Welcome to our World

Since we knew we would be traveling for K's 10th birthday, before we left town Hubby and I made her a volleyball cake and sang to her before letting her open presents from us and my parents.  Funny story about her gift from us -- she gave us the idea when we got D a Nintendo DS for his birthday.  We had lost the one we had given him for Christmas but knew it had to be somewhere in the house.  So, when I did find it a couple weeks before her  birthday (while I was looking for the stapler), I kept it hidden in the place that had kept it safe for months and gave it to her for her big gift from us.  K was so excited to have it for our plane ride to Boston!  The funny part?  When Hubby got out his computer bag he hadn't used since we flew to my Great Aunt Hope's 90th birthday party last October, he found the original DS we had purchased last summer and thought we had left on the plane!  K and D begged us to let M have it so all 3 of the older children...

We were hoping to go to the S. family's favorite beach the next day but it as raining cats and dogs and only 60* out.  So, after playing all morning and eating lunch, Maryann took us to Lowell Mills for the afternoon.  To me it was like learning about my family history because my paternal grandmother had worked in a Woolrich Mill in PA before she was married.  I felt a bit closer to the wonderful woman who had died of cancer when I was the age N is now.  It is something else to hear those machine going and then realize that they only have about 1/6th of the machines running that would have been running all the time back when the factory was in business.  Wowzers. Tuesday  was another cold and cloudy day, but the rain was pretty much gone so we headed to Plymouth after a big breakfast Ryan made and we dropped him off at the subway stop to fly out for a business trip.  Plimoth Plantation is a recreation of what the 17th century English village would ...

Saturday we checked out of the condo and were relieved to see we got a 5 star guest rating even with the setting off the fire alarm event.  We hauled our stuff -- 4 check in and 3 carry on and a stroller -- through the subway and got off at the Wonderland stop.  Love the name and that it was just a couple minutes to Paul Revere Beach!  Ryan was there waiting for us and we were able to set our luggage in the back of his mini van and have a fun filled day enjoying the beach, including an International Sand Castle Competition.  K has vowed never to eat clam chowder again after the children made an "aquarium" with crabs, snails, and clams on the beach.  They also loved boogie boarding and how shallow the beach was so they could go far out.  All 3 of my older ones said their beach day was their favorite day. We stayed so long we ended up eating at Friendly's on the way to the S. family's house, where we would stay the rest of the trip.  Let me tell you, yo...

We had planned on going to tour Fenway and see the city from the top of the Prudential building, but the children said they didn't want to.  Plan B for the morning: going to the JFK Presidential Library & Museum.  In preparation for our trip to Boston, I listened to the book "These Few Precious Days: The Final Year of Jack with Jackie" by Christopher Andersen.  I'm so glad I did because even an entire museum can't tell you all the neat little facts that make their story so interesting and I was able to tell my family things I thought were interesting.  When we exited the theater with an introductory video that led up to the 1960 Democratic Convention, you felt like you walked into the 1960s.  I adore this decade -- one of my favorites to learn about.   I loved all the video of JFK's speeches & Jackie giving the White House tour, etc. and the replica of JFK's Oval Office desk along with so many other things, some of which I had seen in photos befor...

Guest blogger: my husband!  Thanks for spending some time on the airplane writing this one down for me! A few years ago some of our best friends left CO and moved to just outside Boston for work.   We had never seen Boston before and had always wanted to see the city.  We made a trip of flying to Boston to see the historic sights and visiting our friends.   Our kids are troopers who did a fantastic job getting through the Airport to Boston.  We arrived at Logan International Airport in the evening, rode a shuttle bus to the Metro stop, followed by the blue line under the harbor to Boston where we got off near the Boston Aquarium.  We walked a few block to our AirB&B rental which was a small two bedroom apartment in the historic North End of Boston.  This area is filled with small alleys, historic sites dating back to colonial America, and some of the best food imaginable.  While the apartment was tiny, and there was construction next ...