Early October happenings

30 second synopsis: Early October has been very busy for the Malletts. We've gone apple picking. I'm taking a class every week at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. We stopped by the Acton firehouse and Nic played a few games. The scenery around here is becoming more and more amazing each day!!! Happy October.

MFA temporary exhibit: Crafted Objects in Flux

October and signs of a new season

Nic had a blast at the Fire Station open house. We might have a future fire fighter on our hands.

Apple Picking at Honey Pot Hill.

Visit from friends!

This past weekend was packed with fun! We enjoyed a rare chance to catch up with Tom & Joellyn (MT). They had just finished a week long trip for the Farmer's Union to DC and decided to fly up our way to say hello and do a little sight seeing. How lucky are we? Nice meals, walking tours in Boston and Concord, and we finally went on a duck tour. We loved it ... thanks for visiting us. Come back soon!

Weekend update 9/12

We wrapped up a nice weekend. We attended the cutest housewarming party for Sam and Abby (Chris' cousin) and had a great time catching up with family in New Hampshire. Abby decorated her new home for the party with tons of burlap, chalkboard and wood. Super cute!

Ben had soccer games all weekend one in downtown Boston, one in Lincoln. The weather was enjoyable. Sports affords us reasons to stop in new places. A quick trip to the farmers market in Concord was beautiful and fun to snap a few pictures. I purchased a couple of HUGE mums for only 6$. Bargain! Nic participated in a vegetable derby race and won his heat. He built a car out of a large green pepper. The cars name is Pepperman. 

We stopped at a coffee shop called HAUTE coffee and had a nice breakfast. Ben ordered cinnamon toast. The toast was literally two inches thick. Mom, you have competition. 

Today was a holiday (Rosh Hashanah) and the kids were out of school. More holidays are celebrated and recognized here than in Utah. I cleaned and worked. Andrew had a dr. appointment to look into his elbow pain (overuse), we now have a referral to a sports medicine guy in Lexington in October. 

Brimfield Antique & Flea market

Four hours is not enough! I spent a good chunk of yesterday exploring the Brimfield Flea market and barely scratched the surface. Booth upon booth of random goodness. Tis place is worth a thousand visits. I will be back.

I did hunt a few small goodies. Nothing too big since I went by myself and had to carry everything I purchased.  Old stamps, letterpress blocks, random spools, flower frogs, maps and metal letters. I'm most excited about the mini antique iron I found. 

And School begins

It's here ... the first day of school for the older boys. Andrew is in 10th grade and Benjamin is in 8th grade. 

We will all enjoy a long holiday weekend and then all of the boys will be in full day school starting September 8. 

First day of Kindergarten!

Say what?! How can five years have passed so quickly? Nicholas started his first day of kindergarten today (full day at that). He was beyond excited and all ready to go to school with his Batman lunchbox and Pokémon backpack. Yes, we are fully acculturated with the licensed gear.  

Chris and I dropped him off at school and will see him later this afternoon. So strange to be without him. Andrew and Ben will keep me company today. They start school tomorrow.

Happy Mail - Personalized Address Stamps

Address stamp designs

It's so fun to receive HAPPY MAIL. A surprise in the mail is always welcome. We know so many folks moving to new addresses I decided to create a few return address stamps. I think these make great house warming gifts and it is fun to personalize the design for the person I am giving it to. 

I created the DEPOT design for us. I liked this look so much and created another version for my parents. My parents just moved into a fabulous new home so I thought they should have two stamps. The second design is shown at the bottom.

Chris' cousin Abby just purchased her first home and here the stamp I made for her and her boyfriend.

As you know, I love to stamp and really all things stamp related. Creating my own designs for stamps that others can use is WAY cool. In the samples to the left I designed/typeset the art and then sent them off for someone else do the dirty work of producing. I may need to invest in my own little stamp maker ... hmm. a MINT might be in my future. 

You like and want? I can make a custom stamp for you too! Contact me for details and pricing. 

Depot Design

August ends - Last week of summer

Summer is ending and it's hard to believe it is the last day of August. This past week was full and we enjoyed our last bits of summer. We took a day trip to Mattapoisett to pick up Ben (Ben was invited to stay a few days with a friend). Nic and I really enjoyed our visit. We spent a few hours on the beach and toured around the amazing town with new friends. So peaceful and a summer highlight.

