Things That Are Scary:

1. Snow TWICE before Halloween!

Sure, it all melted. The girls were thrilled. But it’s still kind of wrong.

Georgia, with Boom, after experiencing her first snowfall. Clearly thinking: what's up with this?

2. Halloween.

This year, the girls had a multi-day Halloween. It began with the “Trick or Read” party for Middlebury College families, continued with the Middlebury town “Spooktacular” (featuring a Halloween parade in which all the kids trick or treat at the businesses on Main Street), and concluded with trick-or-treating on the actual night with their friend Ruth. They had a blast, and the amount of candy is truly scary. We’re handling it with our usual stern parental authority…combined with our “stealth candy relocation operation.”

Here are the two big girls in their princess costumes. Sadly, we had NO time to take pictures during the actual trick-or-treating, because the 4 adults in attendance were all completely occupied with chasing Campbell. It was like somebody wound her up and let her go; she charged from house to house along the length of South Street until she stopped abruptly an hour later. (Favorite Campbell moment: at one of the first houses we hit, she knocked on the door and, when it was opened by a friendly, candy-bearing resident, charged right past him and into the house. It took some convincing to get her out, too. As best we can figure, she suspected a hidden candy supply).

Georgia was dressed as a guinea pig (her sisters’ nickname for her), but of course we have no pictures. Fate of the third child. But if you take another look at her in the picture of her first snow, and then imagine her in brown, you’ll get the idea.

The three girls with their three pumpkins.

3. Boom Going Boom.

Nana and Boom came to visit us for a week to help out while Erick was at a seminar in Toronto. Their visit was set to end immediately following Halloween. However, the weekend before Halloween, Boom climbed up a 20-foot extension ladder with a chainsaw in order to take down a birch tree that was bending ominously over our driveway. If you think that sounds like a bad idea, you’d be right; he got the tree down, but he came down, too. We now know that birch trees are notoriously soft and unpredictable; when the top of the tree fell to the ground, the bottom snapped back and Boom went flying through the air. He is INCREDIBLY lucky that he “only” broke 4 ribs and 2 vertebrae.

As of this writing, Boom has just been released after 4 days in the hospital here in Middlebury. He’s resting here at our house, and we’re making plans for his recuperation. He and Nana are doing well, considering, and the girls have been delighted to have TWO ambulance visits in one week, multiple trips to the hospital, and have their grandparents here for longer than expected.

Boom sitting (a big deal) with his princesses post-Halloween.

All of which goes to show that scary things, when looked at from the right perspective, can actually be kind of fun!

Fall Fun with Grandmommy & Granddaddy

This is what we see these days when we pull out of our driveway:

So when Grandmommy & Granddaddy Gong came from California for a 2-week visit, there was lots of Fall fun to be had! Like baking:

And choosing Halloween costumes:

It's going to be a double-princess year!

And pumpkin picking:

The grand finale was the corn maze. And you know how you heap expectations upon events? You imagine that the corn maze will be a time of family harmony and laughter and hugs, something they’ll always remember with nostalgia? Well, it was fun, particularly playing in the corn box and taking a hay wagon ride before the corn maze. But the corn maze was huge, and what these pictures don’t show is how three tired, hungry, and bathroom-needing girls had to be carried out of the corn maze just minutes after we started it.

The hay ride (actually MUCH more fun than this picture indicates!)

They’ll remember that the corn maze was fun. Erick and I will remember that just because an experience doesn’t meet the parents’ expectations doesn’t mean that it was a failure. And that often, the best moments are those that you don’t plan at all.

Keeping the Doctor Away….

Apple picking has been a family tradition since before we were even a family. It dates to the time, over a decade ago, when I went apple picking with friends in upstate New York and then mailed a box of some of the apples we’d harvested to my new friend Erick Gong, then toiling away at a Connecticut hedge fund. Since then, I can’t think of a year when we’ve missed apple picking. Usually, it’s at least a half-day outing and requires a long drive to some country place.

But this year, with Grandmommy and Granddaddy Gong visiting Vermont from California for the first time, we drove about 5 minutes up the road to the Happy Valley Orchard.

The harvest was plentiful:

But the workers were willing…

…the workers were dedicated…

…and the workers were HUNGRY!

Even Georgia, a recent convert to the world of solid foods, got in on the action:

As if the apples weren’t enough, Happy Valley also had honey sticks for sale, which the girls enjoyed as a reward for their labor.

