Six States, Six Days

Living in New England makes it possible to visit many states with minimal effort. This summer we unintentionally found ourselves in six states over the span of six days. 

On a Thursday evening in July, Joshua received an invitation from MSNBC to sit on a panel that Saturday morning. We had already planned a week long road trip to visit both of our families, and we made a quick decision to leave early and add on this adventure. So the very next day the three of us packed up the car and left our home state of Massachusetts to head to New York.

Upon arrival we took Sophia on a brief walk around our hotel for her first experience of New York City.

The next morning she and I watched her Dad on TV from our room around the corner from the studio.

A clip from the show can be viewed here. 

After a picnic lunch in Central Park we were on the road to New Hampshire. We spent the night at the house where Joshua spent the first eighteen years of his life before traveling two hours to Vermont. 

Joshua's mother's side of the family is from Vermont, and we were there to celebrate the Thurber family reunion. This year's theme was the Olympics and the younger cousins had a lot of fun participating in the games.

After a wonderful afternoon of family and food, we traveled back to New Hampshire to spend several additional days visiting. Blueberry picking was one of the highlights.

Next we went to see my Dad's side of the family in Ocean Grove, New Jersey. In order to get to New Jersey we had to drive through Connecticut. A drive through might not count for some, but know that you see A LOT of Connecticut when traveling from New Hampshire to New Jersey.

By the end of the summer Sophia had visited a fifth of the states. While we were visiting my family in Pennsylvania we went to lunch in Delaware just so that we could check off number ten. Fortunately this was only a twenty minute drive.

Months, Not Weeks

Dear Sophia,

I suddenly realized that I had stopped counting your life in weeks and had converted to months.

When people would smile at you in the grocery store and ask how old you were, I would respond, "Fifteen weeks!" And they would quickly do the math to figure out that you were almost four months old. 

For as long as I have known of your existence I have been counting in weeks. I was 14 weeks pregnant and we had made it to the second trimester. I was 24 weeks and very relieved that if anything went wrong the doctors would likely be able to sustain your life.

During the final stages of my labor with you I would have liked to count in seconds or even hours, but there was no way of knowing this. Fortunately at that point it wasn't weeks or even days before I got to meet you.

You are four months old today. For the first time I switched out all of your clothes to the next size up. I loved how they had looked like doll clothes when I hung them on the line. I loved that someone small enough to actually fit in those clothes lived in our home. 

So now we will count in months instead of weeks, and some day we will swap out the months for years. Thank you Sophia for all of the weeks that have become months.

We look forward to loving you for all of our years,

Your Mama

The Berkshires

These Friends.

They have been friends with us, for just about as long as Joshua and I have been friends with each other. They have also directed several of our major life events. They both served as emcees at our wedding, and Danielle was the labor coach at Sophia's birth.

This summer we got to spend several days at a cabin in the Berkshire Mountains with them.

We talked politics and religion, played games, and ate ice cream. Our two month old and eleven month old babies sort of played together.

We also did a lot of this:

But my favorite moment of all, was when Danielle informed me on our last morning that we were going to "make a memory" and suggested we go swimming in the lake in the pouring rain while the menfolk watched the kids.

We were clearly the only ones in the lake, and it was the most I had felt like being a kid, since having had one.

Archambaults, Art, and an Alma Mater

We made a visit to Parker's Maple Barn, in Mason, New Hampshire.

Three generations of Archambault men came together.

Along with a fourth generation Archambault little girl, and those of us who had married into the club.

To celebrate this guy's 87th Birthday.

The Patriarch of the Archambault clan.

That afternoon we went to our shared alma mater, Gordon College, where we met up with more Archambaults and friends.

It felt a little odd to be pushing a stroller around where we had attended undergrad.

But bringing Sophia to where we had first met, made us feel as if it had all come full circle.

We were there for the "Faculty and Alumni Art Show".

Several sculptures by Sophia's Aunt Aimee were featured.

Family Firsts: First Fair

While I was still pregnant, I was planning a trip to the Marshfield fair with my then to be three month old.

Ever since we moved to the south shore about five years ago, I have wanted to go.

Joshua was away on his first business trip since Sophia's birth to Florida, so we decided to have a sleep over with our dear friend and Marshfield local, Hazel. 

The beauty of Hazel's home and the warmth of her hospitality made it feel like we were staying at a bed and breakfast. Fresh flowers from her garden and homemade waffles graced the breakfast table.

I learned that the fair had been in existence since 1867. About a century later Hazel went as a little girl. She made friends quickly at our first stop in the barns.

I was a part of a 4-H club when I was younger, but didn't live very close to a rural environment. Instead my 4-H club focus was 'microwave cooking'.

I think it would be wonderful if Sophia has an opportunity to have an experience like these girls.

Clearly Sophia and I weren't the only mother daughter pairing at the fair.....

....and Sophia wasn't the youngest one there by far.

As has been common of much of her three month existence thus far, Sophia slept through most of the fair until we stopped at a booth selling baked potatoes stuffed with broccoli and cheese for lunch, followed by ice cream. While she has been known to wake for food,she seemed unsure of this fair business.

Our last stop was the agricultural exhibits.

Hazel is a master gardener and has won many first place ribbons for entries she has made to the fair.

Sophia was asleep again by the end of our trip. Perhaps next year, the ability to actually pet a cow and eat some fair food will be enough incentive to stay awake.