Many Fun Things

Ella likes to wear momma's underoos as necklaces.

Ella thought it prudent to dive head first, fully clothed, into a bath.

Ella at the pumpkin patch pointing out the giant Dora. They don't take long, folks, to figure out Dora and/or Elmo.

Ella and a sea of pumpkins at the pumpkin patch!

Ella is clapping for the pumpkins.

We tried for a long while to get everyone to look in one direction.

Ella refuses to look in our direction!

The patch had tigers?

And an owl....he DOES look so smart, right?!

And giraffes. LOVE these guys.

The girls posing.

Ella trying her hand at riding. She looks frightened!

Feeding the goats. Turns out, goats aren't so friendly.

Ella posing on a fake pony.

Ella touching the baby pig. Can we please take one home, daddy?!

Standard Goebbert Farm Picture!

Last warm day in Chicago =( My pretty little lady!

Daddy's Birthday! Enjoying some cake...

Couldn't wait....

YUM

Me and Tiff at DMB!


on the swan boats on the pond in Boston Commons...

My wonderful in laws!

Ella and Daddy enjoying the boat ride.

Chatham Bars Inn. We will see you next time!

The pier in Chatham...

Daddy checking out the fisherman..

Manatees were giving us quite a show!

The beach in Chatham...so pretty!

Houses in Chatham...not a bad place to summer.

The B&B we stayed at- Carriage House Inn.

DELICIOUS dinner at the Wequassett. Already planning a return trip!

Best Cheesecake. Ever.

Ella taking in the sights in Martha's Vineyard.

Momma and Ella at the Black Dog.

Ella and Daddy on a morning walk along the beach in Scituate.

Scituate Beach.

Ella on the couch. Worn Out!

Boston made her sleepy. Clearly.

Momma in Boston.

Daddy in Boston.

Cheers!

We got to hang out with the Hays'. I miss Karen so much. I didn't cry when we left each other this time, though. I was close, however!

Silly little ham bone.


Ella is a ham. And I love her. Deperately!

We have been on the move and our blog has been neglected....again. So sorry!

To start, we ventured to Scituate, Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod a little over 3 weeks ago and we had a blast! We will begin making this a yearly Francis rendezvous. We met up with my wonderful in-laws, Meghan, Tom and Alex in Scituate (where Scott grew up) for a really great family trip. We had a blast. We never get to spend much time with family for days on end and it was so nice. It really makes us sad that we don't live super close to anyone but we are so thankful for our little family unit and that we get to visit family coast-to-coast.

We celebrated Daddy's birthday a little early when I surprised him with a night out on the Cape! We had couples massages at Chatham Bars Inn. Fabbo. We walked around Chatham and had chowda and bloodys. We rested at our B&B, the Carriage House Inn, we went to the most AMAZING dinner at Atlantic 28 at the Wequasset. When I say it was amazing, I mean, seriously, one of the best dinners I have had in years. I cannot wait to go back to the Wequasset. I wish I were the kind of girl who could make summer be a verb, but alas, we will just go back for a long weekend or week long trip. We are not "summering" type of people but boy, if I was, The Wequassett would be my summer destination. Check it out_---> www.wequassett.com

We got back from our trip and went directly to the Dave Matthews concert! We had a blast, felt old, waxed nostalgic and were in bed by 12 am. Yep, we are old. How'd we get so old?! It seemed like only yesterday I was picking up Under the Table and Dreaming DMB CD at Disc-Go-Round and playing it NON STOP in my childhood room in Rex, Ga. My life has already gone by too quickly and taking the time to slow down and listen to music that marked a big part of late adolescence/early adulthood was surreal. We had a great time!

We headed up both the Francis and Vajda families to make the trek to Goebbert's farm. It was a drive but worth it! The kids had a blast, even if Ella looked tee'd off. For the life of me, she would not look at the camera.

Finally, we celebrated Daddy's bday with a cake from...Sweet Mandy B's. I have GOT to find a new place but even if I did, what's the point?! SMBs has the best butter cream frosting in the city.

We are still unwinding from our trip to Grand Rapids, MI for Erica and Ryan's wedding. We had the best time. It was quite the trip; it involved road tripping with friends, to me ending up in the ER, to an allergic reaction to said medication given in the ER, detour to South Haven, MI (which is awesome, btw. Chicagoans, when the weather warms, you must make the trip to South Haven), to touring Grand Rapids, to attending the most beautiful wedding of one of my most dear friends. We ended up having the BEST time this weekend; it's not where you are but who you are with that matters. Yes, shameless line from a DMB song, but so true. I am so lucky and blessed to have some really neat people in my life.

I will post pics from this weekend tomorrow night (fingers crossed!).

XOXO,
Nicole