Roadtrip - Day 1

 Hockanum River Trail..... Manchester, CT

Kennebunkport, Maine

Yummy

Our new favorite thing..... 

Vanilla yogurt

Fresh strawberries

Bananas

(Sometimes blueberries)

Angel food cake

Eggs

The best part of Easter is the egg salad ..... 

Easter

 Easter was nice and relaxing....  The Easter Bunny was good to everyone! Dana and Jaylyn stopped by in the afternoon for some egg dying, an egg hunt, and ice cream cake. Zoe was lucky enough to find the GOLDEN EGG which had $5 in it.

Pig Farm - Spring Break 2016

I know we have a mini-farm at home with 9 chickens, 2 dogs, and a rabbit. However, a potbelly pig is something I've always wanted. We cannot have them where we live but if we could, I would have already had one! They have a “Piggy Rescue and Day Care” not far from our house. I often visit the website to see what events are going on, picnics and such. WELL, it turns out they have a cottage on the property you can rent. So, I jumped on the opportunity to book it as soon as we had time off of school – Spring Break!

I counted down the days until Spring Break. You would have thought we were going to Hawaii the way I was crossing off the calendar. All the kids at school were asking me what I was going to do on Spring Break and I was telling them we were staying on a pig farm. Most of the kids who know me, weren't too surprised, knowing what an animal lover I am.

We checked in and to say we were in hog heaven is an under statement! There had to be over 100 pigs, big and small, on the farm. We couldn't unpack our stuff fast enough to get up to the farm and visit all the pigs. The cottage, which was small, quaint, and perfect, was off by itself on god knows how many acres in the middle of nowhere. It was built in the 1700's of pine planks and stone and had been updated with some modern electric and plumbing, but still kept its original feel. The living area was downstairs and the sleeping quarters was hidden away behind a door and tight spiral stairs that led up to the top floor. The small kitchen was just off of the living area downstairs and was just the right size. We took all our food and made meals. It had the most amazing sun room that looked out to an open field where pigs roamed free and grazed. The front yard had a picnic table and a porch glider. The back yard had a fire pit. Simply perfect. We had free access to the farm and felt like VIP guests. We got to roam around at free will and hang out with the pigs. They have benches all over the property, hammocks, and trails. It's very quiet, except of the sound of oinks and squeals at feeding time!

The best part of the two days was NO ELECTRONICS. Before we left, we decided as a family we were going to unwind and relax. Best decision ever, and we didn't even miss it! Zoe played outside with the pigs, we played uno, colored, did puzzles, played football, talked, built a fire and roasted marshmallows, napped, read, and just relaxed. We took Rex and Rosie with us so they got to enjoy the farm life too! The cottage did have one small TV, but we have no idea if it even worked, we never turned it on. In the mornings we would make coffee and sit outside with breakfast and watch the pigs. Then walk over to the farm and see what was going with all the other piggies. Not all the pigs were running free so we had to go check on the ones who didn't have free range.

The whole experience was amazing. I'm glad we did it. I still want a pig and when we live on a farm, I will get one!!!! When Shelli and Zoe saw the baby pigs, I saw hearts in their eyes..
MY PLAN WORKED!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day

Uncle Henry came up to take Zoe to the Winter Ball (aka Daddy Daughter Dance).  They got all dressed up and had a blast.  They even won the dance off...Looks like Zoe takes after her Aunt Pam!  Just a few pics of the long weekend and Uncle Henry's visit.  Enjoy!

Better Late than Never!

Wow!
What a crazy beginning of the year!  Between being out of the country for almost 3 weeks, a blizzard, and molting chickens, we've hardly had any time to relax and update the blog.  So without further ado...