Topsfield Fair

one tuesday... Nelson surprised me with a whole day set aside for the Topsfield Fair! That husband of mine... he sure knows how to make me smile! 

Nelson giving us a commentary on the alpaca contest 

largest pumpkin in the world! 2009 POUNDS, not year 2009. it won this year! 

when my dad did his PhD on animal science, he worked with cows. I would go with him to the farm/lab where he did his research and feed/hang out with the cows. 

Nelson is a bovine expert. 

this was a special cow moment for our family. 

:)

oh, those Paces.... 

Of course, being us, we planned on it not raining..... as we were 10 minutes away from the fair.... the weather betrayed us. {just so you know, it was not our poor planning. according to mr. weather man... there was pretty much no chance of rain} Even though there was rain most of the time we were there, it just made the experience even more memorable. One of most memorable moments.... we ate a plate of bacon ranch fries... if you know fair food, you know it's fried, fried, fried, and fried. oh goodness.... after that last bite of fry, it was not bright lights+singing/dancing+happy times in my tummy.  Just our luck, right? get sick from fair food.  oh well! at least it's a good sign that our stomachs aren't use to such greasy food!! Maybe we'll pack a few sandwiches and carrots our next round at the fair..... until next time! 

embrace the camera 9/13/2012

I haven't "embraced the camera" in a few weeks.... 

Auden and I just got back from a little picnic outside our apartment building.

{he's napping now}

it was my very first picnic with my little boy.

just a little date with him. 

we ate some fresh fruit...

giggled...

cuddled...

played with our music box...

gah! 

i just love this boy so much.

this last picture cracks. me. up. 

the thumbs up!! 

he obviously approves of my silly faces and noises. 

as if that to-die-for smile wasn't proof enough.... 

weekend in Providence {day 2}

on day two of our Providence trip, we stayed more in downtown.  we walked along the river, went to the Museum of Art-- one of my favorite museums I've ever been to... a lot of it was due to my hilarious husband's commentary on some of the art, ate some really, REALLY great tacos ($0.99 each!! SCORE!), ate some really, really great burgers (note: not as good as those tacos), and last but not least, attended: WaterFire. 

one comment on packing lightly: did not really work for us.... it ended up raining on day two... so half the time we were in our garbage-sack-ponchos, which was fun, but if I hadn't packed lightly... probably would've been prepared for it.  just sayin'.... Auden was fine though. Remember, I did not pack very lightly for him. :) 

thanks, Providence! Hopefully we'll see you again soon!! 

We made a little "bed" in between the two beds for Auden.  The mattresses were too soft and I worried he'd roll over and not be able to breathe/etc. so we put a few blankets down and made this sleeping area for him.  It worked... but we'd find him half way under the beds sometimes because he'd back into the bottom of the bed. so cute, but a little sad at the same time. 

i look at this and think, "ok, I guess i understand why some people thing you're a girl....." our little pretty boy.

museum of art.

the fruits of my labors: making the boy laugh. the most delicious of fruits. 

photo creds: the husband

that's me lifting the boy up. #ripped #notreally

nelson set up this self-timer shot on top of our stroller. not bad, eh? 

the crowds gathered for the fires. 
photo cred: the husband.

WATERFIRE!!!

weekend in providence {day 1}

these photos are now old.... 

a couple weekends ago, Nelson said to pack my bags for an overnight date-night!  Adventure? Sign us up! So I packed two outfits-- for those who don't know me: I don't pack lightly. This was amazing for me-- and then a bunch of Auden's clothes, diapers, wipes, blankets, toys...... etc. etc.  Isn't it fun being a mom?? ;) 

On our way... Nelson spilled the beans and we were on our way to good little ol' Providence, RI!  We have to take advantage of the time here on the East coast, right? Everything is just so close and we might as well take the couple-hour drive to the Ocean State!  

Providence has been one of my favorite cities ever.  It's got somewhat of the big-city feel to it... but not at the same time.  I love the river that runs through the city (not pictured in this blog post, but the next one) and I loved Brown University.  It was so beautiful!!  Also, because school wasn't in session, it was pretty empty and deserted!  {sometimes we thought we were going to get mugged because we were the only people walking on the streets... then someone who was dressed regularly showed up and we felt better. ironically, I've never felt that here in Boston} Our first night we were around the Brown neighborhood and saw the sights there: 

like father like son-- one of my top photos from the trip

at Brown (left); our impersonation of their mascot, "the brown bear"

the details at the school were lovely

the State House.

downtown Providence

Auden is yanking on my hair and ear in this.. thanks, little buddy.