We are finally resurfacing after a few crazy weeks! We headed up to Boston a few weeks ago for the AHS annual conference and spent the week enjoying the sites and sounds of Boston. We had been there two years ago for the same conference, as we journeyed up to Bar Harbor, Maine, so we weren't sure how exciting this trip would be in light of the fact that we had so recently done many of the activities in Boston. However, we were so pleasantly surprised when our expectations were well exceeded with the fun excursions that we were able to find ourselves on! We stayed at the Fairmont, which is of course is very posh, so it was quite a treat.
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| The lion in front of the Fairmont reminded us of the lions in London |
One of the highlights was swinging by to see the bronze statues of the ducklings from the story "Make Way for the Ducklings" in the Boston Common park. We had tried to do that last time, but never found an opportunity. It was fun to go see them as the kids have enjoyed that book over the last several years.
Speaking of books, we availed ourselves of a book about Paul Revere's wild midnight ride as well in advance of the trip, so when we spent an afternoon walking the Freedom Trail, it was quite relevant and interesting to Zachary. He really enjoyed actually walking around the old cemetery where Paul Revere is buried, as well as looking at all of the artifacts in his home.
We were able to spend some time as well at the Boston Science Museum, where they had the Dead Sea Scrolls. The boys did really well as we spent a fair amount of time there reading the information cards etc. They of course did enjoy the rest of the day at the museum a little more, and the parents enjoyed the one exhibit where it timed how fast they could run - which they did time and time again (burning up excess energy and surely sleeping better that night!)
One really fun day was spent at Old Sturbridge Village outside of Boston. We would highly recommend anyone taking time to head over there. It is a recreation of an 1800s village, with a lot of buildings from a typical town all collected together. There are people in period costumes going about their "normal" 1800s life, and showing you how things were done. There were a lot of things set up for the kids to partake in, so they really had a blast playing the old fashioned ring toss, a form of badminton, watching a man's doll "dance" (he would play an instrument like a recorder, and had his wooden doll attached to a string that was then tied to a post and the man's knee - whenever the man would move his knee, the wooden doll would "dance" - super entertaining!). Zachary's favorite memory at Sturbridge Village is yanking out his fourth tooth!
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| No more tooth! |
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| Watching the little man "dance" |
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| Part of the Z family in front of one street in the village |
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| Old fashioned Zachary, Loghann, Maddie and Cole |
A completely new experience for the boys, was the trip to see the Boston Red Sox game! We sat behind the center fielder, as they played the Colorado Rockies. Zachary feels it is important to share the score - it was 5 to 3 in favor of the Red Sox (his memory is much better than his mother's, who spent her time entertaining Kaleb and feeding him food to stave off his 5 year old boredom!). The game was a definite do-over, so we'll try to perhaps catch a Tampa game at some point.
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| Riding a rickshaw - aka "Pedicab" to the game |
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| Before it begins.... |
Addison spent the week with Grandma, so that Karis would have the flexibility of going out with the boys and not having to worry about the two naps a day. When we returned, she had really mastered the ability to pull up on the couch and walk along it. She is as very determined little girl - perhaps more tenacious than the two boys even were. She also seems to be hitting her milestones a little faster - although we'll see how quickly she actually walks. We all missed her very much, so were happy to return safe and sound.
Phrase of the week: After Zachary pulled out his tooth, Kaleb looked at him and said "It looks like you're growing up." and Zachary's response was a very matter-of-fact, "I am only seven, I am not that grownup!" (Oh but doesn't he act like he is 7 going on 17 already!). Kaleb's other constant mantra on the trip was "Can we go see our friends!" - we spent the fun-filled week with the Hilliards, and he wanted to be with them constantly! In fact, he developed a 5-year-old "crush" on Loghann, and insisted on holding her hand at all times! She was extremely patient with him, so good-natured!
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| Never far from Loghann |
Zachary's phrase was while in the cemetery - there was a wishing well with coins thrown in there, and Zachary looked at the money and uttered "Wow, Paul Revere lost all of his money!"
Addison's phrase is "Up!" - although this isn't a completely reproducible word, it does seem like she's saying "up" when she wants to be picked up. That is all that she's ventured on though at this point for words.
Random Pictures
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| Watching a wacky routine in Faneuil Hall after eating delicious mac and cheese! |
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| Riding the famous swan boat in Boston Common |
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| On Saturday afternoon, Zachary (red shorts) and Kaleb (red shirt) splashed in the water feature in Copley Square. They both ended up quite wet! |
