Proses go to New England {Part 2}

You know you've had a great vacation, when you're wishing it could have lasted a little longer! I am totally reminiscing over our time in New England. It was only a few days, but the time we spent together as a family, was the sweetest.  Everyone told us, we would love it up there! And they were right, I want to move! {Grandparents might disagree, but I can't wait to go back!}

Checking out the boardwalk along the shore of Easton's beach, Rhode Island. 

Our wonderful hostess & friend, Melissa didn't want us to miss any of the beautiful sites! So, after our morning coffee and a quick breakfast, we started our day of sightseeing! Here we are visiting Easton's Beach and boardwalk. They had a small hands-on aquarium, Save The Bay Aquarium, featuring sea-creatures from Newport's Narragansett Bay! The kids loved it! They held starfish, small horseshoe crabs and braved the touch tank of small sharks! {Well, Madeline did... :)}

 

The 'Norsemen' as they like to call themselves. The masterminds behind our group trip to Rhode Island!

Here we are with our group of friends & families before date night.  

Thanks to the Petrinis, we were able to arrange a sitter for a night out while in Newport! I was a little nervous {err...a lot nervous} because I had never met the sitter and was worried of Jack's reaction, but he did great! The kids made Halloween crafts and a sweet babysitter to keep them busy and us parents, we had fun too!! Newport is a great town & every single meal was delicious!! We enjoyed the sunset and pre-dinner drinks at Midtown Oyster. Followed by a decadent meal and dessert at Christie's in the adorable historic downtown. 

The gorgeous sunset behind us from the rooftop! 

The girls at the cutest place before dinner Midtown Oyster! 

Before packing up for Boston, we had a few more sites to visit! The historic Cliff Walk, a historic recreational trail with gorgeous views & more beautiful estate homes. One of the mansions, owned by the famous Vanderbilt family. We also toured Fort Adams where our friends currently reside while at The Naval War College in Newport. BEAUTIFUL! All of it! I didn't want to leave!

 

Jack and Ella :)

Our last stop before our adventure continued in Boston, was to take Jack apple picking! I was so excited to do this, worried we would run out of time during our visit and have to skip it, but thankfully, we have amazing friends that made the quick visit with us and helped snap some great photos! Thanks to Melissa, for recommending Rocky Brook Orchard, we had a fabulous time! We brought home a TON of freshly picked apples and pictures for Christmas cards! :)

We love you Luke & Caroline! 

After dropping friends off at the airport in Boston, our family of 3 set off for a quick tour of Boston. We had a late lunch with our pals, the Meyers, before they returned for St. Louis, then we took the subway {Jack's first time on the subway, btw!} and ended up at North End. I learned later, it's Boston's oldest Italian neighborhood. There were rows of restaurants, along cobblestone streets, and delicious aromas as we walked with Jack that night. We stopped to enjoy a couple cannolis from Mike's Pastry, OH SO DELICIOUS! It was the perfect ending to a great vacation. 

I know I packed a lot of photos in these posts { Part 1 here in case you missed it } but I hope you enjoy them as I do! I can not wait to return to New England! Maybe we'll make this an annual trip? Who knows, but we had such an amazing time! A big thank you to our friends for making it such a wonderful trip! If you haven't been to this part of the country, I highly recommend it! According to everyone I've spoken too, this was the most beautiful time of the year! We're so blessed to have been able to take this little vacation. :)

PS. Friends, if you have pictures to share from this trip...please do! Email them to me! :)

Proses go to New England!

We just returned from a quick family vacation. A much needed vacation, a well-deserved vacation. A sweet family get-a-way that I wish we were still on. I am skipping past a few blog posts that I haven't finished yet, but I can't contain my excitement over the photos from our trip to New England. It was just too beautiful to wait!! I fell in love with New England, can you tell?? My husband worked incredibly hard for us to enjoy a little vacation and we're truly blessed to have the opportunity to visit such a beautiful place and visit some wonderful friends!

We paid a visit to friends and their family that are currently stationed in Newport, Rhode Island. I must give credit to the 'guys' for putting the wheels in motion for this trip, the wives only took care of the smaller details, but the guys/husbands put the trip together. A wonderful group of friends traveled from all over the country to meet in Rhode Island for a few days, and it was a blast! We rented a beautiful barn house with enough rooms for 10 adults and 4 kids! Once everyone arrived in Newport, it was time to check out the scenic ocean-side town!

Here's a look at our wonderful visit to New England!

The gorgeous home we rented, The Hedgegate House

Jack loved the cool kites behind him at Brenton Point! 

Our wonderful hosts, The Petrini Family, gave us a great little tour of their new hometown of Newport. These were just a few of the GORGEOUS mansions along Ocean Drive, a historic district along the southern shore of Newport, leading up to Brenton Point. After the caravan tour of the sites, we headed to Newport's Seafood Festival in the cutest historic downtown! And we found a pumpkin patch too!

 We had a great time! What could be better? A cool breeze from the ocean, lobster rolls, live music, kid crafts and good friends! {I was feelin' like a New England local in my new hat Mike sweet-talked a vendor for!}

I was so happy to have stubbled upon this adorable little pumpkin patch! Of course, I had to let my little guy bring one home! He carried it around ALL day! 

My handsome guys! I'm a blessed girl! 

Jack's little pals, the gorgeous Petrini girls, Madeline & Ella. 

With so many sights to take in, we still managed some downtime in the great big yard at The Hedgegate House! Here's a look at fun we had at the house too! Frisbee, bubbles, and lots of running around honorary 'aunts & uncles'. 

The kids coming in for the night and the sunset view from the wrap around porch of the house! Our first couple days coming to a close in Newport, Rhode Island...but stay tuned, part 2 of our New England trip will be posted soon!