2 beach trips and a show

Rest stop break

A few weeks ago we took a trip to Boston. Well, not Boston but it's so much easier to say than listing the towns we went to in MA. Dave was playing a show and had to do some work. Elinor and I tagged along to meet up with some friends and go to the beach. I miss the beach a lot. I'm really a stay at the beach all day type of person. I think that's why I miss being so close. We would go to the beach sometimes for only a hour or 2 and it was so much fun and didn't take hours to get there.

We ended up making to the beach 2 days for a few hours each. It was so nice. Elinor made friends the first day. I didn't bring any toys so when we set our blanket next to a group of moms and their kids (and toys), I sent Elinor over to ask if she can play too. I know, I'm the worst but the kids ending up being so sweet. They all worked on digging a hole for 2 hours. I somehow forgot how rocky some northshore beaches are and I didn't pack her water shoes. I felt so bad. I had to carry her over the rocks to put her in the water.

We got to eat a ton of good food that you can reread over here and we also went to Dave's show. Since the venue was in the same town that Dorie and Henri live in, I was able to miss out on the beginning of the show to hang out with them and some other friends. I miss that area. Everything is so close and there are awesome playgrounds everywhere! Elinor and I made it back to the venue in time to see Daddy play. She was not into it this time. We were stuck on the stage as I held her from running away. We were both sweaty messes. After they played, we got ice cream and all was good. She was a maniac jumping on the couch behind the merch. I can't imagine what she thinks about the things she gets to do.

Hanging out with friends. Thanks Nancy and Stacy for coming to play too!

I always wonder if she will think that our music is so lame when she gets older or if she will think it's cool she got to travel so much. 

sleeping with one of her favorite puppy friends

bonus vine videos from the show 

BFF

Elinor and Herni's friendship is the sweetest. I love the way they light up when they see each other in the morning. I love how Henri will start to walk away, turn to Ellie and say "Baby! Come!". She will giggle and follow along. I also will know Henri will never leave my side but Elinor will run away as fast as she can, again giggling. They are so different but get along so well.
Since they have been together their whole lives they both are used to being around other babies and are pretty social. I'm so grateful for Elinor to have such a good BFF already not only in Henri but also Dorie.

enchanted village

We stole Dorie right after school the other day and headed to Jordan's Furniture to see the Enchanted Village. Again something we do every year. It was fun to see how each kid reacted to it. Dorie has been every year with us so she knew. Henri was slightly terrified but if I was holding him he felt safe enough to enjoy it. Elinor didn't know where to look and was so amazed by everything.

 Henri isn't too sure 

 blurry but her little face is so cute

 Dorie liked pointing things out to the babies

We tried to talk Dorie into going to see the Polar Express movie. I've wanted to go every year but either she was too short or I was pregnant. She decided even though she was tall enough, she will be ready for it next year. I love her.

Halloween

Ok these are not only all iphone pictures but some of the worst quality iphone pictures ever. Babies never will stay still and at night nothing comes out right. We had brought the real camera out trick or treating but never took it out of the bag. 

That morning Elinor, Henri and I headed to the library for sing along. Our library gets crazy packed on normal days for story and sing alongs so they started a ticket system so the room doesn't get too full. We ended up getting there too late even though we 45 minutes early and they were out of tickets. We played on the rug instead with some friends. Some moms even started their own sing along which the kids loved! 

Elinor the mermaid talking to her friend the dragon. Henri the penguin being not too sure about the hood of his costume. He made this face every time.

Henri still being frozen from his hood

watching the tennis courts

a flamingo checking out Elinor's fins

mermaid, monkey and a penguin

waiting for the dads so we could go trick or treating

Dorie's parents knew of an awesome street in their neighborhood. They completely shut the street down. Every house is decorated and every neighbor was sitting on their porch ready with candy. There were lines at each house. 

 jack o lanterns lined the street

me, Henri, Dorie and their mom discussing which pieces of candy were vegan that Dorie had in her bucket. The answer was none of them.

 The scary house! They had knife slashing sounds and scary music playing. The person was throwing candy and tossing it down a tube to the end of the steps. 

We had so much fun! It was quick and just one street but with little kids we didn't need more than that. Ellie got to go to a couple of houses with Dave. She got a bag of veggie sticks which she can actually have. We were talking about what we are going to do in the future and how to make trick or treating vegan friendly. I read some options on Veggie Kids. Exchanging the candy for a gift or even a vegan treat sounds like a good idea. Does anyone have any other suggestions? We have awhile until it is an issue but it would be nice to be prepared. 

Franklin Park

Friday we went to Franklin Park Zoo. We haven't been there since before they reopened the whole Zoo. When they were filming Zookeeper, they had half the Zoo closed off. They have now added some new features since then, like the huge playground. 

 The babies loved watching the animals

 Dorie hatching some eggs

 I have a picture of her like this from when she was 2

and then we saw this stand off

a couple of iphone pics