Lovin Cousin

Mia and Lennon both adore their cousin Jackson.  Mia cried hysterically when he and Hillary had to leave on wednesday morning and every time Lennon sees a picture of Jackson he gets a huge smile on his face.  We miss you Jackson!!!

Plymouth Rocked!

I think I can speak for everyone when I say that our vacation to Plymouth was beyond awesome!  The house was great.  I found it online several months ago and it would have been difficult to find a more perfect match.  I think the only complaint anyone had all week was that there wasn't central air.  Shelby and I were fine cause we've become sort of used to it from living up here, but all the Texans had a bit of a hard time a couple of days.  Other than that though it was fantastic.  You could see the ocean from several places in the house and it was a short bare footed walk to be on the sand.  With three babies under one year, a super active six year old, two restless bachelors and four couples, there was always something going on almost all day long.  When one baby would get up from a nap, another one would go down.  Some days a couple people took off for the grocery store and didn't return for three or four hours.  Each couple had the opportunity to get away for a little date during the week and take advantage of the grandparents free childcare.  Shelby and I used our day to take Mia out and have some alone time with her.  There is so much to do in Plymouth and one such thing is a pirate ship adventure.  Mia loves pirate stuff and was super excited to get to go out on a pirate adventure.  We searched for stolen treasure, shot water guns at the bad pirate who had taken it, finally got it back, found some fresh lobsters and crabs and got to hold one of each and learn about them and enjoyed being out on the water on a beautiful day.  We even got Mia a cute pink shirt that said "Pirate Girl."  Afterward we took her out for pizza and got her a piece of chocolate on a stick.  

The most amazing part of the whole week had to be the 3rd of July.  I know the 4th is what you would expect me to talk about, but on Manomet Beach it's the 3rd that is the big deal.  There were bonfires all along the beach  tons of people shooting off sweet fireworks, hippies playing bongos and guitars and dancing, sparklers and people of all ages having a great time together.  Shelby was in charge of our fire and it was the longest burning fire on the beach!  Mia had a blast with her friend who was staying next door to us, Nicole.  They were fast friends and spent most of the week playing together at either our house or theirs.  

Lennon had such a good time.  He loved being in a different place and having a huge deck to explore on every day.  He really loves being outside so the beach destination was great for him.  Jackson and Lennon really enjoyed each other too I think.  They were so cute in their little swimsuits that Gaga bought for them.  I felt like for the first time I could get to know Jackson a little better because Lennon was doing so well I didn't have to constantly hold him.  He is such a funny guy.  He's always smiling and laughing and making funny noises to get noticed.  He and Lennon are both very curious about everything.  One day we went to this indoor playground called Imagination Island and all the kids had a good time.  There was tons to investigate and manipulate and the babies and Mia all had a blast!  The men all got bored and went on a little trip to WalMart while the women stayed behind to watch the kiddos.  The best part about the place was that all the babies were free and Mia was just ten bucks.  

We had lots of awesome food and played games at night and generally just hung around the house or the beach and relaxed and enjoyed each other.  One day we went out into town and toured the Mayflower II, a replica of the Mayflower that actually made the voyage from England to Plymouth in the 50's.  It was cool.  Mia and I had toured it a couple of years ago, but it was nice to see it again and to share it with the rest of the family.  It was awesome and we're definitely looking forward to more vacations like it in the future.  Thanks Nana and Papa!  

So, we got back from Plymouth last saturday and everyone except Hillary left on sunday morning.  Hill and Jackson stayed until Wednesday morning and then Dusty came in town for a little visit Thursday night and just left a few hours ago.  In the morning Lennon, Mia and I will be getting on a plane for Atlanta for Kelsey's wedding.  I've had just enough time to unpack, do laundry, clean the house and repack and prepare for our next week of vacation.  Phew!  We're having lots of fun this summer, but it is super busy.  I just can't believe this time next week Kelsey and Bethany will be married!!!

A Night At The Museum

Okay, not the Ben Stiller Movie, but it was super fun.  The Museum of Science here in Boston has members only sleepovers for kids ages 6 and up.  Mia has wanted to sleep at the museum for a long time now and the last one of the year was the week after her birthday, so she just barely made the cutoff this year.  She had been excited for months about this and I don't think she was let down at all.  She loved every minute of it.  Poor Naomi had fractured her arm a week before so she had a cast on and was limited in how much running and jumping she could do, but she was such a trooper she didn't complain once.  It's amazing, we've been to this museum so many times in the past years and we still find something we've never seen before every time we go.  It is huge!  The girls learned about sign language, built models of baseball stuff,  experimented with friction, learned about what happens to the energy when heavy and light balls fall to the ground and had lots of time to explore the museum.  At 10 PM the museum provided a snack for everyone and much to Mia's delight it was none other than Dippin' Dots!  After our Dippin' Dots we went up to the Baseball exhibit that is currently at our museum and we all got to see how fast we could throw a ball.  Mia and Naomi did surprisingly well and I threw miserably as usual.  Just before midnight we headed over to our assigned "campsights."  After rolling out our sleeping bags Naomi started feeling a little homesick.  She called home and talked with her mom and ended up doing great.  The girls crashed almost immediately when they turned the lights out.  I on the other hand had a really hard time falling and staying asleep.  The floor was the most uncomfortable floor I have ever slept on, but it was totally worth it for all the fun we had.  In the morning we had a so-called breakfast - white bagels, yogurt in a tube, cereal and orange juice.  Naomi had brought chocolate milk boxes for her and Mia and they managed to save them for the morning.  Naomi put her chocolate milk in her cereal and ended up drinking it with a straw out of her cereal bowl.  It was pretty funny.  After breakfast we had a special planetarium show and then we got to see an omni film.  Both were awesome.  The planetarium was especially awesome because I knew we would be on the beach looking up at the stars the next night and the omni film was really cool and about prehistoric sea creatures.  Neither girl had ever been to the omni theatre before and I was a little worried that one of them was going to get scared especially since there were some moments in the movie where one giant scary looking fish would attack or eat another giant scary looking fish.  They both had an awesome time though.  After the movie we ran around the museum a little more and then headed home.  Directly after getting home we changed clothes and headed out with everyone to go down to Plymouth.    

