The Powell Family

60 degrees!

2012-02-06T20:26:00.000-05:00

It hit 60 degrees in Boston on February 1st...our freakishly warm winter continues! Henry and I took advantage of the balmy temps and headed to the playground...

Ski Weekend 2012

2012-02-06T20:23:00.000-05:00

We have a computer again!!! The new desk/office area for Mike is still not quite complete (you have to love contractors!) but it is complete enough to hook up the computer again and we finally have access to photos and the blog. So, now we need to back track a bit to Martin Luther King Jr. weekend...

We headed to New Hampshire for our second annual ski weekend with the Munds (Jake's family), the LeWinter-Christs (Meredith and Liam's family) and the Hoffman-Dhars (Lila and Akash's family). We rented the same house and took the kids to the same mountain (Pat's Peak). The main difference was that for our ski weekend last year we had already had an unbelievable amount of snow (over 60 inches in Boston, more in New Hampshire). This year we have had...basically none (I am not complaining! Although poor Henry is desperate to build a snowman...) The weekend before we arrived there was literally no snow on the mountain - only trails with man made snow were open. We lucked out and had our second snow "event" of the year (the first since our infamous Halloween snow) a few days before we left...in Boston we only got about 2 inches that melted in a day, but where we were skiing had about 6 inches that stuck. Not enough to open additional trails (or the play area at the ski resort that we enjoyed so much last year), but enough to give the ground a covering and give the kids something to play with in the backyard.

On Saturday morning we headed to the slopes:

Mike decided to take advantage of a lesson - his first time on skis!

Henry had a lot of fun again, but wasn't as fearless as last year. Considering that the next day he came down with the evil 2 week cold, I am not surprised in retrospect.

After skiing and lunch at the slopes, the kids played outside the house in the snow for a bit:

Then warmed up inside:

Sunday was FREEZING, so we spent the morning hanging out inside (and not taking any pictures, apparently!) It was a fun weekend, and we certainly hope we are able to continue the tradition next year!

Updates

2012-01-27T10:40:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the neglect the past few weeks. The lack of posts is due to:

1) having had no regular computer for 2 weeks (we are in the process of moving Mike's office to make room for the baby's room, and anyone who has dealt with contractors and carpenters I am sure knows that there are a whole lot of delays and annoyances involved.) The ipad does not make it easy to load pictures.

2) Henry and I both having the worst cold in existence for the past 2 weeks (he is home from school yet again today - - I just want one of us to sleep through the night at some point.) And...

3) Me having food poisoning over the weekend (well...to be honest this in no way affected the blog, but I just want to throw it out there to add to my pity party.)

We should hopefully have our regular computer hooked back up this weekend, so I will be able to load up our pictures from our skiing adventure a few weeks ago. Until then, cross your fingers that the evil cold vacates our house quickly!

Old Forge

2012-01-11T20:10:00.001-05:00

We headed out on another Powell adventure this past weekend, this time to the Adirondacks (specifically Old Forge, NY) to visit some of my old college friends. Mike and Henry were both big troopers, doing a 6 hour drive there early Saturday morning, then a 6 hour drive back Sunday night all so I could spend some time with my far-flung friends. It was much appreciated by me.

We stayed at my friend Rene's vacation cabin in Old Forge:

where it was picturesque enough for Henry to watch deer off of the deck:

There was actually snow, so Henry got to relish in all the winter activities he has missed so far:

Everyone got in on the action:

Some runs were a bit death defying:

There were snowball fights (mainly led by Mike):

Long snow hikes:

And of course, lots of time with old friends:

Thank you to everyone for a great, snowy weekend!

Vermont

2012-01-04T19:43:00.000-05:00

One of my Christmas gifts from Mike and Henry was a quick New Years getaway to Vermont - a few days of spa treatments (for me), swimming in the indoor pool (for Mike and Henry), shopping (for me), and LOTS of food for everyone.

We went to Manchester - a town we have stayed in several times before - and had our first stay at the Equinox Resort:

We had a fun, two story room where Henry got to sleep in the "tower" with 360 degree views of Manchester:

It was very cozy being in Vermont with all the Christmas decorations still up:

Our last day we actually saw some snow finally show up! (It has been a very unusually snow-less winter thus far. Please note that after last winter I am NOT complaining):

And Henry warmed up at our all-time favorite breakfast place:

Not too many pictures (I may have been too busy luxutiating in spa treatments!) but it was a wonderful trip, and many thanks to Mike and Henry for setting up my surprise!

