Cider Pressing

We got Matt's family a cider press for Christmas last year, and while John and Nessa were here visiting, Dad and Mom invited us over for the first  pressing of the season.

Here is the press ready to be filled.

The apples had to be cut up and then ground before we could put them in the press. After they were ground up, they would go down a trough that was set up right under the grinder, and into the press. In the picture above Dad and Charity are cutting up the apples, John is turning the grinder, and Matt is scooping the ground apples down the trough. Quite a neat system don't you think?

We all took turns cutting up the apples and grinding them.....

....and we all took turns at holding the babies. (The blur on John's lap is Carlie Jane jumping up and down).

The press all full and ready to go.
The bowl under the spout of the press was almost full of juice from the ground up apples before we even started pressing.

Matt, John, and Dad all took turns cranking the lever to press the apples. The cider soon began to flow out of the spout, and the bowl underneath it had to be emptied several times.

And here it is....the finished product. We moved into the dining room to try out the cider and snack on donuts.

Matt's Dad was the first to try out the cider. It was a little tart because the apples were still a little under ripe, but it tasted very much like cider and not just apple juice.

We all enjoyed a sip of cider, some preferring cold cider and some preferring it warmed up, and declared the evening a success. Thank you so much for inviting us over, Dad and Mom, it was fun!

Happy Boy

Our little Brett has learned how to smile! We so enjoy seeing his little face light up and his mouth open in a big grin when he sees us. He even will giggle at us sometimes when he is extremely jolly. :-)

Bar Harbor with John, Nessa, and Carlie Jane

We are enjoying spending time with John and Nessa and their little baby girl while they are here visiting. We spent Matt's day off with them this past week, taking them to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Catching up with each other as we drove, strolling through downtown Bar Harbor in and out of many little shops, having a delicious dinner together, and taking in the beautiful scenery of Cadillac Mountain and other parts of the park all made the day extremely enjoyable. Thank you so much for the fun day John and Nessa...we'll have to do it again soon.

It turned out to be a gorgeous day, perfect for driving and taking in the sights. We stopped at the sand beach in the park and spent a little time enjoying the beautiful day.

Daddy and Brett just spent some time together while Uncle John helped cousin Carlie Jane put her toes in the water. They were waiting for a wave in this picture.

Auntie Nessa and Mommy took many pictures to document the occasion. 

 Daddy holding Brett and Auntie Nessa holding Carlie Jane.

I never get tired of the scenery down there. It's absolutely gorgeous!

We stopped at Thunder Hole to see if it was making any noise. It was louder than some days when we've been there, but it wasn't a huge rumble. Here are Matt, Nessa, and John waiting to hear it rumble.

Brett couldn't have cared less, he snoozed the whole time we were there.

Thunder hole in all its glory. 

I sat in the back between the two babies. After Carlie Jane would wake up from her naps as we drove this is the face she would give me.

Just some Winky pictures

Snuggle time with Daddy in the morning.

I don't think it will be long before he starts sucking his thumb. He has found his fist already, and frequently brings it up to his mouth and sucks on it.

I grabbed a quick shower before bed one night, and came into the bedroom afterwards to find both Daddy and Winky snoozing while they waited for me. :-)

Snoozing so peacefully in his lounge. I loved how he had his little hand up by his face.

I was digging through his clothes the other day and found this shirt that my Mom had bought for him that he had never worn. I thought it was so cute, and wore it on him for the day. Apparently he didn't think it was that cute. *wink*

I just love coming into the bedroom when Daddy is having "tummy time" with him  and finding a little bum with a face on it looking at me. ;-)

Wearing Uncle Spencer's jammies.

"Helping" Mommy paint the house. ;-)

Blue Hill Fair 2013

Matt didn't have to work at the fair this year, but he sweetly took us Saturday night just to enjoy the sights. Brett was such a trooper the whole time, and we had a great time (except for maybe Matt having some issues with the fair rides. You should ask him his opinion of fair rides sometime. *wink*) We knew some people that had entered exhibits and wanted to see how they had placed, so we started off our time there by wandering through the different buildings looking at the crafts, vegetables, flowers and such, as well as spending a little time looking at some cute baby cows. We had some time to kill before the horse pull started, so Matt  completely spoiled me, and took me back to the Pick-a-Pearl booth that we had found last year. He had bought me a necklace there last year, so this year I chose to have the pearl I picked set in a ring. Surprisingly, the pearl I picked this year is almost the exact color of the one I picked last year. Now I have a matching necklace/ ring set. :-) I have the sweetest man ever!!! :)
It was time to head to the horse pull by then, so we grabbed a quick supper and headed to the pulling ring. We enjoyed watching the teams pull, and even though the rules are a bit different than I'm used to, it brought back memories of watching ?Spencer pull. I fed Brett his bottle while we watched and told him all about his Uncle Spencer. Then I snuggled him all up in a blanket so he wouldn't get cold, and he just looked all around at everything going on. Halfway through the horse pull, it started to rain, so we called it an evening and packed Brett into his stroller where he would stay dry, and hurried to the truck before we got drenched. We left having had a great time together as a little family.

Brett in his stroller as we looked at the different exhibits. I found the little denim jacket for him at a thrift shop. It was perfect for the occasion because it has some "farm" detailing on it.

Our little family at the pulling ring.
I haven't been able to get a good picture of my ring Matt bought me yet, so you'll just have to trust me that it is BEAUTIFUL!! :-)

Thrift Store Shoes

Brett had an appointment in Ellsworth yesterday, and since I was already in town for that, I decided to do some shopping . Usually a trip to town means, grab the car seat with baby in it, rush through the store, pick up the essentials, and rush home again before baby's next feeding time. Yesterday though, I decided to do some extra shopping on top of the essential errands I needed to run. Brett was absolutely an angel the whole time. One of the extra places I stopped was a thrift shop, and as soon as I walked in, I saw the pair of shoes below. Immediately angels sang. I quickly walked over to them to see if they would fit, and they were exactly my size. No second thoughts....I picked up the shoes and cashed out. I wore them all last evening, and they are so comfy.I can't wait to pair them with so many outfits!! :-) If I could find something like these every time I went thrift store shopping, I'd be the happiest girl alive. *wink*

Just to make you smile

You can tell we don't have fun with our baby! *wink*