AND, just when you thought it couldn’t get any better than this, there was a TREEHOUSE!

A treehouse that you could climb up and up…

…And pose for goofy pictures with your Daddy…

… and then look out and see this:

And it probably doesn’t get any better than this!

A Shameless Pitch

I promise I won’t use the blog to do this often, BUT…

On Sunday, October 2, Fiona and I are going to be participating in the 2.2-mile Addison County CROP Hunger Walk, which will raise awareness and funds for international relief and development, as well as local hunger-fighting agencies right here in Vermont. As you’ll recall, this has been a particularly difficult year for much of Vermont, with record rain- and snowfall that has resulted in widespread flooding on numerous occasions. We’re very excited for this opportunity to support our new community!

Please join us on this journey, ending hunger one step at a time. We’d be thrilled with any amount you might want to contribute on our behalf. In a huge sacrificial act, Fiona will be skipping her afternoon nap and donating all of her spare change! If you’re interested in supporting us or learning more, just click this link here.

Progress…

…on a couple of fronts at our house this week.

OPERATION: NEW ROOF

Today we can see the front of our house for the first time in 2 weeks! The scaffolding and tarps that have covered it while the roofers tore off and reinstalled the roof on the front portion came down, and here is how our new roof looks thus far:

It’s about 1/3 finished, so we’re bracing for another 2+ weeks of overhead pounding. But we’re thrilled with both the look and the fact that it’ll keep us dry all winter. Here’s a look at the new vs. old roof. As Fiona said this morning, “Daddy, why isn’t there grass growing out of the new roof?” ‘Nuff said.

OPERATION: TODDLERHOOD

At 6 months old, Georgia is already working on keeping up with her older sisters.

Looking Back

Labor Day Weekend. Our first summer in Vermont is officially over. It’s been winding down for a while, but now the leaves are starting to change color, the corn is taller than most people, last week Fiona started preschool, and next week Middlebury College’s academic year will begin.

Fiona leaving for her first day of preschool.

The Gong sisters pick up Fiona (who, in typical Fiona fashion, has changed clothes) from her first day of preschool.

So, on this Labor Day weekend, I am taking a moment to list our favorite memories from this special first summer in our new home.

Fiona yelling “Gross, cows!” whenever we smell that bovine aroma (which is often).
Georgia busting out with huge belly laughs and beginning to roll over. And sleeping through the night!
Swimming at Lake Dunmore.
Ice cream at Sama’s and the Kampersville Deli (“Ganilla” for Campbell, whatever disgusting novelty flavor catches Fiona’s fancy, including Bubble Gum, Cotton Candy, and Play Doh).
Calamine lotion on mosquito bites.
Full moon over shadowy mountains.
Owls calling at night.
Dappled sunlight through the backyard trees.
Fresh maple syrup on pancakes
Soccer on Friday mornings.
Picnics and naked children in the wading pool.
Long drives along country roads (“Cows out Campbell’s window!”)
Cams turning 2 years old, talking even MORE, and cracking us all up with her wacky humor.
Mona Rogers at the East Middlebury library.
Festival on the Green (with cousins!).
Learning how to paint a room.
Having our own dishwasher, washer, and dryer! AND more than 1 bathroom!
Visits from family. We love family.
Fiona making “A Vermont Announcement!”
Dancing to “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” in the sun room.
Sisters sleeping together.
Berry picking at Champlain Orchards and Lower Notch Berry Farm.
U2 in Montreal on our 9th anniversary.
Erick’s new talent for homemade iced coffee.
The car shopping carts at Hannaford’s grocery store.
Popsicles on the deck on hot afternoons.
Playing with the toys & eating greasy food at the A&W picnic area
Standing on the bridge looking down on Otter Creek Falls.
Itsy Bitsy Yoga at the library.
Peonies & hydrangeas in the yard.
Lunch at the taco truck in town.
Dinner at American Flatbread.
Sunday mornings at First Baptist Church.
Healthy checkups at Rainbow Pediatrics.
Neighbors stopping by to greet us.
Catching (& releasing) bullfrogs in the creek at the Bridge School.
Fiona catching a newt in our yard with her bare hands.
Campbell sitting atop a picnic table eating fresh snap peas.
Crocs for the whole family!
Throwing pennies in the fountain on the town green.
Chocolate milk fresh from Monument Farms Dairy.
Meeting Erick on campus for lunch at The Grill.
Milking cows and feeding baby goats at Shelburne Farms.
Running around the yard, climbing the rocks, and playing in the little cottage with new friends.
The nice people at Middlebury Bagel who frost the donuts with fresh chocolate icing for our girls.
Cruising Lake Champlain.
Playing in the children’s room at the Sheldon Museum, and the garden outside.
Visiting the new foal (Trinity) at the Morgan Horse Farm.
Pony rides at the Addison County Fair & Field Days.
Listening to the Disney Princess cd (especially the Pocahontas & Mulan songs) over and over and over….
Family flashlight tag during power outages.
Hiking with the girls in Moosalamoo Recreation Area (Campbell charging ahead shouting – unsuccessfully – “Here moose! Here moose!”)
Realizing that, after only 3 months, whenever you leave the house you WILL see someone you know. You really will.