Newport

2011-12-31T14:36:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we took a day trip to Newport, Rhode Island to have Henry see some of the "cottages" decorated for Christmas.

We toured The Breakers:

(Alas, no photos allowed inside.) Henry was GREAT. He wore his headphones and did the audio tour with us. Was very good about not touching anything, being quiet, looking for different architectural details they mentioned, etc. Most of the tour information on society life at the time were beyond him, but he was remarkably patient.

After touring the interior we spent some time outside.

It was a fun day!

Christmas 2012

2011-12-26T18:12:00.000-05:00

It was a wonderful Christmas this year! Aunt Gina took the train from New York City on Friday evening to join in the festivities. This year we decided to do our big meal on Christmas Eve, thus leaving Christmas Day free for lounging, playing (with new toys and the Wii!) and eating delicious leftovers. So, on Christmas Eve Henry helped Mike make our Christmas meal:

Then, we baked and decorated more cookies for Santa:

Here is our plate of embarrassing cookies (embarrassing in that only one was made by a 4 year old. I won't say which. Note poor, broken Tiny Tim with his toothpick crutch)

We opened our traditional Christmas Eve pajamas:

Which he then insisted on wearing to dinner:

We put out cookies and milk for Santa:

And headed to bed.

For the last month Henry has been requesting that Santa bring him "a recycling truck with a side mechanical arm and more cars from the movie Cars (of which he already has many)". Santa did not disappoint (and even threw in a marble run!):

Christmas morning arrived:

Henry was amazingly patient and waited in his room until his clock said 7 (his usual rule), then came out to discover his Santa gifts:

We moved on to stockings:

Before taking a break for breakfast. After we ate, we moved on to the gifts:

Most of the morning was spent playing with his many new toys:

Helping Mike with his new SodaStream:

And much relaxing and MarioKart playing.

We were sad to see Aunt Gina off this morning, but Henry is off from school this week and we have some fun things planned for the last week of 2011 to fill our time. Happy Holidays everyone!!!

Holiday Weekend

2011-12-20T20:47:00.001-05:00

We had a fairly festive weekend!

On Saturday morning we headed out again to the Boston POPS Holiday show.

Henry really enjoyed it again. He was completely enthralled for the first few pieces. Musical readings of "the Grinch" and "The Night Before Christmas" pulled him back in. Santa appeared at the end, which was very exciting for him. For a 4 year old sitting through 90 minutes at the symphony he did very well :)

Immediately after we had to run to his friend Kyu-Chan's fifth birthday party (once again at My Gym, that mecca of all preschool parties. Henry is now very insistent that he wants his fifth birthday party here as well, so be expecting more of the same pictures in a few months...)

On Sunday we put together Henry's first gingerbread house (from a kit, of course. I am not THAT crazy).

Note the sprinkles that somehow made it All.Over.The.Table (and floor)

The finished product - modeled with Whizby, our "Elf on a Shelf"

Holiday Party

2011-12-13T15:02:00.001-05:00

This past weekend we hosted our now annual holiday party with some of Henry's best friends.

The kids decorated sugar cookies:

Trimmed the tree:

Lit the Menorah and played dreidel:

And had a gift exchange:

I was sadly lax with the camera so not many great photos, but it was a great time!

Santa

2011-12-10T18:11:00.001-05:00

Henry was once again an old pro with meeting Santa. He has wavered a bit with what his main Santa request is - nothing is sticking out clearly like the monorail from last year. His current list consists of "more cars from the movie Cars, but not any of the ones I already own" and a recycling truck. We think Santa may be able to accomodate.

The Polar Express

2011-12-05T18:51:00.001-05:00

This weekend was our annual "Polar Express" trip with our little train lover. We broke out the holiday PJs and headed to the North Pole to see Santa.

There was a dramatic reading of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"

Hot cocoa and cookies were served:

Carols were sung:

And upon arrival at the North Pole, Santa was spotted:

The Christmas season is officially here!

