Summer Time Catch Up!

Isaac and Little League Baseball:

I can't think a better way to spend the spring and beginning of Summer than to watch a bunch of 6 & 7 year olds playing baseball. Especially when we had had so much rain. I can't remember when it has been so wet. Isaac had a great time sliding into 1st base getting himself all muddy. I have to say that I didn't bother with the stains because I knew that he would be getting them all muddy again in just a few days; so much for all of the marketing money that was spent on stain removers, it was completely waisted on me. Owen was a huge fan although he isn't sure that he wants baseball to be "his sport". For now he has decided on GOLF! Pretty much half of the team was from church, so it was fun for the adults to hang out and catch up. Isaac and Owen even got to meet Jonathan's Little League Coach. He was a scout for college or the Major League, I can't remember, but the boys thought that they had won the lottery by getting to talk with him.

Mr. MacDonald's Retirement Party:

Our beloved principal of 14 years retired in June. Mr. MacDonald was loved by countless children and he could tell you each and everyone of their names, where they lived, who their parents and siblings are. He is truly a remarkable man.

The task fell to me to put together his retirement party. It could have been a daunting task, but all he wanted was a Spring Picnic so he could walk around and talk with everyone. We gave him his picnic, but added a few extra touches. We got a bagpiper to come and play while we sent him off. There wasn't a dry eye in the crowd. Ok, so maybe there was a few dry eyes, but not very many. He will be missed and well remembered.

Isaac's Piano Recital:

Isaac had his first piano recital. It was exciting for him to be able to perform the pieces that he had practised so hard on. The titles were "Tom, Tom's" and "Parade of the Ants". Owen had a hard time sitting still, some of the kids had jazz pieces and he had the wiggles though them. It was way cute watching him, I had a hard time not laughing. Isaac was a bit nervous, but did a great job in spite of it. We are missing Ryan as his teacher and haven't found anyone to take his place. Isaac got to watch him direct the Tabernacle Choir during General Conference this month, he thought it was pretty cool that "Bro. Murphy is famous". It was fun for us too, but it made me miss him, Jen and the kids.

Grand kids Trip to Washington D.C.:

Every year Jonathan's parents take the grand kids that are 7 and older on a trip. This year they went to Washington D.C. and as Isaac would put it, was "Finally" old enough to go. He had such an amazing time with Kim and Sue as well as his cousins. Every night that we talked with him, he had so many fun things to tell us. The cousins were always doing something funny or crazy so he was usually laughing the whole time he was talking. I was a bit jealous because he had a tour of the White House, Library of Congress and Congress. He also visited Mount Vernon, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C. Temple, and a few other museums. It was hard for me to watch him drive off in Nana's car and know that I wouldn't be with him to experience it. We missed him, but it was fun to have Owen all to ourselves for a few days before Jonathan and I flew to Chicago. Owen also got to join in the fun when they got back, because he flew out to Idaho with Isaac to play with Nana and Papa while we were in Chicago.

Then May came CRASHING in!

Lets see, where do I begin?! I suppose the beginning would be the best place to start, so here we go.

Unexpected Rain: Every Spring we have what are called "Small Group Dinners" with friends from church. We break up into groups of 4 or 5 couples and have dinner then all gather at someones home to have dessert and mingle. Jonathan and I were having a great time catching up and chatting with friends. Our friends that hosted the dessert portion had just finished building an amazingly beautiful home and we got to take a tour of it. It was Beautiful craftsmanship, I was in heaven just taking in all of the decor. The evening was winding down and a few of us were staying to watch the Celtics on their enormous movie screen in the "Home Theatre", a great ending to the night. Little did we know that 5 minutes later we were going to get a call telling us that we needed to get home as soon as possible. Needless to say we ran to the car as fast as we could and drove as close to the speed limit as our nerves would allow. I kept asking Jonathan what was the matter, he wasn't quite sure what had happened, just that Phil (our brother-in-law) had said that we needed to hurry. I began to think that it was just a prank because Phil is quite a joker. As we pulled up to our home all of the lights were on, quite a few cars were parked along the road and a bunch of noise was coming from inside. My first thought was, "They are totally having a rave at our house!" But once I got inside I couldn't believe my eyes. POOP Water was raining down from my ceilings and through the light fixtures in my dinning room and kitchen!!!!! My rugs were drenched in murky brown sewage and I was standing in "Shat". I ran up stairs to find the boys and our baby sitter but instead found three people sopping up water in my bathroom. I ran back down stairs and into the basement, which was flooded and the stench was even worse down there. I ran back up stairs and over to my neighbors house to see if her home was flooding too, thankfully it wasn't. I then called the city to figure out if the main sewer line was backing up into our house. After that I was just too stunned by the overwhelming mess that all I could do was stand there and look at the POOP Water raining down. It was a pretty amazing site, as Phil likes to call it, we were having a "Shat Storm". And what a storm it was too. I was so thankful to all of the guys, that we know from church, who came over and waded through our "Shat" and sucked it up with wet/vacs. I honestly think that they have a place in heaven for doing this amazing service for us. I don't know what I would have done if it weren't for them. It was a long night, we didn't get to bed until after 2 am. We found out that it wasn't the city sewage. Our toilet somehow was clogged, but the odd thing is is that when we turned the water back on to the toilet, it flushed just fine. So no one really knows why the toilet overflowed. I just keep looking at the "Silver Lining", which is that I get a mini home makeover. It would have been nice to remove the "POOP portion from it, but "Shat Happens", right.

