Fall in New England

Daniel and I have successfully crossed off number 32 (NH) and 33 (VT) on our list of states we have explored together since marriage.  Hannah's grand total is now 8.  Not bad for an 11 month old!  She's completed 4 round-trip flights and got her own pair of Delta wings, thanks to the flight attendant who thought it would be a great idea to give a pin to a baby.  We donated those wings to a hungry trashcan.
This was the most interesting flight, as it's the longest one we've done with Hannah and she's at the most active point in her life thus far.  No sleeping for this gal.  She pushes, pulls, tugs, hugs and teethes on me the whole time.  No crying at all.  The changes in altitude seem to have no effect on her.  Hannah is a very social girl who loves to stick her hands between the seats to say "hi" to the people in front of us.  Then she likes climbing over my shoulder so she can interact with the people behind us.  We also realized she loves Biscoff cookies, which resemble diarrhea when sucked on and spread everywhere.  (Sorry to be graphic, but it's the honest truth!)  Being the good parents we are, we did clean the tray off for the next person.  Probably the cleanest that tray has been since the plane's inception.
I did have a super special moment with Hannah as we departed Manchester, NH.  She and I both pressed our heads up to the window and I narrated our lift off to her.  We talked all about the tiny houses, ant-like cars, and the beautiful clouds.  We said a prayer of thanksgiving together.  I love being able to share my heart with my daughter.  Every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17).
We truly enjoyed our getaway.  Apparently this wasn't the best year for color due to the flooding, but we still loved the color and got a good taste of New England culture without the New England weather; it reached into the 80s a couple of days!  At the end of each day, Daniel would ask me what my favorite part of the day was.  After the first few days, I noticed a pattern; every favorite involved watching Hannah explore something new.  My, how vacations have changed!

Hmmm....what can I get into...

Hannah's first carousel ride

Train table in an antique store

Hannah's first taste of ice cream at the Ben and Jerry's Factory!

Hmmm...

I'd rather eat my foot!

Flavor Graveyard

Have you seen a cuter picture of Hannah?  She makes windblown look good!

We stayed at an isolated cabin in Pittsburg, NH.  Tourists don't usually make their way up there, but someone in the family wanted to search for moose in "moose alley."  We didn't find any moose, but the next several pictures were taken on the cabin property and made the trip worth it.

DONE with pictures!

Alas!  A moose where a park ranger said never to expect a moose.  Please note this was NOT in the day long detour to "Moose Alley."

This lady is quite the attraction

There's the moose advocate and his daughter

Against our better judgment, we decided to take a rental car with an unhappy, crying baby up Mount Washington, the highest peak in the northeast.  Too high for any trees to grow, it was a desert up there.  I'm glad I was huddled over the car seat singing every song I knew the words to because Daniel was white knuckled at the end of that drive.

Pretty views from the observation station.  The wind up there was a "low" 80mph that day.  It really takes your breath away.  The highest recorded wind speed there is 231mph.

Way to go, Corolla!  Now ya gotta make it down!

It was a tough trip to the top

In case anyone doubted my family consists of two redheads

Exploring the basin

Daniel and I agree watching Hannah play in the water here was the highlight of our trip.  Especially to look up after a photo session and see a bus load of senior citizens taking us in. 

Hannah gets so many comments on her looooong eye lashes

She got so wet and dirty

Picnic lunch

The Manchester airport had a very nice toddler play place.  This is as close as Hannah will get to a red Mustang convertible.  Newt Gingrich walked by us and opted to play on his cell phone rather than join Hannah in the car.  Lame.