Pajama Day

2011-11-30T20:03:00.000-05:00

Is in any surprise that on "pajama day" at school, Henry picks the most garish set of pajamas known to man?

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-28T19:44:00.000-05:00

This year we headed to Florida for Thanksgiving and a visit with Grandpa Tim, Nene, and Aunt Gina. Although the weather has been unseasonably warm in Boston, we certainly weren't complaining about the even warmer temperatures in Florida.

Henry enjoyed beach time:

Pool time:

Park time:

And actually ate Thanksgiving dinner this year!

It was exhausting:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Camping

2011-11-20T12:15:00.000-05:00

We had a marathon leaf raking session in the backyard today. Near the end, Henry decided it would be a good idea to have a campout, with our chiminea acting as campfire:

(please ignore the camo blanket he has...it was a joke gift - actually a camo Snuggie 0 that alas he has decided to like).

Superhero Race

2011-11-06T12:05:00.000-05:00

The day before HAlloween I was supposed to run a 5K with a group of friends. It was the "Superhero" 5K that I did last year, where you dress in costume as your favorite Superhero (last year we all dressed as "Hunger Games" tributes!). Alas, this year we had a lovely snowstorm the night before, and when we awoke that morning there was still a lot of snow, ice, and slush on the ground, so we all wimped out.

One of the disappointments was that before the 5K there was to be a kids' race, and all the kids were going to dress in costume. Since the kids had been looking forward to that, we decided to hold our own kids' superhero race the next weekend, once all the snow had left.

I'll give you three guesses as to who the mom is who forgot to bring her child's costume to the race, and the first two don't count. Luckily, Henry didn't care and had a great time.

Happy Halloween!!!

2011-10-31T20:14:00.000-04:00

We have had a busy few Halloween themed days! We started off with a pumpkin decorating get together:

Followed my a small Halloween Party on Saturday night. The kids played "donuts on a string" which was HYSTERICAL to see (the adults also had a round, but alas, no pictures):

Henry carved his first jack-o-lantern:

And then tonight we gathered with a group of friends for trick or treating!

Some of the houses go crazy with their decorations....

Happy Halloween!!!

The Flash

2011-10-23T19:24:00.000-04:00

It was our annual MOMS Club Halloween Party this afternoon, so we broke out the Halloween costume for the first time:

Our speedy little guy chose very well this year!

He was serious about his muscles:

Once at the party Henry hung out with his friends:

Danced to the music:

And did some crafts:

An excellent start to the Halloween season.

Lookout Farm

2011-10-23T18:49:00.000-04:00

We needed a few more pumpkins in preparation for next weekend, and decided that instead of a regular, plain pumpkin patch that we would head over to Lookout Farm with Henry's friend Jake. Lookout Farm has it all - lots of pick your own fruit, a "train" ride to the various orchards, animals, rides, a giant children's play area...

Henry loved the playground:

He and Jake climbed the hay pyramid:

Went through the maze dozens of times:

Got on a camel with me (by the way, camel riding is scary! Note the grip I have on Henry. The kids were unphased, though.....)

Rode the caterpillar ride:

And watched a magic show:

Oh yes, and we did manage to get some pumpkins on our way out:

Soccer

2011-10-22T19:48:00.000-04:00

As Daylight Savings (also known as 4 PM sunset) and the thought of impending snow starts to fill our minds, we begin the annual tradition of desperately looking for ways to fill our time during a long Boston winter. Today, a group of us tried out a new soccer program for the kids...one that has INDOOR SPACE (oddly rare for here). This soccer class seemed a lot more fun for the kids than the one we tried the other year - the coaches were very enthusiastic and seemed more equipped in general in dealng with the pre-school set. Henry and his friends had a blast:

So, now we have at least one winter activity set!

Vermont

2011-10-11T22:34:00.000-04:00

We had our annual Columbus Day Weekend trip to Vermont this past weekend - always one of our favorite trips of the year. This time we mixed things up a bit by changing our location to Stowe (we usually stay in the Manchester/Dorset area) and by staying at a resort instead of renting a house. Even with the lack of foliage (it has been a very warm fall) and the damage from Hurricane Irene, Vermont was gorgeous as always.