While Ben was away I headed up to Nashua, New Hampshire for an afternoon with Andrew and Nic for some back to school shopping. It was a quick trip (Nashua is about 40 minutes away). Nashua has a ton of the big name shopping stores (and a Costco) with the benefit of NH tax free shopping. 

Mattapoisett

We love playing tourists. Saturday we headed to the city to continue sight-seeing and walk a bit more of the Freedom trail. This trip took us to Faneuil Hall and the Old State House where the Declaration of Independence was read from the balcony in 1776. We toured the Museum and brushed up on Revolutionary War facts. We even visited the "Historic" 1980 Beacon Hill Cheers Bar location and ate some grub at a Cheers replica. 

More stops along the Freedom trail: Faneuil Hall and the Old State House and Cheers on Beacon hill.

We snuck in a play set just before the end of Summer. Nic is beyond happy. He loves his new clubhouse and slide. The weather has been perfect here for the last week and it's made being outdoors really enjoyable. The humidity is giving us a break.

Our new play set - before and after

The playhouse is huge but luckily we have the space. This would have never fit in our Sandy backyard. It makes our yard feel much more homey. The playhouse has an area for a sandbox. I plan to add sand underneath the play house one bag at the time of the next while. We'll see how that goes ... 

Other highlights from last week; kindergarten orientation - Nic is beyond excited!!!, a visit from Leslie, visit from Abby and Sam, yard work—the hillside is free of weeds, bike rides, crafting, a new countertop area for my craft space, and lastly a bunch of work. Yeah for work!

Can I also just note how much I LOVE full weeks? LOVE. THEM.

August Happenings

A few updates from August:

Getting back into life and routine here in Mass. The weather has been hot and muggy. Some say usually muggy. We are finally enjoying a yard and continuing on yard work/improvements. Weeding is never ending in the woods. 

This kids are great and enjoying the last bits of summer. Nicholas lost his first tooth! Andrew started Drivers Ed and recovering from a a sore elbow from tendonitis (we think). Ben is ramping up with soccer again and is working on his unpacking and organizing his bedroom (he finally got that loft bed he was promised). They all start school here in early September.

We've packed in a few city trips and have tried to act like tourists to become more familiar with our area. Boston is a great city, we need to "visit" more often.

I've been working, freelance, side projects and a bit of craft stuff. I'm still unpacking and organizing the house, if you can believe it?! We have so much stuff to get rid of. I need a DI drop off. Funny what you miss. Chris is head down and working hard. Loves his job. Life is good.

The yard in Boxborough. Grass is coming in and so is the crab grass.

Tooth business. Nicholas pulled it out himself.  Going rate $3.50.

Boston Common in August 2015

Swan Boat ride - August 2015

Storyland

The summer fun continues ... I took the boys up to New Hampshire and Maine this weekend to visit Leslie (Grammy), Nina and Billy. We needed to pick up Lucy so we decided to make a fun event of it. We started the weekend off with dinner at Delani's Hole in the wall. Leslie, Ben and Billy tried sushi for the first time. They are not fans.

We stayed over at Grammy's house with the cousins where the older kids slept very little. Andrew pulled an all-nighter which contributed to his great mood the next day. The next morning we headed off to Storyland for a full day of Nursery Rhyme fun and rides. Nicholas was totally into it and really enjoying it and the older kids tolerated it until we found the coasters and water rides.  

Storyland with Ben, Andrew, Nicholas, Grammy, Nina & Billy 8.7.15

Storyland with Ben, Andrew, Nicholas, Grammy, Nina & Billy 8.7.15

Utah: Bear Lake, Ponies, Cousins & Fun

Here are a few more pictures from our Utah trip that I wanted to post. These were on my phone and I had planned to post last week but couldn't because I left my phone in Utah. Doh. Now that I've been reunited with my gadget I thought I'd post the last few fun filled days in Utah. We had a blast and miss everyone so much already. Until next time!  

Bear Lake fun with the Brooks family. 8.1.15

Splash pad fun. Nicholas loves getting wet! 7.31.15

Last few visits with Grandma Great, the cousins, and a spectacular farewell sunset. 8.3.15

Lucky Nicholas got to ride a Pony! 8.1.15

Back in MA!

Lagoon China panda had plenty of room. 

USB plugs, headphone jacks and Tvs ... What more could you need? 

