Saturday, June 28, 2014

The Summer Crazy Begins!

We like to do some big events in the summer. Our biggest had to be the trip to Martha's vineyard. We drove an hour with bikes in tow down to the ferry that would carry us to the island. We were joined by another family of four plus a friend and a dad with his teenage daughter. That made 10 kids and five adults.

Once at the ferry, we parked our cars and loaded bikes and people onto the ferry. That's right. We were doing Martha's vineyard by bike. And half the kids weren't strong bike riders. It was an adventure! We biked 7 miles to a lighthouse and 7 miles back. There were stops along the way for lunch, swimming, carousel-ing, and pizza. I don't know if I'll do it again soon, but definitely an adventure worth having at least once every few years.


On the Bus to the Ferry. Lots of smiles all around. If they only knew.
Taking the ferry across.
The crew about ready to go. I think we're in for quite the day.
Having lunch before the bike ride.
Chad did the bulk of the hauling. The is the first half of the 13 mile ride.
Halfway there
On the way back we stopped to jump off a bridge. And play in the ocean. This was a much needed break.
The day ended with a carousel ride and pizza.
The sunset on the way home. So beautiful.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Kayaks for Fun and Profit

So, I bought some kayaks.
I am a very boring person normally. The most exciting thing that has happened to me is I think the move to Boston. I mean, who moves all the way across the country? A good number of people we have met here, it seems.

So back to the kayaks: why did I pick them up? Because the company I came out here for didn't need them. Why didn't they need them? They were no longer a going concern, meaning they had to close the doors (essentially) since the one product they had, after many years of licensing the product from Microsoft after Microsoft bought it from them, was no longer going to be sold. So time to buy up the assets!

That is how I came to be the owner of two fun kayaks. Now to take them on a little trip...

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

School (Finally) Ends

It seems that we're in school forever. We don't start until September and with snow days, it's almost July. Here are a few end of the school year event photos.

Field Day Fun
You can't beat a day of water play and Popsicles.
Playing after pickup time
A page out of Seth's end of year collage for his teacher
The Kindergarten concert
Greg's Choir Concert
Another Kindergarten classroom event
Really, those Kindergarteners get all the fun activities. Too bad I love to go and take tons of pictures. It's so fun to see them learn and grow throughout the year.

Goodbye 3rd and Kindergarten (and 1st for the photobomber)

See you later 6th grade (gotta love the socks).

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Foam Fest

I ran my first OCR (obstacle course race) and loved it. It wasn't really about the running and more about the mud and water. So much fun. Unfortunately Foam Fest went bankrupt a month later. I was hoping to bring the big kids along next year. Oh well. We'll have to find another fun one for them to do.

                       Another great race with Liz and Jill. We had to include the Ragnar headbands.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Soccer Wrap Up

Oh, man, another season of soccer is basically over. Gman and Kiwi have fun playing, but it sure is a time commitment. It is always right smack in the middle of the day, and then you have to run around getting them to the right place at the right time wearing the right clothes, many times having to fight the traffic on the way there.
Kiwi at practice
Gman playing some hard defense

Monday, June 9, 2014

My 6,754th Birthday

The only way that I get on the picture list is when I have some self-centered celebration. I keep trying to confuse the kids as to my real age, trying to set the stage for later in life when I magically skip down a few years and dye a few grey hairs. But that hasn't happened yet, so I sate myself on sugary delights.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Sunday Walking

One of my favorite things to do on Sunday in the afternoon is go on walks with the kids. Normally it is made of me and Kiwi, and some number of kids (0 or more). Luann gets a bit of a break from the crazy that is our house on Sunday afternoons. Now, don't get me wrong: we aren't gone more than a half hour. Kiwi loves it most, and she and I have had many a fun time just the two of us wandering the neighborhood. The other item to note is that this is not limited to just the nice weather days. We have been known to bundle up on cold days and go out for a short walk.

Since we live around fresh water streams and ponds, we often find ourselves near one of the streams a quarter mile away. Sometimes we toss leaves in the water and race them (JW likes to throw in sticks), and we have even ventured into the water a little.


After a day filled with little ones running maniacally around the house, I see now why my parents always made us get on our bikes and go on a walk on Sundays growing up.