Well, now that I have a new little co-pilot (not to mention a different climate,) I needed something a bit safer with slightly greater storage capacity. 
Christmas has arrived at our house. Ryan's dental office has a big Christmas shabang every year, and since it is our first Christmas in our new home, we asked if we could host this year. We thought it would be fun. While the party itself was wonderful and everyone had a good time, I learned that the prep work for a holiday party is not as fun. In fact, it is a lot of work. Thank goodness Ryan took a week and a half off for Thanksgiving because every waking minute was spent cleaning, decorating, fixing, painting, raking, shopping...you get the picture. Phil and Sherrine came up to help us with odds and ends, like decorating the mantle, installing chair rail in the dining room, and fixing the garage door.
What happened to our garage, you ask? Funny story. Someone in our household was backing out of said garage and realized a little too late that they had not opened the door first. I won't tell you who it was because they would be embarrassed. The only hint I will give you is that that person's name does not start with a C. Luckily there wasn't a ton of damage and it was something we could repair ourselves.
Anyhoo, after a full week of work, the giant tree is up, the lights are lit, the stockings are hung by the staircase with care, and we are exhausted. But we are done decorating and it is only Dec 5th.
The party was a roaring success. Everyone had a fun time and the food was delicious! The best part was that it was catered, so I didn't have to do a thing in the kitchen. Not even one dish. They were awesome! Ryan got a Patriots hat with LED lights in the bill in the gift swap. Truly a treasure. And to make the evening perfect, it SNOWED for the first time this winter. Just a dusting, but it was such a festive touch. 
Winter is here and Christmas is just around the corner. This is my favorite time of the year. And don't worry, Ry. Your next vacation is only a few weeks away and you won't have to lift a finger. It might even be relaxing. Here are a million pictures that document our massive decorating efforts. And one of a really cute baby.
No, I did not go camping. I was not invited, but I wouldn't have gone even if I was. I love my bed. And my shower. And my flushy toilet. And being warm. Ryan, however, lives for that nature stuff. His 11 yr old scouts have been SOO excited for this trip because he promised to take them SHOOTING as long as their dads came too. I got the scoop from Ryan and it sounded like they had so much fun. There were fire building competitions, smores, dinner by campfire, and I'm sure lots of other rugged stuff. 
The boys AND their dads were in seventh heaven playing with Ryan's toys. He is such a good teacher and can turn the most staunch critic into a seasoned target shooter in one lesson. Mom and Dad, am I right?
Ryan also got to take his new truck off roading to get to the camp site. He was adamant that he would not be a "poser" and only drive his tough truck on the pavement. It even got its first little scratch on the trip, but Ryan didn't shed a tear. 
This was our first Halloween in our new house and neighborhood. There are lots of little kids on our street, so we were hoping for big numbers of trick or treaters. We set up the fog machine on the front porch along with skull strobe lights, a witch sitting in the rocking chair, and a fiber optic pumpkin. It looked very festive and got great reactions from our neighbors.
The main event, however, was the trunk or treat at the church on Wednesday night. It wasn't the best night. It was a rainy, yucky day and I had a very cranky little boy due to teething. We were determined to make the best of it and headed to the church. Christian was a hit in his dragon costume and was passed around by my young women all night.
April and Beka came the day after Mom and Dad left for a short, but very fun girls' weekend. It is hard to believe, but we haven't all been together for over 10 years. Way too long. But with old friends, it seemed like no time had passed. It was so fun catching up on our families, talking about the good old days, and seeing where life has taken us. Life has been good to us and we are all very blessed. I know that where we ended up is largely due to the fact that we had such good, healthy, strong examples in our friends. I am so grateful to the many outstanding friends I had both in childhood and young adulthood. You guys rule.
There are lot of great pictures on Beka's blog, which you can access from my blog. I figured I wouldn't bother taking pictures when I had a master photographer there. Beka's pictures are so cool. She captures scenes I would probably overlook. Very cool. I also convinced her to take a family picture of Christian, Ry, and I since we hardly have any all together. I think we might even use it for our first Christmas card. That's right, I will attempt to send out Christmas cards for the first time ever this year. We have a child now, I think you have to do things like that.
After everyone left, we remembered that we hadn't had our fall harvest yet. We have a bunch of new fruit trees, and some have even given us fruit the first season they were planted. Here is our fuji apple.
We got Christian a Jumparoo several weeks ago. At first we weren't sure if he'd be that pumped about it. That concern has proven to be unfounded. I put Christian in it at least a few times a day, and this is always the end result. He jumps himself into exhaustion and then takes a sweet nap. I have tried to capture it on video for a while now. I have some cute pictures, but Ryan finally got it on film. Its a little dark, but still adorable. Best hundred bucks we've ever spent.
Ok, the picture is kind of misleading. This obviously isn't New Hampshire. While we do get the occasional hurricane, we are too far north and inland to get much hullabaloo from the storms. We really just get the leftovers as the storms move their way up the coast.Remember Philip the Hyper Hypo from SNL? Watch the videos below. Look familiar? I used to think that Christian would only freak out when I had caffeine. Now I'm not so sure it has anything to do with me. Seriously, this kid never stops moving. My son is a spaz. A really cute spaz.
We also took all six kids to get professional portraits done. They turned out very well and are posted on both Stacey and Kelly's blogs if you want to take a look. Here are some other shots from the trip. 
Battling the jungle animals with Trevor
I think someone might have gotten a hold of my camera...
Tubby time
First swim with Grandpa
If you told me I would be writing this post two years ago, I would have laughed (or more accurately, cried.) It was a very tough move from California to the east coast for me. I once told Ryan I would rather gouge my eyes out than live in New Hampshire. Well, I've come a long way, baby. It's amazing what two years can do. I have come to appreciate the unique things that this part of the country has to offer. So without further ado, here is my Top 10 list of things I love about New England.
(aka "Dunks") just a block away. What? You are out in the middle of nowhere? It doesn't matter. There is a Dunks nearby. I promise. Ryan passed 6 on his way to work from our old apartment.
4. Ice Cream. The seasonal road side ice cream stands are to die for. They sell home made ice cream with flavors like Purple Cow and Moose Tracks, not the store bought mass produced junk. I celebrate the day when The Big One opens for business in the spring.
a picture, although I was tempted.
