vermont

Vermont was where the nalc convention was, so here we met up with scott, and lisa. normally lisa and i hang out while drew and scott go to meetings. we get to see a lot of cool places and do a lot of fun things.

in case you didn't know. Vermont is the home of the original ben and jerry's factory

so of course we took a tour

scott loves ice cream soooo much that he decided to skip the meetings and go with us.... OK that's not entirely true. he had mallet finger from putting on his shoes too hard, so he couldn't go to the "golfing meeting" with the rest of the business people

we were happy to have him with us! especially since he's the one holding niya up in this picture.

don't we totally look like ben and jerry?

statue of cows, because cows make milk, and milk makes ice cream

at the end of the tour we got a free sample

it was mint chip. ben and jerrys really is good

after the meetings were over drew got to join us. we went to the ski resort and took the gondola

grandma and niya taking in the spectacular view

we hiked (OK walked) to a little waterfall

Vermont was really lush and beautiful. and the fall colors were amazing.

next stop Syracuse to see baby brother

new hampshire

this was pretty much all we saw in new hampshire

maine

im way behind on my blogging, and i hate when that happens because then im just over it. so today im forcing myself to do a little catch up

we did a little back east tour a little while ago. it was fantastic. i'll start with Maine

we saw really old lighthouses, very cool

some beautiful coastline

we went to this amazing "lobster pound" it was a bit out of the way but drew had read about it and it was sooooo worth it

it was pretty chilly at the lobster pound

can i just say how ridiculously delish the lobster is in maine. its cheap, and maybe one of the best things i've ever had. the only thing i didn't like was the guts, but it was so good that i chose to over look that 

nothing makes drew happier than good food.....he was so happy

we spent a day just walking around bar harbor. it was such a cute quaint little town, with fun shops

i think this was by far Drew's favorite find. hand made slippers from Pakistan???  that's so drew to be pumped about some Pakistan slippers

they were really excited about the lobster with ice cream

I'm eating a yummy fried clam. of course we ate lots of sea food and lots of blueberry stuff. we tried everything we could find blueberry

blueberry pie, pancakes, cake, ice cream, tart

this was our bed and breakfast. it was our first experience. we liked it

the next couple of days we spent at Acadia national park

drew made us hike down to the ocean even though i thought we were going to get smashed on the rocks

the view from the top of Cadillac mountain

we rented bikes and rode through the park. this was so much fun! and niya was a little peach

a nice jogger passing by offered to take our picture

drew pulled the baby trailer, and i just trailed behind. enjoying the beauty

another light house...not as cool as the first one

thanks maine you were a gem

dinner in the canyon

it seems to be a tradition in the quist family to go up the canyon at the first sign of fall and have a little din din. this year was no different, and it was delish

fun times!

corn dogs, stinky animals, and the zipper

yep thats right, we went to the state fair!

this is why the fair is awesome

copious amounts of fried food

niya was NOT disappointed with her first corn dog

fun time with family

amanda was more than delighted to show niya how to love animals

lots of animals for you to look at, touch, and SMELL (gag)

niya was a little unsure but drew made sure she touched them, weather she liked it or not

rides that make you sick, and fear for your life.

 how tight can those bolts be? i mean they did put that zipper together in about 5 minutes

how can you not have fun at the fair?

we love labor day

we all went to california for labor day weekend. we couldn't miss the annual trip to the beach house that we love! it was really crowded this year. me drew and niya had to share a room with my parents. we don't mind though. the more the merrier! 

niya was always on the run. here she is escaping out the door to the balcony. i guess she decided it was time to explore and get to know the house

she wasn't so sure if she liked the sand. it was kind of like how she is in grass... paralyzed 

finally she warmed up to the idea and decided it was kind of fun

grandpa gave her boogie board rides

gunna showed her the birds

cousin colby wanted a ride too

she loves grandpa

and aunt sunny

it was cousin layla's first birthday. so we had a little celbration

party crowns and all

and of course a pinata 

drew had to come to the rescue when the pinata got wild

drew even got to go surfing a couple of times

it was a perfect weekend