Monday, June 22, 2009

Catering to Kids!

I am not the kind of mom who usually caters to my kids different food "wants". But, last Thursday was the last day that the boys would be in Boston before they went back to WA for the summer.

So, we headed out of the apartment and started walking to each one of the places that the kids and I wanted to pick up lunch at.

Deena - Finagle a Bagel - Tuna Melt on a Bagel
Marissa - Au Bon Pain - Chicken Noodle Soup
Brynn - Subway - Cheese and Tomato Sandwich (weird, I know!)
Chaz and Jace - Viva Burrito - Steak and Chicken Burritos

Then we stopped at Tadeshi's (like a 7-11) for a 2-Liter of Rootbeer...Round trip it took about 40 minutes, but we had fun just walking and talking through the streets of Boston!



We spent the rest of the day playing the wii and hanging out playing board games!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Critter Hunting!

My girls love critters of all shapes and sizes! In the last couple of years we have had, 60 rabbits, 16 chickens, 10 cavies (guinea pigs), 3 dogs, 2 hamsters and 1 very large and loud bird! We had paired down quite a few of our animals and before we moved to Boston we had to give away all of our rabbits and cavies. But my girls love for animals of all kind have never wavered!

So, when we went camping last weekend, the girls went on the hunt for some animals that they could call their pets for the weekend.


Marissa and Brynn's friend Laura went hunting with them.



The first catch of many~

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

My Parents Trip to Boston - Day #6 - Final Day

My parent's 6th and final day in Boston was Sunday, so we didn't go out touring the city, but we did play some fun games on the wii - even Grandma and Grandpa played!

Jace and Grandma playing tennis on the wii~


Jace and Grandpa playing tennis on the wii~


Brynn and David boxing on the wii~


It was so funny to watch everyone boxing on the wii! I took this video of Jace and my dad boxing - how funny!

My Parents Trip to Boston - Day #5

Ok, only 2 more days to post! Needless to say, we were very busy while they were here and we all had a good time. Day #5 was Saturday, so the whole family was available to tour around with us.

The first place we drove to was Walden Pond. It is near Concord, MA only about 25 minutes from downtown Boston. It is a really beautiful and peaceful place, I can see why Thoreau would want to live there!

My parents in front of a replica of Thoreau's cabin.

Marissa inside the cabin at a replica of Thoreau's writing desk.


Chaz and Jace with Grandma and Grandpa in front of Walden Pond.


The kids in the woods surrounding Walden Pond.


After leaving Walden Pond we drove through the town of Concord to go see where the Revolutionary War started.

The first shots were fired across this bridge - The Shot Heard 'Round the World~


Monuments to the people who died in the first battle of the Revolutionary War.



After touring this historical site we dropped Chaz and Jace off at a friends birthday party and then we headed to Cape Cod.

We decided to stop in the town of Plymouth and do a little sight seeing. We went to see Plymouth Rock. It really is just a little rock!


We then visited the Mayflower II - a replication of the Mayflower.

What a fun and exhausting day!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

My Parents Trip to Boston - Day #4

I am slowly getting all of these pictures posted! My next goal is to make a DVD for my parents with all of the pictures. If you have used a program that you like to do this with, send me a note and let me know about it!

After spending a whole day in NYC, plus 9 hours traveling to and from there, you would think that we would take it easy on my parent's 4th day in Boston, but you would be wrong!!!

I didn't take any pictures of our morning activities, but Marissa, David and my Dad all headed to the farmers market and got some salmon, asparagus and baby potatoes to make for dinner. Brynn my mom and I all took the long drive to the Super Joanns that is 35 miles from my house. It is such a fun, huge store!

We all reconvened together later in the afternoon to go on a Duck Boat tour. Duck Boats are amphibian vehicles that can go 50 miles an hour on land and 6 miles and hour in water. What a fun way to see Boston!


We bought duck whistles so we could quack while we were on the duck boat!




We got to see a lot of great Boston sights and architecture.





Then we splashed into the water!





Marissa and Brynn each got a chance to drive the Duck Boat.



After another fun tour around Boston we headed home and David and my Dad cooked us dinner - it was delicious!

Every evening the kids played a card game called 3 Up with Grandma and Grandpa.

Monday, June 8, 2009

My Parents Trip to Boston - Day #3

After 2 days of touring around Boston, we got on the China Bus and headed for New York City for another fun-filled day of sightseeing!

Time's Square~


We took the double decker tour bus all around NYC.


One of my favorite buildings in NYC - The Flat Iron Building


The architecture in NYC is amazing!


We took the Staten Island Ferry out to see the Statue of Liberty~




My parents Trip to Boston - Day #2

Our first adventure was to head down to Boston Commons Park and to go on a walking tour around Boston called The Freedom Trail. Our guide dresses up and acts like a person who lived during the time before and during the Revolutionary War. There is so much history here, I have loved being a part of it!


The kids and I had taken this same walking tour in October last year, so Brynn was the only one who decided to join us. It was fun for her to get to spend some one on one time alone with Grandma and Grandpa. In this picture, she is sitting my Paul Revere's grave and listening to our guide tell about the famous ride of Paul Revere.


My parents and Brynn by Paul Revere's grave. You can see all of the little rocks on top of the grave. This is a Jewish tradition. We typically bring flowers to a grave to honor someone. In the Jewish tradition, they bring a rock from somewhere that is special to them and leave it on the grave of someone to honor them.


Brynn and I at the grave of Samuel Adams, another revolutionary hero.


After we finished with the tour we met Chaz, Jace and Marissa at Quincy Market for lunch and then we left to take a ferry trip over to see the USS Constitution. It is the oldest commissioned warship that is still afloat.