20110827

Tower Hill Botanic Garden

Michaela has a job helping out at a deli for a few hours Saturdays so we've tried to find areas close to her work so we can have some family outings before dropping her off.

It was a hot humid morning but the gardens were amazing. So many trails to explore and we didn't every get to all of them. I think the favorite spots were the vegetable garden and the secret garden.







We spent a lot of time looking at the pond with the lily pads. Lots of little frogs hiding in there!

20110820

Forty Caves

We found another great hiking spot while looking for letter boxes in the area. We headed out this morning to get a family adventure in before Michaela had to go to work.

More colorful mushrooms!

It was so humid it felt like we were in the rain forest. Even our map got soggy. We found lots of cool trees, rocks, and other wildlife and it was interesting to hike through an area that doesn't get much sun because of the trees.





I think the most exciting part for all of the kids was the fact that the trail crossed over some train tracks. Anthony took this picture of all of us standing on the tracks. It was his comment that made me laugh. As we were walking on the tracks Anthony started balancing on the side of the track saying, "I've always wanted to do this!" Guess we can all cross walking on the train tracks off our bucket list!

20110810

Higgins Museum

Today we took advantage of the library passes and visited a cool museum just down the hill from us. Michaela is at girls camp this week and the kids were wanting to go do something fun. It was a great activity for a hot summer afternoon and I think the kids would have stayed longer but the museum closes early.

The kids enjoyed walking around the museum and even sat through a live presentation on weapons and armor. We spent the most time in the kids room which was their favorite spot. Lots of hands on stuff!


Emersynne couldn't get enough of this horse. Anytime it was free she would want to climb back on.

Trevor thought this was pretty cool although I don't think he would have wanted to be locked in there for long.


Each of the kids got to try on armor and see how heavy it was.


Emersynne's favorite part was wearing the helmets


It was a fun activity and the kids are asking when they can go again. With the library passes we almost get in free so we will definitely have to go again soon.

Fifteen Years

Yesterday Jeremiah and I celebrated our 15th anniversary. I still can't believe it has been 15 years. That sounds like a very long time but it doesn't feel that way.

It was a crazy day with Michaela leaving for girls camp, watching my friends three kids so her husband could go to work since she is at girls camp, and Anthony going to scouts in the evening. Even with all that was going on it was a great day and I think we did a good job of celebrating.

Before leaving for work Jeremiah gave me a present which was a beautiful frame with a recent photo of us that my sister took while we were in Utah. After opening his present for me which was so fancy I felt silly knowing what I had selected for his present. I wanted to give him something to represent 15 years of our marriage and didn't think he would be very excited with crystal candle sticks (15 years is the crystal anniversary) so instead I got him 15 boxes of good & plenty, one box for each year of our marriage. Jeremiah LOVES good & plenty and he got a good laugh when he opened the box. Now he has something yummy to put in a candy jar on his desk at work.

Amid the craziness of eight children running around Jeremiah stopped at home on his lunch break with flowers that he carefully arranged in the vase for me. To top off the day we enjoyed a chinese take-out dinner for just the two of us after the kids were in bed. Plenty of leftovers for dinner tonight so the kids are very excited!





20110808

Saturday family outing

Saturday morning we ate a quick breakfast and quickly headed out to take the kids to a place that Jeremiah and I had discovered the night before. Prepared with bug spray we found some trails inside Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary and explored. Emersynne's little legs still have a hard time keeping up and before long I heard, "Mommy I too busy to walk." With some more coaxing she trudged along before getting a piggy back ride from daddy.

The trails looped through wooded areas with lots of


impressive rocks,

twisty trees,

colored mushrooms,

and tons of frogs.

The kids had a great time counting the frogs that were trying to hide in the marshy areas, climbing huge boulders, and trying to catch frogs. I think only daddy was successful in that area. We all had a great adventure and I'm glad it only took us ten years to discover this place. Wonder what other hidden secrets this city holds!



20110802

Lake

The kids have worked hard with unpacking, getting reorganized, and getting caught up on yard work. It was past time for a fun outing so this morning we headed out to Rutland State Park with our picnic lunch, sand towels, and lots of sunblock. Our friends the Deskins met us there and all the kids had a great time playing in the water and sand. As usual nobody was ready to go home when it was time so hopefully we can squeeze in a few more lake trips before summer is over.



Emersynne was so content to just sit on the shore and fill her bucket with sand and water



20110801

Utah Vacation

I'm not really sure how to do a post for our 3 1/2 week vacation to Utah. I probably should to a post for each day so I can showcase all the photos we took. But instead I think I will just do one post with some special photos. Here it goes!



Hanging out with Nannie and Papa, eating ice cream, and playing in their yard.









Fun in the water


Park Days






Steel Days Carnival





Nannie and Papa came to watch the fun at the carnival and then took us all out to Wendy's for lunch.




Stay tuned for Utah Vacation part 2