Special guests...

We did move a bit out of the way.  It was on purpose for reasons that align with our intuitions.  Its intention, however, was not to be so far from those we love.  

We have been fortunate, as of late, to host some very fun visitors despite the many miles in between!!

To see The Smith Family was a delight and I was honored to act as hostess on their brief, yet most amazing stay!

 

 Cameron and Gabrielle met in Little Gym, one of the many places that

mothers of toddlers 

go to exhaust their little ones and meet new friends...

That was over five whole years ago; and look at them now!

Still such good friends.  I was so pleased to see them enjoy each other, nothing but FUN FUN FUN!

What else was there to do but enjoy yet another successful picnic by the lake?  First a walking tour of the village...

Matt always knows how to add flare to moment, no?

We purchased some vino, **met a local farmer, ordered our dinner and voila...

**side note on that...

for some reason I find the local farmers here, in Vermont, to be of like a celebrity status.  They are far more beneficial to our culture then let's say...a ms. lohan.   And I am over the moon to be getting to know our local peop's, ya dig?

okay, picnic dinner... amazing...

Matt and Evan

Britt and Meryl

And the children enjoying the water in the evening sun...

Though their visit was close to being a short twenty-four hours they were successful in doing quite a few of our favorite things!  

Walk through the village, check.  

Eat and play and the lake, check.

Following day...a visit to Shelburne Farms AND the Shelburne Museum!  

Having this family visit our new home town was delightful and I do look forward to it again next year and the years after that! 

Before parting ways I spotted my favorite chair in the history of chairs.  It was just sitting there, in the grass, under a tree... I love this chair and I will be visiting it frequently... It makes for some pretty rad pictures!

See you at Christmas Smith Family.

xoxo

Dinner at the lake...

I mean seriously, the beauty...

It is intoxicating.

This is our new destination of choice during dinner time hours.

Last Friday we had the pleasure of some very special guests.   

And the sky, well...

it was on its very best behavior.  So we did the only thing we could do... 

 We ordered the oh so scrumptious Green Mountain pizza from our local pie shop.  This place is the best and its owners Will and Christie are darling.  I love supporting their local shop.  They work hard and it shows!

Grams and Papa are here again, this time in a more summery kind of way.  The picnic on the beach was a perfect match for the weather as well as the mood.

They had only graced our doorway for a whole five minutes before they jumped into chores and other ridiculous nonsense, for the sake of us... it is commendable.  So aside from the lovely sunset meal we decided to relax at the Burlington Farmer's Market; an exciting place to be indeed.

We joined the Rookies Root Beer club last week at the Shelburne market.  We got great glasses and will receive $1 + $.50 refills all summer long! Sweeeet!

Papa is now an official member too and the boys chose the maple vanilla soda this time.

 The girls went old skool... my favorite really.

Next, the Mr. was so kind to let me gather a small bouquet.  I was happy visiting each floral vender, and then revisiting each, for a perfect match.  An afternoon made in heaven....

What a delightful way to enjoy the market.

The raging East Coast heat wave sent us home a touch earlier than I had planned, but that's okay.  We were full of delicious Root Beer and needed to get these beauties into some water!  

Mark and Jan took off on a summer adventure.  Maine is their destination, their plan; to see what happens!  You will never guess what they are coming back to do!!!

Grams and Papa + Witt Juniors + Arizona = Thirty Days!!!

Shelburne Farms...

My goodness this place is breath taking... 

I can hardly believe that we managed to move a mile down the road from one of the loveliest farms this fine state has to offer... jeez!

The junior Witts have been attending camp here this summer, how lucky are they??  This week is themed 'A Week at Hogwarts'... 

 WHAT?  So jealous of them, more on that to come....

Due to there unique understanding of the farm and its day to day shenanigans, they were excited to show us around.  I was so glad that Kylee and Kris were here for the very thorough tour too!

 

We rode in on what I call the lazy truck. 

I call(ed) it that because I am usually running when it drives by and I am **haboobed by the dust it kicks up!  I made fun of it on the way over and we all agreed to walk to the farm barn... but then, when we got there and saw it, well it looked like a lot of fun!  So I no longer call it names, I just hold my breath as it passes by and smile.

**Haboob is a new term that we have all recently learned thanks to bizarre dust storms in AZ.

 Gabrielle could not wait to introduce us to the ever so sweet baby goats Honey and Crisp.  They are extra special to little Gabi Goose because they were born on June 21st; her birthday and the 

summer solstice.

One of them was particularly fond of Noahs fingers.

These chores are up daily for children and adults to come and enjoy!  We  have a yearly membership and can participate anytime.  Though I do not recommend feeding these...

They stink!

