Welcome to Amherst, NH

Last fall my parents moved to New Hampshire. They had been thinking about moving there FOREVER, and finally decided to put the plan in motion. Parents moved their jobs, put the house on the market, and found a lovely home on top of a beautiful hill in Amherst, in south-central New Hampshire.

The move has definitely been a challenge for us all. We are a close-knit family and spend a lot of time together. Parents are two of my best friends and as Little Sister and I get older, the closer we all seem to get. However, the move has definitely been wonderful, too! Little Sister and I are even better friends as we depend on each other and we have created a little family of our own together with Roomie and Pepino in addition to Grandma and some other close friends.

My favorite thing about this change is that I get to go visit! I was able to go for a whole week at the end of July. The next few posts will be about our adventures in "The Shire." I had a completely lovely time. I got to catch up with Parents, as well as Uncle E, Auntie M, and Cousins. Their family moved to The Shire when I was in high school and things haven't really been the same around here since then. Uncle E and Auntie M are two of my greatest heroes. The helped Mom in raising us as she was doing the single-mom thing when we were younger and we've never looked back.

Anyway, more about my trip. The first day we spent exploring the surrounding areas, shopping, playing ping pong in the basement (the previous owners left it when they moved - Score!), getting coffee, and celebrating my birthday. A few days after I arrived we went to the town square where we had a picnic and listened to some live music with Auntie M and Cousins.

Mom

Mr. M - the best step-dad any girl could ever hope for.

In case you are wondering, yes. Yes, this man is indeed walking his four dogs and his huge parrot* at the town square.

*See backpack

Whenever we go to The Shire to visit Uncle E and Auntie M, we always go to Haywards. It is a little  building right off the highway in Milford that has the most excellent variety of ice cream. This trip was, of course, no different. The best part about Haywards is the field behind the picnic tables.

Mr. M and Cousin #3

Hayward field at sunset