Storyland: Glen, NH

I'll do this in installments so that you don't have to spend an hour reading about our last couple of weeks.  A lot has happened since Father's Day with us.  The big events were going to New Hampshire with Papa and Nana, having a sleepover at the Museum of Science with Naomi, and going to Plymouth with Papa's side of my family for the 4th of July.  

So, Papa and Nana flew in here just a couple days after Gaga left and we headed out the next morning for New Hampshire.  We stayed in a cute little bed and breakfast right in the center of a town called North Conway.  The owner was really nice and the cottages we were in worked out well despite some initial concerns.  It was motorcycle week or something so there were tons of dudes on motorcycles in the area and especially at the place we were staying, so sometimes it got a little noisy.  Still, the kids slept fine and we had a great time.  The best part was since we were in cottages and not a traditional hotel we could cook our food out on a grill instead of having to go out to restaurants every night.  

Storyland was awesome just like last year when we went with Gaga.  Although this year I was no longer pregnant so I was able to ride everything which made it a lot more fun for me.  Mia loved this turtle ride that spun around in circles while actually traveling around in circles.  My personal nightmare, but Papa, Nana and Daddy rode it with her multiple times.  One great thing about Storyland is the lines are never that bad.  Lennon was too small for most things but he did get the chance to ride his first amusement park ride.  He wasn't quite sure what to think about the antique cars, but he didn't NOT like it.  He did however like playing in the spray park there with Mia.  It is really cute and has a little yellow submarine with water guns for the kids to shoot at passersby.  While at the spray park I decided it was time to reapply sunscreen on the kids.  Trying to get in on Lennon's scalp proved to be harder and messier than I had expected.  Also later that day I realized that the kids had both gotten a little sun even with all the sunscreen.  A couple of days later we discovered that the "sunscreen" was actually diaper cream that was in a similar tube.  Moments like this really make me feel smart!  Our second day there Lennon was doing great but we decided to see if we could get him to take a nap in his stroller.  It was not looking like it was going to happen, but he seemed really tired.  SuperNana took over and took Lennon around trying to work her baby magic on him.  She finally took him riding around on the train to see if that might sooth him.  Meanwhile, Shelby and I had checked every store in the park for pacifiers because we had forgotten his and we thought he would fass asleep easier with one.  Well on the train Nana found an abandoned pacifier.  She asked me what I thought about using it and although it goes against every bone in my body and every cell in my brain, Lennon at this point was hysterical with no sign of calming down.  I gritted my teeth and agreed since Papa said he would wash it in super hot water and soap and we drenched it in colloidal silver I had in my diaper bag.  Pretty gross I know and it didn't even work.  He eventually calmed down, but never did take a nap that day.  Both days we were there it rained a little bit, but just enough to cool it off.   The weather was awesome and at night it was even a little chilly.  We all had to wear jackets after dark and first thing in the morning.  

Both mornings we were there we walked down to a playground just down from our hotel and there was this awesome coffee shop there that I thoroughly enjoyed!  On our last day we did some shopping in that same area where they had some cute toy shops and stuff.  Last year when we went we discovered these sodas that are made with real sugar and have no caffeine and they do interesting flavors like Tangerine Cream.  I don't let the kids have them but Shelby and I got some and they are sitting in our fridge still waiting for the time to strike that I might be in the mood for a soda.  I am so excited cause they are yummy!  We all had such an awesome time.  Thanks Papa and Nana!!!  

Lennon with "sunscreen" in his hair

The infamous abandoned pacifier

Mia at Cathedral Ledge on our way back to Boston

Having breakfast at The Old Red Inn and Cottages in North Conway, NH

Waiting in line for The Polar Coaster, the biggest ride at Storyland 

Mia on the Polar Coaster

Lennon on the Antique Cars wondering why he's allowed in the front seat

Mia doing her "mermaid pose" at the spray park

Following Directions

Yesterday Lennon had me read him "How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends"  over and over again.  Finally, because I was trying to get some laundry done before our trip to Atlanta, I asked him to bring the book to Dusty and have Dusty read it to him.  I didn't really expect him to do it because I haven't really tried anything like that with him yet.  Well, he took the book and went straight to Dusty and handed it over.  It was soo cool.  I guess he's that age now, but it's pretty fun to watch him grow and understand more and more every day.  I'm so excited to see him together with Reagan in just a few days.  They are both soo precious. 

Continue to stay tuned for our New Hampshire and Plymouth adventures...

Updates to come...I promise

I will post stuff from the last two weeks, I just haven't had the chance/energy yet.  My plan is to update this weekend.  So stay tuned...

Sweet Sleeping Bliss Batman!

Lennon went to sleep last night at 5 45 and slept straight through until 6 45 this morning.  Then he took an hour an a half nap from 10-11 30, normally he only takes 45-60 minute naps.  Then after lunch he slept from 2 45 until 5 15 and went back to bed at 7 with no complaints.  We'll have to see what happens tomorrow, I'm not planning on it being a trend, but it would sure be nice.  Ahhhhh...sleep!