Waving Goodbye to Weymouth

Writing that title may have made me tear up a bit. I can't believe that we've already been in Georgia for 7 days. I can't believe that we have moved out of our apartment already. I can't believe that the U-Haul has been packed, driven 1,152 miles, and unpacked into a storage unit. I can't believe that my student teaching and grad school have come to an end. I can't believe that we've left the place that we've called home for two and a half years and are starting new...with a baby on the way!

Ryan and I threw all normal routines out the window these past few weeks in favor of spending as much time as possible with our amazing friends up North. We went out to dinners and had our friends over as much as possible before we packed everything up.

Those last few weeks in Weymouth were such a whirlwind...I tried to capture as much as possible in pictures but I didn't do a very good job of documenting the things we did. To reminisce and play a bit of catch-up, I just thought I would throw the hodge-podge of pictures together in this post to look back on.

Thank you to all of our friends up North for just being our friends. We wouldn't be who we are today without you all.

Mine and Marybeth's graduation cake from the wonderful staff at Murphy! 

Ryan's last softball game with Life! This was his first home run of the night! 

Our going-away dinner at the Ale house:

Packing up the U-Haul:

...because who can really pack a U-Haul without pans of baked ziti and some Boston Lager?!?!

Acrobatics in an empty apartment...

Right before we handed our keys back in... 

WE LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Fall Traditions

Happy Halloween Eve!

I've unfortunately been closing out the month of October with a pretty nasty virus that has somewhat decommissioned me these past few days. I've done a whole lot of couch-laying and channel-surfing, but am finally feeling like the worst of this thing may be behind me!

With that being said...I cannot believe that tomorrow is Halloween and Saturday is the first day in November... where is this fall going?! I mean, we've already got a chance of snow in our ten-day forecast! Take it easy, November!

Before we're knee-deep in snow , Ryan and I have been trying to make the most of this beautiful New England fall. To honor Throwback Thursday today, I'm taking it back to our apple picking excursion from a couple of weekends ago.

One beautiful Saturday morning, Ryan and I, along with a group of our friends, caravanned our way up to Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, Ma. We had heard pretty great things about this particular orchard, so our hopes were pretty high. And let me just say that this place did not disappoint.

We didn't know when we planned this trip that we were going on the last day that apple-picking would be open for the year. To say that the pickings were slim would be an understatement. There were 5 times more apples on the ground around the trees than there were actually in the trees. And the apples that were still pick-able were perched as high up in the tree as they possibly could be. While some may have accepted defeat and headed to the gift shop to collect their pre-picked, pre-bagged apples, we took the harder way out, grabbing the rickety old ladders and climbing our way through the trees to some pretty delicious looking (and tasting) apples.

For an added challenge, Ryan and Corey took it upon themselves to hoist each other up. Ladder schmadder. #Division1ApplePickers

Once our bags were full, we hopped on the hayride to the other side of the orchard for some fresh and warm apple cider doughnuts.

We spent the rest of our time wandering around the orchard, checking out the resident goats, sheep, chickens, and pigs before deciding to pack it in and head back towards home. 

Another apple pick is in the books! Happy Fall and Happy Halloween, ya'll! 

A Beautiful Trip to Maine With the In-Laws!

I seem to constantly be a week behind on this blog, but life gets in the way sometimes and I've happily been M.I.A. spending time with my husband and in-laws, Brad and Susan! 

It's been an awesome (BUSY) visit and Ryan and I are sad that Brad and Susan are leaving tomorrow, but man, we did A LOT! Our time together started last weekend when we trekked it up to Bangor, Maine to visit with Lauren, Eliot, & the Potvin's! 

Since I had to work Friday, we couldn't get on the road before 4:30 or so, putting us into Boston in prime traffic time and arriving at our destination late at night. We spent a little time hanging out before we all crashed for the night. Saturday, we drove around Maine, stopping in Belfast, Camden, and Lincolnville. 

Camden was an ADORABLE town so we decided to drive up one of the nearby mountains and have a picnic overlooking the town. 

