This past weekend our little family drove up to the Brattleboro, VT area to spend the long weekend and see our nanny get married. We dropped my Mom off at the airport Saturday morning (booo) and were up there in the great wide open in time for lunch. We had such a wonderful time, so much in fact that we are already planning our next visit (which is saying a lot since a certain husband person usually doesn't care much about non-beach side destinations.
Our trip was made extra awesome due to where we stayed, which was a lovely loft house attached to a farmhouse in Putney, VT. The house was great for us - two bedrooms, a full kitchen and the most beautiful views. The farm had horses, chickens, a dog, cats and goats, which were the highlight of Maddie's experience when she got to walk them on a leash! We were allowed to get fresh eggs out of the chicken coop, which were absolutely delicious. There really is nothing like farm fresh eggs, and having Maddie go help Dada get them and connect exactly where eggs come from was pretty neat!
The wedding was on Saturday so after we got checked in and had some time to recharge and get ready, we were off to another beautiful property to celebrate. It was the first Quaker wedding I have attended and I probably cried more happy tears than anyone there; it was so intimate, beautiful and inclusive of everyone in attendance, including our little flower girl, who may have been so excited that she passed out before the cake was even cut. It was such an honor for us to be there and get to meet so many wonderful people in both their families since we already consider them members of ours!
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| The one picture I took! It was nice to be unplugged though :) |
The dinner was all sourced from the groom's cousin's farm and was absolutely to die for delicious. I feel like we are at an age where we get to attend a lot of weddings, and I am always judging the food against what we had at our wedding (hello, raw bar), and this dinner was right up there in its amazingness. Even the salad, which included edible flowers, was so fresh and delicious! It was seriously so good, and we got to sit with the farmer and his sweet wife and ask them all sort of questions about farm life. They even invited us to come out to the farm to see it for ourselves, which we ended up doing! We ended up leaving the wedding pretty early since Maddie was passed out in her Dada's lap, but we had such an amazing time and I am so excited to see pictures when they get them!
Sunday morning all of us slept in and then went back to the wedding venue for breakfast and to see the newly married couple off for a mini-moon. It was a nice chance to see everyone again and get to spend some more time on the beautiful property. I also got a chance to get some of the cake with maple frosting that I missed out on, so I was very happy for that! Afterwards we went back to the house for a nap (well, at least I took one) and then spent the rest of the day and evening playing around the farm and cooking dinner together.
Monday morning I made it out for a run, despite having a bit of a head cold. Silly me forgot that Vermont has this thing called elevation, in addition to a whole lot of hills, so let's just say my run was not my best, but I made it out and my butt muscles are still sore! After I recovered we cashed in our invite and headed to The Bunker Farm; we had perfect timing and pulled up just as a bunch of the wedding guests and their kids showed up, so Maddie got to run around and see the animals with some other kiddos. We saw chickens, turkeys, sheep, cows and the biggest pigs I have ever seen in my life, Maddie was pretty brave and pet everyone she could reach after a little help from Dada. She especially loved the cows, who were very responsive to her pats on their heads!
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| Talking to the sheep. |
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| Patting the cows. |
After our farm adventure we headed across the border to Walpole, NH to get some ice cream at the suggestion of our AirBnB hosts. We decided on the Walpole Creamery and were super happy with our choice once we saw the size of those scoops! Matt got one scoop and this is how huge it was. Let's just say my two scoops was an absurd amount that I managed to polish off with the help of my selfless husband.
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| One delicious scoop for one handsome dude. |
After our big ice cream lunch we headed back for another bit of napping and relaxing and then decided to go out for an early dinner at a brew pub that I had looked up before the trip that was also endorsed by our lovely hosts. Turns out I chose right, and had the best burger and fries that I have had in a while at Whetstone Station. They had some great beers that they brew on-site and a really great menu; Matty got bratwurst, which he really liked and the kid's menu came with a yummy cookie that was not easily shared with Mama. The building actually sits on the VT/NH border so the border line runs right through the restaurant, which reminded me of the CalNeva in Tahoe and how cool I thought that was when I was a kid (Maddie thought her grilled cheese was cooler; maybe next visit).
Since our hosts offered us such a great deal, we ended up staying until Tuesday, which I was so glad for. We did a whole lot of relaxing, breathing in fresh air and just enjoying being together. It was the perfect way to unwind after the excitement of home buying, moving and then having my Mom with us, and made me feel really recharged and ready to get back to business at home, work and with my new half marathon training (especially after that sad excuse for 6 miles!).
We are definitely looking forward to going back again someday - thanks, Vermont, for a lovely trip!
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| Hanging out on the porch of our rental. |
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| Maddie hanging out with one of her goat friends. |
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| The view from the back door included these pretty horses. |
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| The house had this AND a wooden rocking horse. Maddie was in heaven. |
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| Farm fresh eggs and locally canned strawberry rhubarb jam! |
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