I'm back!

HAPPY FALL!

Dear Family and Friends,
I took a little hiatus from writing posts the past several months. To be honest, life has been so busy that my blogging has been on the back burner. I am happy to be writing again, and I have a lot of catching up to do.

Gardening.

August was a good month. The weather was mild and beautiful, unlike the usual hot and humid weather we tend to get during the middle and late part of the summer. For the first time, we planted our garden in the yard instead of doing a container garden on the deck. Everything we grew turned out much better than before. Our cherry and plum tomatoes were absolutely delicious, and we made many dishes out of them. We also grew leaf lettuces such as arugula and kale, and we did a lot of pickling with the cucumbers we grew. Clara was a great helper in the garden, picking tomatoes and basil for salads.

There were several highlights for us during the month of August. Clara and I joined Joey at Incarnation Camp in Ivoryton, CT for his summer Choir Camp. The kids enjoyed singing and learning together and engaging in lots of fun activities, such as swimming, making s'mores and bonding games. Clara loved it, and the kids were really sweet with her. Our cabin was nice and updated, and the food was actually really good for a summer camp. Most importantly, the kids learned a lot, had fun, and left camp as even better friends. Next year we will be there for a whole week.

Choir Camp!

Calvary's awesome choristers!

We had a really nice visit from Joey's mom, her sister Mary and Mary's granddaughter Jessica. We took a couple of fun day trips and enjoyed showing Mary and Jessica around the area. It was their first time to New England. It was great to have them here, and Clara loved her time with Grandma!

The month ended with the wonderful celebration of marriage of my cousin Adam and his wife Natasha. They were married on August 31st in a beautiful ceremony in Montreal, Canada. My parents flew to CT, and we drove together to Montreal. Clara had a special role in the wedding as one of three flower girls. She did a great job walking down the isle in the procession and holding her roses. She danced the night away at the reception, and we all had a great time. The bride and groom were beautiful and totally in love. We are very excited for them and wish them a lifetime of happiness. Congrats Adam and Natasha!

Ready for the rehearsal dinner!

Sweet little flower girl.

Party time!

Bride and Groom.

The transition from summer into fall was quick, and we were off to our busy lives again. Clara started pre-school at Calvary Nursery School this fall. She goes to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30-1:30. She absolutely loves it, and her teachers are amazing. It is such a wonderful school, and we are so lucky that she can be a part of it. 

First day of school!

Clara is also back to ballet this year. She is already learning new things, and she is wanting to practice her moves at home without our pushing her to do so. She seems to be self-motivated when it comes to ballet.

Clara is extremely interested in learning new things, especially in the area of reading and writing. I have started homeschooling her a little bit as a supplement to what she is learning in school. Her reading and writing are coming along well, and she also really enjoys counting. It's easy to teach her because she is so eager to learn. Sometimes when we are working on something, I am the one asking for a break instead of her. It's pretty exciting.

We visited our apple orchard again this year, and Clara loved picking apples and pumpkins to bring home. Clara helped Joey bake an apple pie with the apples she picked, and it was really good! It has been a beautiful fall.

2012

2013

2014

Making apple pie.

Yum!

Earlier this month, my parents came for a visit during my mom's fall teaching break. We took a trip and spent one night on the Mohawk Trail, which is an old indian trade route through parts of Massachusetts. The drive along the trail is very scening and cuts through the Berkshire mountains. We spent one night in Williamstown, MA. It was a really fun trip, and an interesting area to explore. The trail just recently celebrated its 100th birthday. 

This picture cracks me up. It looks like a car commercial. 

View from the hotel.

This past weekend we celebrated my 31st birthday, as well as Clara's half birthday. We took Clara to a halloween-themed ballet which was put on by her ballet school. The ballet was about 20 minutes long and featured older students. It was followed by trick-or-treating in the theatre, and photo opportunities. Clara loved it and was inspired by the dancing. The event was really well done, and we hope they will do it again next year.

Spooktacular!!!

Up on stage after the performance. 

Awesome ghost cake!

Another year older. Sigh...

After the ballet, Clara went over to a friend's house, and Joey and I went out for a wonderful dinner in Mystic, CT thanks to a generous gift card from choir parents last Spring. After dinner, we celebrated with a cute chocolate ghost cake made for me by Joey and Clara. It was really yummy! It was a great birthday.

Our grown up girl.

I think we are finally getting settled into our new schedule. I am teaching 23 students this year, and I have a schedule that I like, which includes some teaching on the mornings when Clara is in school. That frees up my afternoons a bit more. Joey is busy with his church work and teaching. We continue to perform together, and we rehearse regularly with our friend Carly who is a wonderful cellist. It's so much fun to get back into chamber music. Joey and I do really enjoy our Tuesday and sometimes Thursday lunch dates. It's nice to have a couple of times during the week when we can talk and catch up without distraction. However, most of our conversation revolves around Clara anyway!

We hope you are having a nice fall. Thank you for your patience. Life just gets in the way sometimes, but it is good to be back. 

Until next post!
Joey, Erin and Clara