Birthday Time: It is that time of year again. The boys get another year older! One year closer to "Isaac's Independence" where I am no longer the "Boss of him" and Owen gets one year closer to becoming a "Big boy, like Daddy", so he can "Marry me". Yes, I know Owen's Birthday is April 1st, but wanted to wait a month so that the weather would be better. I also like to kill two birds with one stone. I always do the boys parties on the same day. Owen's in the morning and Isaac's in the afternoon. This years theme was "Legos"! Owen has become obsessed with the new line of "Power Miners" and Isaac loves the adventures of "Indiana Jones". I had a great time planning their parties, I made 3D lego invitations which turned out so cute, if you ask me! I even downloaded the "LEGO" font for the little nubbies that hold the lego's together. Owen's was orange and Isaac's was brown. Owen's buddies were invited to help the "Power Miners" find all of the "Rock Crystals" before the "Rock Monsters" could find them and regain their POWERS. Isaac's buddies were invited to help "Indiana Jones" find the "Lost Mask of Mederva". I made each of the boys a lego t-shirt to put in their goodie bag. Owen's were orange and Isaac's were brown. I silk screened the lego man head on the front of each shirt and then put "Power Miners" underneath Owen's and "Indiana Jones" underneath Isaac's. They turned out to be a huge hit. If you look closely you can see that Owen and Isaac are wearing their shirts in the pictures. The kids seemed to like the candy that was in the bag as well. For Owen's craft I made ceramic lego blocks for the boys to paint. It was so cute to see them pick their favorite color and go to town slathering it all over the lego trying not to miss any spots. Isaac's craft was painting the mask of Mederva. I purchased these awesome masks from Oriental Trading Company, I would recommend them to everyone. You could do tons of great crafts with them. Isaac's buddies thought that they were pretty cool too. It was fun to watch them carefully design the patterns and colors they wanted each design to be. They all did such a great job. After the craft we had a "Treasure Hunt" I hid little round lego dots in the back yard with clues for them to find. At the end there was a basket full of treats. I love how kids get so excited over little clues. It was awesome to see their faces light up when they realized that they knew the answer. Since they had all expended their engery, I thought it would be best to give them more SUGAR, so we had cake and punch. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" and then each of them blew out their candles and made a wish. Then it was present time. The gift of giving is a real treat for me to watch especially when it is children because it is so pure. They get so excited that they can't contain themselves. They give a bit of themselves and I love to see the anticipation as the "givee" opens the gift and is excited to receive it and then comes the big smile from the "giver" with the satisfaction that the gift that they chose for their buddy was something that they liked too. It completely reconfirms the friendship that they share. After the gifts the boys handed out their goodie bags to everyone and then played until mom's and dad's came to pick them up. We had a great time. I personally layed on the hammock for the rest of the afternoon and ordered pizza for dinner. There is a reason I don't have 23 wild and crazy rambunctious boy. But we had a great day.

Color Day: Every year the PTA sponsors "Color Day" at Butler Elementary. The kids love it! It is basically a huge field day where the kids play tons of games and they get to eat fresh fruit, drink lots of water and cool off with yummy Popsicles. Isaac's classes color was blue, so he picked out his "Super Man" t-shirt so he could have super powers and win all of the races. No my child has no competitive spirit in him at all!!! It was cute though because Owen wanted to wear his "Super Man" t-shirt too so he could be just like his Big Brother. Isaac had a great time jumping in the potato sack race, pulling in the tug-a-war, getting wet in the water balloon toss, and a bunch of other games. Owen had a good time cheering him on and sneaking watermelon wedges. I love the picture of the two of them, they are best buddies, well most of the time.

