HIKING! WE LOVE HIKING! Well, we love getting to the top of mountains, and we like seeing cliffs and waterfalls and things along the way. Sometimes the actual HIKING isn't much fun at all.

Last Thursday, we did Mt. Kearsarge. It's a fun one because there is a cell tower on the summit to check out. There is also a fire tower building/lookout deal. We were able to go up to the lookout, and the view was crazy amazing. The ranger who was working that day also gave Colin a brochure listing ALL of the currently-in-use fire towers in New Hampshire. Oh, joy. Thanks alot, sir...I can hardly wait for him to get obsessed and for us to then have to visit each and every one. Yippee.

The hike was pretty uneventful, except for this. Yeah, that part was awesome. And I took this picture in the car on the way HOME. We were hiking earlier...ya know...during the HEAT of the day!



Here's the only other thing that was really noteworthy on that trip. Apparently, Sydney has been working on a new pose. Ha--didn't notice this one until I looked back at the pictures. She's somethin' else.





Okay, now. Yesterday's hike? What a GREAT time we had! We went with my best-friend-since-like-forever-ago Sarah and her kiddos.




Here's kinda what the whole drive up looked like.



Sydney also made everyone SHHHH! when we were hiking, because she could swear she heard the ice cream truck. Is that an early sign of dementia onset due to dehydration?

We hiked up to Arethusa Falls. SO COOL. The tallest waterfall around, and really a sight to see. So cool. See that little tiny dude at the base of the falls...green shirt? Yeah...that should give you the idea. Very cool.



We were able to chill out there for over an hour, eat some lunch, and let the kids play. There was also the occasional "GUYS! STEP BACK FROM THE EDGE, SERIOUSLY!" from the Moms.






After the falls, we tackled the hike over to Frankenstein Cliff. It wasn't a bad hike, but the cliff was only sorta-fun because there really was a higher-than-acceptable risk of death at the edge. I don't know why, but I didn't expect it to be so actually, ummmm, cliff-ish? So, we made the kids stay way away from the edge, had a quick snack, then headed down.



The hike back down? Yeah, really? It was surprisingly steep & kinda scary. The kids did great, though. I think the "biting it/eating dirt" count was Colin 1, Sydney 2, Nate 5, and Adam 2. It was a little unnerving because for much of the descent, you kinda needed to lean IN to the mountain, because the choice on your other side was a drop-off.

Here's the whole cliff part of the deal in the background from the parking lot.



And THIS??? This is my chili-cheese dog that I wolfed down when we got to the bottom. I mentioned to the lady at the lodge that it was the BEST chili-cheese dog I'd EVER had. She laughed & said that she heard that alot from people who'd just hiked for 6 hours. Ya know, that her little store also had the best water, the best Clif bars, the best ice cream, etc. Funny--it is amazing how much better food tastes when you're pretty sure you've earned it!!



A good day. A fun day. Good friends, good times.
Headed to Strawberry Banke Museum later today. Let the good times roll.

GEEEEESH!! Okay, okay everyone! I get it. I just got my 413th text telling me to UPDATE! MY! BLOG! ALREADY! (Yeah, Susie...this one's for you!)

Honestly, I don't know what's been keeping me so busy. Could be the 14 businesses Eric & I run together? The two kids, various pets, volunteering, friends, appointments? Maybe all of that book reading, napping, and bonbon eating??

Okay...quick update. Pay attention. It's gonna come at you fast...

We got turtles. A bunch of turtles. Seriously. From the last week in May through the first couple of weeks in June, it's like we live on Turtle Street. They hatch all over the place, and we always find 6 or 7 or 34 turtles each year. Sometimes we keep one...until it "needs to go back to it's Mom" (read--is on it's last leg), and then we put it back in the pond & hope for the best. This year we kept one for a bit, gave 3 away, kept 2 out of Pooch's mouth, and returned the rest right to the safety of the pond.



We went to a festival and the kids turned into dogs. Or something resembling dogs. The face painter guy actually had an OPEN CAN OF BUD LIGHT on the table with his paints. Rochester, NH. Really.



I was recognized along with my friend Andrea as being an "outstanding volunteer" at Colin & Sydney's school this year. I missed the ceremony at which they called me to the front to receive these beautiful flowers by about 7 minutes. Whoops. Note that it wasn't an award for "prompt volunteer" of the year.



There's been swimming. Oh, yeah, LOTS of swimming.



As per summer tradition, there have also been neighbor kids running around the yard with the sprinklers. Playing the ever popular and always hilarious fill-my-shorts-with-water-and-make-it-look-like-I'm-peeing game. A classic.

sprinkler fun from Jennifer Farris on Vimeo.

We have also started our infamous "summer spreadsheet". The morning after school gets out, we make a ridiculously huge breakfast, get out our calendar, and PACK our summer full of activities. Museums, libraries, Boston, day trips, hikes, week-long trips, camping, pools, friends, more hikes, beach, more museums, and some more hikes.

Yesterday we went to the Robert Frost farm in Derry, NH. Honestly, I've lived my entire life within about a half hour of the place, but had never been. Colin got SUPER into poetry this year (thanks, Mrs. Thompson!) and fell in love with Robert Frost. Dude, seriously. What a wicked nerd.

When we got there, he had like a Frost contest with the tour guide. They were exchanging facts about Frost as well as firing off lines from poems. The guy was--needless to say--impressed. Colin finally got him when he said, "ya know what? Robert Frost's wife's name was ELINOR...but guess what??? It wasn't spelled like ELEANOR ROOSEVELT. Beat that!". I died.

Truth be told, other than watching Colin barely able to contain his enthusiasm and Sydney barely holding in her yawns, it was really very interesting. In fact, Colin's very favorite poem-- Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening--was written during December (the line "darkest evening of the year") and apparently Frost was struggling with realizing that he had a family at home whom he loved, but was unable to provide them with Christmas presents that year. Ouch. Here are some pictures from the farmhouse.

This would be Colin DISPROPORTIONATELY happy about sitting on the ACTUAL CRAPPER that Robert Frost sat on. (Thanks, Sarah--you totally get me).



And this would be Colin ABSURDLY excited about standing at the ACTUAL STOVE used by Robert & Elinor Frost.



And this would be Colin standing in Robert Frost's ACTUAL pantry, surrounded by all of the various what-nots one would use in their kitchen in oh, say, 1906? Side note--doesn't it look like Colin's got two prosthetic legs in this picture? Geez, that kid is skinny. Yes, there's something wrong with me. I'm just sayin'.



Colin's finest hour.



We went on our first hike of the summer today, too. I'll post all of that tomorrow. Because really? I'm tired. Night!