A Gracious Place

Friday, August 19, 2011

Connecticut Vacation

DSC_4827 by dandeelines
DSC_4827, a photo by dandeelines on Flickr.

We had a wonderful vacation with our friends John and Ellen Buerger and their daughter Aubrie (who will be 3 in November like Johnny). They invited us to go to the house John shares with his extended family. It is a beautiful old house with a lot of character and a lot of history. The lady (Aunt Susie) who is the main caretaker right now has 10 grandsons who frequent the house. Needless to say, there were tons of trucks, cars, and diggers that Johnny adopted as his own. The kids loved roaming free in the big yard, playing on the small beach by the river, fishing off the dock, swinging on the swing, eating outside, and just enjoying the relaxing atmosphere and slower pace. Not to mention the cooler weather, so that we could actually play outside. They got to play in the rain the first day we were there. They acted like they hadn't seen rain in a long time...wait, they hadn't seen rain in a long time!!!

Ellen and I enjoyed exploring the local Goodwill, TJ Max, Herb's Country Store, and resale shop during nap times each day in an old blue pick up truck. It didn't have any AC, but that was good for us because we live in AC 24/7 right now. John and Dan grilled up some delicious lobster! We went to the ocean one day and had a blast. The weather was perfect. Miranda found a little jellyfish that washed up on the beach. She adopted that slimy thing and held it the whole time and made a home for it in a bucket with seaweed and sand (and named it Bella:-)). She really likes slimy pets. She has loved several worms to death already.

I was a little worried about being close to the river with the kids, but Johnny only fell off the dock once (no worries, Dan was right there). This happened after he got carsick on our way out to eat and also managed to get a bead stuck in his nose, so it seemed really minor in comparison.

Enjoy the pictures! Just click on the one above and it will take you to Flickr. (Same ones I put on FB, btw.)