True Patriotism

These quotes were both found at the North Bridge site (see below). Such powerful words from the mouths of true patriots about the America that once was.

Halloween in Concord

To celebrate this horribly festive holiday we decided to head off island to Concord, MA home of the select American authors. It was an absolutely gorgeous day of 70 degrees with incredible highlights of autumn leaves everywhere! Melissa, Mr. "Wild One," Brent, and I visited the burial ground for these authors including Alcott, Thoreau, and Emerson in the famous "Sleepy Hollow Cemetery" ... oh yes... Ichabod Crane. Sadly, we didn't see any headless horsemen. We also walked Walden Pond to Thoreau's venture spot as well as North Bridge- the famous spot where the "shot heard around the world" was fired. Breathtaking. Historical. Mystic.

Little Henry!

We had such a fun time with Melissa and Henry! He is a DOLL! And he just keeps getting cuter. Melissa dressed him up in an adorable lion costume- Brent and I were eating him up! He LOVES munching leaves with his hands. They felt so good he tried everything to smash them in his mouth and was getting so frustrated we wouldn't let him. Pretty much anything he does is adorable (:

Crows

I'm loving the crow right now. I suppose it's the season. This year I envisioned a huge blowup photo of a crow for my Halloween decor so we pursued our course to get one! Crows (or birds in general) are very skiddish so unless you have an amazing lens... good luck! However that was not going to stop the extreme duo of Mr. and Mrs. Brown! So, like storm chasers, Brent was the driver while I was at the at the helm snapping away. You'd laugh to see what we had to go through to get these shots but, as you can see, it was totally worth it! This was only just the beginning however! Hopefully, weather allowing, there will be more to come!

Carving Time!

Happy Halloween... my tied for "favorite holiday" (4th of July in the runnings). I absolutely LOVE this holiday! Love the weather, love the colors, love the costumes, love the season, love the pumpkins, love the decorations, love the kids, love the trick, love the treat. Just love. So of course we need to carve some pumpkins! This year Brent and I went to a local farm on the island and enjoyed fresh apple cider with cranberries, oranges, and a lemon (heaven!) after rummaging through a diverse pumpkin patch looking for our choice pumpkin to slaughter. Brent found an obscure 38 lbs-er and I picked the perfectly round yet lightly warted one. We hauled them away with our own fixings of apple cider (we loved it too much). And to make the evening perfect we listened to "Nightmare Before Christmas," chowed on pumpkin bread while sipping on some hot fresh cider. It was quite the cozy and festive evening.

Ahhhh.... Autumn once again

The island is full of places to venture- they're Landbanks preserved throughout simply for the naturists' pleasure. Brent was up to his Branch Prez duties so my friend, Melanie, and I took full advantage of a stunning Sunday afternoon. Although the photos are brilliant in color it doesn't do justice to your neglected 4 senses. There's only so much I can do. More Autumn photos to come!

Tree Tops

In between conference sessions Brent and I took a little walk and had a little fun while we were there. The music adds so much but the quality is not so great.

Cannon MV Photo Shoot

The Cannon's came to visit us again! We LOVE them being so close especially our little Henry! Such a doll. He's getting more and more of a personality- especially in the morning Mr. Smiley. It was a gorgeous day, perfect for family pictures. Henry was doing pretty well but he soon let us know that he was done. (: These are some of the good ones!

Mom and Dad Visit Martha's Vineyard!

Finally! I've been dying for my parents to come to the island and thankfully they were willing to make the trek out here. They of course loved it! Even with the invasion of the Bomer and his family we managed to overlook the overflow of propaganda and enjoy ourselves. We took so many photos it was hard to choose-- but I hope you can all get a glimpse of what it's like just have Mom narrate for you (: This is such a magical place I hope everyone can visit.

Beach and Lifeguard Tower

We spent many hours combing the beaches. We have a lot of beautiful shells on our beaches! We also took advantage of an abandoned lifeguard tower. What a gorgeous view! We had a blast with the camera as you can tell from our many pictures.

Aquinnah and Menemsha

Lobster and a Sunset

Dreamy! Mom's expression says it all. Lobster is DIVINE! Mom had it 4 times out of the 8 dinners we had, the rest of us 3. On the west side of the island there is a small lobster shop that will boil fresh lobsters for you. They cracked and prepared the lobsters for us, then we walked down to the water and enjoyed the most delicious lobster we've ever had while watching a beautiful sunset. Like I said... dreamy!

Illumination Night

In the middle of Oak Bluffs sits many quant little cottages decorated like gingerbread houses with many colors and swirls. Each year their put out chinese lanterns of many colors and shapes and light them all at once creating a magical ambiance. Mom and I enjoyed a nice stroll around the park admiring the warm glow of the evening. Dad- a married man of 38 years begrudgingly tagged along while Brent... well he's only be married 2.5 years so we'll leave it at that. But at lease for the moments or seconds he was with us he is the one who captured the moment.

Agricultural

Another of my parents' fabulous days on the island included the huge-small town ag fair. It was a whole new island with many farmers visiting from many parts off island. The cutest was the pig race- histarical! These little pigs can swim! All for the biggest piece of Oreo cookie. We also watch an ox pull. These oxen were HUGE!