Vermont in the Fall

 I have to start this off with a miracle.  Last night I went to bed at 9:30!!!!  Can you believe it???  It was a happy miracle.  I didn't make myself a lunch and sent Evan this morning with disposable diapers, but it was glorious.

I haven't been around because I took a short trip up to Vermont to visit my parents and aunt and uncle.  And dogs too, if you want to get technical.  It was a random trip because we don't usually head up north in the fall, actually this was my first trip to New England for fall foillage since. I lived in New Hampshire over 20 years ago.  The drive was spectacular, after we got off the New Jersey turnpike.

I love the drive up there because once you hit New York, it's all through the mountains and little towns. Our car was cramped with our stuff, myself, my husband, the baby, and the dog.  It makes for little space and lots of dog hair.  It looks like hubs is sleeping in our photo, but I promise you he was not.

Notice how jammed Dolce is to the side of the car?  I think it had something to do with the amount of dog fur Evan had in his hands...if Dolce got too close Evan pulled his hair out.  I don't think Dolce enjoyed the trip as much as the rest of us did.  I drove the first shift and Ivan drove the second.  This worked well because I got to enjoy the view.

And look at the pretty leaves.

And Lake Champlain.

Then we spent the weekend with my parents, and my aunt and uncle who are living with them for now (they are in the process of moving to Vermont and already sold their house but are looking for the perfect Vermont house).  It was great.  Evan really loved it because he always had someone to play with him and entertain him the entire weekend.  And my mom and aunt had a bunch of new toys that he got to play with too.  We took a lot of walks in the woods and fed the neighbor's horses...Evan's favorite.  My parents have a lot of land and it's beautiful to walk around (minus the ticks). 

Here's their driveway, with the beautiful changing leaves.

This is the side of the he house, where the den and sunroom look off.

And some apple trees.  They have red and green apple trees...we eat some and give some to the horses...and leave some for the deer.

Evan loved being outside and looking at everything, and so did Dolce.

Dolce did not enjoy sharing his space, attention, and food with the other dogs though (my parents have two dogs).

Evan just really loved playing with everyone, and I liked the occasional break to catch my breath.  It was nice having a few extra eyes and lots of extra energy!

Evan learned a lot of new skills while we were there.  As you can see, he learned how to ride his little cow and he also learned to go up and down three stairs by himself.  It was quite a feat.  He also finally learned to sign "more" which was super exciting for me.  

I took some more photos on my camera so I will post them when I upload them.  We had so much fun and Evan was an angel in the car.  He slept and played the entire time and hardly ever cried.  It was a relief!  Especially because we head up at least once a year and have a few more long car rides planned in the near future.