Superstorm Sandy Damage

Though we weren't hit directly, Hurricane Sandy did significant damage to our neighborhood/ area on October 29, 2012. Our neighborhood lost power Monday afternoon and didn't get it back until Saturday afternoon. At one point we were completely trapped on our street due to fallen trees and power lines. Major coastal flooding destroyed Narragansett's Coast Guard house (for a second time) and part of the sea wall and Misquamicut is unrecognizable as the beach now covers the roadway and dozens of homes and businesses were swept away. I'm posting pictures of our neighborhood, Narragansett during the storm (not taken by me!) and after.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those in NY and NJ who were hit much harder than us.

 

How do ya like them apples?

We had a gorgeous day on Friday for apple picking. It was 75 degrees and sunny. The only down side was having to contend with the yellow jackets resolved on getting their fill of rotting fruit. Apple picking for us is one of those quintessential fall activities. Even in the midst of chaos and having babies, I don't think we've missed a single year. It's amusing to look at these pictures and recall years past when we were bundled in coats and wearing gloves because it was so cold.

Ruth and Claire-- adorable!

We went to Sunset Orchard in Scituate this year. That's almost as much of a tradition as the apple picking itself. It seems every time we try a new place we're unhappy with it. This year we went to Steere Orchard first and felt it was not very family friendly. Much to the kid's chagrin after traveling over an hour, we piled back into the car to drive ten minutes further to Sunset.

Every time I see a tractor I take a picture of Drew with it or on it. His obsession with tractors has waned but I still do it, even despite his recent aversion to getting his picture taken.

Anne looking all grown up and beautiful.

Elinor and Daddy-- pure cuteness!

I don't think anyone appreciates how hard it is to get several kids to smile on command.

Sharing.

Lovin' on Daddy!

Anne in action!

Dad steeling a bite of unsuspecting Drew's apple.

More love... Notice the death grip on Claire's apple bag. She insisted on carrying it the whole time and wouldn't allow us to help even when it was obviously getting awkwardly heavy for her.

I know; how often do you see me in a photo? Sometimes I look through our pictures and have to tell myself I was actually there.

We picked a little over 40 lbs of Cortlands, Red Delicious, Macoun, RI Greening, and Macintosh apples. I plan to make a pie this week and do caramel apples with the kids. Then we'll peel, slice and freeze the rest to use throughout the winter as we wish-- a fantastic investment return for only a couple hours of "work".

 

Anne's Birthday

Our oldest daughter turned 10 on September 16th. It blows my mind to think that ten birthdays have come and gone for her. I already find myself dreading the day she decides to head out on her own-- that day will come sooner than we can imagine I'm sure.
 We didn't have a party for her yet; that will happen tomorrow. However we did have a few surprises to celebrate this milestone.

We were watching a show on the travel channel together the night before her birthday. It featured a restaurant that served giant pancakes with all sorts of toppings from savory goat cheese and bacon to fruits and sauces to satisfy any sweet tooth. I surprised her in the morning with my take on it. Large bittersweet chocolate chips and fresh bananas and strawberries piled on my whole wheat kefir triple-size pancakes were a very yummy breakfast treat!

 

Here's Anne enjoying them! We also gave her a NOOK.

There is a cleaners down the road that will, for a small fee, post a message on their front sign. We put $20 to good use for this. The hand drawn "H" was a bit of a dissapointment but we really can't complain when posting an item for sale in the classifieds costs so much more.

 

 

You may want to sit down for this next picture. Anne asked if I would make her a watermelon cake for her party. I very excitedly said yes thinking it would be the easiest cake in the world. Well, it wasn't. The plan I had backfired when I realized I didn't have enough cake to do all the carving I intended. Each guest would have gotten about a square inch of cake. That simply wouldn't do. I then decided to cut each tier in half and lay it on its side and build out with extra cake in the middle. It was a complete disaster. I will apologize ahead to those who will be eating this tomorrow. 

Would you ever guess that this...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

is under this?  

If only we could throw a bunch of fondant over all our mistakes and call them good!

Ruth and Claire's 3rd Birthday Party

 

We served a Neapolitan Ice Cream Cake: Homemade strawberry and vanilla layer cake with chocolate ice cream, fudge and crushed cookies. Yum!

Bryna and Ruth

 

 Me and Claire

 

 

 

I love this picture of the twins hugging. So sweet!

Our first pinata!

It was filled with school supplies, stickers, a few small toys and a bit of candy.

Aunty Amy even got in on the action. Though when she tried to hit it, Geoff would move it completely out of the way to make it impossible.

Collecting the loot!

 

Blowing out the candles. Looking at this picture, I'm shocked neither of the girls' hair caught fire!

Last Beach Day

Last week we had house guests and accompanied them to the Narragansett Beach. The tropical storms to our south were kicking up some abnormally high surf for us. It was a bit scary at times as the kids thought they could go out further and handle more than I was insisting they couldn't. I wouldn't let them past their knees and they still were drenched head to toe from waves crashing over them.

After spending a few minutes in the water, we played in the sand for the rest of the morning. I was grateful they were content because I didn't know how many more of the crashing waves my heart could handle.

Ruth and Claire had fun making sand castles and knocking them down.

This is Nate helping Drew build his award winning sand castle. He and Anne were having a contest.

I was teasing Elle because every time I tried to take her picture she was eating.

Here, Anne and Kate are hard at work on their sand "ship".



This is the first castle before Nate laid on it and it had to be rebuilt.

Here's Elle not eating! I had to get proof that she didn't eat the whole time.

Elle and Anne making a quick getaway as the water begins to encroach on their ship.

Ruth

Claire

 The second castle? cave? tunnel?

Anne-- Check out the waves behind her!