On Wednesday, we had a super rainy day, so we hung out around the house. It was a great excuse to just rest, relax and be together. You can see here that Jansen and Grampa are getting along great and are quite at ease with one another right off the bat. Too cute!
About midway through Jansen's nap, I felt like Penn needed a change of pace, so we drove into town to the library. He loved it. We picked out books, read about a half a dozen and then he did some puzzles while I checked out. I love how he loves the simple things! He's such a pleasant little buddy.
In the afternoon, we had a fun surprise. My Uncle Dean, Aunt Carol and my cousins, Stacey and Mike, and their son, Mac, were traveling by after making a pickup at the airport. I get to see these family members maybe every 3 years or so, so this was a special treat! They stayed and chatted for an hour or so. It was so fun to introduce them all to Penn and Jansen, who were both sweet delights the whole time (well, they each laid down for nap partway through). Here's Penn building domino towers with Uncle Dean. When Uncle Dean was done and got up to chat with the adults, Penn looked at me and said, "I love him." I guess you made an impression, Uncle Dean!
After our visitors, we all had a quiet afternoon. Later, when I woke Penn up from nap he was so excited to dive into the big book pile we'd brought home from the library.
On Thursday, the weather cleared and it was cooler, but clouds and sun and no rain. So, Mom and I, who are kindred spirits in many ways including our love for the ocean, thought we should make a go of another trip down to the ocean. With Penn and Janse in tow, we did it again. It was a brisk day on the beach, at least 15 degrees, if not 20 degrees colder than on Tuesday and quite a sea breeze, but it was refreshing, invigorating and fun anyways. We had a picnic on the beach. Here's Penn and Gramma enjoying theirs together.
After lunch they went down to the water's edge to throw rocks. Penn's quite the wild card with rock throwing. He can be dead on or it can go straight up in the air and come down on his (or your) head.
The Janse man has been amazing with our adventures this week. He just rolls with it! And look how happy he is even though the wind is whipping and the air is cold and there's not much for a 7 and 1/2 month old to do.
Me and my little guys and my ocean. Quite happy!
It's been so much fun that Jansen has been a big fan of mom and dad. He's definitely in the stranger danger phase that all my babies seem to stay in for about 2 years, but thankfully he doesn't count Gramma or Grampa as a stranger, so we've all had fun passing him around and entertaining him this week.
Penn and I went hunting for treasures along the beach...shells, seaglass, rocks of all shapes, sizes and colors, seaweed, rope, driftwood, acorns and even some left-behind beach toys. Gramma and Jansen hung out in a beach chair playing. Eventually we decided we should get walking to warm ourselves up and not to push our luck with the little guys. So, we headed off. We walked along Rt. 1A at Little Boar's Head and then took a little detour on Willow Ave. This is some of my favorite turf to walk, so I took a few pics to share some of the sights with you. Here's a sweet chapel on Willow Ave. with a view of the ocean behind.
A side lawn of one of the estates with a view of the ocean. Can you imagine having a yard and a view like that?
Me and my walking buds (you can't even see Janse because the shade is dropped to protect him from the intense wind!) with my ocean in the backdrop.
I get my love of the ocean from my mom and she got it from her mom. When my grandmother passed away, my mom and her sisters got this bench in honor of she and my grandfather on this beautiful walking path, one of their favorites. (The bench has been showcased several times on the blog over the years, it's a special stop for me to make when I get the chance!). I wish my Nana and Papa could've been there to meet my Jansen and Penn and enjoy the ocean with us.
We of course also had to stop at The Beach Plum again. Penn was super excited to see the lobster statue thing again (he calls it, "that funny guy") and was also excited to eat some more ice cream too!
Had to get a picture of the little trooper, still smiling even though it's an hour past naptime at this point. Such a joy!
Speaking of naptime, Jansen fell asleep within the first few minutes in the van and then dear little Penn Rye conked out about halfway home. And he was really out...snoring and all!
He re-positioned himself in his sleep and look how he slept the rest of the way home!
It was a great day at the beach and I was so thankful we went for it. My mom and I just rejoiced that we could be there together, walking and talking together, having the little guys there...such precious moments that we savor and then hold on to when we are apart (and I'm hundreds of miles from the ocean and my mom).
Today, we had a fun outing for lunch. This time we left Penn with Grampa (saved him sitting in the car a bunch again!) and we just took little Janse along. Mom and Dad are friends with a lovely family who own an apple orchard and country store. The country store is a quintessential New England experience and has a cafe that serves fresh, delicious lunch fare. The pictures speak to the cute, classic country character of the store...
Our lunch was delicious and the company was fantastic. Including this sweetie!
I had noticed on the menu board that there was a dessert that was cider donut pudding with ice cream. At first I didn't really put that together, but it's a bread pudding made with cider donuts. Oh my goodness, doesn't that make your mouth water? I just had to give it a try! This place is known in the area for their cider donuts. People come just to grab them when they are warm! So, I had to taste this special treat for myslef. It didn't disappoint. Yum!
This whole experience...the fact that it's the 2nd of October, the changing of the leaves, the weather getting cool this week...has me totally excited to embrace Fall. I'd been putting off. The weather in the Burgh had been so warm and lovely up til now, it really felt like the dreamy perfection of lingering summer, but the blustery air and the colorful display in the trees has me ready to bake with apples and pumpkin, decorate for Fall and start making soups and stews again when I head home in a few days.
Can't skip mentioning that Grampa did a great job caring for Penn. They had a great time together and the opportunity to hang out one on one proved to be a blessing for the both of them. Penn got to get one of his favorite people all to himself, and Grampa enjoyed Penn's sweet persona, sense of humor and great companionship. As you can see, Penn was perfectly pleased...
Well, that's it from NH for now!
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