Connecticut or Minnesota? That is the question.

Hey there, October!  It's been a while since my last update and we are really settling into our life in Connecticut.  Fall in New England is wonderful and reminds me so much of home.  Except no Caribou Coffee 😥!  Also, they have very few drive thru coffee places around here.  I really miss those!  But, I have cut down on the fancy coffee stops as it's just not quite as convenient or relaxing when you have to go in with two kids that won't sit still.  But, other than this  minor inconvenience we couldn't love the fall weather and leaves changing more.  There are more apple orchard, fall festivals, pumpkin patches than you could ever have time to visit.  We have stopped at a few and have a few more visits on our list for the rest of October.   We haven't done as much exploring and trip taking as previous blog posts, which is probably why it has taken me so long to write!

Getting ready for Fall

Last time I updated the blog we had just gotten back from a quick trip to New York City with the kids.  Since then Charlie has adjusted so well to school, new friends, and joining in!  He has made some really nice friends and we are so grateful for the frequent check ins from his teacher and principal to make sure he is doing well.  I will never be able to express how much we love his new school and the teachers that have made the transition so easy and welcoming.  Charlie also officially started hockey last weekend.  So there goes our weekends for the next 6 months!  Ha, Alan and Charlie love it so much so it's worth it, even the 7 a.m. Saturday and Sunday practices.  Charlie also decided he wanted to join Cub Scouts this year.  So that started a few weeks ago and he is loving that as well.  One of his best friends in his class is doing it too, so that has made it even more fun.  Charlie also somehow talked me into signing him up for basketball one day a week at the YMCA.  Two buddies from school are doing it so he wanted to try it too.  That starts in a few weeks and should make for some interesting Saturday mornings. 

Cub Scout

Charlie had a birthday at the end of September!  SEVEN!!  We had a great weekend celebrating him and my mom even made a surprise visit to help him celebrate.  Alan and I took the boys for a train ride in Essex, CT for a birthday surprise.  They both loved it and it was fun to try something new.  The train takes you on about an hour long ride and you then get off and take an hour long boat ride along the Connecticut River.  We also found a great peanut free bakery out here that made Charlie some fun Lego cupcakes.  The kids really love having our family visit and we have been really lucky with how often both of our families have been able to make the trip.   

Getting ready for a train ride

All aboard!

After the train ride we took a boat ride with the boys along the Connecticut River

Stealing a cupcake before I could get a picture of them all!

Jack is also really adjusting well and is loving his preschool.  He has made some sweet preschool friends and has been invited to a few birthday parties too!  He had the choice to play hockey this year and decided he didn't want to yet, but he did want to try basketball.  So he is also going to be doing the YMCA Saturday morning basketball.  Jack still has a hard time when Grandma and Grandpa visit or call.  He gets upset and really wants to head back to Minnesota on those days.  So, we try to work through it with him, but mainly we just let him be sad, because we are all sad some days.  Most of the time Jack is the same sweet big brother!  Jack and Kaylee spend so much time together and have a cute little bond.  

Jack helping her with her art project

Snuggling in bed while mom gets ready

Our littlest love is growing by the minute!  She definitely keeps us on our toes and gets more fun every day.  It has been nice to get a few mornings a week with just her and we have tried to enjoy all this nice weather we have been having.  We have hit up a few apple orchards and pumpkin patches.  The biggest news for Kaylee is that she has been asked to be a flower girl in Alan's cousin's wedding next fall.  We are so excited for the wedding and for Kaylee to get to be a part of it!

Hard to read, but shirt says Flower Girl!

Foster Farm Fun

Chickens

Time with my favorite girl

Fun at the park

Grandma and Grandpa Elder surprised the kids and flew out for a long weekend last week.  Alan and I were able to sneak away to New York City for the night to see some friends that were there for the weekend.  We had so much fun and had the best food for dinner at Stanton Social.  We spent the entire night in the Lower East Side, which I had never really been, but loved!  We stayed in the tiniest hotel I had ever seen, with a great view and right in the middle of all the places were were going to visit.  We hit up quite a few bars that were all different and even waited in line for way too long to get up into a rooftop bar.  My friend told the bouncer we had 6 kids between the two of us and REALLY needed this night out.  He must have felt sorry for us, because he let us jump the line and get right in!  :)  Alan takes the train almost every week or even a couple of times a week into NYC, but this was my first time taking it.  It was so nice and relaxing to just hang out and possibly even sleep off a hangover.  It was our first night away since we moved here and it was just what we needed.  Grandma and Grandpa kept the kids super busy with fun projects and a trip to the Science Center and then the next day to a pumpkin patch.  The days after our families leave we all have a hard time realizing we won't see them for weeks/months especially when you know you won't see them until Thanksgiving!

