Boston!

We have been talking for months with the kids about an end of the summer trip to Washington DC.  Unfortunately, we had to cancel our trip for a number of reasons, Miss Irene (the hurricane) being one of them.  We decided to re-route our trip to Boston for a few days.

Day One

Our first stop was the Boston Temple.  My kids have always loved going to the temple, walking around and admiring the beautiful gardens.  Our closest temple is 3-4 hours away in any direction (Boston to the East, Manhattan to the South, Palmyra to the West, and Montreal to the North).  

Our next stop was the Minute Man National Historic Park. 

The kids were a little cranky after sitting in the car for hours, but after they stretched their legs and got some fresh air - they cheered right up.   We learned about the opening battle of the Revolution, the midnight ride of Paul Revere, the North bridge, and the Minute Men.   

After finding a nice little Italian place for dinner we went back to the hotel.  Our favorite part of the lobby was the self serve cansiters of treats... popcorn, mm's, goldfish, grapes and crackers.  Free diet cokes, too!!

I wish we knew about this before spending a fortune on dinner...

Day Two

We started day two with the Freedom trail.  We had walked this trail ten years ago with my parents, but didn't remember much because we were pushing a stroller with a two year old (not recommended because of all the cobblestone and brick roads).  The first stop on the trail is Boston Common - the oldest park in the country.  The kids played for a while on a great playground.  In what was once used for public hangings, is now used for festivals and public performances. It really was a beautiful park. 

Granary Burying Ground and Kings Chapel

Faneuil Hall

Paul Revere's Home
We found a great little Farmers Market downtown between Faneuil Hall and the North end where we picked up a pint of fresh raspberries for $1.  Along with a few cannoli's from Mike's Pastry, we had a very tasty lunch!

The USS Constitution

The last stop...  Bunker Hill

 Don't those kids look happy?

 It took us about five hours to do the entire trail!

We met up with Shane, Christy and their kids for dinner at Qunicy Market, which is quite fun.  There are so many yummy things to choose from!

Last stop of the day... Boston Children's Museum

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Boston is a beautiful city, such a pretty view against the harbor.

Day Three

Museum of Science

The Dinosaur exhibit!

Building our own boats to race. 

This is an amazing museum, it puts all the museums in my area to shame. 

 

I think our favorite was the theater of electricity.  Just take a peek and you'll get an idea.  Do you know why you are safe from lightening in a car?  Is it the rubber tires or the metal frame that protects you? 

Summer camp

Today was the last day of summer camp for the kids.  They celebrated by bringing in a bunch of bounce houses/slides, a traveling petting zoo and a rock wall.  They had tons of free Pizza and Italian Ice, and gave away t-shirts for the kids.

The rock wall was definitely a family favorite this year!  They each tried it three or four times and got better and better with each try.

This little lady loved the ponies - and made sure she got a chance to ride each one!  Neither of the boys wanted to ride...

(Ignore the sounds of the generators.)

Our Fun Weekend

We spent a four day weekend in Vermont to celebrate Grandma's 96th birthday.  The kids always love a good birthday party!

The first two days of the weekend were hot, hot, hot!  We set up camp and immediately went to the lake.  We had a great time camping at Silver Lake.  Swimming was so much fun and so refreshing!

 

We went to the lake every day!  We all came home a little sunburned...

One day we woke up early to do a little fishing.  The kids caught a little seaweed and dad caught a log!  We are getting better... we used to catch nothing at all!  Someday we'll catch a fish.

We went to Quechee Gorge and did an early morning hike.
After the hike, a little shopping and a quick bite to eat...

We headed to the birthplace of Joseph Smith in Vermont. 

It was nearly 100 degrees, hot and humid! 

We were very grateful the visitors center was air conditioned.

Awards Ceremony

The fifth graders participated in an Elementary graduation and Awards ceremony.  This kid was busy getting up and down accepting his awards.  

Completion of Elementary Education

Science Award:  Highest Classroom Average

Social Studies Award:  Highest Classroom Average

Honor Roll - 4th Quarter

Honor Roll - All Four Quarters

All City Orchestra

All City Chorus

Accelerated Reader

Music Award

Art Award

He was awarded a special plaque for consecutive years of Accelerated Reading in elementary school.  He was given the Citizenship Award from the Town's Business Association (which included a $50 savings bond)!  His essay was chosen, along with one other, to recieve the special Citizenship award.

We are so proud of him... Way to go, kiddo!



Fun Day!

Today was fun day at the elementary school. I had to divide my time between kindergarten, second grade, and fifth grade. It was fun to see the kids having such a great time with their friends. GO GREEN!

Don't Stop Believing...

Our musician participated in the school district String A Thon. All of the orchestra students from 4th grade through 12th grade were invited to attend... there were over 600 students participating. They ended the evening with a popular piece they ALL played together.

Ignore the backside view (he's in green) and just enjoy the music.

Two wheeling...

Check out who is riding his bike without training wheels... I should probably learn how to add music to a video, because this one definitely deserves some rock 'n roll!

