Our First Snowfall!!!

It was like waking on Christmas morning. It was a wonderful surprise to see our first snowfall in Massachusetts.


I called the girls to the windows and spent the morning working overtime to get us all fed and ready to enjoy it together. I had to work before noon, so there wasn't much time!


The first thing I wanted to do was get some pictures for the blog. In my mind this is still some freak of nature thing that could stop at any moment. So I took some photos through the window. But that wasn't quite capturing it, so...


...I rushed outside in my pajamas (almost forgot to cover my bare feet!) and took more pictures. Snow on the back of your neck is cold.


Wow. Our first snow. Okay, time to get back inside and layer up! The neighbors seemed to think there was something either amusing or startling (maybe just dimwitted?) about the thinly clad lady with a camera in the early morning snow.


Fortunately, it didn't stop snowing before we were all fed and dressed. (ahem, 2 hours later)


The pictures of the girls are interesting, because Clara was really very excited and happy.


And Roses was very cautious and a little worried at first. "It didn't looked like this yesterday. Where did everything go?"
By the way, I love it when she smiles like this. Too cute! It's her daddy's smile, for sure.


It was so fluffy! When we lived in Riverside they had a "snow day" in the park; they shaved a giant block of ice and blew it onto the ground to form a hill of solid ice. The "snowballs" we managed to chisel free were as solid as paper weights. This snowball here I scooped up with the tips of my fingers.

Snow pictures!








She says, "Set...GO!"


The park!


Our car! The snowfall reminds me of ash from a wild fire, but there's a bit more of it... and it seems to be colder. Oh, and much easier on the lungs.






Look at her rope! Clara loved the way our apple tree looked with it's new make over.


Roses is loving the crunchy footsteps.

Okay, this is what it looked like yesterday. It was actually a little colder before the snow. The wind can go through layers.







Good day/night everybody! It's 2AM for me, and I have to work later. I promise I will get right to the Halloween pictures after Thanksgiving. Happy Birthdays Mom & Dad! We Love you Miss You!

OCTOBER!!! New England Style.

Hello, it's October in New England! Oh my god. It's October. And we're in gorgeous New England.
Seems we brought a bit of heat with us. No matter. Within the next week the Highs are going to be in the 50s. And it's gonna rain! Mom, Dad, I hope you pack some warm clothes for your visit!



Clara swinging at the big girl park.



Roses swinging in the baby swing. Because she's still my baby. =)



Roses Poses



Rosemary contemplating the change of seasons? Or waiting for me to look away so she can eat the tiny apple hiding in her fingers? Only she knows for sure.



Clara Monkey



Our neighbor's apple tree. This is from our front bedroom (office) window.



Chris takes a walk to the grocery store once or twice a week. This is New England in early Autumn. Enjoy!!!











There are a lot more pictures like these... A LOT.



Sunset Roses



Sunday at the Black Sheep. We've just walked downtown for brunch. That's a gypsy swing band playin. Good times.



We found the sneaky toddler hiding in the kitchen...



getting into the spinach.



"I Yam what I Yam!"



Clara played outside and was singing an improvised ode to froggies and bees. Most of her songs involve counting lately.



Chris reading to the girls before bed.



The girls know this book -and all of Chris's character voices- by heart. "Chug chug chug, puff puff puff, ding-dong, ding-dong. The little train rumbled down the tracks..." Hmmm. Looks like I know it by heart too.



Happy Girl. Always smiling. Always looking like she's about to say something sarcastic.



My precious girls.



Clara loves loves loves story time. Good night!

A Quick Catch-Up

Hi, everybody! It's me, Helen. Chris is grocery shopping while I take a "day off" and watch Clara and Rosemary. I figured since he hadn't taken his laptop I might be able to squeeze in a quick post while the girls nap.
School's back in session and Chris has been doing so much writing, and I've been doing so much working, it's been hard to coordinate a time for blogging. So let's get started!

First are some pictures of a vegetable cart. This co-op farm is about a country block from our place. You can walk by anytime and pick out fresh, local, organic vegetables, and drop your money into the safe. If you actually buy shares of the farm and put in four hours of work per season, you can walk through and pick out your own veggies straight from the vine. We've had a wonderful variety of foods we had never tried before, like leeks, and green zebra striped tomatoes, different kinds of potatoes and squash.

Chris loves to prepare creative dinners, or "experiments," as he calls them. He is the family chef. I would get a picture of him cooking, but he doesn't like me in the kitchen while he's working. He says, "I want to surprise you. It's all about presentation!" I think he just gets annoyed by my constant "tasting." But the man is making us dinner, so I won't argue!



Clara has just devoured an entire sunflower butter and jelly sandwich. She has sticky cheeks and a satisfied smile.


My Rosemary. She had fallen the day before and cut her lip on the asphault. She did bleed a bit, but she just never stops smiling. That adorable smart alec smile.


A lazy New England garden. Gorgeous. This is on our way to the veggie cart.


Sunflowers!


The bees are different here. But doesn't that look a little like a golden poppy? Home sweet home.


The girls playing in their room. They like to play behind the bed because I can't see them from the door. Sneaky Monkeys.


Rosemary's new ride. Beep beep, beep beep, yeah!


Thank you, Uncle Mark, for my birthday present! Clara tried vaulting the gate the first couple of days it was up, then we taught her how to open it herself. Children should be kept in a cage. Unless they have to poopy.


Rain drops on every needle of pine. What a beautiful day for a walk! (It's raining as I type this, but the weather is a bit colder now.)


The lobby of Starbucks, Amherst. After seeing a picture of the outside (earlier post) my mom commented that it looks more like an old house than a coffee shop. Yup. In the basement there is a tattoo parlor on one side and a bistro/bar on the other. Upstairs... somebody's apartment. Oh yeah. Someone *lives* upstairs from Starbucks. I wonder how much the rent is? And the place next door in this picture is a mortuary.


Roses and Mommy at the bus stop. It's a lovely summer evening, and we've just done our grocery shopping. (Notice the backpack strap on my shoulder?) Having a car will make shopping much easier, but we love walking, being outside, and what great shape we're in now!


Clara & Roses blow kisses and throw hearts! These are two loving girls.


And to close this wonderful post, most likely the best picture ever taken of me. Mommy gets home from work and snuggles her babies :) :) :)