The Connecticut Bucket List

For reasons that will be fully disclosed in time, the Hartles have commenced to check items off of what Will likes to call our "CT Bucket List."  Today we visited historic Mystic, CT and thoroughly enjoyed playing tourist at the aquarium and Hollywood's Mystic haunts.

That's right...STILL not walking, and as you can see by his expression and resistant stance, he is in no hurry, either. Apparently he did not receive the memo that he will be FIFTEEN months old Monday!

He was, though, totally enamored with the "shish."

"Crawling like a lobster" was right up Nicholas's alley.  He's something of an expert.  (No judging Momma for allowing her children to crawl on the floor of a public place in the midst of a flu pandemic!)

We loved the belugas,

and our littlest man loved "hanging" with his brothers!

Touch a Ray!  Gabe was skeptical after being warned not to touch their tails...

...Will: not so much!

The Sea Lion Show

Nicholas particularly enjoyed Surfer's "happy dance."

Gabe and his penguins

We polished off the evening with dinner at Mystic Pizza, enjoying "the pizza that made the movie famous."  I made Jim snap this shot for Caryn, who is asked to recognize that there is not one penny-loafer in sight!  Have I made it through 6 1/2 years without sporting a pair?  I think that means I won, my friend!!!  ;)

Apple Pickin' and the Pumpkin Patch

To celebrate Columbus Day, today we trekked over to Lyman Orchards.   Because, you know, in 1492, Columbus liked to apple-pick, too!

This one is for my friend, Caryn, who loves Fall:

It should be peak where we live next weekend, but this orchard is at a lower elevation, so I suspect they are a couple weeks away from peak...the apples are a nice touch, though, and maybe you can work the orchard pic into your theme this week! ;)

For those of you waiting to see the baby...

...I hope you enjoy these shots, because Nicky smelled like fermented apples for the rest of the day!

And let's not forget these handsome fellas,

who would not believe that apple picking would be a fun morning out of the house (read: away from the Xbox and Wii).

As you can see, we're growing like weeds!

But we're still...

 Mommy's li'l pumpkins!

And we did, in fact, have a great time!  (Some of us even got quite the workout!)

(Everyone begged to pull the wagon on the way down, but then, go figure, they all complained when I let them pull it on the way BACK!)

HAPPY FALL!!!  The holidays will be upon us before we know it!

Bye-Bye Wallpaper!

When we bought this house, we had huge issues with the previous owners' decorating choices.  They took most of it with them, but here is a taste of what was left behind:

Not the family! The hideously garish green, pink, and purple wallpaper! The previous owner was disappointed she couldn't replicate it in her new house, because it had been discontinued...what???? The manufacturer did the world a favor!
Here is the dining room now:


You might remember when I stripped the dark green wallpaper from the stairs, and how my men reacted about the peach paint--they felt it looked pink. I'm not sure about the main wall color, but I do love the accent walls' color! At some point, I may paint over the other walls, but anything is an improvement over the green, pink, and purple!!!  

For those of you waiting for new baby pictures, we are off to the apple orchard tomorrow!  I promise new pictures then!

Labor Day Weekend

School has only been in session for a week and a half, and I already feel like I have worked a MONTH!  (Not to mention the fact that this pesky career of mine is severely impacting my blog maintenance!) The boys went back Tuesday, but, even still, we were all in desperate need of a vacation by this past Friday.  And Jim and his friend, Rich, delivered BIG TIME!  Jim's associate, Rich, has lent us his house in Newport for the last 3 years.  We hadn't made it this year, between the wedding, the weather, and the baby, but we were able to get a "last hoorah" weekend in for the holiday.  

Is it any wonder we love this place so much???

By Day 2 we realized containing Nicholas would significantly minimize the amount of sand he consumed.  I'd tell him,  "No-no, YUCKY!," and he'd respond, "MMMM..." while shoveling it in! 

Not a big fan of the water just yet (or walking and standing, for that matter!)

But he is a great bug catcher!!!

Not many waves to catch, Will!

Jack and Gabe in tandem--THAT never happens!!!

Baywatch, Jackie???

Happy Birthday, Baby!!!

Well, Nicholas, you are ONE!!!  It is equally hard to believe that we met you only a year ago and that it has already been a year since your birth!  You have added so much fun to our family and laughter to our home.  Happy birthday to an amazing, sweet, and loving little boy!  I, for one, can't wait to see what the next year brings. We all love you so much!

Alphabitty Moments--Y and Z

I apologize, once again, for the tardiness of these final entries.  Last week, I was out of town for my sister-in-law's wedding (Congratulations, Annie and Adam!), and this week, I was readying my classroom for back to school.  So here they are!  Carrie--I am probably going to sit the next rotation out, but I'll be back, after I re-create this book (I never did recover it!). So, now I am really in the weeds, finishing Nicholas's First Year, creating Annie's Wedding album, and starting back at square 1 with my Alphabitty Moments book.  This has been a blast, and I am looking forward to Book 2!  I hope I will MckLink-up with all of you girls again in a few monthsI  I will let the family know when this book has been published in case grandparents want to order a copy!  ;)

A classic baby page, right?  This was Nick's first encounter with PRUNES!

And this is one is from one of my most treasured family trips from the past year...the Bronx Zoo. What a fun trip. At the end of the day, Will remarked, "When you said we were going to the zoo, I thought, 'Oh great,' but this was really fun!  Thanks for taking us!"  What's better than THAT??