The Homer Family Invades...

A couple of weekends ago, my family came to the New England area to visit and explore. They came up to Vermont and we took them to Sharon, Stowe, Waterbury, Smuggler's Notch, Quechee Gorge, Woodstock and Rutland. After their visit here, they strolled on over to my sister's house near Boston.

We were lucky because the weather miraculously changed to sunny and warm at about 65 - 70 degrees each day my family was here. Before they came it was cold and rainy and the day after they left, it returned to it's cold rainy state.

Sharon - Joseph Smith's Birthplace:

The photo doesn't do the foliage justice. But it was so bright with every color you can think of. If you want to see better foliage pictures you will have to check out my parent's blog for photos from their trip (They have not posted them yet, but I know they plan to do so).

Quechee Gorge:

We hiked down about a mile to the bottom of the Quechee Gorge. The scenery was not colorful but beautiful in it's own way. Here, Brian is standing in a rotten tree stub.
Two of my sisters and I, rock hopping at the bottom of the Quechee Gorge.

Woodstock:In Woodstock we strolled around the little town. We got the most amazing roastbeef sandwich and homemade Pumpkin icecream from a small shop there. I would go back just for the pumpkin ice cream for sure!

Eliza is playing in the leaves that have fallen all over Woodstock. I love the Fall Season!

Eliza and I "looking cute"!
And yes, my hair really is that color. I like to think of it as the color of Fall ... Am I blending in?

Rutland:

We actually went to Rutland to go to a Corn Maze. This Corn Maze was huge! There were two sections to the main maze. In the maze they had clues to help you find the end, they also had random facts about Vermont and hole punches. If you got all the hole punches then you would be entered into a drawing to win Vermont themed prizes. The maze was on a farm that had, not only a large maze but also a smaller maze for children, and a storybook corn walk. They also had pumpkins you could purchase, hay rides and animals to feed and pet. We planned to do everything, but spent so much time in the large Corn Maze that we only had time to do the hay ride and take a few photos. We got all of the punches so hopefully we will be lucky enough to win a prize! (I think this is the time the whole weekend that Kaitlyn took off her Sunglasses. She is so silly)

Waterbury:
My Mom has most of the photos from waterbury, but we went to a cider house and a tour of the Ben and Jerry's factory. It was a very delicious day ... YUM!

Stowe:
We took a scenic drive through Stowe and then pulled over to have a quick picnic.

Smuggler's Notch:
Just past Stowe is Smuggler's Notch. As we drove up the winding roads, leaves blew around us like rain. But the best part of Smuggler's Notch is the rocky terrain. You can scramble large boulders for hours.

Eliza and I swinging on a tree branch.

Eliza is holding up this boulder with her pinky finger, she must be very strong.

We even found a cave. (Me, Eliza, Mom, Kaitlyn)

Ahh ... My mom has grown antlers.

Other Activities:
Along with the family adventures, we played a lot of games and watched movies.

Bandit thinks the Bingo balls are treats.

On the last day my family was here, one side of Buddy's face started to swell. It swelled so much that his eye was shut. Childrens benedryl wasn't helping so we took him to the vet. He ended up having a rotting tooth that got infected. He had his tooth pulled and returned to normal a few days later. I guess that is what happens when we are about a year overdue for his teeth cleaning. Next time I won't keep putting it off. The picture doesn't quite show just how swollen his face was. He looked pretty funny.

We had a lot of fun and hope that my family will come back again to visit and maybe even take an adventure up to Canada, because we are only about 2 and a half hours from the border.

We welcome any visitors and hope to see more family and friends while we live here in Vermont.

~ Nicole