Aunt Jackie is here!!

As you can see, Carter is very happy to have Auntie Jackie here this week!

Braden too!

Ben and Jerry's

Visiting the Ben and Jerry's factory never gets old for us!

Maple Street Pool

Great afternoon at the pool today! We got some cute pictures since "Grammoo" was there to take them :) Pappoo stayed home with Carter, so it was fun to have special time with Braden!
First atempted jump without floaties:
airborne!

The boys' new sandbox

Early birthday present to Braden and Carter from Pappoo and Grammoo...a sandbox! We didn't want anything permanent, so a pool filled with sand is the perfect solution! The boys already love it, as you can see!


Helping Pappoo put it together (video:)

Beach with the Ballards!

Burlington with the Ballards!

My Dad and Step-Mom came out to Vermont for a couple of weeks to help with the kids and check it out for the first time! We had lunch on the waterfront:
Playing in the backyard with Grandma:
Cooking brownie treats:
Dad and I splurged on lobster at Shanty on the Shore...first time eating lobster in a lONG time!! A must for summer in New England! Thanks Dad!

10 Months old today!

My baby is already 10 months old!?! Carter is now approximately 19+ lbs and growing fast...as evident by the fact that now some of the 12 month clothes are already too small! He's still such a happy baby but definitely will let you know when he's mad...don't try to put him in the car seat to go if he doesn't want you too!! Because we've been doing a lot of beach days and things in the morning he's kind of forced to switch from two naps to one long one on most days, which works out great for us.
Carter with his signature tongue sticking out playing with his new standing table (which he LOVES!):

Bowling

Today we went to Pizza Putt and Braden got to go bowling for the first time!
Very serious:
This one might have been a strike!
Hurray!

Lake Iroquois

In my search for the perfect Vermont beach for us, today we met a few friends at Lake Iroquois in Williston. This is the first time I've been there, and it was great! It had nice sand, trees for shade for Carter, close bathrooms and food, playground right next to the beach, and very close parking (very important to me hauling two babies and tons of beach stuff!). Plus, Lake Iroquois is much smaller than Lake Champlain, so the water was a lot warmer!

4th of July at Maple Street Park

We spent the evening of the 4th enjoying the festivities at Maple Street park...face painting (Braden had to get an airplane along w/ his red, white and blue!), bouncies, swing set, and, of course, fireworks!

Braden learning how to pay respect to our flag:
This time Braden loved the fireworks...we stayed for the whole show!

Happy 3rd of July!

Downtown Burlington this year did their fireworks on Saturday so people can enjoy them and also enjoy their own small town fireworks on the forth...so, downtown we went! It was crazy crowded with people, but still lots of fun and such a beautiful day! Here Braden and I are on the dock facing the waterfront where everyone began gathering...by the night time it was completely packed.
Grandpa's little firecracker:
Braden enjoyed the rides and bouncies:
Waiting for the fireworks and playing with the little glowstick from Grandma Pat:
Unfortunately, the loud fireworks actually scared Braden, so we didn't stay for the whole show! Funny, it's all he can talk about it today and how exciting they were!

Storyland

We stayed in New Hampshire Wednesday night and went to Storyland the next day...another great amusement park with a cute theme and lots of rides and things to do!