We stayed at the Stowe Mountain Lodge which was absolutely wonderful:

We had a nice view of the mountain and ski slopes from our suite:

We got in on Friday afternoon and hung out at the resort for the rest of the day. On Saturday morning we headed over to the nearby Von Trapp Family Lodge (yes, THAT Von Trapp family) to take a hike on their beautiful grounds:

Then we had a great lunch of Austrian food at their restaurant overlooking the mountains.

Back at the resort Henry and Mike perfected their shuffleboard skills:

Then we drove around a bit to admire the local scenery:

On Sunday we rented bikes and spent the morning on Stowe's great bike path- they had various art installations scattered about on it which Henry really enjoyed:

Back at the resort that afternoon we checked out their outdoor amenities.Henry went on the bungee jump, which may have been one of his favorite activities of all time:

Then we took the chair lift up to the alpine slide (alas, no pictures of the slide since I was holding onto my brake with a death grip. MIke and Henry started at the same time as me, and I finished a good minute after them. A daredevil I am not)

On Monday we took the scenic way home and stopped at a local orchard to do yet more apple picking. I apparently was camera-ed out though, since I didn't take a single picture for some reason. It was a wonderful trip, and I definitely think we will be returning to Stowe!

Fair

2011-10-11T21:52:00.000-04:00

We attempted to go to the Topsfield Fair last weekend, but the weather was too rainy. Since Henry always has a lot of fun at the fair, we decided to squeeze in a stop on Friday on our way to Vermont.

Of course, Henry's favorite part was the rides:

He played a midway game (hitting baloons with darts) and won a lovely inflatable monkey:

Checked out the animals:

Saw New England's largest pumpkin:

And tested his strength:

Other than a tantrum over us not buying him the world's most annoying toy horn (which every single other parent at the fair seemed to buy their child....how they could stand the noise I do not know) thus forcing us to miss the elephant ride (oh well, lesson learned by our tantruming son) we had a great, if tiring, time. Hopefully next year the weather will coperate so we don't need to squeeze our fun in at the beginning of a road trip...

More Tennis!

2011-10-05T19:57:00.000-04:00

A few more pictures of Henry in his tennis class!

Apple Picking

2011-09-27T14:04:00.000-04:00

This past weekend we had a fun visit from Aunt Gina. Unfortunately, the weather was not very cooperative - rainy on Saturday and abnormally hot and humid on Sunday. We decided to get in the fall spirit anyway with a trip to Connors Farm.

Henry started off on the giant bounce pillow:

Then moved on to the corn maze:

Alas, the weather was so unseasonably muggy that we didn't last long in the maze. Poor Henry, sweat streaming down him, had a mini break down 10 minutes in exclaiming "I'm too hot! I want to leave the maze! PLEASE!!!!" So, we abandoned our effort and recuperated with rubber duck races:

The apple cannon:

Some tetherball:

And, of course, apple picking:

THen Henry found a cool tire swing:

And we finished off with a trip to the pumpkin patch:

On the way home we toook a quick detour to Salem:

Where we got to visit a pirate museum:

As well as the witch trial memorial (we like to get in the Hallowee spirit early!)

It was a fun visit with Aunt Gina - thanks for making the trip!

Tennis!

2011-09-21T19:58:00.000-04:00

Today was Henry's first tennis lesson! He has been interested in tennis for a long time and was VERY excited about it. I kept trying to explain to him that he would need to start with fundamentals and probably wouldn't actually be hitting a ball over the net today, but he was in a bit of denial. He kept saying "but mom, I KNOW how to play tennis already so I can go ahead and hit the ball over the net!". Alas, no balls were actually hit today, but he and Jake still had a great time.

Here he is poised and ready:

Practicing some swings:

Ball drills:

Coach Isaac has assured Henry that next week they get to try hitting the ball - should be interesting!

Preschool!

2011-09-12T21:53:00.000-04:00

Today was Henry's first day at his new preschool!

Yes, he is wearing the same Lightning McQueen t-shirt he wore yesterday and insisted I wash last night so he could wear it agan. And here he is showing off his Lightning McQueen back pack:

What you cannot see inside: his Lightning McQueen lunchbox. Yes, the kid loves "Cars".

He had a great first day!

