Last Tuesday, Rich and I took the children to New Hampshire for a much needed vacation. We stayed at a low-key, camp style family resort. (Purity Springs Resort) It was casual and lots of fun. We weren’t sure what to expect, we found the place online and made a reservation without really knowing what we were doing. Our heavenly Father gifted us with just what we needed, and when all is said and done, we feel so grateful and blessed by our getaway.
The resort said we were staying in a condo…..by the end of the approximately four hour drive, I was nervous and setting myself up for disappointment. I should not have worried, our accommodations were wonderful. It was a big huge house, and we had the majority of it as our “condo”…four bedrooms and two baths upstairs, and a kitchen and livingroom downstairs. None of the children had to share beds. We had plenty of room for all of us. The only negative was the door handle to go outside. It was one of those pull down ones, and Seth was able to escape. He figured that one out about 5 minutes after we arrived. I was on edge quite a bit, and he did get loose outside several times but not for long, he was always caught and brought back in.
The house had three separate suites and the other two stayed empty until the weekend. So we had the place to ourselves.
We were able to do quite a bit, right at the resort.
Like, tennis:
……playing (or sleeping) on the playground(s),
…boating,
….hiking,
….swimming in the indoor pool, working out (Rich and boys), and playing in the game room. They also had lounge areas with games, puzzles, coffee, videos, and magazines.
Every morning we ate breakfast at the resort restaurant. Hot chocolate, omelets, waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, pancakes, french toast, muffins. Everything was delicious.
We sat at the same table every morning.
One day, we decided to go to a bookstore that I had found online. It ended up being about a 45 minute drive (too long). However, it ended up being our only drive through the White Mountain region and it was beautiful.
There are lots of convenient pull-offs so that people can park their cars, get out, admire the views and snap a few pictures.
We finally arrived at the bookstore. Happily, it was in a quaint, pretty village and we felt good supporting a local business. There were people all over it in, browsing books, reading, meeting friends.
The children enjoyed the play areas that were set up downstairs in the children’s department.
We spent a lot of time outside at the lake (at the resort):
storyland
On Saturday, we took the kids to Storyland. It’s a small amusement park for little ones and was so much fun. I highly recommend it.
I LOVED THIS QUOTE::::
Davy on the Merry Go Round (Rich and Seth are in the background)~
Even Sethie got to go on a lot of the rides. He was so cute.
I love this picture of David and Caleb. They never wanted to leave Storyland. As a matter of fact, Jacob, Ethan, Seth, and I ended up going to sit in the vehicle for the last hour (to get Sarah out of the wind) while Rich continued on with these two, and Grace.
Do you love it? I’m the old woman who lived in the shoe…with so many children….I don’t know what to do!
The turtle ride went ’round and ’round.
We got a tiny bit wet on this one:
On the way back to the resort, we got stuck in traffic but we enjoyed more pretty views~
We took these the morning we left. (Did I mention outlet shopping?) I found an awesome green jacket for myself at the outlets~
The sweater set that Sarah Joy has on was made for Grace 11 years ago. I wish I remember who made it.
I found a shirt for Sarah that says LITTLE SISTER on it…so cute! (she was really good on the trip but didn’t sleep very well. I actually cried one morning from exhaustion but God gave me the strength to enjoy the busy days regardless).
At times, the car rides were torturous. But that’s the way it goes on a vacation!
This huge blog was an enormous pain to post. My apologies if it seems randomly put together. I’m still trying to get used to the new format here on xanga.
Anyway, our vacation was great, I did do a LOT of reading, and I am thankful for a good, safe, happy trip.
It’s good to be home now. It’s a beautiful day today, sunshine and bright leaves. I went out for coffee this morning with my friend Caroline. The older children are done with school for the day and after naps I’m going to work with David and Caleb.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Good to be Home 
I’m so glad you had a lovely time, the pictures are gorgeous, as usual the foliage is awesome up there in my homeland. Hope the rest of your day is lovely. ❤
Enjoyed it, what a beautiful trip you had! Baby Sarah gets more adorable all the time!
Thanks for sharing your adventure…maybe we could plan a group vacation to the resort sometime. A family reunion of sorts. I’m doing pretty well…there is a lot to be thankful for even during this stressful time – I hope to be able to blg about it soon.Love You a bunch!
Such a beautiful spot you had. Enjoyed all the pictures and the story they tell.
What a beautiful spot. I liked seeing Rich surrounded by kids and looking so relaxed. Your breakfasts sounds so warm and yummy! The place you stayed looked great. So nice to have so many nice things to do there. I love the Fall foliage! Huge mushrooms! So beautiful. Story land sounds like so much fun…I liked the huge laugh of Graces on the one ride. You look darling in your favorite green!
The leaves are GORGEOUS!! Loved the pictures.
That’s a beautiful area. Love the picture of you and the children by the shoe.
Looks like you had a wonderful time. So glad you were all able to get away! The leaves are simply gorgeous. I really liked the red reflection on the lake. Your green jacket is fabulous- great color! Have a good rest of the day.
what a wonderful spot. i quickly looked up where you guys went cause it sounded wonderful. so excitd to see the moments that you guys were able to have. i’m glad that you guys were able to get away and have some family time, and time for you and rich to enjoy being together. my goodness, miss Sarah is getting so big. i love the family pictures of you in the wild and also of the kids on the dock. so beautiful. hope you are able to catch up on a bit of sleep now that you’re home…i always find a need a bit of a break to recover from the goodness of vacation
so happy for you all that you had such a grea time! (and a teensy bit jealous of the week away and the beauty of NH;O))such gorgeous colors…such cute children….such a beautiful family!
oops. meant great time, but i can’t edit!have a happy tuesday!
