mini-vacay, not a moment too soon

After such a stressful week, we were glad to go up to Massachusetts for the weekend. We stayed at a hotel with an indoor pool, which we took full advantage of, and which was conveniently located to the giant Yankee Candle flagship store. We hadn't been there since before Avery was born, and we had forgotten how kid-friendly it is, with a huge "winter wonderland" section where it "snows" every 4 minutes, a candy land and toy store, ice cream parlour, a show with scary animatronic geezers who sing cheesy songs about skunks and bears, and of course, candles. Lots of candles. We also went to our friend Dale's birthday party, where Avery enjoyed splashing in the kiddie pool, playing with dogs, and eating lots of watermelon. We decided to take the long, scenic drive home, mostly just to enjoy the ride and to look for a perfect road-side ice cream parlor, which we found.

Playing at Dale's b-day party:






Swimming at the hotel:





At the Yankee Candle store:





Back at home, wearing Mom's shoes: