Animals

Discussing Costa Rica's plan to close down zoos...

Mum (Nana): I hate it when animals are caged. Awful.
Raf: Then why do you eat meat, Nana?
Mum: ummmm...
Raf: You could just stop eating it, Nana.

More Hats of Hatts

November Hikes

November is drawing to a balmy close following a lovely Thanksgiving with mum, Rich, and the children. Mum's and Harriet's first one! We've managed to sneak in a few hikes this November, after a lackluster October because of general weekend busyness (so many birthday parties!) and a couple of weekends of one of us being a bit poorly. Still, we have had some nice walks... 

A miracle selfie where everyone is looking forward and looking more or less happy (almost, anyway). It was a lovely walk in Oceans Park and was made even nicer by the fact that mum was home cooking Sunday roast (tofurky) dinner. Delicious after a walk with the crew.

The following weekend we hit an old favourite, Saco Heath, with some of our favourite people. Luckily Gideon and Violet came dressed as Santa so we were safe from hunters who might have been lurking in the trees.

Charlie insisted on being the leader...

Poor Raf wasn't himself and when we returned home we realized why... a 103.8F temperature.

The best of friends.

The next week we hit another annual favourite, the Wells Rachel Carson Wildlife Reserve. Sadly most of the photos of this are on Rich's now dead phone, but we have a couple of darker ones... This is a special hike to us. Just before Dad died in 2011 we sent pictures back of a 2 year old Raf running the trail with sheer delight. They were the last photos dad saw of him (and us) and he loved them. I remember him commenting on the phone, 'I've never known a boy like it'. Each year we make sure we go during November. It's a short but beautiful little hike.

And then right on our doorsteps another trail. We're so lucky to live here, and even luckier to have friends like Cameron and Katherine to join us.

Dress Up Day

My smart, lovely Raf!

Halloween 2015!

We had a very fun Halloween holiday. Mum is here and it was her first time experiencing an American Halloween! She was skeptical that it would be fun, but I think she ended up enjoying it. After Hatts and I headed to bed one evening, the boys with Rich and Nana carved out a pumpkin. We had bought many pumpkins but the squirrels had completely decimated them. Rich eventually attempted to throw them in the back yard woods, only to find Charlie retrieving his... it was very sweet and funny seeing Charlie tottering along with a big, half eaten pumpkin taking it to 'safety'!

Nonetheless, Rich bought a big one and the children had fun carving it.

Ta da! Rich did a super job with decorating this year: new lights, bats, spiders, and even scary music that he popped on for the brave trick or treaters.

The Friday before Halloween saw Raf's Harvest Festival at school. I went into volunteer, which was a bit of a disaster as Chaz joined me! He had a blast, though.

All Raf's friends love him!

And then Halloween itself. We went out with a massive group of children. Raf was so excited and was a bit of a lunatic running from one house to the next... I couldn't even get them to sit still for a decent photo!

 Harriet wasn't that impressed dressed up as a bee.

Our group got smaller quickly as it was very chaotic, but it was such a brilliant evening, and we stuck with some good friends. Poor old Charlie was as exhausted as I've ever seen him, which, when added to the sugar rush, made for an interesting final half hour of treating! And even mum had a great night as she stayed home handing out candy.

Charlie and his Big Boy Bike

Charlie received an early Christmas present from Nana.. his very own big boy bike. We decided to give it to him early because we're sure to be buried in snow come January and February, and we knew he'd be desperate to ride it. He LOVES it. He has a special place in the garage where he likes to park it and now he's desperate to have a new matching helmet. He got the hang of it really quickly... though his legs get tired easily and he makes lots of excuses for stopping (Mummy, I just need to whisper something to you... I just need a hug). 

"I'm doing it"!

October 28th

Our lovely Harriet Rose turned 6 months old last week, on the October 28th. She's such a brilliant little girl, so sweet and serene. She loves to watch her brothers, and they are her biggest fans. We marked the occasion with, of course, half a cake. 

Excited for a new toy :)

She loves the Moby still, thank goodness. 

And also the jumpy thingy.