Henry Fun Week

2011-09-11T21:47:00.000-04:00

After our return from Park City Mike promptly left the next day for a business trip to Kenya (which, due to some delays he actually ended up spending a day in London and only being in Kenya for 15 hours, but that is another story). Henry was also off school this week, so we decided it should be "Mommy Henry Fun Week". We had all sorts of plans for what we would do before preschool started up again.

Unfortunately, it then poured rain for 4 days.

But, Henry and I perservered!

We went to the aquarium (again) where Henry spent about an hour at the touch tank:

We had a group of friends over for a play group, where they did this to his room (what happens when you think the kids are playing "quietly" in his room!)

We spent a day at the Children's Museum:

Went bowling with Jake:

And out to a dinner where the kids got balloon hats:

An excellent week of fun!

Park City

2011-09-06T21:31:00.000-04:00

This Labor Day weekend the Powells travelled to Park City, Utah for the annual Powell/Cary/Rohde family get together. Park City is a place we have always wanted to visit, so we were all very excited.

Henry was great on the two flights there. However, upon arrival he was SO excited to see Nana, Papa, and the rest of the family, that he promptly fell into the corner of a chair with his face, resulting in the lovely band aid/gash/black eye you will see in all subsequent photos (probably for the next few weeks...). Here he is showing that he doesn't let a little thing like a face wound bring him down:

On Saturday we had a morning of fun in the mountains. Henry got to go on his first ski lift:

Then got to take the alpine slide back down:

He also got to try out the Alpine Coaster, which was a big hit:

After the thrill rides he got to try rock climbing in different forms:

Then we headed to Olympic Park to watch some freestyle ski jumping:

(I really need to start carrying my zoom lens with me...)

On Sunday we spent most of the day enjoying Main Street in Park City:

Where we enjoyed an art street fair and had lunch. Henry spent some time on a playground:

Then the Cary family helped him with his card shark skills:

While Mike, Patrick, Carrie and I went on a local "tour of homes" that was going on (unfortunately photography wasn't allowed. Too bad since these houses were absolutely amazing)

We had dinner on Main Street again:

Where Nana kept Henry well occupied despite the power outage that kept delaying things:

Then, it was back to Boston on Monday (with a 5 hour delay in DC that we will not speak of. Luckily, MIke had the genius idea to finally teach Henry "Angry Birds". The iPad saves the day!)

We had a great time, with the only flaw being that the trip was too short. As always we loved being able to get together with so many family members at one time - thanks to everyone for being there!

Aquarium Birthday

2011-08-31T20:54:00.000-04:00

Henry's good friend Lila is turning 4 this weekend. In addition to her birthday party this weekend (which we will sadly miss) she also wanted to take a trip to the aquarium with some of her closest friends. So, this afternooon we joined Lila and Meredith for an aquarium birthday celebration.

The kids had a great time watching the fish and penguins. Sharks were the favorite - every time one would swim by in the center tank they would all simultaneously scream "SHARK!!! SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRK!!!!!":

Afterwards we had a picnic dinner on the harbor:

Of course with cupcakes:

Happy Birthday Lila!

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-29T21:44:00.004-04:00

It was much hyped here in Boston, but we ended up escaping the brunt of Irene (just a tropical storm by the time it hit us). Although our weather forecasters predicted much gloom and doom, we got away with a whole lot of rain, and winds of about 50 mph. Not too bad. We also lucked out and kept our power the whole time.

Since we had to hunker down all day Sunday with our outdoor furniture moved inside, amongst many flashlights, bottles of water, and hurricane rations, we spent most of our time...

Playing play-doh:

Burning off some energy with indoor scooting:

Finding novel ways to enjoy our hurricane flashlights:

And watching the movie "Cars" more times that I care to admit:

And after all that....this was about the extent of the damage on our street:

(I exaggerate slightly - a huge tree actually fell at Henry's school just down the road and just missed the building. Plus, hundered of other trees all around town are down and a lot of people still without power. We got lucky!)