It’s been an amazing summer — better than we could have ever imagined! It’s incredible that exactly 3 months ago we were boarding a plane in San Francisco to follow our belongings to Vermont, when now we feel so completely at home. We are so thankful every day for our girls, for our family, for this house, for being able to live in this beautiful place, for all the wonderful people we’ve met since moving here. And we look forward to many more summers like this one…if we can survive our first Vermont winter!

Work and Play

Although it’s still summer here in Vermont, we are starting to prepare for winter. It’s been a while since we’ve lived with the drama of four distinct seasons; while I always felt that there were seasons in Northern California, they were subtle and caused few dramatic variations in either wardrobe or lifestyle. Not so in Vermont. The nights are getting cooler, the odd leaf in our yard has already turned red or yellow, and we hear that snow can begin as early as late October. Here are some of the things we’re doing to ready ourselves for the imminent onset of winter:

*Getting a new roof. Although we bought this house understanding that we’d need a new roof in the next 5 years, it quickly became clear that we needed one immediately if we wanted to be spared some serious water leaks once the snow starts. (One roofer who looked at our situation told us that, short of a new roof, our best bet for surviving the winter were plastic tarps).

*Getting a generator. We’ve lost power a couple of times this summer due to heavy thunderstorms. Because we’re far enough outside of town, we’re not on the town water system; our water is pumped up from our own well, and we have our own septic tank. This means that no power = no water. Okay for short periods of time during the summer, but not okay in the middle of winter with three small children.

*Finishing Phase 1 of our painting projects. In fact, this is an activity that we supervised as opposed to participated in; Nana and Boom were just here for a week painting our bedroom as an early birthday gift. This involved some serious carpet-ripping and tearing off wallpaper, but the results are amazing. To give you an idea, here is the original bedroom with dark blue wallpaper and blue wall-to-wall carpet:

And here is our bedroom today:

*Thinking about re-graveling our driveway….

*Stockpiling firewood. Thankfully we’ve got a rugged junior lumberjack to help with that.

*Buying these at Junebug, an amazing local children’s clothing resale store:

*Fattening ourselves up on freshly-baked brownies.

We’ve been busy. But it’s not all work and no play around here. There are afternoon snacks out on the deck….

The girls had a blast at the Addison County Fair and Field Days….

Success! All tired out at the end of the day.

And we enjoyed an idyllic boat trip around Lake Champlain with Nana and Boom:

Sisters check out the huge lake pre-cruise.

Campbell kept calling for "Champ," the mythical monster of Lake Champlain. He didn't show...this time.

We’ll be sad to see summer come to an end, but we’re looking forward to Fall — we hear it’s spectacular up here.

So if you’re thinking of visiting us, don’t delay! The snow is coming….

Summertime….

As we roll into August, it’s starting to feel like we’re on the back side of summer here in Vermont. The weather has been more reasonable for the past week, Erick’s been going into his office every day to prepare for the start of school, the summer programs that have kept us going to Ilsley Library multiple times each week have ended, and tomorrow Fiona will visit the preschool that she’ll be attending in September. But we’re continuing to enjoy as many summer activities as we can cram in.

Exhibit A: Raspberry picking with Nana and Boom at Champlain Orchards.

The result of our labor, which resulted in delicious raspberry-topped French Toast and two Raspberry Buckles:

Last week I also took the girls blueberry picking at Lower Notch Berry Farm, which yielded 3 pounds of delicious blueberries. But because I was alone with the 3 girls, I somehow neglected to get pictures of that outing!

