October 2019

 Our Senior scouts expressed interest in visiting a corn maze so we planned a trip!   Claire-Bear had a play date at Makala's while Stella and I ventured off with friends to the Tucker Corn Maze in Gabriels.  We found 6 of 8 mailboxes before heading back to the fire to warm up and have some smores.  Afterward we drove into Saranac Lake for pizza and visiting.  It was a late but fun night!

Happy 8th Birthday Claire-Bear!

We celebrated Claire's birthday a day early with a party at the mall arcade.   The next day mom and dad went to Nick and Sandra's wedding while the girls went to Madilyn's for a sleepover with Miss Alissa.  Stella got to attend a second party of the weekend too for Ayisha's birthday.

 Claire's preferred birthday gift of the year - slime!  She would play with slime every day if her mama would let her!

For the most part, we have been making slime outdoors - on the driveway or in the garage.

But, it makes its way into the house often enough....

On Indigenous Peoples Day we took a drive toward Tupper Lake and hiked Panther Mountain, followed by a trip to Walmart to buy Halloween costumes, and a visit to Saint Larries for some dinner.  It was a relaxing family day and we were all grateful for the extra time together.








Pumpkin Inferno!  This year the girls traveled across the border with friends to check out this masterpiece  After a dinner at Shoeless Joe's we wandered around Upper Canada Village and saw many spectacular creations.  Here are a few of our favorites:

Some other happenings this month:

AWANA started up again - kicking off with Minute-to-Win-It Games!

 Celebrating Mole Day with daddy!

Claire attending Math Night @ SLC Elementary while Stella and daddy are at basketball.




GS Nut and Candy Sale!




SLC Halloween Parade

 Handing out Halloween Candy - it was a rainy, but warm night so lots of visitors came by to trick or treat.



Daddy's colleagues having some Halloween Fun!

September 2019

Our annual tradition of visiting Brookdale Orchard with Aunt MJ continued this year.  We already made a batch of apple sauce from apples Papa gave us from his tree but picking apples at the orchard is always great fun!

We kicked off our 19-20 Girl Scout year with a get together with families at Miss Alissa's.  The kids played lots of outdoor games while the parents did lots of paperwork!  Mom's working with the senior scouts this year but with our multi-level troop there will be lots of opportunities for all of us to be together.

Mom and Dad took a Friday off from work and headed to Detroit for a concert.  Thanks to Aunt MJ for picking up the kids after school and having them overnight.  It was a whirlwind trip but definitely worth it!









Apple Picking with our GS Troop in Parishville:

Date Night!  Since I had plans to be on campus for a Greek Life activity, I ended up getting a sitter so Ran and I could try out the new Saint Larries restaurant in Potsdam.  We loved it!



Everyone is back in the school routine now and trying to make the most of the last few weeks of nice weather we'll have.

Stella's Trip to the OR

Stella was all smiles getting ready to have her warts removed.  Everyone at CPH was wonderful.  They gave her this owl themed cozy blanket and made her feel welcome and safe.  The procedure was super fast and we were on our way home in no time!

We arrived home to a wonderful surprise gift from Bri.  It really made Stella's day and we felt pretty proud too to have made such great friends in Brasher Falls who love and care for our Stella-Bella too!

Stella was a brave patient and hasn't complained about her recovery.  We are hopeful to have this scenario behind us.

A New School Year

Snuggles!

Just before school started up again we ran some last minute errands - beginning with Momma surrendering her first ever license plates!  We ended our to-do list with a trip to a local surgeon to take a look at some warts Stella has that just won't seem to go away. 

Our first day of school tradition of dinner at the Cactus Grill held steady for another year!

 The girls started out the year being very independent - waking up to their own alarm, getting ready without much help, to include helping themselves to breakfast.  After a few days we did remove technology completely from our morning routine.  Here's hoping this year we can stay disciplined about our morning schedule!

Saturday morning, despite needing to get back into the swing of the things, both girls were up bright eyed and cheery Saturday morning for Lily's vet appointment.  Despite her hiatus she's a healthy kitty!

Labor Day Weekend

A weekend at Apple Island RV Camping Resort:

It was a relaxing weekend camping with Grammie and Pa!  On Friday evening I met up with everyone in VT and Grammie and I drove into Burlington to volunteer at RMH for the night.  Saturday morning we had breakfast at IHOP and shopped at the mall a bit.  Then daddy and Papa went and bought a new car.  (Our Jeep had a run-in with a guard rail, the best option between oncoming traffic and a deer. Hopefully our vehicle situation will remain the same now for a while.)  Carolyn and Eli came for a visit too.  The weekend was full of swimming, board games, campfires, and bug collecting!  It started to get windy a bit on Sunday but the storm held off until Monday morning when it was time for us to head back to NY.  This last minute little trip was a nice way for us to wrap up summer vacation.