View from our hotel room

Our entire room! Bed surrounded by windows.  

Rooftop Bar, Mr. Purple

Pumpkin Patch with Grandma and Grandpa

We are all finding our groove out here in CT and we are enjoying getting to know new people.  I have been spending time with my moms group and have had fun meeting them.  I have made it to a moms night out where we made signs (picture below) and even hosted book club at my house last week.  Whether or not I want to admit it, life is really starting to feel "normal".  Before we moved to West Hartford we had given ourselves an arbitrary date in January to come to a decision on if we would stay in Connecticut or head back to Minnesota.  That date is slowly closing in on us and I can say that we are already struggling with our decision for our families next step.  We talk about it often and pretty much just talk in circles.  We really LOVE West Hartford and the people and schools here and I think we are all surprised by how much and how quickly it happened.  One thing Connecticut will never have is our family and MN friends, but it has everything else and we have really found ourselves feeling like we belong here. We know nothing major will happen to sway the scale one way or the other in the next few months so we will continue to make lists and hope the decision becomes clearer as time goes on.  We have started going to open houses and looking at a few houses out here just so we know what we can get in our price range and preferably in the school district that we are currently in.  They do not do any type of open enrollment here, so wherever you pay taxes is where you go to school, so looking for houses can be very limiting when you focus on just one school.   Should be an exciting/stressful next few months and hoping for some clarity on what is best for all of us!  

Moms Night Out Project

That is a little bit about what we have been up to the last 5 or 6 weeks since I last wrote.  Alan still works long hours here and spends some evenings on the train back from New York City, but since we moved here in July he has only been gone one night!  No matter where we land we all know being out here right now has been a great decision.  I can see the difference in all of us from just a  year ago when Alan was only home on weekends.  We also really appreciate our family and friends that regularly reach out to us with texts, calls/FaceTime, emails, Facebook posts, etc. It makes the move and adjustment much easier!   Next week my parents are coming out to stay with the kids while Alan and I head to Vegas with some of our MN friends!  We can't wait to see them all!

Cheers!!  (The wine is mine)

As always, thanks for reading the blog and joining me on my emotional roller-coaster:)

XOXO

Surprise Visitor, First Grade, and NYC

September is here!  Pumpkin Spice Latte time!  We have tried to enjoy the last few days of summer and have done a little more exploring.  Grandma and Grandpa Hanson left last week and that was tough!  They had been here for two weeks and it was getting pretty normal to have them here helping us out.  A few days before they left, Uncle Andy surprised us with a visit for Grandpa's birthday!  He flew in late on a Sunday night the night before Grandpa's birthday.  We spent Monday exploring around West Hartford and went to dinner at one of our favorite places, Max Burger.  It was fun having my family here to celebrate his birthday.  The kids also really loved having Andy here.  The day before school started we headed out with grandpa and grandma for one more adventure.  We went to New London to Ocean Beach.  It was pretty chilly, but they have a tiny amusement park, beach, swimming pool, waterslides, and a park.  The kids really liked it and we will plan another trip when it is warmer.  Because it was cold we didn't stay too long and headed to an outlet mall at Foxwoods Casino.  It was a fun day and I was able to get some back to school shopping done.

