New York New York

I surprised Erik with a trip to New York City in October. With the help of my lovely sis-in-law, Erik and I traveled solo to the Big Apple for exactly 9 hours (or something like that). We drove down to CT on Friday night, took a train into the city Saturday morning and left to drive back home on Saturday night. It was our first time leaving Ava overnight, and Erik needed to be at church on Sunday, so we just made it a quick trip. Erik had never spent much time in the city and I've been there a few times, so it was fun to organize a quick day of all my favorite things.


We hit up Central Park and the MET:

And then of course, Serendipity for lunch. The food was amazing and of course, the desserts were awesome. Wish I had room to eat more!

Pretty sure this dessert earned it's name: "Can't Say No" Sundae

We went to a recommended new show, "In the Heights." Turned out that Jordin Sparks was headlining that night, and the show was AMAZING! Great music, I was dancing in my seat.

Empire State Building

Cool store front.

The only downsides to the day was that we were not able to get cheesecake in Times Square at dark like I planned because of dumb Subway closures. We had to walk all the way from Canal Street to 21st St - a looong walk and by then we were both exhausted. But it was a fun and much needed get away!

Ice cream, ice cream, who wants ice cream?

My grandpa and his wife Peggy stopped by on their way back down the East coast to have a bite to eat ice cream with us at Kimball Farms. This particular place is known for its enormous portions, and thus was particularly enticing to my grandfather. See, Grandpa Walker has mad ice cream eating skills. Like he is able to eat insane amounts in one sitting. I have been witness to this many times. But this particular occasion might have topped them all - he easily ate the most ice cream I've ever seen him eat! 


Grandpa and Peggy were all too eager to share with Ava and she definitely was not complaining.

See grandpa's portion? He ate all of his, and half of Peggy's. CRAZY. 

Oh, and unrelated but still worth sharing - this is still one of Erik's favorite things that he has taught Ava (shot on the way to Kimball Farms):

Acadia and time with the Walker's

In September, my parents came to visit/tour New England with my grandparents who were traveling around in their motor home. We had a few days to travel up to Maine and got to visit Acadia National Park. Although it was a little cold, we had a great time!

On the way up we stopped to pick apples and had the BEST apple cider donuts I have ever had - I searched the rest of the fall to find something as good, to no avail.

Grammie and Ava

This girl LOVES apples. She was in heaven!

We finally made the 5 hour drive and decided to bike through the park. I think the unusually large amounts of bike shops made the bike tour appear a little more manageable than it actually was - some of it was HARD! My dad had Ava on the back of his bike, bless his heart, otherwise I would not have made it. I think we did 12 or 15 miles that day.

Fall colors were just starting to show themselves.

Ava was such a good sport and loved her little ride - even taking a nap!

Thunder Gorge which is a very misleading name. Beautiful, but not so thunderous.

On our way back to Boston, we stayed one night in Kennebunkport, ME, home of the Bush family. We stayed at a charming little hotel, tried in vain to find food past 9pm (dang those New England towns!) until Dad ended up getting McDonalds, and went to breakfast and a great little diner. While we were waiting for our food, Grammie took Ava outside and found this little playhouse. She loved it!

 We also stopped in nearby York, ME. Erik and I have been there many times, and it was fun to take my parents. Here we are at the York lighthouse. Popular and so picturesque!

We met up with my grandparents after that, somewhere in New Hampshire, and had a traditional lobster dinner! Ask Grandpa about that good deal he scored for this meal :)

Grammie and Gramps then left to spend a few days with my grandparents (confusing, huh), and toured around New Hampshire and Vermont looking for wood bridges (my dad is an architect). He even found a book to tell him where they were all located - who would have thought!

Unfortunately my parents left shortly after that, but Grandpa and Peggy stopped by on their way back down the coast to enjoy some truly amazing ice cream. They were more than happy to share with Ava, and as you can tell, she didn't mind.

Look at those portions!

We had a great time and are so grateful for the times we get to see family on this side of the country!

Topsfield Fair

I am so behind. Way back in October I took Ava to a local fair. I was totally in the mood for greasy fair food and Ava and I were in desperate need of an outing. It was so much fun! Of course it cost way more than it should, but I got an apple cider donut and Ava enjoyed the animals (especially the chickens) and her first merry-go-round!

not so sure about the sheep

the largest pumpkin I have ever seen!

 

beautiful produce

 

enjoying lunch

baby goats

gorgeous flower displays

Ava's favorite chicken

I wish we could have shared the experience with Erik, but maybe next time!

Catching up

I want to remember these cute first steps Ava took, even though it was months ago! She is a pro walker now, but those first steps are so sweet!!

rrroar!!

 We had a fun Halloween this year, with Ava being able to participate a bit more than she did last year! She loved her costume and had no problem keeping it on all night...she was such a ham for the camera too, can't you tell? :)

We got this costume for free from a family in our ward. They estimated that it was a 18month old size, but the suit was definitely way too small for Ava. We improvised and just took the tail off and had her wear the headpiece. It's so cold here anyway that most kids wear jackets so it wasn't a big deal. 

Dad and Ava at the ward trunk or treat. Ava fell on her face right after getting out of the car, so she was a little crabby all night.

Best costumes of the night! Our friend's the Shore's were the characters from Up! So creative, eh?

The next night we went to Beacon Hill for our annual excursion. We really are going to miss this tradition when we move!

I let her eat some m&m's and she was in heaven...H-E-A-V-E-N. Multicolored drool all down the chin of her costume.

So much fun!