Block Island Vacation

For once the kids' school vacation fell after April 15, so we planned out "an adventure" as Levi termed it. Michael and I had visited Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island way back before children, and determined we'd go back someday.

This is such a beautiful unique spot. More than 1/2 of the island is conservation land and there are over 360 fresh water ponds. You have to take a ferry out of Galilee, RI since it's 11+ miles off the coast.







We had to be at the ferry an hour before our reservation for sailing time. Michael had to back the Freestyle up into a really tight spot on the ship...so tight we all had to climb out the rear window b/c the doors couldn't open.

Once we made our escape from the car, we headed up on deck (2 floors up) to enjoy the sunshine. It was such a beautiful day. As soon as the ferry pulled away from the dock Levi's eyes lit up and he said "I think we are on an adventure!" That right there was worth the whole trip!

We stayed at the beautiful 1661 Inn this room with a wrap around deck, jaccuzzi, and gorgeous view of the ocean. At night, you could see the lights from the mainland just on the horizon and hear the waves and peepers in the salt marsh.

A major part of the adventure was the boys getting to go "horseback" riding (on ponies) for the first time. They were so excited, but a bit unsure of what to expect. When they found out their pony's names were Flash and Ariel, Levi pronounced that Ariel was a girl's name, so he wanted to ride Flash. He changed his mind pretty quickly when he saw that Ariel was much smaller and less intimidating than Flash.

The man who was their trail guide was quite the character...we couldn't decide if he was a pirate or a hippy...but I'm sure he's had his share of pot over the years. It only added to the adventure when he told them pirate stories as they rode to the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Both boys decided they wanted to bring their ponies home with them. I wonder how much a pony costs on the ferry?

Our second day on the island we hiked the "Clay Head" trail. It starts out at sea-level and they boys had a ball throwing rocks in the ocean and collecting the prettiest ones.


As we hiked along, we got higher and higher up the cliffs. Here the boys are 30+ feet above the ocean tho you can't tell it from the picture

In this spot I believe you are more than 40 feet up - again, the picture kind of flattens your perspective.

Beautiful Block Island: Everywhere you look is another fresh water pond. Stone walls stretching in every direction. Lots of wildlife...tho the island has no squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons or skunks (interesting!).

Daffodils right along side the trail. There were many of these on the island. It's also loaded with blackberry bushes.

The best shot I got of the edge of the bluffs. We were maybe 70 to 80 feet up here. Needless to say we were a bit nervous about how daring the boys were getting closer and closer to the edge.

Back at our inn: Beautiful grounds. The Innkeeper keeps quite a menagerie. They have many different kinds of animals including a zebu, zedonk (1/2 zebra, 1/2 donkey), a camel, some kind of highland steer (huge slightly scarey snorting animal), fainting goats (would have loved to see why they are called that), llammas, a miniature horse, and several other types of exotic animals.

A few more exotic creatures to add to the mix:

Such a sweet spot. Wouldn't want to pay the price to stay there in "high season", but it was such a peaceful get away - just what I needed. The phenominal breakfast buffet each morning did nothing to help me do away with 5 or so extra pounds I have left over from tax season.

Our room was facing the ocean, ground floor on the end. The boys want to go back every year, but it will be awhile before their vacation and my schedule line up again.

Spring!

Silas breaking the law...no phones while driving in New York State! He carries on quite a "conversation" with whoever in on the other end of the line, but not in English For those who don't really believe that I still have 4 foot snow banks around my house. Actually, it has shrunk a bit since then with the rain and warm weather - but it's still at least half this size.

Three little monkeys out enjoying the rain...not a dry pair of footwear in the house because the puddles are so irresistable.

I got to my mother-in-law's house to pick them up after work yesterday and found them doing this...

I guess it's a good thing they stripped off their clothes first but that water must be frigid. Notice lots of snow in the background and on the lawn all around the puddles. They were having a seriously good time, so I even stripped the little guy and let him join in the fun.

Whiteface!

Fun time today with Michael and the boys. Beautiful conditions and not at all busy because it's midweek. Noah and Daddy did a couple of black diamond trails including Skyward and McKenzie - his first time. Levi was able to ski from the Gondola for the first time and LOVED all the jumps in the terrain park. We came home happy but very tired.

The trees at the top of the Wilmington trail were all outlined in ice and snow - a winter wonderland.

Michael's latest project

He spent all day putting down laminate tile and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!! Makes the kitchen feel a lot bigger. He still needs to do the under cabinet kick plates - but I'm amazed that he got the whole thing done in one day. The tile has brown and green to match the cabinets, you can't really tell from the flash pictures:








Bonus, cute baby thinking about who knows what:

Project complete!

So exciting! Happy Dance! Really makes the whole project come together. Actually, to be honest, there is still the threshold at the bottom of the stairs, but otherwise, it's finally done.

Michael widened the doorway here and it makes it feel so much more open. Love it.

Levi and a pair of scissors...bad idea...

Well, here's how it all went down... I was on the phone with my Mom and doing taxes on the computer at the same time. Michael was cutting Noah's hair in the kitchen and apparently not aware of where his extra pair of hair scissors might be. All the sudden Levi comes bombing out of the bathroom and hides behind my chair, then slowly climbs up into my chair and stage whispers "I have to tell you something!" My response was to tell daddy since I am very busy, but then he says urgently, "I accidentally cut my hair." He immediately had my full attention. Oh My! What a hack job he had done to himself:



He REALLY cut the front short! After appropriate exclamations...I went back to my phone call and tax return, leaving Daddy to try to salvage the situation. Levi was very apologetic saying over and over again "I'll never cut my hair again, never!" This was the end result:




...hmmm...that's a seriously short crew cut we've got going on here. Too bad it's winter and below zero out right now since this is a much more summer ready look:





Glad I got this shot of the three of 'em together on Sunday since it'll take a few months to grow back out:






Silas is fascinated by the hair cutting ritual. He wants another stool right in front of which ever one of the boys is in the hot seat so he can get as close as possible and he cheers wildly for who knows what reason. He couldn't wait to climb up on the stool for his turn, but then of course he is a complete wiggle worm. Here he's looking mighty serious.

You'll have to forgive Michael's outfit, he took the boys XC skiing and never bothered to change out of his long johns.

As I said before...never a dull moment!

Happy Boys

Silas wants piggy back and horsey rides from Noah all the time. Noah is a good big brother and happy to oblige.

These three little guys keep us on our toes with never a dull moment.