We returned to Boston late last night, got to our home around 1:30. Chris picked us up at the airport and we were all very excited to see him. Our flight was turbulent but the plane we traveled on was amazing. We flew Delta, which we always do, but this was the first time we've ever been on this type of plane.  USB and 110 power outlets in every seat. Seemed like way more leg room (we were row 44 all the way in the back). I'm not a plane geek but this sure was awesome. The kids dug it too. 

The house faired well without occupants for the few weeks while we are gone. The yard, not so well. Crab grass has taken over the new lawn. Lots of mail and bills to pay. Three weeks is a long time. The house feels empty and not the same without Lucy. We will drive up to Leslie's home in Maine and pick her up later this week. We are so excited to see her.  

We missed the great Boston hail storm that happened on Tuesday but our car did not.  Read this article and you'll see why we need to get some bodywork done. The Nissan got pelted really hard, 20-30 little dents all over it.

Fun filled Utah days

We are cramming it in! Visits with friends, pool, park, lagoon, card club, cousins, sleepovers, movies, bowling ... you name it we are going to try and fit it in. Enjoying our summer vacay!!!

Inspire•Create•Share: Convention 2015

Inspire create share 2015 was a blast! What a fun way to spend a couple of days. Nice to make and craft, take classes and learn about new Stampin' Up! products. It was beyond nice, and a rare opportunity, to catch up with dear old friends. I sure miss my SU peeps. After three full days I am tired and inspired.  

The event looked fabulous! It was the perfect size, just crowded enough. It's always great to leave with new free products, a super cool bag, win some prizes and receive deals on future purchases! I attended a great class on making quick & simple videos which I've challenged myself to create. SU Convention events will be changing in the future and it was great to see the "last" convention of its kind. 

Inspire Create Share 2015

As I mentioned in earlier posts, I participated in a few organized swaps. The samples I received in return are pretty amazing.  I'll do a quick post about those later this week. Fun stuff.

Until that happens below are some random display sample inspiration. These samples were created by the thousands of demonstrators that attended Convention. 

Random snippets of display samples.

Snippets of display samples from 'Sprinkles of Life' Stampin' Up!

Snippets of display samples from 'No Bones About It' Stampin' Up!

Samples from Watercolor style sets: Work of Art, Over the Rainbow, & Watercolor Words Stamp sets.

Samples from Watercolor Wings

I can't wait for the Holiday mini to be released! Makers ... you will LOVE it! Below is just a few snaps of samples created from products in the Holiday mini. So much cute stuff. You can see an official catalog after August 4th. I would love to get one of these catalogs in your hands, drop me a note if you'd like me to send you a Holiday catalog. I barely scratched the surface on showing any Christmas products ... or really any of it!

2015 Holiday mini catalog samples - fun products are coming! Stampin' Up!

And just for fun... It is cool and rewarding to see such darling samples created with from sets you worked on. These are a few cards that I snapped pictures of. I wish I had more time to review the hundreds of display samples.

Get Well Soup

One Big Meaning

Zion

We are just about ready to leave Zion and head back up to northern Utah.  It's been an awesome couple of days relaxing, hiking, sitting poolside and basically enjoying our summer vacation.  Random pics...

Utah Vacay week 1

The Malletts are back in Utah ... for vacation!  The boys and I arrived early last week and spent a few days catching up with Ogden family (Grandma Great, Beau & family, Geoff & family, Grandpa Brooks, Mom & Dad). We shopped a bit, saw the Minion movie and stopped by a few favorite local spots. Utah is HOT and we are enjoying the heat and scenery.  Side note: the dry air and heat is really improving my poison ivy.

Utah Vacation randomness

Later in the week we drove down to St. George to spend a few days celebrating Grandma's 85th birthday. Friday we visited with family at a BBQ Steve and Kathryn hosted at their amazing new home at Entrada. All of Steve's kids and grandkids were there, along with Shawn & Family, Mike & Karen, Julie and the rest of the Brooks gang from Ogden. It was so great to catch up and enjoy a good meal. We drove out to Eagle Valley for a mini family reunion and picnic with Grandma's brother and family. Along the way there (and back) visited Cathedral Gorge and toured around Pioche.

Highlights: a visit to Grandpas grave, swimming in the pond, feeding the horses, hiking with cousins.

Lowlights: bee sting on Nicholas foot, & scrapped elbows from hiking.