After lunch, we drove to Lincolnville and went to the Cellardoor winery for a wine tasting. The wine was really good and we walked away with a bottle of their dessert wine, Treasure. The best part of the winery though was the GORGEOUS view off the back deck! I'm pretty sure we spent more time out there taking pictures than actually sampling their wine selection.

Saturday night, we finally got to spend some time with Eliot and Lauren (They weren't around during the day since they were driving home from the trail for the weekend!) The Potvin's made a feast for a dinner and we spent the rest of the night playing foozball and watching the Red Sox.

After breakfast Sunday morning, the men decided to go play a couple tennis matches together, so the girls went for a run and did some shopping in downtown Hampden! Once the men were done, we went back to the house to shower before heading out to do some apple picking!

Can I please tell you that the apples we picked at this little farm in Maine were THE BEST apples I've ever had. It also didn't hurt that 20 lbs. of apples only cost $10! Maine apples for the win! Once we stocked up on apples, we decided to stop for a drink at the Sea Dog brewery in downtown Bangor. 

At the Brewery getting attacked from all sides! 

To finish off our trip, the group partook in a lobster boil (which was delicious), watched some Boston sports dominate, and really just enjoyed the company. Thank you Potvin family for hosting the Smith's all weekend and thank you Eliot and Lauren from taking a break in your hike to hang out with you buddies! We had a blast and can't wait for the next trip! 

The Greenest Place On Earth

Last weekend, Ryan and I, along with the Kehners, trekked up to Vermont for a couple days of exploration and relaxation. Although we left on Friday after work, our trip really started Saturday morning since we got stuck in hours of traffic and got to the bed and breakfast at almost midnight.

**Disclaimer- There are an inordinate amount of pictures with a small amount of writing. If you choose to continue on reading this blog post, consider yourself warned. Enjoy!

Saturday: 

View from the front porch at our amazing home for the weekend!

Saturday morning, we woke up to an amazing breakfast cooked by the owners of the bed and breakfast we stayed at (Russell Young Farm Bed and Breakfast- check it out!). We quickly showered and headed out to explore Vermont for the rest of the day. Our first stop was a quaint little farmers market in Waitsfield, Ma, where we picked up some AMAZING pesto. On the way to the farmer's market, we stopped on the side of the road to admire the rolling hills of VT. 

Leaving the B&B

Our next stop took us to the Ben and Jerry's factory, where we got to learn some history on B&J's, tour the factory, and eat quite a bit of ice cream! 

Once we had our fill (if that's possible) of B&J's, we got back in the car and just started driving. On the side of the road, I noticed a sign for apple picking, and we immediately headed that way.

We each picked a peck of apples (say that 10x fast), which is way more than I know what to do with, but I'm excited to figure it out! The farm also had a couple hungry horses hanging (again...say that 10x fast) around who we fed quite a few apples to in exchange for a couple pictures.

After apple picking, we made a quick stop at the Cabot Creamery to pick up some cheese and VT wine before heading to our last location of the afternoon. Ryan had researched a small waterfall nearby that he wanted to explore so we made our way there next, passing some covered bridges along the way.

For dinner, we headed to Bristol, VT, where we ate at a restaurant called ND's. It wasn't really anything exciting and our food took FOREVER to come out.. but hey, at least the company was good! The rest of the night was spent sipping wine and playing Yahtzee back at the B&B.

Sunday: 

Again, Sunday we woke up to another delicious breakfast. Unfortunately, we had to check out after and say goodbye to our beautiful farm for the weekend. Before we left, I walked around the property and snapped a few pictures.

Oh yeah, did I mention the farm had two Alpacas (named Moose and Max), some ducks, chickens, and a horse or two? 

On the way home, we stopped a few more times: to look at a couple more ancient covered bridges, to explore a maple farm, and to check out the Vermont Country Store. 

At the Maple Farm 

My favorite covered bridge! 

We had an absolutely amazing time exploring Vermont, which seriously moved up the list of my favorite states. Everything about the area we stayed was beautiful and I can't wait to explore the countryside in the wintertime!