Birthday Dinner

Ocean Beach

Ocean Beach

The next day, Wednesday, Charlie started school!  Back to school time is always so bittersweet.  I am excited, nervous, and happy for my kids, but a little sad and terrified myself. Charlie made his big Bugbee debut last Wednesday and man that kid makes me proud.  He had a great first day of school and came home with lots to tell me and loved his new teacher and even talked about a few kids in his class.  We have been spending the afternoons after school gets out on the play ground at Bugbee playing with new friends.  This has been one of the perks of being a "walker" this year.  It has been an adjustment making sure we are at school at the right time to drop off and pick up Charlie.  The bus was pretty convenient, but so far we have liked being there to greet him at the school door.  Tomorrow it's supposed to rain, so my opinion on this will likely change.  Especially in January!  Today Charlie came home and had his first birthday invitation from a Connecticut friend.  That was pretty special for him!  Thursday grandpa, grandma, and Andy left to head back to MN.  It was sad to see them go!  They won't be back for awhile, so it feels weird not to have visitors lined up for awhile.  Friday last week was my first day doing school and preschool drop off by myself since my parents had been helping the first few days of school.  We all survived and I even got a little one on one time with my favorite girl.  It was nice to have a short first week and head into labor day weekend with a few days of school under our belt. 

First Day of First Grade

First Day!

Girl Time at the library

By Friday we were so excited to get the boys back and to spend some quality time together after a busy, emotional week!  On Saturday we went for a hike at one of the reservoirs in West Hartford.  It's a beautiful area and not far from our house.  There are a lot of black bears in and around West Hartford and even in our neighborhood.  This reservoir is close to Talcott Mountain so we were nervous about seeing a bear on our walk.  Thankfully, we did not see one, but we enjoyed the hike with the kids!

West Hartford Reservoir

Reservoir with my buddy

One of the places on my bucket list to visit this summer was New York City.  Charlie has been asking to go there for awhile and it just never worked out to visit when Alan was there for work.  So Alan and I decided to surprise the kids with a trip to New York City over Labor Day Weekend (Sunday-Monday).  I couldn't make it to Sunday to surprise them so we ended up telling them Saturday morning.  That way we were able to decide on a few things that they really wanted to see.  We got up early on Sunday morning and hit the road.  It took a little over two hours to get to our hotel in Times Square.  When we pulled up and had to get three kids, a pack n play, three back packs and a bunch of umbrellas out of the car in the middle of Times Square on a crazy busy street with no parking we definitely questioned our decision to take this little trip and to stay in such a chaotic place!  It was quite the site.  But, once we got settled it was a great location to be able to walk to most everything we wanted to visit.  On our first day we walked through Times Square, visited Bryant Park and took a ride on the carousel in the park, and visited Grand Central Station so we could see where Dad gets dropped off and picked up each week when heads to NYC.  We then headed to Rockefeller Center and headed to the Top of the Rock.  The boys loved the view way on the top and Alan was able to point out a few of the buildings he was working on.  I am a little nervous about heights so this was a little stressful hanging on to three kids.  After Rockefeller Center we walked to Central Park and took a carriage ride through the park.  It was a little more laid back than the rest of the day so was nice to slow down the pace a bit.  Although, I did get pooped on by a pigeon which wasn't a highlight, but the boys thought it was funny and I chalked it up to a NYC experience 😲.  After the carriage ride we went back to the hotel to put Kaylee to bed for the night.  The boys and Alan went out to explore Times Square in the dark and they were pretty impressed that it was so bright even at night. 

Times Square

Bryant Park

Grand Central Station

Top of the Rock

Top of the Rock

Carriage ride through Central Park

Carriage Ride

Night in Times Square

Brothers in the Big Apple

One thing we learned from staying in Times Square with a one year old is, don't do it...ever.  Our suburbanite little lady didn't handle it well.  A car alarm went off for a good 30 minutes and she was up and wide awake.  A fire engine drove by, she was up for another 90 minutes.  A car honked at another car, she was up for another 50 minutes.  Needless to say it was a long night!  But she was a trooper and got up the next morning and was a great little tourist.  On Monday we got up and visited Battery Park.  We took a ferry out to Liberty Island and got an up close view of the Statue of Liberty.  Then we went to visit the 9/11 Memorial.  It is a beautiful place that is really hard to describe in words.  Charlie had really wanted to visit and he had watched a show on the memorial that told him about all the trees that were planted there.  One of the tour guides in the show had said she liked to pick up the fallen acorns from the trees in the memorial as a memory of her time visiting and as a way to show that life can go on.  So the boys each picked up four acorns to bring home and to try and plant.  We decided to plant them in a planter so that if they do grow we can take them with us when our lease is up next spring.  We also got to see Dad's New York City office which is right next to Freedom Tower and the 9/11 Memorial.  After visiting the memorial we headed home (our Connecticut home).  We had a really great holiday weekend and we are ready for another fun week! 

