Kate ordered a taco salad that was bigger than her head.

Leaving is lame.

We stopped by Wild Things to get Noah a new winter coat, he never made it more then 3 ft into the store, distracted by crayons.

Last stop of the day, PVD!

Julian’s binoculars.

The Deaner’s spoiled Noah with even more birthday presents.

School bus!

Crow puppet!  (bad flick, this looks a lot less creepy in person..)

Thanks Deaner’s!

Look at this!  Chicken, artichoke hearts, peppers, a little olive spread, and feta on garlic and herb bread!!  Everyday please!

Noah had a pancake.

After we walked across the street to check out an antique store.

Noah made friends with a butler.

Then we stopped to see Noah’s Nana at work.

Then a nap and some tickles from Grampa.

Rain, rain.. going away.

This statue looked on.

Noah picking the first apple off of his Grampa’s tree.

Then a visit to my Uncle Wayne and Aunt Patty’s garden(s). This first garden where the berries grow.

Noah was drawn to the weed garden… as in, where the weeds are growing…

Kate got right into the vegetable garden. She called this “harvesting”…

I might have called it “robbing”…

or “stealing”.. or… “taking”…

My Nana helping out.

Noah running to see his Nana and Grampa.

This is the hornets nest on my Nana’s porch. She asked my dad to get rid of it when he got a minute. The hornets don’t “bother with her” so… No rush…

LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THIS HORNETS NEST!!! IT’S 5 FEET FROM THE FRONT DOOR!!!!

You aren’t here to see hornets nest though, you are here to see Noah, who I can safely report was never near the hornets nest.

Kate, still going.

We also got to “harvest” some potatoes.

My Nana in some “J.Crew” light leaning on Uncle Waynes Plymouth Fury.

I’m starting to remember climbing into the front seat of my parents car and honking the horn to try and get them to leave too..

Bossy.

…an hour or so from the sound of traffic.

I turned us around right when it was starting to get good..

(photo by Kate)

Slugs love shrooms.

Over lunch, Aunt Mindy and Noah discussed what part of her luggage he would sneak into.

Good-byes are always tough.

Thanks for planning, decorating, and everything’ing Noah’s birthday party Mindy!  Really glad you could make it.

Since we couldn’t just have the party on the lawn, we relocated to my Dad’s new garage.  Nana, Aunt Mindy, and Kate spent the morning decorating.

The remains of Saturday night’s fire.

Darn rain.

Noah’s first present of the day, a fire chief outfit…

…to go with the fire fighter theme!  Check out the great cakes Noah’s Aunt Mindy made!!

My Uncle Wayne got into the spirit.

Kaelyn and Jaycee.

This one is a real nice and thoughtful gift…

Noah asked my Nana to hold a gift for him.

Tagging the floor of Grampa’s garage.

One more look at those cakes before we tore into them.

Abigail and her Aunt Lori.

Abigail, making sure everyone has a fire hat.

“What a bunch”

Thanks to (Noah’s) Aunt Mindy, Nana, and Grampa for planning, decorating, cake-making, and hosting.  Thanks to everyone else for coming over, up, and down for Noah’s birthday party!!!

Luckily, about half way there is The Basketball Hall of Fame!!

After using the bathroom, Noah wanted in on some basketball games.

Instead I gave him 3 min. to try and dribble in the gift shop.  Not pictured, Noah being really bummed on me.

Lunch!  Brattleboro, VT.

Last stop, Milan, NH as ash was falling from the sky from Jasper and Doug’s bonfire.

Aunt Mindy made it up from Charlotte!

Noah was a little overwhelmed with everything being on fire, dudes with years of facial hair, and four-wheelers racing around..  Happy Birthday Son.

Uncle Gerry tossing some branches on the fire.

Doug.

Jasper…

Goodnight Noah.

There was a lot of wood to burn, and Jasper gets impatient.

A while later..

At least Santa was there to make things a little more “real”.

Sebastian, with toys!

Dave, Michele, Sebastian, and Veronica have a HUGE backyard with tons of room for smashing balls..

…and finding feathers.

Inside isn’t so bad either, with a bunch of HUGE rooms for playing with toys…

…but we were there to see Veronica, who is all of a month old.

Back to the outside.

I’ll take full credit for this “seating arrangement”.

Dave and Michele giving Noah a little pre-birthday, birthday cake.

Presents!

Dave multitasking.

Bubbles, always a crowd favorite.

Bye Dave!

Bye Santa #3!

Looking at the black swans, chewing on the fence.

Red panda’s.

Serious lampin’.

Two sided shove match for the frogs.

Noah’s probably thinking, “Wait until I tell Nana that I saw all these animals”.  I was thinking, “Wait until Grampa finds out we paid money to go into a barn…”

This fountain near us is popular for wedding photos, but this is impressive.  There are 4 brides in this photo.

Good ole Brooklyn Zoo.

One more from the ladder…

One more from the swinging plank…

Noah chasing me around the playground may, or may not, have cause a scooter wreck..

Noah learning to deal with the paparazzi.

Amazing mozzarella sticks.

Isaac and Jojo.

Noah and Charlotte.

Thanks to Ms. Zareta (not pictured) Ms. Faye, and Ms. Stacy for everything.

The Charest Family coverage of our trip to PVD

The Deaner perspective