Kiddo Test Drive

my parents rented a place in new hampshire this summer and since my brother and sister in-law could not make the trip keith and i decided we would offer to take our nephews. of course those little kiddos were more than willing to take a road trip with aunty beth and uncle keith to go see their grandparents. we have never had them much more than 24 hours at a time so five days with these two was great practice for us parents-to-be. there was lots of car dancing, belly laughing and nap taking on this trip.

first mini hike of the trip 

big brother telling little brother where we are

checking out the mountain stream

cooling off our toes

off with vo (portuguese grandfather for anyone that did not know) to check out the waterfall

the little one prefers to hang out with uncle keith and check out his ink. after seeing aunty beth's names and his brothers name he starts to ask where his name is. it sounds like uncle keith will be back in the chair soon.  

crawford's notch information center

i love this building. so pretty.

officially little hikers

the tracks were laid well before the roads. it must have been so fun to travel to this area by rail. 

two of a kind

looking like his mama wendy

picnic lunch. the crawford notch family center has bathrooms, picnic tables and even showers. 

making friends

briefly anyway

love this little backside

okay love this side too

and this one

uncle keith showing them tether ball

uncle keith also let this one run though the fountain. aunty beth was not amused.  

seesaws...not quite how i remember them.

coma state achieved. well behaved kiddos playing quietly while waiting for their pizza.  we also packed three levels of distractions. first are little activity books i picked up at target for a dollar. well worth it. they included a small coloring book, crayons and stickers, second a hand full of match box cars and third (only used if absolutely needed) wooden thomas trains. most nights we never made it to the third. one more rule we followed was not letting either little one out of their seat, because once they are out it is a huge fight to get them back in. granted we are also not their parents so they are a little more behaved for us.

waiting patiently for his pizza and boy did they eat well. Flatbread Company is super kid friendly and they make the pizza out in an open kitchen so the kiddos love to watch them cooking in wood fire ovens. Check out their beautiful website flatbreadcompany.com. it is so creative it makes me want to visit every location. 

a friend recommended a great mini hike for little kiddos called Sabbaday Falls off the Kancamagus highway. super wide trails and very easy terrain plus a waterfall, you can't go wrong.

getting to the age were he does not like taking pictures for me anymore :( 

checking out the lower pool and we all happened to be quite color coordinated that day in our greens and black

not sure what uncle keith is saying to this little guy but he finds it amusing and not quite sure if he should believe whatever keith is telling him.

the falls

love the sound of the rushing water

so amazing how the water has carved its path through the rock

o' this laugh is contagious. i can't even stand it. 

such a good uncle

the boys think poop and bodily functions are just the funniest subject. so when i ever saw this book in the 5 and dime store the night before we left. i had to buy for the ride home. i totally recommend it. we laughed most of the way home. Poop: A Natural History Of The Unmentionable.  

they wanted to inspect every page and it was educational. 

final dinner out and the formula held strong all week

another night out with happy well behaved kiddos. we will have to see if what we learned on this kiddo test drive works with our little ones someday. can't wait for our next adventure. 

xo, beth-ann