Liberty Island

Statue of Liberty

Skyline from Liberty Island

Freedom Tower and Dad's NYC office to the right

A few weeks ago we had some pictures taken in West Hartford with a local photographer.  She was amazing and so great with the kids.  When we left MN we also left our photographer and I was really worried I wouldn't find anyone out here to take our pictures, but we did and we just got them back!  I have shared a few here, but let's be  honest I will share most of them on Facebook too!  Right before we moved here I saw on one of the local Facebook pages here in West Hartford that a local photographer was offering a free photo session and a credit towards artwork for one customer that they would choose.  You just had to submit why you deserved the session.  So I wrote about us moving and like a month later the photographer called me and we talked for a bit and I found out we had won!

Back home in Minnesota school started this week so it was so fun to see everyone's back to school photos on Facebook and Instagram.  I have to admit that it made me a little homesick seeing everyone starting their school year at "home".  I showed Charlie some pictures and even he was a little sad about missing the neighborhood bus stop.  It's weird when it hits you!  I hadn't really had a homesick moment in weeks and then for some reason back to school day was really hard!  And my niece somehow turned three a little over a week ago AND started preschool this week!  What!??  Hope you have a great first week, Aria!  Time sure does fly, and never more apparent than back to school time!  We hope everyone has a great first week back to school!  Now that school has started and the weather is cooling down we can't wait to get out and enjoy some apple orchards and pumpkin patches over the next month or two.

XOXO

New Friends, Back to School, & More Grandparents

Guys, I have to start out by telling you that since I last posted I have added seven West Hartford Facebook friends!  I am social media friends with 10 people that live in West Hartford.  I mean 10 honestly feels like 200 at this point.  Every time I got a new friend request I was freaking out and texting Alan to share my big news.  I know I have said it many times before, but people here have been so nice and welcoming.  They have really made an effort to reach out and check in on us.  We are very grateful for the kindness that people show.

It has been awhile since I last wrote a blog and we have been getting ready to head back to school and enjoying these last few weeks of summer.  The boys have started referring to our new house as home, so whenever anyone says something about "home" we have to clarify if we mean our Minnesota home or our Connecticut home.  I should be really happy that everyone is adjusting so well and calls Connecticut our home, but I'm not...just kidding.  But, seriously it's a little weird and I have a lot of mixed feelings about it all.  We met some people walking by the house today and they were asking about our plans once our year of renting is up and Charlie jumped in the conversation and said, "well hopefully staying in Connecticut.".  AHHH, you weren't supposed to like it so much kiddo.  Honestly, I am so happy that he is loving our new home and that all the kids seem so happy and adjusted to being here with their dad.  Speaking of dad, he deserves a big shout out, we have been in Connecticut for over 45 days and he hasn't traveled overnight for work once.  I started dating Alan when I was 19 years old and we have NEVER been in the same city/same house for 45 days in a row until now!  Who would have thought it would be in West Hartford, CT.?  Not me. So when I am happy/sad that everyone is loving Connecticut so much I know that the biggest reason is because they have their dad around so much more.

Matching Outfits

We have been trying to get involved in our new community when we can.  The moms club that I had previously talked about had a summer pool party one weekend and so Alan and I took the kids to the local pool and I was able to meet a few new moms in the club.  It was a little difficult to really get to chat with too many people because I was busy chasing down three kids around with Al.  But the kids had a blast and I was able to meet some new people.  This same club also does a book club, so I joined this month and met at one of the ladies homes and met some really great people and had some wine during the week!

Pool Party

We spent time at another local park called Elizabeth Park.  It has a gorgeous rose garden, lots of walking trails, and a playground named after and dedicated to Ana Grace one of the Sandy Hook school shooting victims.  The kids really enjoyed the park and Charlie was reading about Ana Grace and had lots of questions!  There is a park dedicated to each of the school shooting victims throughout the state of Connecticut. 

