Apple Picking

Way back in September we went apple picking at Butternut Farm in Farmington, NH. This is our third year going and our second year going with our good friends the H's. George talks about "that time we went apple picking with our friends" all of the time. Both kids had so much fun and the weather was perfect!

I had to wear Edith last year which made picking the drops (cheaper than the ones on the trees) super hard. This year was much easier since all the kids could walk and they played and ate apples while we mama's picked.

Babies and baby goats...pretty much the cutest!

Climbing on Pumpkins was probably their favorite part of the morning.

Thanks for another great year Butternut!

10 Year Friendsaversary

10 years ago I met my friend Jen on a mission trip to Peru. We've had a lot more adventures since then like being roommates, traveling to England, and around the south. She lives in Nashville now and came up for a short visit in September.

We packed a lot into 4 days and I think she got a good mini tour of NH and ME. On Saturday Nathan kept the kids and we headed to Portland for most of the day.

We started with flights from Rising Tide Brewery and also discovered this neat distilling company next door. Rising tide was having an anniversary celebration so there were also 3 or 4 yummy food trucks on site.

The Standard Baking Co. had been recommended by friend so we had to go check it out.

I'd be fine back there rolling dough.

Sticky bun, brioche roll and coffee.

We spent a few more hours roaming around before snagging some seafood and heading home. It was such a fun day. I think that I've only bummed around with a girlfriend without kids once since having kids. Now I've done it twice. Next time I'm headed south to see Jen in Nashville!

The Train To Maine

George has been asking to ride the train for a while and we've been putting it off until he could go for his birthday. He was gifted tickets from some friends and we rode the train the first free Saturday we had in September.

He was thrilled!

We had to get his picture with the ticket taker. His excitement was just too cute. 

We rode about 45 minutes up the tracks to Saco and Biddeford, ME. Both are mill towns separated by the river. It's only a short walk between them so we had time to explore both towns. 

There was a little bit more to do in Biddeford so we hung out there most of the day. We found a great little place for lunch called Biscuits and Company.

The food was super tasty. Nathan and I had a biscuit topped with pulled pork and slaw. It's hard to go wrong with that combo.

The kids split this plate of goodness. After tasting those home fries, though, I wanted to eat all of them.

After our lunch we walked over to one of the mills where Banded Horn Brewery was located. I think we were the first ones there after they opened for the day. It was a good thing no one was there since our kids were running around like wild animals. Nap-time was closing in and they were getting a little crazy.
Nathan and I had time to try a couple beers but I can't recall which ones we liked best. 

On our way out of the mill we noticed that this distillery was just opening for tastings. It's been around for about a year and you can read all about it here. I know almost nothing about gin but we had a taste and it was very good. 

We filled the rest of our time walking around exploring a few more shops and we even happened upon a craft fair in one of the old mills.

Edith finally crashed after lunch and a little strolling. 

Riding the train is such a fun and great way to travel. The kids have so much fun watching out the windows and they aren't strapped into annoying car seats. We're hoping to ride at least once more before Christmas.

Littleton, New Hampshire

Littleton, New Hampshire is where we spent our Saturday a few weeks ago. Well, I guess you can say we spent more time driving to and from Littleton than we actually spent there. It's a fun little town right next to the White Mountains. It has the feel of a small mountain town but has plenty of great restaurants, art galleries, and local shops.

We picked Littleton for our Saturday adventure because we wanted to try Schilling Beer Company and do a short hike with the kids.

We arrived right before Schilling opened for lunch so we walked around downtown to pass the time. It was a very nice downtown and we'd like to go back so we can spend more time going in the local shops.

Lunch and beer outside at Schilling was fantastic. The brewery is located in an old 18th century gristmill on the Ammonoosuc River. 

I wish that I had written down the beers that we tried. They were all so good and check out the colors!

Bacon, apple, spinach and chicken pizza. I'll take some right now!

Right next to the brewery is a covered bridge. Sadly it's not old but it's neat that they build it instead of a traditional walking bridge. It was so pretty and George thought it was super fun. 

After lunch we did a short little hike. It was only about two miles but George walked almost the whole way. 

Of course, it took a while because George wanted to pick up every stick and jump off of every single rock.

We made it though!

Hopefully we can make it on a couple more hikes soon and see some of the fall colors before the leaves fall.