Boston With the Middles - Day 3

Day 3 began with a slow waking up, a cupcake and a bit of time enjoying our friends, Nancy and Marion, and their daughter, Keryn, and their granddaughter, Savannah.....many moons ago, during our time in Ma, Nancy and Marion were our neighbors and we have remained close ever since.  

After a bit of visiting, we took a little drive to one of my most favorite places ever, Newport, Rhode Island.

 Newport is a quaint little city on the RI coastline and it has a little bit of everything to offer!

 We especially enjoy the Cliff Walk along the coast which gives you an outside tour of the mansions and their grounds.  It's beautiful.  The girls enjoyed dancing along the way and taking random pics as we strolled.

It was a beautiful day and the girls were thrilled to just have a moment to explore and dance and do a little gymnastics along our trek!

 We then took another little car ride over to Providence, RI.  

I found a little tour, one that took us into what Italy may feel like. 

 A gondola ride, complete with a singing gondolier!  And we had the best little cookies and juice to boot.

 Providence is a city that has a beautiful, quaint, little skyline....we have many memories with friends being in Providence for dinners and fires along the river.  

 Finally, it was time to show the girls where it all began for us in MA!  Our little home, our first jaunt away from family, the home we brought Pryce home from the hospital to, the home that grew us as a couple and a family.

 And then a little park time....I have so many memories at this very park with Colin as a baby!  The girls enjoyed hearing the stories of baby Colin at the park with his little buddy, Drew.  

 And then it was dinner time!  Bertucci's for the win!  Bertucci's is a little piece of Italian goodness that only MA and a few other northern states have to offer and it is was everything we remembered!

Nancy, Marion, Keryn and Savannah were able to meet us for dinner too which made for a special evening!  

Boston With the Middles - Day 2

After a full day of touring the city of Boston, we decided to break free and drive the coast for a bit of sightseeing and whale watching.

I found this cute little Medieval castle and we chose to check it out...

it was so fun to go back in time with these two and learn a little about John Hammond.

The girls had fun exploring the draw bridge entrance, the secret passages, the inventions of John Hammond....

and the grounds on which the castle was built.  It sits right on the rocky shoreline of Massachusetts.

The design within the castle, including the coy pond, had amazing detail.

A rare photo of the two of us :)

MK is into selfies right now.....

This castle was a little hidden gem that started our day off fabulously....

until Maddox found the spinning wheel and deemed it not fit for a princess!

Following our castle tour, we drove a little further to Gloucester, Ma. to go on a whale watching adventure....

 this tour was one thing the girls had asked to do and though it was a bit overcast, the seas were calm so we decided it was a the perfect opportunity to see these amazing creatures up close.

 It was a bit chilly even before we departed to sea.

 The New England coastline is beautiful....definitely something worth seeing a few times in your lifetime!

 This cutie was all set, sunglasses and all!

 We drove for about an hour and then we spotted our first whale!

 Pictures will never do this event justice....

 it is amazing to watch them, they are huge and yet so graceful!

We had a big day and this little one was quick to get comfy and settle in for the drive to see our friends, Nancy and Marion, for the rest of our trip!  

Boston with the Middles - Day One

On the road again....this time, Boston!  Our boys, being that we lived there for almost two years, have been to Boston multiple times throughout the years.  So it was time for our middle girls to see what all of the hype is about...

 We began our journey early with a Ducktour throughout Boston....we quacked our way by most of the historical sights and learned a bit of history along the way.

 I should note that we visited in May.....the end of May is normally pretty mild temp in Boston, more in the low to mid-70s.  So I packed accordingly....and it was HOT.  Poor girls.

 The good news is that they were troopers, we all pushed our sleeves up and carried on.

The Boston Tea Party Museum was a hit for all....it is the best interactive exhibit and had us all intrigued!  

 They have men and women dressed as they would have been during the events surrounding the Boston Tea Party....

 you enter the courthouse/town meeting and discuss the tea and the issues surrounding the tariffs that were placed on it....

 and then you tour the ship, throw tea overboard just as the townsfolk did back in the day, and watch a little skit about the time period following the tea party.

It is a must-do if you are going to be in Boston with children.....even interesting for adults!

 Following the museum, we ran over to the Boston Common/Public Garden to ride the famous swan boats.

 We had only a few minutes to get there before the last boat was to depart....

 we chose to take the T and when we got off, we had to go on an escalator.....we were running, running, and then I hear this scream.....I turned around and there was Maddox, STUCK in the escalator!  I panicked for a moment thinking her foot was stuck but some quick acting bystanders took over, turned off the escalator and we all realized it was her shoe strap that had gotten caught in the rotating part of the escalator.  We yanked it out and kept right on running!  Phew.

 Following the boat tour, we walked through the park to grab dinner....along the way, we met some friendly little ducks who had no problem at all coming up close for food!

 It was a beautiful day all around!  The girls were thrilled with their first day in Boston and they were exhausted too....

Knob Hill Swim Team 2018

2018 proved to be an exciting swim season for our little Drafts fish.

 This is the first year that all of our people have not been in the pool at swim practice - Pryce had football practice, Maddox wasn't cleared because of her recent surgery and Chapman is too little - but our three fish who did swim represented our team well!

 Maryn came with her own cheering section!  One of her favorite people in the world, Brittany, came to watch her swim in the meets.  

 And Maddox didn't miss a beat....just because she wasn't swimming didn't mean she was going to miss out on all of the fun.  She joined us and ran around all evening with her friends!

 Sweet Maryn

Her first time of the season was 1.51....her final time of the season was 45.1....she was amazing!

 MK

MK is our social butterfly.  Though she is shy at first to anyone she meets, once she warms up, she is all in and flitting from place to place to chat with her crew.  Not only does she adore those that swim on her team, she loves getting to see and support her friends who swim for other teams.

 Chapman was a good supporter for the team....she attended a few practices and most of the potluck dinners....dessert was hands down her favorite part!

 Our city does a meet called the Divisional Meet.  It is held in our local aquatic center, in a very large pool - much larger than the one in our neighborhood - and it is super loud as the sounds/cheering echoes all around....Maryn is only 5 and I was a bit concerned about how she was going to react to all of the noise and the new pool....parents aren't allowed on the pool deck so she had to handle this all on her own.  Thankfully, she did amazing!  She found me in the stands, and during one of her events, she grabbed the lane rope, turned up and searched the stands for me, waved and gave the biggest smile ever, and then sped off to win the event!  

 Our girl was given the "greeter" award by her coaches.  Maryn would always jump in with the biggest smile, swim for a moment, grab the rope and wave to us, and then continue down the pool.

 Colin

Awe, my guy is all grown up.

He finished out his 11th swim season and tolerated each of the morning practices.  He swam his heart out during the meets and was so fun to talk to.  Proud of this guy!  

 MK

Our MVP

Backstroke is her jam.  She was always first in our division for backstroke and she finished 6th out of all of the 11/12 year old girls in our area of the state.  She had so much fun, rocked her new flip turns, socialized with her girls, cheered for her team, and loved every moment of her time in the pool.

 So fun!  Cannot wait until next year - swim season is a favorite in our home!