Elizabeth Park

Elizabeth Park

Elizabeth Park

Elizabeth Park

Elizabeth Park Rose Garden

Elizabeth Park Rose Garden

Last week the boys were both in camp.  Charlie's camp was a sports and activities camp and he was gone ALL day.  That was a big change that I didn't like.  But, it was good practice for next week when he leaves me to start first grade.  Charlie got to swim and skate every day and then they also played soccer, baseball, four square, dodge ball, and other activities.  Jack went to a camp at one of our community centers and it was a movie (Toy Story, Frozen, and Minions) themed camp.  He had a great time meeting some new friends and doing activities based on some of his favorite movies. 

Camp Drop Off

Two weekends ago we went to Dinosaur Place.  Jack is my dinosaur loving kid and this place was a dream come true for him.  They have a mile or two of trails where you run into dinosaurs along the way.  They have a volcano that erupts hourly, a jungle gym, maze, and an enormous splash pad that all three kids enjoyed.  We will definitely be going back to Dinosaur Place! 

Dinosaur Park

Kaylee's Scary Face

Dinosaur Park

Dinosaur Park

Splash Pad

Splash Pad

We also had some more visitors!!  Grandma and Grandpa Hanson came on the 17th and are staying until the 31st!  YAY!  This is Grandpa's first time visiting so the boys had to show them around town and take them on our favorite things tour, which includes the library, sweet frog, Bar Taco, and the toy store.  We also took them to the beach in Westerly, RI.  We love this town and the big waves and this time the boys brought their boogie boards.  Each time we go to the beach I am getting better about packing.  The first time we went when we first moved here I pretty much packed everything we owned.  Last week we also went back to Mytsic, CT.  Last time we went to the Seaport and so this time we hit up the aquarium and downtown Mystic for some shopping.  We also went to Mystic Pizza for lunch which is known for because of the movie, Mystic Pizza with Julia Roberts. 

Blue Back Square - West Hartford

Purple Ape in Westerly, RI

Boogie Boards

Brothers

Kaylee Girl

Misquamicut Beach

Dad trying out the boogie board

Relaxing

Mystic Aquarium

Mystic Aquarium

Mystic Pizza

Mystic River

Mystic River

Drawbridge Up

Shopping in Mystic

Jack started preschool last week!  He will be going to school three mornings a week and seems to really like his teachers and is already talking about friends.  He was so ready to go back and this year gets to eat lunch every day at school which Jack thinks is great because he is like a big kid now!  While Jack was at school I was able to go and even get a pedicure and manicure thanks to a great recommendation from a friend here in West Hartford.  It has been nice having my parents here to help watch the other kids while I do camp and preschool drop offs.  I will miss all help when they head back to Eagan in a few days. 

First Day

Ready for school

And thanks to all this help, Alan and I got to have a date day this weekend.  We headed to Stratford, CT. to visit Two Roads brewery, which makes one of Alan's favorite beers.  The brewery is fairly big and has a large tap room and then has food trucks outside where you can sit and eat, play bags (corn hole) and giant Jenga.  We then headed to another brewery in New Haven that ended up being unexpectedly closed.  Since we were in New Haven we decided to visit Yale.  It is a gorgeous campus right in the middle of downtown.  All the students were just heading back to school this weekend so it was fun to be part of the hustle and bustle.  We then headed back to West Hartford and visited the local brewery.  Today Charlie had his kickoff hockey event and so we spent most of the day at the ice rink watching him play and hanging out.  It reminds me that fall/winter is just around the corner! 

Two Roads Brewery

New Haven - Yale Campus

Had to make a quick stop

New Park Brewery

This post is rather long because I waited too long between posts, sorry about that if you made it this far!  But as always, thanks so much for reading the blog!  Charlie starts school this week and while I do not think this year will be quite as emotionally draining as starting Kindergarten was it will definitely be hard to see him go.  Once school starts time seems to go so much faster and we miss the carefree days of summer.  I am so excited for both my big guys this year and know that they are going to excel in our new surroundings and make new friends.  I am really proud of the people they are becoming and love getting to be a part of it!  Hope everyone enjoys the last week of summer and the first few days of school get off to a great start!  We are missing everyone back home!