approach them.  Needless to say, they were so excited for the process of voting this year and can't wait to be able to vote for themselves.   

This last week has been incredibly warm, like wearing shorts warm.  Gabe had a day off so we brought him to hike the Eyebrow in Grafton Notch State Park.  We had way better views this time around and the kids have deemed this one of their favorite hikes.  We also stopped by Screwauger Falls for a snack, but decided not to swim this time... although James did get in and wade a bit!

We have been battling rats all summer... as it turns out rats are smart and it is infuriating.  Our next step is going to be a barn cat I think. I put this picture here because although at the beginning we captured quite a few rats, in the last month or so they seem to not be interested in the traps.  Every night we close the chickens in and set the traps.  This is what I found this morning... note all of the new tunneling by the traps...especially the one where they pushed dirt into the trap...ugh!

Lastly, Ben and I were able to have a special date day in Portland.  It wasn't the type of day he may have wanted, but we made the best of it.  Since Ben had another anaphylactic reaction to a sting this summer we decided it was time to consult with an allergist.  Ben was not a fan of the skin testing and hopes to never have to do it again, but he did make it through like a champ.  We both rewarded ourselves after all of the crying with lunch at Becky's Diner and takeout dessert enjoyed at Mackworth Island.  As it turns out Ben is pretty allergic to all of the important stinging insects, which wasn't super surprising.  Hopefully we can avoid another ED visit in the future though!