Owen: I feel like Isaac has gotten a lot of air time since he is older and has lots of things going on with school and sports, so I thought I would give a little shout out to my "Little Buddy Owie". I love Owen, he is so full of energy and is always scheming how to tease the next person he sees. Every day he has a bucket full of hugs and kisses for me, because "I am his Princess". I feel very privileged because Owen doesn't like Princesses because "They are girls and like the color pink". Owen loves to play Power Miners, eat sugar, wrestle with Isaac, eat sugar, learn new things, eat sugar, save the planet from utter destruction, snuggle with mommy and eat sugar. Owen is one of "My Best Buddies".

. . . . . and the REST of April!

Life has been a bit crazy and hectic over the last few months, hence very little writing has been going on. Things have settled down a bit, knock on wood, so I thought I would get caught up as much as I can, starting with the rest of April.

Spring Break: We had been looking forward to Spring Break for quite a long time. Well at least it seemed that way. When you have experienced a New England Winter you will understand what I mean. Jonathan and the boys had been counting down the days, hours and minutes until the Red Sox were back in business, so we got some tickets and went to the game. It started out great. Isaac, Owen and I jumped on the T for a fun ride down to Fenway. We met up with Jonathan and headed over to the park. It felt so good to be back. I love Fenway Park! The smell of the freshly cut grass, the sound of the ball when it cracks against the bat for a home run. The roasted peanuts, sweet candy floss, Richie's Italian Slush and who can forget the Fenway Frank! We had just settled in when the heavens opened up and dumped tons of rain on us. After 1 1/2 hours of waiting the game was called, so we sloshed our way back to the T and went home. The good news is is that they rescheduled for the following afternoon. We had good luck this time just as the 7th inning was coming to a close the clouds started rolling in again. We headed out to miss the traffic and we missed the second down pour. The boys didn't mind much because we were headed to Cocoa Beach Water Resort. It is an indoor water park. We had heard good things about it so we thought that we would give it a try. We had a great time. The boys loved it and so did Jonathan and I. We played on the water slides, floated in the lazy river and relaxed in the hot tub. The best part was after a long hard day of running up and sliding down water slides we got to go up stairs to a nice warm comfortable bed and watch a movie. We wanted to stay longer, but we all have to come back to reality sooner or later.

Butler Elementary Art Show: Every year the PTA sponsors an Art Show for the students to display their creative side. This year was no exception. The kids did such a good job. It was great to see so many different types of art as well as interpretations. Isaac worked really hard on his water color piece and his sculpture. His class talked quite a bit about themselves this year, talking about their likes and dislikes. The differences in their skin color, eye color and hair color. As a result Isaac decided to do a self portrait. I thought that he did a pretty good job. He was a bit upset at the way the mouth turned out on the painting, but that was my fault because I didn't have any paint brushes that were fine enough to make his smile. The poor kid had to use a big bulky brush. Other than that he had a good time creating. After we finished up looking at every ones art, it was craft time. The boys had fun at each of the tables. Owen keeps asking when he gets to go to school and do everything that Isaac gets to do. I just keep telling him soon Owie, soon.

Piano: Isaac started taking piano this last Fall from our good friend Ryan Murphy. I was so excited when Ryan had an opening because I knew what an amazing teacher he is and I wanted Isaac to have a positive experience learning the piano. Isaac has ALWAYS loved music. Even when he was in my tummy, when I would sing to him, he would poke his little fist into my side to let me know he liked it. I believe that there are people who hear music and those that feel it. I love to watch him listen to music because Isaac is a feeler. His body can't sit still when music is being played. Now for the SAD news. Ryan dropped the two sided bomb on us. He had gotten a job as the Assistant Director for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (amazing, great and wonderful news. I was soooo happy for him) and they were moving to Utah (sad, troubling and depressing news. I dislike having good friends move away and I have to find a new piano teacher for Isaac.) Isaac was sad too because he loved learning from him. I guess the good news is that we can see him on T.V. at least two times a year.

Jonathan and I also celebrated our 12th Anniversary in April. Neither of us can remember what we did, we can't claim that we got drunk and don't remember, so I guess we just have to own up to the fact that we are getting older. Maybe we went to dinner?! How depressing is that. Maybe once the Ph.D. is over we will get our brains back. Here's to hopen'.

Easter!