Living in the woods definitely has its benefits during the summer, in that our house remains pretty comfortable even when it’s sizzling in town. But we did suffer from the Great East Coast Heat Wave of 2011, which sent temperatures up into the 90s. What to do with no air conditioning? Lots of time in the wading pool, popsicles on the back deck, and summer haircuts from “Mom’s Backyard Salon!”

Oh, and let’s not forget hanging out nekkid in the Exersaucer:

This is just one of Georgia’s many new tricks, which also include a new-found interest in solid food…And increased mobility:

A late-July highlight: Campbell turning 2! It’s amazing how quickly they go from this:

To this:

Summer, raspberries, and babies — all so fleeting.

First Visitors

What do you get when you combine this:

With this?The answer: a whole lot of crazy cousin fun!

This week we were graced by our first official visitors (I say first “official” because our visitors thus far — Nana, Boom, and Uncle Chris — have been more like slave labor): my Aunt Carolyn, cousin Liz, her husband Jeff, and their three girls, Ainsley, Maren, and Fallon. At ages 7, 5, and 3, Ainsley, Maren, and Fallon are just about the perfect playmates for the Gong girls. It’s been almost a year since we’ve seen them, but everyone picked up right where we left off.

As the alpha cousin, Ainsley doesn’t abuse her position; it’s fair to say that all the Gongs love Ainsley.

Fiona and Maren seem to have a special connection. Longtime followers of “The Pickle Patch” will remember them from a year ago:Here they are one year later:

One of the highlights of this visit for our family was that it gave us an excuse to celebrate Campbell’s 2nd birthday party. Although she won’t actually be 2 until July 25, since we just moved to Vermont and don’t yet have a large crew of same-age friends, we jumped on the chance to celebrate with 3 other little girls. Since Campbell is a huge fan of Dora the Explorer, we planned a Dora party for her complete with lots of Dora-style tasks, including “pin the petal on the flower…”…and “rescuing wiggly worms and leaping lizards from the mucky mud” (really chocolate pudding).

Of course, the end goal of all these tasks was to reach the birthday cake:And of course, because this is Campbell we’re talking about, she was more interested in touching the lit candles than in blowing them out!But it was a lovely day for her, and we were thrilled to be able to celebrate her two years of life with her beloved cousins!Because this week was the Middlebury Festival on the Green, we enjoyed a picnic and performance by the No Stings Marionettes. This also gave the girls a chance to model their new tie-dye shirts, made under the guidance of Aunt Carolyn the day before. Even Georgia had one!

The girls with their amazing Nanas (aka the Meader Sisters):

And as if that wasn’t enough fun, immediately after the festival we drove up to Shelburne for a tour of the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory.

We loved every minute of this visit, including many other special moments that we didn’t capture in photos, and we hope to see our cousins again soon and often! But for now, I’ll leave you with a question to ponder: which is more intimidating, this Wild Bunch… or THIS wild bunch?

An American Childhood

Here is how our Chinese/Italian/Anglo-Saxon girls spent the holiday weekend:

On Friday they had soccer (origin: China). But perhaps I should clarify: “Lil’ Kickers Summer Soccer” bears little resemblance to what one would traditionally think of as soccer; rather, it is an informal group of 30 2- to 5-year-olds who kick soccer balls around a field for an hour. The only rule, which is frequently broken, is that no hands are allowed. But there are t-shirts (made in Nicaragua).

That afternoon we set off for the “big city” of Burlington, where we had to return some items. While strolling around the Church Street district, it was clear how quickly our girls have become small town hayseeds when they begged me to take their picture with this exciting store mannequin at The Gap (a store native to California, like the Gong Girls).

Famished from so much excitement, we headed to GoLoco for some “Mexican” food (quotations because I doubt that the food at GoLoco would pass muster as Mexican in California).

On Saturday, we took our beloved Japanese minivan, “Greenie,” to the pristene shores of Lake Dunmore.

Following an afternoon of swimming and a picnic dinner, we repaired to the Kampersville Deli for some ice cream (origin: Persia).

And then it was time for our all-American girls to dance. On the actual 4th of July, we enjoyed a cookout with some new friends, but were so busy having fun that we neglected to take pictures. Happy Independence Day to all!