Mothers' Day

We spent the day with my folks in Boston on Sunday.

The weather was windy but sunny & warm enough to keep us from getting chilled.  We drove over to Southie first to visit Castle Island, a fort that was built to protect Boston's harbor.  It juts right out into the harbor & now connects to the mainland.  The north side looks across the harbor to Logan Airport & the cruise line terminals.

We ate lunch from Sullivan's - an old time fast-order stand where we got hot dogs, cheeseburgers & the world's best onion rings.  We were going to get ice cream after walking around, but by the time we finished our loop the line was crazy long so we decided against it.

Then we drove over to Fan Pier where the Volvo Ocean Race festivities were in full swing.  Hundreds of competitors participate in Pro-Am races in Boston Harbor from April 25 - May 16.  The participants also crew the 7 sailing yachts that travel from Alicante, Spain to eventually St. Petersburg, Russia over the course of 9 months, covering 37,000 nautical miles.  Boston was one of the eleven global stop-overs & the only one in North America.   It was fun to get up close to the boats & watch the crew care for them.

After enjoying the music & merriment, we continued along the Harborwalk & made our way to the aquarium.  We didn't go in, though, because the ice cream from Emack & Bolio's

was calling to us!  Ice creams, root beer float & egg creme in hand, we made our way back to our car via the new Rose Kennedy Greenway, which now occupies the area the elevated I-93 used to be in before the infamous Big Dig tunnel project.  

All in all, it was a very nice way to spend Mothers' Day with my mom & my family.

Weekend Fun in the Sun - Part Two!

It was a little bit cooler on Sunday - though still warm for April.  I decided to buy some herbs from our local garden center & plant them before I needed to get the kids to Guard Up for their sword fighting classes.  While I was out, Phil started work on the RV - removing the anti-freeze from the water lines, cleaning up the fridge (he had a little accident with Dr. Pepper cans back in January/February - did you know that soda expands when it freezes?  Ka-Boom!), & cleaning out the "basement".  Some critter decided to use it as it's bathroom, which was quite disgusting...blech!

After I planted the basil & spearmint, I took the kids to class.  The warm weather inspired me & I went over to Whole Foods & bought a bunch of strawberries & a chocolate angel food cake.  I also got red peppers, summer squash & portobello mushrooms for grilling.  Add hamburger meat, hot dogs & the accompanying rolls & we were all set for a cook out!

After we were all back home, we started cleaning up the back yard, especially around the pool wall.  A ridiculous amount of leaves collected over autumn & winter & now buried the rose bushes & day lilies.  

Using rakes & a leaf blower, we pulled most of the debris out & brought it to the fire pit, where we decided to do this:

  

We ate dinner & dessert by the fire - as the sun set the temperatures dropped quickly.  It was lovely to drink hot coffee by the fire as the light faded in the sky.  Ahhhhh.....

Weekend Fun in the Sun - Part One!

Saturday we took a little trip down to Foster, RI, to join a bunch of other homeschoolers in a tie-dye park day.  Our friend Cris hosted, along with her family.  Kimi really wanted to find a white hoodie to dye, but we couldn't find any, so we settled on t-shirts instead.  

Then Erica arrived - with a white hoodie sweatshirt!  She happily traded it for Kimi's sleep-sized t-shirt & Kimi got to work on her new hoodie.

(Photos of the final product coming later!)

It was a hot sunny day & we appreciated the shade provided by the rec center.  Everyone brought food & drinks to share & it was fun getting to meet other families.

Patriots' Day

We went to the Minute Man National Park on Saturday.  It was overcast but mild - perfect for walking around.

The Concord Bridge - where the fighting between the colonists & the British Regulars began on April 19, 1775.  "The Shot Heard 'Round the World"
Also perfect for climbing our favorite giant bush.  This is Kimi at the top - I'm taking the picture from a terrace that is a whole level higher than where the walking path is that leads to the base of this shrub.  

We've been coming to this park with the kids for years & they have always loved climbing this thing.  Of course, they are a bit taller than when they were 3 or 4!

Shaun's up there - look very closely!

Family portrait - Kimi got in it by adding her fingers into the frame!

The park often has people dressed in period clothing available to talk to visitors.  They are not "reenactors" - they don't pretend they are living in that time.  They instead provide a nice visual as they talk about the history connected to this area.

This is the Old Manse:

"Between two tall gateposts of roughhewn stone . . . we behold the gray front of the old parsonage, terminating the vista of an avenue of black ash trees."  So beginsMosses from an Old Manse, the set of short stories Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote while living at The Old Manse.The landscape Hawthorne describes is still recognizable to a present-day visitor more than 160 years later.  A recreation of Henry David Thoreau's vegetable garden, planted in 1842 as a wedding gift to the Hawthornes, still flourishes in the same location.  The Concord River flows serenely past the Manse and under its neighbor, the North Bridge, site of the famous "shot heard 'round the world" that started the American Revolution on April 19, 1775.

Gotta sing!

I know this is a video that's going around fast, but as someone who simply loves to sing, seeing this woman stand in front of a disbelieving crowd & then completely blow them away, well, I just had to tip my hat to her.

Susan Boyle - the whole world now knows your voice!

Susan Boyle on Britain Got Talent
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