I know, I know! this is late and that I haven't blogged about Owen's 4th birthday. I'll blog about Owen when we have his party. It seems that life has its own time frame and I tend to always be one step behind.

Easter was such a great Holiday this year. For me it was because we had General Conference the week before and I was still on a spiritual high from all of the amazing talks that were given.

We do all of the commercial Holiday stuff on Saturday, that way we can focus on the true meaning of Easter on Sunday, so our celebration started on a rainy Saturday morning. We took the boys over to Shaw's Super Market, for their Annual Easter Egg Hunt. They were so excited it was hard for them to contain themselves, but they tried really hard.

Owen's age group got to go first. There were about 5 little kids and over 300 eggs to be found!! Needless to say they all scored big time. Owen was so overwhelmed by all of the eggs that he found he kept saying: "mom, what am I going to do with all of these eggs?" "I am going to have so much candy my tummy will be hurt." Isaac was beside himself of course because he could see all of the eggs, so he ended up going on a walk around the store with Jonathan so that Owen could find the eggs by himself. He was a good little hunter. He kept saying "mom I am going to be a spy, like in my 'I SPY' game." He was a great little detective. In the end I think he found about 45 eggs.

Isaac's hunt started shortly after Owen's was finished. He was the only person there until the very last minute then 2 little girls showed up. I think that he was a bit bummed because he wanted to find both of the golden eggs so that he could give Owen one of the prizes. How sweet is that. He is always looking out for Owen, OK maybe not always, but most of the time. Isaac was like a mad man looking for the "Golden Eggs". He wanted to find one so badly. I mean really when you are a 6 year old little boy you can't be out smarted by a little girl. We had to keep telling him that even if he didn't find one of the golden eggs that he had some great treats and that hunting for the eggs was the real fun. But the poor kid got my one track mind and was not to be detoured from finding an egg. As to not keep you in suspense!!! This story does have a happy ending! He found one of the "Golden Eggs" behind a can of Hunt's Diced Tomatoes. It was well earned because it seemed like it took forever to find it. He also found about 75 other eggs full of candy. After pictures with the "Golden Egg" he was off to choose his prize. He chose the "Incredibles" DVD so that he and Owen could both share it. But we were not to be confused that this was his very own DVD and he could watch it whenever he wanted to and he didn't have to ask. Yeah, right like that was ever going to happen, poor little tyke his heart was crushed when we told him that no matter who's DVD it is mommy and daddy own the DVD player and t.v. so he always has to ask before he can watch it. Ahh, the days of independence are ever drawing near.

After the Hunt, Isaac had a Master's Piano Class. I will blog about that later, but while we were gone the "Easter Bunny" came and dropped off their Easter Baskets. When we got home they were beside themselves with joy to see the candy and games that they got and then to our suprise there was a box at the door from Nana and Papa filled with stuffed animals and a few little treats. (Thank You Nana and Papa, we know how busy you are and we appreciate all of the time and love that went into the gift box!!) Don't worry I didn't let them eat ALL of the candy that they had obtained. I took pretty much all of the candy from the hunt and bagged it in little cute flower bags for my nursery kids at church. It was awesome I love killing two birds with one stone. I got rid of a ton of candy and made my little munchkins happy at church.

Sunday was a good day. We woke up and made a wonderfully yummy breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon and orange juice, then we got ready for church. Jonathan and I sang in the Easter Program. The songs that Teresa (choir director) chose were very much inspired. I think that a lot of us needed to hear the message that they spoke. It was quite powerful and we received quite a few compliments. The boys did a great job sitting in the pews. I looked over a couple of times and saw them conducting us. It was quite funny. After church we had dinner over at Andrew and Rebekah's house. Which was so yummy. We all brought something to share. Our contribution was Sweet Corn Bread, Creamy Mushroom Rice, Granny B's Sugar Cookies, and Homemade Almond Marshmallows Dipped in Milk Chocolate Gnash. (I am never going to get this last 15 pounds off of me!!) It was fun to hang out with family and enjoy the holiday. I love to celebrate Christ centered holidays, sometimes it is hard to keep Christ centered in the day to day of everything, so it is wonderful to have the holiday to bring him back to the center of daily life. We hope that you all had a beautiful and peaceful Easter Holiday.

So Much for Knocking on Wood!!

