Previous years: 2017, 2016, 2015 part 1 and part 2, 2014, 2013, 2012

I really love the best weekend of the year. It kicks off the season of How Many Different Seasonal Activities Can We Fit Into Just Two Days? I love being able to walk to two different food festivals from my front door. I love taking the same photo of the kids at the fair every year. I love running into people I don’t get to see very often but then our kids are instantly best friends again. I love not cooking all weekend and saying yes to everything.

And I love looking back at the other Best Weekends and seeing how our family has grown.

In order: Greek Food Festival, Ledyard Fair, Taste of Italy, Mystic Eats

Previously: 2016, 2015, 2015 (part 2), 2014,  2013

I can’t remember when I started calling this the best weekend of the year, but now that’s the official name in our family and we celebrate as if it’s a holiday. Four kids out of the house all weekend isn’t easy but we had a great time as usual and the food makes up for the stress.

Greek Food Festival:

Ledyard Fair (with friends!):

Taste of Italy:

Mystic Eats:

After we went to the food festival in Mystic, we hung out at the Seaport, then went straight to a birthday party, then straight to cheer practice. Operation Keep Them Busy is going along just swimmingly, although if Finnegan keeps waking up at 2 am I’m not going to be able to keep it up every weekend.

Hopefully he let’s me get enough sleep to make it to The Big E next Saturday, because that’s like the whole Best Weekend of the Year rolled into one day.

The best weekend of the year, when New England finally remembers what makes it the best – fall weather! food! small town fairs! – and gets its act together for the next 2 months.

Past years: 2015 part 1 /part 2  2014 2013 2012

Friday: Greek Food Festival

Evan hatched some Pokemon eggs on our way home.

I can’t pronounce the Greek name of those cookies, but I imagine they translate to “OMG SO MUCH POWDERED SUGAR”.

DO YOU SEE IT? FALL IS COMING.

Saturday: Ledyard Fair & Taste of Italy

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Her best life, for sure.

Giant meatballs!

Seafood ravioli in lobster cream sauce!

Garlic knots!

Sunday: Mystic Eats

Abbott’s lobster roll

Del’s frozen lemonade

Mystic Pizza

Carolina pulled pork slider with sweet pickles

Clam fritters with garlic aoili

Mystic Drawbridge ice cream

I’m pretty sure when your face looks like that after the weekend, it’s been a good time. Poor Finn was either attached to my body or sleeping the the stroller the whole time and is in none of this year’s photos. Just think, next year he’ll be able to eat most of this stuff and enjoy himself much as we do!

Now that I spend 80% of my day sitting on the couch nursing a baby, the bad news my week in iPhone photos is going to be a little repetitive. The good news is it’s almost all pictures of a tiny squishy baby, so it’s not the worst thing in the world.

Sunday:

First time being worn!! In our very most special wrap.

Super windy lake, but at least we made it ONE more time

First baby of mine to ever take a pacifier

Monday:

THAT’S RIGHT

Poor yellow baby (now he’s a blue baby)

When you turn on the jets in the bath you get a LOT of bubbles

Tuesday:

Ready for school!

How he feels about the hospital

Baby’s Second Hanna Jams (lobsters were first)

Wednesday:

Friends don’t let friends have a baby without bringing them their favorite wine

Pretending he’s still a baby too

Working on his thigh rolls

Thursday:

My life is now this…

…and this…

And three times a week this (chasing a toddler during soccer).

Friday:

Helping me make the bed

He looks so pleased with his noodle and his juice

FAAAAACE

Saturday:

Living their best lives

Bzzzzzzzz

Presents from Gymboree as part of a campaign! I’ll have the post up tomorrow!

I’m all caught up! Now I just have to edit a bazillion photos of our weekend so I can get THOSE up before the end of the week and then I might just spend the rest of the week napping instead of blogging. I’m sure you understand.

The Greek church in town went and moved their food festival to NEXT weekend, so my Best Weekend Of The Year is now divided into two weekends. But the good news it there is even more stuff next weekend (a vintage market, the Garlic Festival and THE BIG E) so I get two Best Weekends instead of one. I LOVE FALL IN NEW ENGLAND.

We started Saturday at the Ledyard Fair. They do free rides from 9-10 and since the kids love rides and I hate paying $75 to go on them, we skipped our first day of soccer in favor of the fair.

For dinner we walked downtown for Taste of Italy. I love that we can walk. I love the free bounce house. And I looooved my lobster mac and cheese.

While we were waiting for Evan to be done bouncing, we heard Sweet Caroline come on the sound system. This was her reaction:

Then on Sunday we headed out for lunch at Mystic Eats. It used to be called Taste of Mystic but now it’s…not? It was very dramatic and lots of small-town paper editorials were written. But it’s exactly the same as all the other years. Tons of delicious choices, with Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream for dessert.

Shrimp and corn fritters

All my photos are of the back of Linc’s head. Too bad he’s such a shy kid.

It’s a parrot. Obviously.

Now I will spend the rest of this week doing all the walking and eating all the vegetables so that next weekend I can eat even more stuff. Did I mention I love the fall? in New England??