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Steve took last week off so after a day of housework and such we headed to VT. The forecast wasn't promising, but it ended up being perfect weather every single day. We went to Field Days, swam in Gram's pool, walked around Middlebury and acted like tourists (hit up a great chocolate shop for some mochas!), soaked up the quiet fresh air, and enjoyed being with family. It was the perfect combination of rest and doing stuff. I'm trying to wrap my head around returning to normal tomorrow, there's still a list of things we'd like to do. Maybe another week of vacation???????

Had to document the journey of my hot sauce. It's gotten so that I have to even bring it on car trips to liven up snacks. 

VT rest stops have gorgeous scenery

Went to Field Days and they were cutting winter rye with a horse-drawn mower. Very grateful for all the modern conveniences we have!

Steve's first time here! We hit up the maple barn twice :)

We watched two classes of the ox pulling. That's almost 2 hours of watching cows, people. And we would have stayed longer if there'd been more. Hudson loved the tractor adding weight, Henri loved the ox's names....it's just a great event.

A favorite cemetery up the road from my folks. It's not weird to love burying grounds, right?

Wednesday night Steve and I went on a "date" back to the fair to watch the Dermolition Derby. After subduing my panic that these weren't bad accidents, it was really fun! The minivan heat was hysterical.

I did mention the weather was perfect, right?

We attempted to hike some of the TAM. Turned around after one pasture. Hudson refused to be put down, the no-see-ums were horrible, and there was this large crashing shape vaguely defined ahead of us on the trail that looked suspect. We called it a day and went downtown instead.

Got lunch at Costellos and then watched the falls while we ate. Well, some of us watched. As you can see from the disappearing rump, Hudson has become a bit independent of late. "No ME!" is a favorite phrase....

Henri teased Mom in to showing her how to spin

I guess we're in for another hard winter, the apple trees are loaded. 

Gram says the crab apples are all ready ready to be made into jelly.

Steve has been plotting for a long time to bring my kayak home. After looking at all the options (renting a truck, ($) buying a roof rack system for our car ($$), buying a second car that has a roof rack($$$)) we just bit the bullet, stuck the thing on top of our car with a zillion straps (I'm sure the massive dent in our roof will pop out at some point....), breathed a number of prayers on the mountain passes, and.....got it home uneventfully. So much so that, while barreling down the interstate, we decided we really should have a second so we could all be on the water at the same time. After a quick trip in mine on the pond down the street, we headed out and bought a second. Bringing our fleet to 3. We got an extra large cockpit to make paddling with kids easier, and based on some sketchy online advice I'm going to stick Henri in my rear hatch. Really happy to be out on the water again, and excited to have another family activity that doesn't include running. 

And then back to the daily grind. As it stands we have no plans, but the weather forecast is promising a great weekend, and of course I need to get the crew into seafaring shape (Steve actually asked where the stern was?!?!?!! A remedial course is clearly indicated). Does anyone know how to use signalling mirrors? Thought that might be a fun and useful skill to learn....