Hello November! The First!

Finally, cooler weather and no rain!  Here's a view from our balcony - it overlooks the pool and Jacuzzi but if you've seen one, you've seen them all.  It's 45 degrees and clear and a million!

Today is the day Vicki's son, Matt, and his wife, Carol, and Laura and Josh arrive so we wandered around Stowe until they arrived just before 1:00 p.m. Hugs were had by all.  Since they hadn't stopped for lunch, they left to grab a bite while Vicki and I headed to Waterbury Center with the requisite stop at Ben & Jerry's.  I had strawberry and will say it was better than Edy's in Frenchtown but doesn't hold a candle to Braum's.  Then it was up the mountain to Jim and Sue's.

A neighbor of Jim and Sue has the most wonderful barn / shed at the back of their property and I've never stopped to take a photo.  Well, I did this time!  Isn't it wonderful!

When we got to Jim and Sue's, cooking was already underway.

Here's nephew Chris with the amazing brie en croute that he made:

I had my good friend Paula make these shirts:  Mom-Mom's Minions with my Mom's photo on front and name and "ranking" on back.  There was supposed to be a group photo front and back but I think too much good beer and wine might have been consumed.  Chris also made a wonderful charcuterie board but I failed to get a shot of that one.

Here are random shots of The Family:

My Great Nephew, Josh, age 11-1/2

My fabulous Sister-In-Law, Sue who again won Best Hostess award!

Here we are, me, Vicki and Jim.

The Most Wonderful Brother, Jim.

 Here I am again.

 Nephew, Matt.

 My Great Niece, Laura, age 13.

 Here's Josh again.

 A Most Wonderful Sister, Vicki.

 My Nephew and super bass player, Patrick.

And my Fabulous Son, Steve, who made the MOST delicious raclette mashed potatoes . . .

to go alongside Sue's wonderfully yummy pot roast.

And here's Sydney, Chris's wife, who delights all of us and planned a fun outing for the next day.

Random shot:

Three of the cousins went pie shopping earlier in the day and they were delicious.  Laura and Josh tried to teach us a card game that had no rules and in my humble opinion, it was stupid since they were the only ones who knew how to play.  But we laughed, Patrick challenged and we all had a good time.

Josh and his dad inspecting an autographed baseball that Jay had in his "stash" that was Greek to me, but Matt, being a HUGE baseball fan, determined that it was signed by the Atlanta Braves in the 1970s.  They were happy to have it.

Since it was already past our bedtime, Vicki and I headed back to Stowe to get some rest for the hike on Saturday.