Happy Trails in Vermont

As you can see, Makana decided not to join us on this hike. She firmly stated, "I'll stay with GiGi." It was a gorgeous day, and we discovered a "new" path for all four of us. Seeing as we all have hiked many of the trails within a half an hour's drive from Dave's parents' home, it was fun to chart new territory together. Once again, the foliage was beautiful! :)

The guys were very obliging when I asked them to pose with the pails and leaves. :) Aren't they cute?

Dad was excited to show us the view of the airport. It sounded humorous, for there was so much beauty to behold, but his point was that if we found the airport, we could also see his working place. :)

During this trip there was also much competition. Scrabble was one such venue. While there weren't any interesting word creations to report, there was a name creation. Dad was keeping score, and he wrote Jon's name as "John." He was brushing it off as nothing, for Jon is John, right? Oh, no! I remember distinctly when we were first married that Jon emphasized that he was "Jon, no 'h.'" You may have to understand the dynamics of the family better to more fully get the humor in this misspelling, but believe me, that "John" gave us all (except for Dad) a good ROTFLOL. :) All the while, Dad tried to defend himself, to no avail. Poor Dad!

It's beginning to look a lot like . . . autumn! :)

This season in New England is beautiful! :) It truly helped us get in the mood for fall. Instead of driving over an hour to get on a hay ride, play in a pumpkin patch, and enjoy the fall festivities, we drove 15 minutes to this farm. :) It was a fun day for the entire family. :)

A Maze in Maize

To celebrate Mom/GiGi's birthday, the entire family went to a farm. The kids liked the animals in the petting zoo and running around in the maze. Since the maze covered 12 acres of never-ending options, most of our party opted for an early out when we started going in circles. Even the clues weren't too helpful, as they led to further forks that wound us back in the same previous spots. Alas, the truth must be told. Dad found another path as Donna and I pondered the "legality" of jumping a few feet off the path to get to a new, unchartered one. Dad's justification was that we would end up on that new path eventually, if we followed the one we were on--down and around and back. We were just saving time. Needless to say, he didn't wait for us two girls to consider the ethical ramifications of cutting corners, for he went right through the corn, four feet off the path, to the other path. We followed.

Thankfully, that led us to a clue that actually helped! We then found our way out to the finish. Once we were out, we discovered that the rest of our party had a little party of their own, with hot dogs and such. :)

GiGi's Birthday Celebration with the Family

This year, we were able to celebrate Mom/GiGi's birthday together as a family for the first time since Dave and I have been married. We had an ice cream cake from Vermont's finest: Ben and Jerry's. Yummy! :)

At church, Pastor Dave called up Dave and Jon to share about what they are doing with their lives now that they live away from Vermont. He also asked the brothers why they were home, and Dave responded that it was to celebrate Mom's birthday. When it came to Jon's turn, Pastor Dave also asked him why he came home. Jon responded, "Ain't no one happy if Mom ain't happy."

We had a great time celebrating, and I think Mom/GiGi had the best time of all. :)