Our second week on the east coast was spent in Vermont. Going north didn't mean an escape from the heat. It followed us there- but it was a good excuse for daily ice cream treats. We stayed with Grandma Sally, and there Ben met Amy the dog- his new best friend. The first weekend Maya dog (and her parents, Steve and Molly) were there too, so Ben was surrounded and in heaven. Owen made a discovery at Grandma's house: the treasures that await in the attic. Richard's mom has saved every toy that he and his 5 siblings ever played with. Before Owen had been plenty entertained by the Fisher-Price little people she had brought down for him. This year, those were passed down to Ben, and Owen focused on Steve's GI Joes. By the time we left, the entire front room was filled with GI Joe weaponry, housing, and vehicle of every type.
We made it to Vermont in time to share Thomas and Roger's birthdays with them. We spent it at Roger and Ivonne's with a picnic in the shade and a long swim in the pool, capping it with the annual donut cake. The next day was a repeat as the first, but this time we celebrated the birthday of the country instead of the twins. A group went to see fireworks that night- Owen tried but still doesn't like fireworks. He didn't mind the ice cream.
We spent a long afternoon at Thomas and Kathy's Farm/petting zoo. Ben tried to befriend the goats, while Kobe and Owen re-routed the creek. Those boys are either going to be great engineers or beavers. Owen and Kobe also were treated to Toy Story 3- I think the adults were more emotional about it then the kids but everyone loved it.
Aunt Nancy drove out to visit. We enjoyed mini-golf and some more ice cream with her, and when she left, Sally treated us all to Circus Smircus- a traveling New England circus, where all the performers are under the age 18. It was hot under a big top in the middle of a field, but both Owen and Ben were enthralled with the entire show. These were some amazingly talented kids and they put on a great show. It captured Owen's imagination such that he's still playing circus each day at home, and we about to host a circus themed 5th birthday party.
We had a lot of fun- overdosed on Steve's old toys, Kobe's new toys, ice cream, and doggy attention. The boys can't wait to head East again, and next time we will get to meet Steve and Molly's baby girl! We all enjoyed getting to spend 2 weeks together. Ben seemed to become a lot more vocal during the trip- now using 2 syllable words and a couple of rough sentences "it's a dog!" Owen was happy to get back to school to teach all his friends circus tricks.