Great post, Shanda….didn’t seem randomly put together-at ALL! 🙂 Your oldest son is getting soooo big! I’m amazed at the change in him over the last few months! I remember when my son seemed to sprout up over night.The pictures are great, and I know how much work a “vacation” can be with kiddos….glad you were able to rest up and enjoy some down time. Hugs & Love. Cass
It looks like it was a really nice place to stay and have some good family time. I’m sorry your littlest one had problems sleeping and that you got so tired. I know that feeling and its not fun, especially on a trip. I’m really glad it was such a good time away for your family. Your pictures are beautiful (the scenery ones and the people ones)!
I thought it was Beautiful, love the pics of the water,it looks unreal, almost like glass! The leaves are so bright too, I want your camera ! (or i need to learn how to use mine)
What a fun time! I’m so glad you got to go and enjoy your family for a whole week…no distractions!
oh what FUN – looks like a great time!I SO enjoy seeing pictures of your neck of the woods this time of year. Just the wonderful colors and beauty that God’s hand creates. We don’t have this down here in VA, and I miss it terribly!
Shanda,What beautiful pictures of your dear family. I love the one with you and Seth in the fall leaves. Sooo beautiful.What a refreshing family time~Seth looks like a young man now instead of a little baby boy. He is soo handsome!~Cinnamon
Glad you all had a great time! Thanks for sharing it with us here.{{{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}
wonderful Shanda. what a great way to just be with the family, all together, enjoying each other. I am so happy you all had a fun time. The area looks beautiful. I like your jacket!
Thoroughly enjoyed all of the photos—thanks for posting so many of the beautiful autumn colors in spite of it being a pain to do. I have a jacket that exact shade of green. Enjoy it. You don’t look tired in the photos if that’s any consolation.
This post made me so thankful to be able to peek into your wonderful life…I enjoy seeing your babies grow up and your older children grow taller…I remember car rides with just my mom, dad and my 3 siblings…and it got tight…I can’t imagine having 7 children in the back…looks like fun was had though…love the autumn colors on that drive and the beautiful scenery…that’s what I love about autumn…
It’s so beautiful up there! We had a lot of trees just burn up from lack of rain, and then we got a good deal of rain, and it stayed greenish for a bit longer. They’re starting to turn again, and I hope they’re pretty. Living in the mountains here is beautiful in the Fall. Storyland looks adorable, and I love the picture of you with the big shoe–haha!!! That will be me soon!!! (though some days I feel like my three seem like a lot more!).Love the post and pictures–so glad you all had a getaway. Dave is doing some continuing ed seminars in a couple of weeks, and we’ll have a mini vacation. So looking forward to it!!!
Looks like fun.You are blessed.
looks like a perfectly relaxing kind of getaway~ the pictures are fabulous. that COLOR!! oh my goodness.. we’ve nothing like that round here. 🙂 glad i got to enjoy some of that fall beauty through your shots. and i smiled at the one of all the family at breakfast, with the boys hats on the tables!! that’s classic. 🙂
.. and. that green jacket looks great on you! 🙂
You’re pic’s have brought back such good memories to me. My grandparents used to take me to Story Land every year. I miss my New England, we don’t get the vibrant colors here in CA. Like your boys hats and t-shirts. Go Pats! I had to laugh at your car picture, that’s what our looks like when we travel.
How gorgeous the mountains look! Such beautiful colors, so vibrant and bright!Glad you had a nice time away, thanks for sharing with us. =)
FUN FUN FUN! I loved all the colors in the scenery and I can’t believe how your kids are growing up! Little Grace is getting tall!!!
oh so pretty! Sounds like a much needed vacation! Absolutely loved that picture of the stream with the rocks and the colorful trees. So beautiful I think it could be put in a calendar 🙂 Love the green jacket…I love green!
Well, I was going to mention your new green jacket, too! I like it! That’s a terrific color on you – very complimentary with your coloirng. But what’s that I spy? Do I see some heavy jackets? some bulky sweaters? some hoods on heads? It HAS to be chilly fall weather in New England.I must tell you, the ONLY thing I haven’t done in my life (but would like to do, before I die) is see your area in the fall. I’ve often dreamed of fall in Vermont, Connecticut, or New Hampshire. Maybe some day Rich will come home late with me in his vehicle – after a short stop to pick me up at the airport – and I’ll surprise you with a visit – AND, it would DEFINITELY happen in fall. Who knows, Shanda? It could happen!
I remember going to Storyland when I was little-I’m from New England too :). I would love taking my kids there someday when I have them. It looks like a lovely fall get away!
As usual so fun to stop by here and be refreshed. You are very right about being outside is His big beautiful world when you feel overwhelmed. Such a wonderful reminder that He is really all we need.
looks like a LOVELY vacation. I love the White Mountains/ New Hampshire. I have been going to Story Land every year since I can remember & it is such a blessing to take my boys there and watch them love it as much as I do! You have such a lovely family Shanda! God Bless. ♥
haha (♥) usually makes a heart symbol…I guess it doesnt work on xanga 😉 😉