Vermont 2021 {10/28: Nordic Trails Hike, Sheldon Junction Bike Trail}

Our last day in Jay (Thursday, 28th Oct) was a gorgeous one! We did a quick bit of school, started packing things up, and then headed out to hike on the Nordic trails since somehow we had never made it over there in the month we'd been staying at Jay Peak. Funny how time flies like that. Christine's kids weren't keen on the idea of hiking, so it was just our fam and it was lovely. We tried a few different trails in the system, but we turned around on a lot of them when they got too soggy or log-covered, but we eventually found a loop that got us back around to the car.

After lunch we loaded up the bikes to show the McClungs the Sheldon Junction section of bike trail we had biked on Sunday without them. The weather was spectacular and we all enjoyed the ride through the country. The highlight of the excursion, though, at least for the kids, was probably watching a load of fertilizer being unloaded from a giant truck into a pipe system that carried it up into a silo right next to our cars (which were parked right next to the fertilizer plant).

We headed back to Jay, with a stop at Montgomery Park on the way, ate dinner, then gathered at the McClungs condo for one more evening of ice cream (gotta finish - but there's no way we could!) and visiting. We've had such a grand time with these neighbor friends! We'll all miss them, for sure!

Just a couple-a cute kids on a green bridge with a
cute photo bomber in the background.

Have I mentioned how I love mosses and lichens and
fungi? Oh, I have?

I just can't help myself!!

Doesn't this one look like a dropped apple?

Cool lowercase h tree.

Sam was mad about something so he wouldn't look
at me for this pic.

These might be the weirdest/grossest fungi we've
spotted to date.

This tipped over tree root ball reminded
us of the redwoods.

Giant cairn!

Saying hi to the hut.

Cal had to take me into the woods near our
condo when we got back from our hike to
show me some of the crazy mushrooms
she knew about it there.

Ah, Fuller Bridge, we love you!

Biking across the Missisquoi River.

It's still fall and it's marvelous!

The truck started dumping its load into this trough
that then pumped it up to the top of the building
when we pulled up at the end of our ride. The kids stood
there forever while we loaded up the bikes just watching the show.

Vermont 2021 {10/27: Halloween Party}

We knew since we'd be traveling on Halloween that we wanted to do something fun with our friends to celebrate early before we all left to head home. We planned a little Halloween party for the afternoon of Wednesday the 27th. The kids dressed up in their costumes, we played some Halloween games, decorated caramel apples, and watched It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and ate chili and cornbread muffins. It was a fun and festive time!

Costume picture on the porch.
Tradition!

Cal is an olympic gymnast (she was going
to make a silver medal, but then decided she
didn't want one at the last minute).

We watched a youtube video on how to do
gymnast hair. This was the best I could do
without hairspray or bobby pins ;)

Sam was a police officer.

He even made up, wrote, and cut out
these little tickets to fill in when he arrested
the bad guys. (Adorbs!)

Timmy next door was a police officer, too!

And Zachary was the robber.

Timmy has the bad guy in hand cuffs 
and Sam is ready with his pen to write
that ticket.

All four Halloween-ified kiddos.

The first game was pin the spider on the web
and they all got to draw their own spiders
on construction paper circles to start.

My kids were NOT great at this game - ha!
They wouldn't trust Gregg when he was pointing
them directly at the door with the web
and wandered all over the living room to place their
spiders.

See Cal's purple spiders off to the left on the wall
and on the wrong door? and Sam's
orange ones off to the right on the wall and the lamp?!

It's caramel apple time!

Donuts on a string - classic!
(and these were Cold Hollow cider donuts, to
boot - lucky kids!)

Cal made a game where everyone decorated a lego
mini figure head (she drew an outline on pieces of paper)
in a halloween themed way.

And then everyone just sort of went to town with the 
art supplies making puppets and other crafty things.

Lovin' Charlie Brown.