Grandma LaRue's 85th Birthday party

Grandma LaRue's 85th Birthday party

Pioche, Nevada July 2015

Cathedral Gorge July 2015

Millers Point Overlook Cathedral Gorge July 2015

Today we loafed at mom and dad's place in St. George. Much needed. I have a few favorite shopping and dining spots in St. George we were able to hit: Urban Renewal, Swig, Cafe Rio, Vera Pies, and various drive throughs! Lol - remember our new home in Acton/Boxborough has banned the drive-through?! ... so we had to take advantage!

Tomorrow we head to Zion and will spend a couple days there. Then back up to northern Utah. I'll attend the Stampin' Up! annual convention in SLC and Chris will take the boys camping. More posts soon.

Plum Island

We spent a good part of the Saturday on the North Shore, this time on Plum Island. Andrew had a baseball game in Newbury Port and since it's a good hour drive from here we thought we'd tag along and get in some sight-seeing.

Plum Island is a super nice area with really clean sandy beaches. The water was not too cold and it was clear. Nic found and gathered 40-50 shells. He loves to comb the beach. After the beach and the game I spent sometime walking around the town while Chris, the boys and Nic enjoyed the playground. There is a playground right in the middle of the town shopping, so smart! I did a tiny bit of shopping and we enjoyed burgers at Lexie's (L.O.V.E. = peace love and burgers). We will definitely head back to this area in the future.

Kimball Farm

Yesterdays outing took us to Kimball farm. About 15 minutes away from us in Westward, Kimball farm is a local mini golf, arcade, golf, bumper boat and fabulous ice cream kind of place. I equate it to high end Boondocks with a TON more charm. Very pretty, like walking around a botanical garden. The place was crowded but the boys and I had a nice time together and the ice cream was to die for! Phone died half way through so the only pics to share are from mini golf.

Boys also got nice new haircuts, looking sharp.

Bug bite update — turns out the bug was vegetation in the name of poison ivy. Yes! I have a nasty case of poison ivy, pretty much reeking havoc on my system. Finally got in to see a doctor and they have hooked me up. Hopefully I can better try to avoid the poison ivy in the future. I must of come across it in yard work. Better hire a gardener. LOL.

Fun Fourth Weekend!

Happy 4th of July weekend! This was our first real 'holiday' weekend in Massachusetts. So much to do and not sure what to do we set out to hang at a beach somewhere on the south shore.  Beaches were crowed or full due to the holiday. We luckily found parking and a beach spot at the very crowed Duxbury Beach. Nic loves the ocean and had a blast swimming and playing. The older boys read, chilled and helped bury Nic in the sand.  Somehow we missed the local firework show. We got out dates crossed somehow. Bummer!

Duxbury Beach July 3, 2015

We took a trip to Plymouth Rock and played tourist for a few hours. We walked around the Plymouth harbor and enjoyed each others company stopping at all the sights; Mayflower II, Plymouth Rock, various anchors, candy and cupcake shops. The boys and I love a good candy shop. I purchased some Razzles but somehow left without salt water taffy?! The weather was perfect for strolling around with a slight breeze. We capped off the day with a seafood dinner - fried scallops, yum!

Plymouth Rock - July 3, 2015

Somehow have neglected to teach Nic how to ride a two-wheeler. We set out to solve that problem this weekend. We drove up to Nashua to buy a bike - Nic picked a spiderman bike and spiky helmet. He is dedicated to learn and stated "I can do this" while attempting to balance. He is so cute and enthused!  A few more days of practice and he will be a professional.

Nic's new bike - July 5th, 2015

Because I can't stop complaining it's worth mentioning, but not showing, I've been attacked. It seems there is a bug that likes me more than the mosquito and its bite is way, WAY worse. I'm assuming (from serious internet research) I was attacked by no see ums, or small black flies - not really sure as I didn't see the attack, only the aftermath. Let me tell ya ... I am looking and feeling like a freak! My arms and legs were some serious all you can eat buffet. Since I am allergic to most bites these suckers followed suit and have swollen and blistered, oozed and have become serious sores. And the ITCH, whoa!  I'll take a mosquito bite any day over these bites. Day five and not looking to heal anytime soon. Likely doctor tomorrow as my body is not tackling on it's own. Advice appreciated. 

Hope your Fourth was a blast and bite free!

Minuteman National Historic Park

We are getting to know our area a little bit. Chris suggested we start using trip advisor for places to visit. Why not? This morning the boys and I drove a short 15 minutes to Concord and walked around and saw the sights at Minute Man National Historic Park. “North Bridge - Where Organized Resistance Began ...”