A few weeks ago I was talking with one of my girlfriends about the fact that boys tend to play hard with their wrestling, karate stunts, jumping off of high places and anything else they try to experiment with. I also commented on how I was surprised that Isaac and Owen hadn't had any broken bones from all of their stunts. I even knocked on wood as not to jinx myself. A lot of good that did me because a couple of weeks later I hear a deadly cry coming from Owen and sure enough he and Isaac had managed to break his foot on the side of the couch in the living room. The poor little guy was so sad and in a lot of pain. He was a real trooper while getting his cast on. Everything was new and he was a bit nervous about what the Dr. was doing to his foot and leg, but he kept a stiff upper lip through the whole ordeal. The best part for him was when he got to see his bones in his x-ray. Later that night we all decorated and signed his cast. It made a long day a bit more happy! :)

Christmas and New Year!

Our Holiday Season was jam packed with fun and excitement. On Thursday the 18th, Bekah and Scott along with the Reagster showed up before the Nor Easter could hit. The next day on the 19th my dad and step mom Rita flew in. We were lucky that their flight out of S.L.C was in the morning, because by the time they got here we already had 4 inches of snow with another 10 on its way. We all made it home safe and sound, where it was warm and cozy. It is also where we stayed until Monday the 22nd.


After digging ourselves out of all the snow and packing up the car Monday morning, we headed up to Vermont to go skiing at Jay Peak. It was so beautiful and the snow was amazing! It was also extremely cold!! We had to keep all of our skin covered so it wouldn't freeze and fall off. We rented this great condo. I was surprised at how nice it was. We all got settled in while Rita made her famous potato and cheese soup for dinner, along with grilled cheese sandwhiches, it was very yummy. We started to get ready for bed and realized that it was getting really cold in the house, come to find out the pilot light had been blown out by the high winds, we got the pilot light going again and we were toasty warm the rest of the night.

The next morning we got up nice and early so we could be first in line for the lift and to put the boys in ski school. Bekah and Scott came along for the fun, but Dad, Rita and the Reagster stayed behind in the warmth of the condo. Reagan had been sick earlier in the week and we all had gotten or were getting a touch of what he had. It would have been a great site to see my dad on skis. None the less this was Bekah's first time on skies and we had fun remembering what it was like for us our first time down the mountain. Bekah did great after a bit of coaching from Scott and in time she will be a pro. Isaac and Owen had fun in ski school, Isaac more than Owen I am afraid. Isaac was plowing down the mountain and beating me on his second time down. He loves to ski. Owen didn't like ski school so much because I wasn't there with him, but as soon as I started taking him down the "Bunny Hill" he was in heaven. It scared me a bit to see how much he loves the speed. He didn't want me to stop him, so I had to explain to him that if I didn't stop him, then he was going to crash into every ones skies at the bottom of the hill. I think he understood after that because he didn't get so upset when I jumped in front of him to stop. Jonathan and I had fun making our way down the mountain while the boys were in ski school. He was so sweet to go slower for me, because anyone that knows J knows that he LOVES to ski. We had some good laughs at a couple of my falls that I wasn't so graceful on. It was fun to just hang out for a couple of hours with out the boys. I could kick myself though because I forgot my camera at the condo. It was Owen's first time skiing as well as Bekah's!! Bekah forgot her camera too, so I guess I can't feel too bad. But I would love to have some photos of the day. After we had exhausted all of our energies and Scott's skies got stolen we called it a day and started our journey home. It seemed like it took forever. I was so sick from whatever Reagan had had. We stopped and I got some NyQuil to knock me out. I never fell a sleep, but it did help with the nausea.


Christmas Eve was pretty low key. We made "Ginger Bread Houses". They all turned out pretty cute. It was a fun lesson in team work. Maybe next year everyone will get their own. Later in the afternoon, we made a nice dinner and I got to use my new dishes to set the table. The menu was Ham, smashed potatoes, cranberry and almond stuffing, gravy, sweet corn, spinach salad and Strawberry-Kiwi punch with hot fudge brownie sundaes for desert. It was a good meal. Before the boys headed off to bed to dream of Santa and his reindeer, we read Luke Chapter 2. I love this tradition that we have, it helps to keep the true meaning of Christmas in place and not to get caught up in all of the commercial crap that is out there.



Christmas morning was fun. The boys woke up and climbed in our bed. We snuggled a bit and then we were off to take the traditional picture on the stairs. The boys were good and sat still for a couple of snaps, but that was about it, they were too excited to see what Santa had brought them. We spent the next hour or so opening gifts and giving hugs and kisses to say thank you. The rest of the day was awesome. I spent the whole day in my Pajamas watching movies and talking with family. It was a good day.

