20100714

4th of July

I'm a little late in getting these up but Jeremiah took some really cool photos on our 4th of July trip to GreenHill park. We visited the Vietnam War Memorial and when we stopped to rest by the flag pole the kids wanted to say the Pledge of Allegiance.


We had a butterfly following us as we enjoyed the beautiful flowers in the garden


And we saw several frogs hopping around in the pond. We stopped to look because we heard a strange sound coming from the water followed by a splash. The frog stood still long enough for the kids to see him hidden in the grass.

Summer discoveries

We've discovered some new things this summer.



We've had a blast with letterboxing and have discovered lots of new trails to hike with rocks to climb.


We've discovered that Emersynne loves freeze pops!

And I discovered that if I cut the freeze pop in half it is the perfect size for her little hands.

20100712

Virtual Hula Hoop

Abigail is still trying to get the hang of some of the games for the Wii. The rest of us sure enjoy her efforts. Here's a video of her doing the hula hoop.

20100710

Free friday disaster

Yesterday the Franklin Park Zoo was free so we decided to go on an adventure and visit the zoo. We've never been to any zoos out here and several of my children haven't ever been to the zoo at all. Our last weeks free friday adventure to Plymouth went so well so we were excited for more fun.

We got a later start than originally planned but Michaela was a great helper in reading me our mapquest directions and we got there without any incidents. It soon became very clean that everybody in the state of MA wanted to go to the zoo for free and there was no parking to be found anywhere! After driving through the different parking lots and seeing the masses of people walking up to the zoo we realized it was not going to work. I drove out of the park and thought I was going the way I came but soon realized I had no idea where I was or even what direction I was going in. One of the big reasons I don't go to Boston! It is a very confusing city and almost impossible to navigate.

I called Jeremiah and he was able to talk us through while looking at maps online. We found a much needed bathroom, had a snack, and started in the direction of Jessica's house. I was so ready to turn around and go home but felt that was not fair to the kids who were disappointed in not getting to go to the zoo. Our cousin Jessica who lives in the Boston area called before we left our house and invited us to play at a water park near her home if the zoo was too crowded.

With Jessica's patience she was able to help me navigate the streets around the Charles River and after a few missed attempts we found the park, changed into swimsuits, ate our lunch, and were ready for some fun in the water.




Our day started out rough and was rather stressful but it was nice to end it with some fun. Thanks to Jessica who saved the day! We had a great time playing with Jessica, Thomas, and Lydia. Hopefully the kids will remember the fun we had at the water park and forget about their mom freaking out because she was lost in Boston!

20100709

Too much excitement

It was the end of the day and things seemed to be settling down. The pork chops that had been cooking all afternoon in the crock pot were done and smelled delicious and I had just put some potatoes in the microwave. The kids were enjoying the cool air and were sitting by the air conditioner reading the new books we had gotten from our library visit earlier in the day. Then the power went out. My potatoes were no longer cooking and we no longer had air conditioning. I tried not to grumble reminding myself that if we could survive without power for two days and two nights during an ice storm we could survive the inconvenience of uncooked potatoes and no air conditioning. I started opening windows hoping to get some air from the breeze outside when I noticed that I could still hear my neighbors fans running. After checking with neighbors on either side of us (who still had power) I was very perplexed. Of course this all happened after the office was closed so it takes longer to get maintenance to respond. I left my message and then waited to hear back.

In the meantime some of the kids decided to go sit on the back porch since they couldn't sit in front of the fans anymore. Next thing I knew Natalie shouted, "Mom, there's a racoon!" I thought she was joking and questioned her but all the kids were telling me there was a racoon behind our rose bush. If the kids had reached out their hands they could have touched it and I quickly told them to run to the other side of the grass to get them away from the raccoon. I called Jeremiah and his reaction was the same as mine when the kids first told me about the raccoon. The kids were still outside and I couldn't get them in the back door since the scary creature was right on our porch! I was still on the phone with Jeremiah and the kids were giving me a play by play update of the raccoon.

"Mom! It's right under the back door!" "Mom, it's going in the garden!" "Mom! it's climbing up the bricks outside the door." "Mom, it's climbing on the door!"

Sure enough the raccoon had climbed up the screen door and was looking me in the eyes. I was so stunned that I just stood there staring at it instead of grabbing the camera and Jeremiah had to tell me to have the kids run around to the front door so I could get them in the house. DUH!!!!!! I felt pretty stupid for not thinking of that one. I was basically in a bit of a panic because there was a rabid raccoon outside my door, my kids were outside, and I couldn't get them back inside!

Animal control had left for the day and by the time the police responded to our call the animal was nowhere to be seen. Hope they catch that nasty creature before it attacks somebody!

After getting the kids back inside I talked with them about the importance of staying away from wild animals especially ones that are nocturnal and out in broad daylight. Trevor took it all in and I thought I was doing a good job of explaining about sick animals biting and making us sick when Trevor turned to me and said, "So if a raccoon bites me I could turn into a sick raccoon?" I tried not to laugh and made a mental note that maybe he was too young to be listening to me read Harry Potter to Natalie and was quick to assure him that he would not turn into a sick raccoon but would need shots to make him better.

So within an hours time our power outage was resolved and our nasty visitor had left. I did get a picture of it but you will have to click on it to see it better. I didn't dare get very close it definitely looked very sick!

20100708

Free Friday

Every Friday this summer a museum is free. Last friday we were adventurous and drove out to Plymouth to visit the Mayflower (replica) and Plymouth Plantation. We went with some friends, saw cousins Jessica, Thomas, and Lydia, saw more friends, and had a great time. We came home hot, tired, and dirty which I think is a indication of a very good day!


On board the Mayflower


Plymouth Rock
Not all that exciting but now we can say we've seen it


The kids had a great time visiting each little home at Plymouth Plantation and seeing how the pilgrims lived.


The view was amazing!

The only thing that would have made the day better is if Jeremiah could have gone with us. Oh, and it would also have been nice if Emersynne hadn't thrown up in the car on our drive there. Oh well, we still had a great day. Tomorrow we are off to the zoo.

20100706

Please please pah-leeeease!

Can I have a skunk on a stick?