Author's Day

The fifth graders wrote a biography about a famous person. Our student wrote about Barack Obama... other biographies I fould interesting were Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber! He's off to middle school, so this was his last Author's Day. I might be feeling a little bit old!

The second graders showed off the journals they'd been keeping all year long. I love reading the thoughts this beauty has during the day. She has had such a fun time this year with the classroom pet guinea pig, Chester.

"Home on the Farm" was the theme for Kindergarten. This kid has done such a fantastic job in Kindergarten... He loves his teacher, his new friends and loves to learn. He thought the shovel and rake we made with recycled materials were pretty cool. I can't believe he'll be in 1st grade next year...

Yep, definitely feeling old!!

Easter Fun!

We had such a great time with Grandma this weekend. She is always prepared with lots of crafts and activities for the kids to do! They made little bunny rabbit jelly bean holders and created a super cute Easter Tree!

We blew out the eggs used for the Easter tree... which was quite an experience for the kiddos ~ they had never done that before!

How do you like our finished product?

Happy Birthday, Babe!

He was super busy when it was his actual birthday, so the celebration was postponed a few weeks! We all enjoyed a delicious Ben & Jerry's Ice cream cake in his honor. I don't think he looks a day over 25 ~

Lots of Snow...

We got about 10 inches of snow today. It was probably the 5th snowstorm this winter where we've gotten a significant amount of snow. Dad always builds a snowfort for the kiddos - except for last winter when we didn't have enough snow for one. This year, I think we've got the biggest snowfort we've ever had. The kids love it and can spend hours outside!!

2009 Snowfort

2008 Snowfort

Busy, Busy

The last two months have just flown by... it seems that we have just been busy, busy! The second graders had a music concert mid-November. Our little lady was chosen to announce one of the songs. I think she was a little nervous, but she did a fantastic job. We were so proud of her!

~ T H A N K S G I V I N G ~

This year we hosted a few families at our house for Thanksgiving. Each of the kids helped me prepare something - they had fun and did such a great job!

Mashed Potatoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Turkey

Apple Pie

The weekend after Thanksgiving we celebrated my 35th and the little guys 5th birthday! He asked me about a week before the big day if we could please not share a birthday this year... We decided he would have his own little party with his buddies and I would have a cake to my own on a different date. When he heard of this plan, he asked if I would share my cake with him. Absolutely... we shared a Star Wars cake! Aren't I nice?

So he got his first little birthday party with friends ~ with absolutely no mention of mom's birthday! We took him fishing a few times during the summer and ever since, he has been wanting his very own fishing pole.

Our musician participated in a Christmas recital at Barnes and Noble. He is getting so good at playing the cello. It was fun listening to him practice Christmas songs. I can't wait until he goes off to Middle school next year - because I won't have to bring the cello back and forth... they'll have one at the school for him to play and we can keep ours at home!

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit for the week after Christmas. We visited the science museum, ate lunch at Friendly's (grandpa's favorite when he was a kid growing up on the East coast) and Panera (my favorite). My mom and I went to the salon and had our hair cut, we relaxed during pedicures and we did a lot of shopping! We miss them already...

We celebrated another birthday.... she turned 8 and was baptized!

We are so proud of her... she is such a sweet, smart young lady!

Report Cards & School Pictures...

He is off to a great start in Kindergarten! He is a pleasure to have in my class this year - he is so well-behaved and friendly! I enjoy his sweet disposition and his great attitude toward school! He is a young student, yet he is gaining self-confidence in the whole group setting and he is a great participant. He is a very careful worker and he listens actively to directions. It is a delight to watch his young skills quickly grow!

She has had a great start to her year in 2nd grade. Although she can be very reserved and quiet throughout the day, it is wonderful to see her silly side come out. I am happy to see her hand going up more and more as she gains the confidence needed to speak out during discussions. I know it's going to be a great year, and I look forward to being a part of the many wonderful things she is going to do!

He is off to a great start in Fifth grade! He is an incredibly respectful and responsible student and he is a pleasure to teach. He always takes pride in his work and truly enjoys learning.

Kindergarten Field Trip

All of my kids have been on this same field trip, but this is the first time that I have been able to be a chaperone. We went to a local pumpking patch ~ The kids rode on a hayride, the miniature train, and climbed the big hay mountain (which was about half the size it has been in the past).

The have a butterfly room, which is amazing! There are hundreds of butterflies everywhere! We had to be careful not to step on them, because some of them were just hovering over the ground.

This kid will be taller than his older sister in no time at all!

He loves his Kindergarten teacher, his little buddies that ride the bus with him and he has so much fun with his class. I was so nervous to send him to school this year - he is still only four, he made the "deadline" to enter by just two days. I couldn't be happier with the outcome so far!

Apple Picking

On Columbus Day we took the kids to a local apple orchard and picked a few bushels of apples. I love to eat an apple right off the tree! Honey crisps are my favorite... along with apple crisp, apple cobbler and apple pies!

This is an interesting one... there were actually a few like this.

She wanted the apples up high... I think she thought a lift would be fun!

He said his bag was full... Nope, he can fit another half dozen in there!