Whew. We're home. It was a fun & memorable trip! We made the best of a very rainy week, and did have a couple days that cleared up for us. But it was just so nice to be together, rain or shine. My mom and dad were with us, so the boys had plenty of attention and spoiling. {although I'm pretty sure my parents will need a vacation from the vacation after last week!}
We hiked The Flume Gorge in Franconia Notch State Park. Gorgeous. Amazing. Really, the best hike I've ever taken. Everything was so lush and green, and the rocks and waterfalls were breathtaking.
They don't call New Hampshire "The Granite State" for nothin'.
Sam spent the last part of the hike like this:
On our last day there, it was sunny and warm. We headed straight to the water!
We also did plenty of antiquing {my mom and I did while the guys waited in the car}. And I scouted out every candy shop within a 60 mile radius of our condo. We hit Chutters in Littleton, Kellerhaus in Laconia, Cooks Candy Kitchen at Weirs Beach and Penny Candy Shop in Wolfeboro. I love candy shops and am always looking for something yummy with cute packaging that I've never seen. Unfortunately, nothing new to report...
After a week in New Hampshire, we drove down to Massachusetts to spend the 4th of July with George's side of the family, in Winthrop. We saw a spectacular fireworks display and had fun hanging out with family. I took lots of pictures but I'm not sure they all want their pictures on the Internet, so I'll just show you what I bought on our way out of town.... Italian cookies! Winthrop is a very Italian town where everyone knows everyone and the families stay for generations. Love that.
I'll be spending the week unpacking, cleaning, and getting ready for a big shop update that will happen little by little over the next week or so. See you soon!
Beautiful locations, beautiful family, beautiful you.
Posted by: Holly Abston | July 07, 2009 at 04:16 PM
Andrea, that looks like a beautiful place to vacation...your pictures are lovely...and you have the prettiest family:)
Posted by: Lori | July 07, 2009 at 04:25 PM
Hi Andrea,
Gorgeous photos, glad you had a great time and the waterfall is fantastic! Your boys are getting so big! I miss the great Italian cookies I used to buy in New York! Thanks for sharing, nice to have you back!!
Posted by: Karyn (French Charming) | July 07, 2009 at 05:03 PM
looks like a picture perfect trip. I am so glad you had a great time!
xoxo, Tiffany
Posted by: Tiffany~ Shabby Scraps | July 07, 2009 at 06:29 PM
Lovely lovely pictures of a wonderful trip...i am so like you with candy stores...everywhere i go i am always drawn to them! Again i think it is because of the loveliness of the packaging and the beauty of the pretty colors...thanks so much for sharing...i keep on looking at your amazingly beautiful taffy in your store...one day i will treat myself to some more loveliness!
Posted by: koralee | July 07, 2009 at 08:24 PM
You look like an Italian movie star if you don't mind me saying so.. so nice to see your pictures. I do miss it up North especially the Italian cookies.....Love & hugs your way... enjoy the rest of the summer. xoxo laura
Posted by: laura dellaporta | July 07, 2009 at 08:48 PM
Your photos are beautiful.....what a pretty place to visit!
Posted by: Lori Oles | July 07, 2009 at 09:07 PM
Welcome home Andrea
Glad you had a great trip
Thanks for sharing such amazing pictures
You have a beautiful family!
Andrea
Posted by: Andrea | July 07, 2009 at 10:01 PM
Thanks so much for sharing these, New England is my favorite place in the world! Any chance I can convince you to go back in Autumn and take photos of the trees and villages??? :)
Posted by: Dawn | July 08, 2009 at 02:26 AM
Looks like you had a great time! Sam has gotten so big!
Karla
Posted by: Karla | July 08, 2009 at 09:13 AM
What a beautiful place. Love the wood bridge and the waterfalls...gorgeous.
Posted by: Andrea - Faded Plains | July 08, 2009 at 01:56 PM
What a gorgeous place and beautiful photographs. I love the one of you and Mario. Precious.
Posted by: Jeni Carlson | July 08, 2009 at 02:20 PM
Fabulous pictures of a beautiful family. I CAN NOT believe how big your boys are getting...when I saw the picture of Sam, I was sure that had to be Mario!! My how they grow so quickly...I love the one of Sam asleep and the one with you and sweet Mario on the bench...a wonderful place to make memories...Thanks for sharing!
Blessings...
Teresa
Posted by: Teresa | July 08, 2009 at 04:11 PM
Oh it looks like you had a wonderful time! We just started our vacation and I've already taken tons of photos:)
Posted by: LeahC | July 08, 2009 at 04:52 PM
I love the covered bridge and your hike looks breathtaking!!! I love the east coast. We lived in DC for awhile before moving to Colorado. We are headed to The Cape next month and I can't wait. I love that you stopped at so many candy shops looking for something new and those cookies look amazing!!!
Posted by: Jeanne | July 08, 2009 at 10:03 PM
Beautiful little family. So glad you had a great time despite the rain.
Posted by: gabrielle | July 09, 2009 at 09:04 AM
Andrea, what a great time you guys had! I love seeing pics of the boys and how much they are growing...seems like Sam was just a baby the other day.
xo Heather
Posted by: Heather ~ Pretty Petals | July 11, 2009 at 01:00 AM
You were in my neck of the woods! The Flume is gorgeous. I can not believe how big your little Sam has gotten!! He's adorable. We were away last week too. Had a nice time but happy to be home. I'll e-mail you shortly about the DT project. xo
Posted by: deb | July 19, 2009 at 03:19 PM