Story Land and Mt. Washington

2011-08-21T20:05:00.009-04:00

We took a trip to New Hampshire this weekend with Jake and his family to visit Story Land - a medium sized amusement park that is supposedly a big hit with the preschool crowd. I was a little worried because Henry kept being confused and calling it "Toy Story Land" in the weeks leading up to our trip, and I was concereed he would be disappointed when Buzz and Woody weren't there to great him. I was wrong, though, and he and Jake had a great time:

Loading onto a roller coaster:

On the log ride:

Competing:

The flying fish:

Shooting water cannons at the pirate ship:

Playing with the talking tree:

This morning we took a brief hike to a place called Diana's Bath, where they had a little waterfall and a place for the kids to wade:

After that, the familes split up and we took our little train lover to Mount Washington to ride the cog railway - the oldest cog train in the United States:

The track leading up from the base station:

The train goes about 6 miles per hour up to the summit of Mount WAshington - it is the 2nd steepest mountain train in the world, and the only one built entirely on a trestle. You can kind of get a feel for the grade in some of the pictures:

There was great weather at the top:

Mount Washington is known for having some of the worst weather in the world:

And only sees about 60 clear days a year, so we lucked out!

Before heading back down we explored the Mount Washington museum and Henry rock climbed his way to the summit - the highest point in the northeast:

(I climbed Mount Washington as a hiker a few years ago, and let me tell you - the cog railway is definitely the way to go!)

It was a great little weekend away!

Pool

2011-08-09T19:55:00.006-04:00

Earlier this summer a group of us bought a package of dsiscounted passes to a local swimming pool (a great deal - a regular summer family membership for it is $900 - holy smokes!!!!) and this weekend was the first time that we were able to bring Henry.

The pool was a little oasis in the middle of the hot city:

(right by Mass General and the Museum of Science, for those familiar with Boston)

Henry threw on his water wings, grabbed some noodles, and dove right in.

We have been slacking on the swim lessons lately - we definitely need to get him back in them. He loves the water!

Mad Scientist

2011-08-05T18:58:00.004-04:00

Concerts

2011-08-03T20:16:00.005-04:00

Now that we are back from our vacations, we have been able to take advantage of the fun summer activities right in our backyard. The Wednesday night concert series is always one of our favotites. The kids eat a picnic dinner, play on the playground, and show off impressive dance moves when the music starts.

The ice cream truck always comes by, which is obviously a highlight for Henry.

Tonight he finally wore me down and convonved me to get him a neon green Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtle "ice cream". It turned his lips and tongue BLACK. Not a pretty sight.

Family

2011-07-26T20:09:00.002-04:00

We had a great night having dinner with my cousin Drew, his parents (my Uncle Don and Aunt Kathy), wife Beth, and kids Alex and Caroline. Henry loved their swingset, and he and Alex were running around like best friends (despite a 7 year age difference). It is rare that we are able to get together with the extended Grandi family, so we really enjoyed our time with them.

3 generations of Grandis (and Grandi/Powells!):

Cape Cod

2011-07-25T13:24:00.001-04:00

We had a wonderful week on Cape Cod. We lucked out in picking the week of the major heat wave in Boston....104 back at our house, but nice and breezy on the Cape :)

We rented a house in Orleans with 3 other familes (the same group we went skiing with last winter). 8 adults, 4 four year old, and 2 two year olds made for a lot of fun (and a lot of towels constantly drying on the porch!)

We cycled between 3 local beaches, and went to a different one every day - sometimes twice a day. Henry was loving the beach:

Henry's favorite beach activity was pulling Jake on the boogie board:

We all rented bikes one day to cruise the Cape Cod "Rail Trail". Henry was a huge fan of the "tag-along" bike:

Another day we went for a hike:

And then (of course) stopped for ice cream:

One night we took the big kids to the clam bake at the Chatham Bars Inn:

They got to sit at their own table, which they we very pleased by:

There was a giant lobster wandering about:

And after dinner the kids got to play on the beach:

It was a great vacation - thank you to our friends for sharing it with us!

Quick Update

2011-07-23T15:58:00.004-04:00

We are back in Boston! We spent the last seven days on Cape Cod with three other familes. 8 adults, 6 kids, 1 house, and lots of beaches - it was a great time. We seem to have transported half the sand from the Cape back into our house...while we settle back at home nd get things together, here are some brief pictures from our trip to tide everyone over until the full recap goes up:

Plum Island

2011-07-09T20:33:00.015-04:00

Mike had his last day at his old position on June 30th, and doesn't start his new position until July 25th (hooray for three week vacations!), so we decided to spend some family time at the beach! We rented a house on Plum Island, which is a little island off the coast of Newburyport (about 45 minutes north of Boston). G Pa flew into town to spend some time with us, and we lucked out with great weather while we were there.