Next up on the tour de witt; a hike to whimsy meadow.  Can you imagine such a place?  Noah says it is straight out of Alice in Wonderland....

Um, which way??

Oh, Phew!  Thanks guys!

Sadly, and gladly, I was so taken with whimsy meadow and all of its wonders I failed to take one picture.  After many twists and turns we found our way in, and then out, and then to this quaint little bench...

overlooking this beautiful vista...

Did I mention I love this place?  Well I do.  So very much.

 We made our way back to the Farm Barn.



Noah and Gabi were insisting on a climb to the top of the clock tower.



They assured us that they had already been up there, like oh my gosh, you haven't??



But it was a tad warm and the older people were feeling like a cold beverage!




So we settled for a peak at the school they attend...

Noah ended our tour with a speech.  He made sure that to tell us that he knows we have a lot of choices out there but wanted to thank us for choosing Witt... now where have I heard that one before???

thanks darlings!!

and for the record... this is what the farm looks like early in the morning, before any of the people are up...

see these lovelies... heavenly.

For the love of FOG

The landscapes that this Earth has to offer is nothing short of spectacular.  Even the barren southwest caught my attention and tugged on my heart a few times.  There were the 1000+ drives up and down Carefree Highway that gave a good stage for the desert beauty to reveal itself.  

The sunsets...ah the sunsets...

Vermont has its own beauty to offer, obviously!!! And there is so much too mention that I will just focus on my favorite so far...

FOG.

This is my 5am running route, thru Shelburne Farms.  I am in love with this sacred space.  It is filled with sentient animals, spectacular wild birds, and this lovely lovely fog...

I saw the fog for the first time last fall on the outskirts of the Green Mountain National Forest.  

It was love at first sight.

A boy, my boy...

So there is this little man living in my house.  One that I am growing quite fond of actually.  Don't get me wrong, he had me at hello, but lately...

...he shines.

The early stages of nine, well it was okay.  The 9 1/2 mark and on, well it is down right fantastic!  

There is a real spark there, a gleam in his eye.  

Excitingly he has taken up guitar and most certainly carries the musical gene.  I so love to hear him up in his loft stretching his fingers to reach those cords.

Also, I have noticed, his intellect has now superseded his emotion. His abilities to see and understand, well it is down right fascinating to watch.

His personal hygiene has literally jumped from a ZERO to a ten.  What child is this, coming home from camp, hitting the shower, brushing his teeth, clipping his nails, and combing his hair?  I did not know little humans were capable of such things.

And yesterday evening he went so far as to pack his very own lunch while Matt packed Gabi's and then took it upon himself to do some dishes.

** then he says to us, I see why you guys fight over who is going to do these all the time.

So I am continually impressed by Noah's fierce independence and self discipline.   I am oh so proud of his genuine heart and awareness of what is good.  I cherish the depth in with which he feels and the strength he faces it with.  I am honored share a life with him.  I don't know what to expect from this one... it has me on the edge of my seat!

Sunday Morning Breakfast....

My poor children...

my oh so deprived children.

They miss out on what could be one of finest meals of the day.

Admittedly, I am a bowl o' cereal mom, have been from the start.  Breakfast to me is a chore not a pleasure.  I much prefer a lovely evening out for a delectable dinner than a morning in a greasy diner...or even a non greasy diner.  When is comes to AM food I choose oats over cakes every time.

But my children do not and so it has been decided (maybe even a mutiny) that Sunday mornings are for dessert food... and though I refuse to partake in the feasting I rather enjoy the cooking!

On the menu: French Toast

Noah and I picked up this fine bread from the Bread and Butter Farm stand at the Shelburne market this weekend.  A raisin loaf for the ultimate french toast.  They are super kind folk and super close.  If ever you find yourself driving by I recommend a stop, it will be well worth you while...

We get our eggs from two sources here in Vermont and they both make me smile ear to ear.  

First, at The Taylors, which is less than half a mile from our house and usually on a trade system.  

Second, from office Carl.  A dude Matt works with who sells us a dozen each week for a whopping $2.  Can't get much better than either of these in this day and age, seriously!  

Butter.  I love choosing butter here in farmlandville... I usually choose Kate's.  She is from Maine and hand makes her creamy treat.  And it is a treat, I rarely use the stuff!

Into the sizzling pan they go...golden from the organic cage free better than you have ever had eggs...then crisping up from the made with love yellowy butter!

It did smell amazing and I was getting tempted.

And who would we be without a jug of this in the house??  A heart-filled thank you to Mr. Witt Sr. for supplying this gem when visiting a few weeks ago!

bon appetit...

PS:  This is what we did after to burn off the sugar... a little tree climbing always does the trick!