September + October Books

 

32. Lying Beside You, Michael Robotham

33. The Housemaid, Frieda McFadden

34. None of This is True, Lisa Jewell

35. All the Dangerous Things, Stacy Willingham

36. Good Bad Girl, Alice Feeney

37. Little Sister, Gytha Lodge

38. Zero Days, Ruth Ware

39. Sea Castle, Andrew Mayne

40. Too Late, Colleen Hoover

41. Just Another Missing Person, Gillian McAllister

42. The House Across the Lake, Riley Sager

43. The Brothers Hawthorne, Jennifer Lynn Barnes

So many books these two months! I loved putting in all my requests at the library and forcing myself to take time to sit and read. Two more months to read 7 more books - I'm so close to done! 

As always, you can see what I read all year on my GoodReads Page!

xo, Heather

The Grand Jack-o-lantern Journey at Southwick Zoo

 For years, the kids and I would travel to Rhode Island to go to a Jack-o-lantern Spectacular and walk through thousands of pumpkins. We looked forward to it every year and it even was an area of contention post-divorce, who would get to bring them since we both wanted to.

I was thrilled when I saw Southwick Zoo was going to be doing their own Jack-o-lantern Journey this year! Sourthwick Zoo is less than 20 minutes from our new house and we've loved visiting the zoo, so I knew we would love the trail as well.

It's only the first year that this jack-o-lantern trail has happened, and it was so great already. Large inflatables, pumpkins hung up everywhere, different themed displays of characters, and the Sanderson Sisters putting on a show! Additionally, the snack stands were open with hot cocoa, apple cider, chicken tenders, pretzels... so much stuff!

Admission is regularly $25 but discounted if you purchase your tickets online, and even more discounted if you go on Thursday or Sunday night instead of Friday or Saturday.

It's absolutely worth the visit!

xo, Heather

Fall Festival at West End Creamery

 It's not secret that the 'ber months are some of my favorites -- September, October, November, December.

As much as I love summer at home with my kids, I live for fall activities. Give it all to me: pumpkin patches, leaf peeping, apple cider donuts, drinking apple cider... and as someone who loves apple but despises pumpkin, I find the window of apple rather than pumpkin is getting shorter and shorter, I try and capitalize on all the apple things I can. We have always spent at least a Fall weekend finding fall things to do and I was so excited when a student recommended West End Creamery inWhitinsville, Ma. It has all the things we're looking for , and more!

The Fall Festival runs during the week in September and October and has so much-- basketball toss, a corn maze, wagon rides, a corn pit, a jump bubble, a tractor tire mountain, skeeball, and chickens! You can also pay extra for pony rides or battle zone (think paintball with tennis balls instead of paintballs).

There are two food stands set up, but the lines were bananas so don't wait to get into line until you are already thirsty or hungry- plan ahead! There were some picnic tables to sit at but they filled up quickly. 

The kids love love love the corn maze and it's a good size! I was happy we had grabbed drinks before going in because it's a large maze and got warm in the sunshine. 

Outside of the Fall Festival, for an additional fee, you can go minigolfing, pick flowers, or get cider donuts and ice cream. The ice cream line was super long during the festival so we plan on heading back another night for ice cream and mini golf since it's such a great location and so close to the new house!

You can grab tickets for the Fall Festival here. At less than $18 per person, it was a great value for the literal hours we spent playing games and exploring the corn maze! Have so much fun!

xo, Heather

Nickelodeon Universe, New Jersey

We had the most amazing trip down to New Jersey to American Dream and visited the Nickelodeon Universe Theme park!

We were looking for something semi close but new and exciting and since Dreamworks Water Park was steps away, it was easy to do both in one trip.

Nickelodeon Universe offers an all day rides band, a per ride cost, and a Twilight band. We booked the all day band and the kids had a blast repeatedly riding all the rides. We tried some new rides that were a bit scarier for us, and Nick loved the more thrilling rides. 

We loved the theming of the park - a combination of new and old Nickelodeon - ranging from Ren and Stimpy to Blaze, and that reflected the variety of rides as well. There were simple kids' rides like riding on a truck, or the small ferris wheel balloons, but also offered more thrilling rides like rollercoasters and rides that flip you upside down. There are close to 30 rides!

In addition to the rides, they have shows on the stage and character meet and greets. With the park being very compact (about 8 acres!), it was easy for us to do a ride, hop off, go watch a show, and get back on more rides. 

You can purchase a whole day ticket will get the kids hours of playtime. With this and the Waterpark right next door, it's my new highly recommended plans for all my friends - and since it's in the mall there's access to the food court and lots of shopping as well! This is especially wonderful in the colder winter months when theme parks are normally closed!

Be sure to check it out!