Extravagance Part 2

I guess I should explain why this is called extravagance.  Normally we stay with Aaron's grandparents but his grandfather was recovering from a medical procedure and we didn't want to over burden them so we stayed in a HOTEL!!!!  For 3 whole nights.  With a POOL!!  Never before have we done this with the kids and unless we can get another good deal, probably never again!  Anyway here goes Part 2!

Boston Children's Museum.  TOTALLY worth the time and money to go.  Best/Worst part???The three story climbing structure.  You always know where your kids are because there is only one way to exit, but once they are in there it is nearly impossible to get them out. 

You basically have to wait at the bottom with eagle eyes and catcher's mitt so that if they happen to exit and you are ready to leave they can't escape back into the tangled web.

Cause and Effect.  This is like The Montshire Museum on steroids.

My one beef is that you have to pay for infants over the age of one, but the museum isn't really geared toward them.  Noah didn't get enough out of it to be worth a full price ticket.  He definitely got enough for a half price ticket.

A real life skid steer to sit it!!!!  How cool is that!!??

Sophie might have thought she was above this particular exhibit

Everyone was just playing with this structure as it was.  My family...they totally deconstructed it and rebuilt it again

She was not above it in the end.

That's the fam-damily!

The train ride home was on a double decker train.  As if life weren't cool enough already!!

Is it just me, or does he appear just a little like the spoiled last child?

Extravagance

In August we made our annual trek to Massachusetts to visit Aaron's grandfather, visit friends, attend the temple and see the sights.  Unfortunately my temple recommend had expired, unbeknownst to me, and so we weren't able to go into the temple.  However instead of having friends watch the kids, we were able to take the kids to the temple grounds which are very special in and of themselves.

Aaron and I took a picture on these...stone things...(I never was a good writer.  My teachers always wanted me to "flesh it out.") Anyway we took a picture here on our wedding day.  Now look 10 years later!  4 kids!!!

We also took the kids to see the U.S.S. Constitution.

I think we are a pretty attractive bunch!

One of the HUGE highlights (like we could have done nothing else and the trip would still have been a trip to remember,) was a ride on a real life train.  Here we are at the station.  Lesson learned here?  Trains are loud and scary.

Mesmerized at the passing landscape

How did I get so lucky to have so many handsome boys!  I have video somewhere but I'll get to that later.  I am certain Sophie is in the video.

We finally redeemed the gift certificate to Durgin Park that my parents gave me a couple of years ago.  THANKS Mom and Dad!!!  That is enough for one post.  I'll finish up tomorrow.

Family Reunion

In August my parents hosted a family reunion for the descendants of Robert Cummings, my great uncle.  We had a great time and got to reunite with family I haven't seen in years and meet some that I had never met before.  I come from pretty good stock!

This is the good food part.

Cousins!

BBQing in the rain

Same-o

They're multiplying!!!

I think this is a beautiful picture of my lovely sister April.

Ben swinging on the swing I used to swing on.

See I told you they were multiplying!

Jacob's Date

Jacob and I went on a Mommy/Son date.  For his date he wanted to run across the shaky bridge in Hardwick.  So we did.  See, dates don't have to be fancy or expensive, they just have to be together.

Over and...

Back again!

Blueberries, Blueberries, Blueberries

We are so lucky to live just down the hill from Brown's Beautiful Blueberries.  Gorgeous, huge, tasty blueberries for only $2.00/lb.  I went picking so many times as it was a perfect blueberry year.  Brown's said that they have never had such a great year.  The bushes were so loaded that they offered a discount if you agreed to help with mulching in the fall.  Then just before Hurricane Irene the bushes were still loaded and in an effort to save the berries, they dropped the price to $1.00/lb so we picked some more.  In the end we picked 100 lbs of berries.  Good thing Jacob can eat a gallon bag of them in about a day and a half.

I relinquished control of the camera to the kids so we get some different perspectives, like Aaron and I...together...sort of.

Definitely a new perspective.  V8 anyone?

I had tried to give Noah blueberries before this and he would not eat them.  I offered him one at the blueberry hill and he still rejected it.  Then I plopped him on the ground and he discovered how cool it was that there were tiny blue balls growing on the bushes and they were so fun to pull off. Eventually he ate one and then, whoa, open the floodgates.  I am pretty sure that financially we got the better end of the deal

Another perspective.  Worms are important too!

More, More, More said the baby!

Ben got very frustrated each time we picked because for some reason his pail would just not fill up.

Jacob had a similar problem but eventually he actually had six or ten in his pail.

Sophie picked so much more than she has in the past.  She was a super helper with picking and keeping an eye on Violet Beauregarde, I mean Noah.

Oops did I add too many of Noah?  He was just too cute.  I couldn't help myself.

Date with my Boy

I think I am ready to not go a month at a time.  I was looking at August's pictures and way too many u things happened to put them all in one post.  So I think this means I am back on track mostly with my blog!!!


On August 2nd Ben had an eye appointment in Williston so we turned it into a Mommy Son date and went to Smuggler's Notch on the way home. 

As for the eye appointment, he doesn't have to patch anymore.  His eyesight went from 20/200 to 20/40 and has held there for the last several appointments.  He has to wear his glasses during school and as much as possible at home.  He will probably have to wear glasses until 3rd grade and then we reassess at that point.  Now for the Notch.

Ben was so excited.  He put on hiking boots, brought a backpack and "special" hiking gloves.

At the bottom ready to go

Checking out a cave

LOVE!

Oh yeah I had Noah on my back.  Let me just say that I deserve some sort of medal because I went everywhere Ben went.  If he climbed a rock face to get in a cave, I climbed a rock face to get in the cave.  That said, the random strangers who had to help me down the rock face to get out of the cave also deserve medals.

Look how small he looks up on those rocks!

Ben was fearless.  He ran up the slope, ran back down to get me, ran back up the slope again.  If there was a rock he jumped up onto it and back down the other side.  My heart got exercise in more than one way

When we got to the point where the incline was too steep for me Ben gathered some special rocks and carried them down in his backpack.  When he got to the bottom he said, "Mommy I can't do this anymore." So I took the backpack and the thing weighed at least 10 lbs, at least.  We had a great time.  He is such a sweet boy and I am so glad he is part of our family.