Our next event was the Boston Pops. The boys got to stay home with a babysitter and the adults got to have a night out. I love the Symphony and I love Christmas music so this event is one of my favorites of the year. It was also fun to go into the city and see all of the twinkle lights that were up. Keith Lockhart conducted and one of our friends was in the choir the music was fantastic and it was fun to be with family.

For one of the boys Christmas gifts we gave them a trip to Build-A-Bear workshop. The week after Christmas we drove to the Burlington Mall and spent the afternoon at Build-A-Bear. Isaac choose an Alaskan Husky later to be known as "Icy" and Owen chose a Turtle later to be known as "Fibby". Over the next hour and a half we stuffed, gave a heart, sewed up, fluffed (bathed), dressed and named the new best friends. Reagan got a puppy dog that he dressed in dental scrubs. It was so much fun to be able to watch them have so much fun. I love giving the boys experiences as appose to just gifts. They mean more to them and they remember the experience of being with us and having a fun day. We ended our trip at the food court so that we could regain our strength after such a long time in surgery. It is hard work creating a new best friend!! :)

For New Year's we had another HUGE snow storm, we got about 10 inches. Luckily Bekah and I made it to Costco for the celebration must haves before the sky opened up and dumped its contents on us and we had to stay in side off the roads. Don't let the fact that we were confined to our home make you think that we didn't have a great time. I will let the pictures speak for them selves. Yah, we are working on Jonathan's addition to sparkling cider. It has been a long road, but he seems to only fall off the wagon on New Year's Eve. We are grateful for all of your prayers on his behalf. I'll have to keep you posted on his recovery.

We were so sad to see all of our guests leave. We had a great time and it was fun to get to know Rita better. I think that it is safe to say that; "We love you Rita and are happy that you are apart of our family". We wish you all a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Thanksgiving Weekend!

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend. We started out at Jonathan's sisters house with fried turkey (Louisiana style), smashed potatoes, warm gravy, candied yams, green bean casserole, corn bread stuffing, tossed green salad, warm rolls from the oven, jell-0 salad, cherry pie, pumpkin pie, peach pie and apple pie. The food was delish and the company was fun.

Later that evening we left on our adventure to explore down town Boston with the boys. Jonathan booked us two nights at the Sheraton. We arrived in our room and it wasn't 30 seconds before the Tasmanian devils appeared. Clothes went flying all over and yells for swimming trunks came from my two little cyclones. Five minutes later they were out the door and on their way to the pool with daddy. I myself stayed behind for a little R&R since I did a lot of the baking for our Thanksgiving dinner. The next morning we headed out for some nutritious breakfast at Dunkin Donuts, then we hopped on the train to take the boys to the 3D version of BOLT. I wasn't too sure what I was going to think of it, but it turned out to be such a cute movie and the boys really enjoyed it. After the movie we decided to take a stab at ice skating on Frog Pond. Isaac was in heaven, it took him a few minutes to become stable, but once he did, he was flying all around we even had a race. Owen on the other hand preferred to have daddy hold onto him and drag him around in circles. He was a trooper. Maybe next year he will be more interested. For Jonathan it brought back all of his childhood memories of playing peewee hockey. As for me, I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't fall and break anything. Once everyone had had their fill of the ice we headed back to the hotel to get warm in the hot tub, which is Owen's favorite place to be. I think I got him into the pool a total of 12 minutes. He is a lot like me that way. I love hot tubs and hot showers, even though they are bad for your skin. On the other hand Isaac had a great time swimming and jumping in the pool. I snapped this great picture of him in mid air. For dinner we headed out to the Cheese Cake Factory so that Jonathan could indulge in his favorite "Strawberry Cheese Cake". We tired the boys out so much that Owen fell asleep in my lap while eating his pizza. What a kid. The next morning we once again headed to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. Can you tell that the boys were in charge of picking what they wanted. The joy of vacation!! When we were finished we decided that we couldn't leave with out getting a stuffed Lobster and Lobster shaped lollies for each of the boys. We took the train and bus home. It was great to have no worries or cares and just have fun with the boys.

When we arrived home we weren't finished yet. We jumped into the car and headed out to go "Christmas Tree Shopping". We drove over to Lexington to Four Season's. They always have really good trees for not a ton of $$$$. It took us 10 minutes to pick out the tree. It was amazing, we walked in and down one row. I turned and saw it leaning up against a line of trees. I walked over, stood it up and that was that. We put it on our cart and began the ceremonial journey to the cashier, chain saw, twine bin, and finally the top of our car. It was a glorious journey. And a wonderful family weekend.