Trip to Stowe

We planned to go to Stowe from Sunday through Wednesday but delayed the trip a day because of a big snowstorm that was due to hit MA and VT. We rented a three bedroom townhouse at the Green Mt Inn and on Monday morning we met Debster at the Dunkin Donuts in Andover to start our little caravan North. Mom rode in the backseat with Jill, entertaining and feeding her the whole way. She is the best! About two hours into the drive, Deb called us saying she needed refill her washer fluid. She was following us and taking the full brunt of the salty, muddy slush kicked up from our tires, and all we could see in the rear view mirror was her head peering through a small clear spot at the very bottom of her windshield. We were all relieved and happy when we pulled out of the gas station with several bottles of washer fluid and Deb was free to squirt away!

We had a great time in Stowe. The townhouse was very nice and the scene outside was snowy and beautiful. It was so brutally cold the first day that Bryan and Deb decided to hold off on skiing. Instead the five of us ate a giant breakfast and then Bryan, Deb, and I puttered through bookstores and galleries while Mom generously offered to take Jill back to the house to play and rest.

One night we went out to see I am Legend. It was torture! I didn't realize it was a horror movie. I was tense and scared the whole time. At the end of the movie, Deb and I exchanged shaky glances and started laughing. I felt like I had been betrayed by Bryan who made the pick. Deb was like, "Is it even good for you to go through that?" She was thinking that 2 hours of constant stress isn't so good for a pregnant lady, and I have to agree! The girls decided we couldn't possibly go to sleep after that and so we went out to get a stiff drink (tea for me) and recover.

The best thing that happened on our trip is that I got carded while Bryan was trying to buy beer and the woman refused to sell to us. She was a little defensive about it but I reasurred her, "No problem! I'm almost 34. This is probably the last time this will ever happen to me. We'll just come back with my ID!" The worst thing that happened is that on the last night Jill woke up crying every 15 minutes between midnight and 4:00AM. She just couldn't sleep in the room with us like she usually does when we travel. She was very aware us in the room and kept standing up in the crib crying wanting books and milk. It was a nightmare. We returned home from vacation so tired, not refreshed like we expected!

Here are a couple of pictures from our trip. Here's Debster basking in glory after beating me in a race to get on Jill's "mitts." Here are Bryan, Jill and me in front of the town Christmas tree. Nana helping Jill get on her boots.