New Hampshire

This post is way overdue because I knew it would take me FOREVER to upload all these pictures and I've been procrastinating. Everyone knows I'm camera happy but when I get Sadie and her little cousins together I am practically camera INSANE. You have to stop me. Columbus Day treated us to a longer weekend so we decided to take the 9 hour drive up to NH and visit the Olsons.

Em is my older sister and had her first baby girl exactly a year before Sadie was born. They get along like peas and carrots so we try to blend them together as much as possible. It doesn't hurt that Em and I get along like ice cream and spoons. Chase was the third wheel most of time as Patrick worked at the hospital 24/7 (literally). We were surprised a couple of times to have him come home for a couple of hours here and there.


We made the mistake of telling Sadie we were going to see cousin Ruby right as we got on the road around 8 p.m. Thursday night. Normally we thought she would zonk out but she cried for Ruby up until about 11. When we finally told her we weren't going anymore, she fell asleep. It was a LONG drive but we finally pulled in around 5 a.m. to find we forgot to ask Em for directions. So there we were after driving around for 9 hours, seeking out a house in the middle of Lebanon (or in other words...the middle of the woods).

Chase drove the whole time so we let him sleep in while we took the kids out for a long walk. We couldn't have picked a better weekend. The leaves were GORGEOUS and the weather man granted us sun and more sun. It was fabulous!!! Our activities consisted of touring Dartmouth, Woodstock, hiking to lakes, and heading to the farm to pick berries, apples and pumpkins.

New Hampshire is a beautiful place. It's very picturesque and worth the drive. Of course we stayed up later than our bodies wanted us to talking and eating ice cream. Thanks for having us Em and Pat. Sadie still asks if the car in front of us is "Ruby's car." She misses her already. We of course miss them too. Family is the greatest. I wish we all lived closer. Ruby and Sadie both love books. I guess it's the Children's Hour gene shining through. Uncle Chase is the best at making silly voices and "bursting into tears" reading Angelina Ballerina. (She's a pretty dramatic little mouse.)
Sadie was so excited to pick her own berries. Her carton was always empty because the berries went straight from the bush to her mouth.
Happy little kid. There's nothing better than berry picking with Ruby!!
I love this picture. Chase was aching for a ski on the glassy water and Sadie was aching to disturb the ripple free lake with some...you guessed it...rocks!!

At the end of the day Sadie was really tired. You can tell from the dirt all over her face and baggy eyes that she had worn herself out.
What a guy. Have you ever seen such a hottie?

This is my favorite picture of Andrew. He was eating a granola bar and just couldn't finish it. I would love to be able to fall asleep like that.


Etherington grandkids, soon to be joined by two more on the way (Alice and Eloise).