The house was wonderful - great space, perfect sunset views over the salt marsh, and only 2 blocks from the beach (of course, the entire island is basically two blocks from the beach, but that is OK!)

A lot of time was spent on the deck. Relaxing:

Eating:

And watching the sunsets:

We were at the beach every day. Henry LOVED it:

We spent a morning in Gloucester:

And another morning at the wildlife refuge on one side of the island:

The horseflies were VICIOUS there. Mike attempted to keep them off Henry by doing a crazy dance around him:

But nothing would stop them. They were evil.

For the 4th, we hung out at the beach and then had a BBQ for dinner. Right before we ate, however, am insanely severe thunderstorm moved in and we had to evacuate indoors:

The house had an incredible view of fireworks - we could see the displays from 3 different neighboring towns (plus, most of the neighbors put on their own displays).

We spent time in downtown Newburyport:

And our friends Aly and Mike, and their son Jack, came to spend an afternoon with us:

Jack and Henry had a ball together. It was so much fun to watch!

There was also a whole lot of food - our favorites were the Clam Box (famous, of course), and Bob Lobster's, right down the road from us (nothing like loads of fried sea food!):

Thanks to G Pa for travelling here and spending some time with us. It was a great time!

Farmer Henry

2011-06-28T15:05:00.007-04:00

Today we played hooky from school and went on an adventure to Davis' Farmland with Jake, Lila, and Meredith. This is always one of our favorite summertime actvities.

Henry got to hold kittens:

And a baby goat:

Many animals were fed:

We went on a pony ride:

Then we headed to the splash area:

The bubble pit was out again:

And a giant inflatable slip n' slide was a big hit:

It was exhausing, but fun!

New York, New York

2011-06-27T13:53:00.009-04:00

We are back from a long weekend in New York City visiting Aunt Gina! It was a great trip (made even better by the fact that this year there was no exorcist vomiting - on Henry's part - and no food poisoning - on Mike and Gina's part. Hooray!)

Henry and I headed down Thursday morning on the train. The train, of course, was almost the most exciting part for Henry. We had a bit of an issue at first because when we got on none of the people on the train would move their seat to allow Henry and I to sit next to each other, so for the first 20 minutes or so we had to sit apart. Then, Dave the conductor came in and discovered our predicament. He basically shamed everyone in the car (by yelling very loudly "Do you mean to tell me no one in this car woould move their seat to allow you to sit next to your young child??!!?? It's all "Me, Me, Me these days, isn't it!") and moved us into some reserved seats. I love conductor Dave.

Thursday was pretty rainy, so we mostly hung out at Aunt Gina's Henry is obsessed with her cats:

Friday we headed out to the Brooklyn Children's Museum:

And then spent more time desperately trying to get the cats to play with his toys:

Mike got in late Friday night, and Saturday morning we all trooped downtown to the Museum of Natural History to see the dinosaurs again - they were having a special exhibit on "the World's Largest Dinosaurs", so we figured we needed to do a return trip. They had a fossil excavation area that Henry really liked:

And here he is with his pouty "no pictures, please" face:

All smiles with Mike, though!:

After the msueum, we spent the rest of the day in Central Park:

Saturday night Gina kindly watched Henry for us, so that Mike and I could go out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary:

We went out to eat at Aquavit , which is a restaurant we have wanted to try for as long time (It isn't easy to find good Scandinavian food....some may say it is an oxymoron!). The food eas excellent, although since we decided to go for the tasting menu, I did indeed have to eat some herring (the things I eat for love...first the squirrel soup in Prague, now herring). Oh, and Will.I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas was sitting by us - fun!

Sunday we headed out to brunch and then the playground:

Before heading back to Penn Station and a train ride home.

Thank you to Aunt Gina for hosting us - we had a great time!

Magic

2011-06-22T21:43:00.004-04:00

This evening was Henry's preschool's annual family picnic, complete with magician for the kids. Of course, this being New England, it was pouring rain so we had to move inside the school. A little more crowded and not as much fun as the park, but what can you do?

The kids ate and played:

Had slushies:

Then settled in for the magic show:

Henry LOVED it. He thought it was the most hysterical thing he has ever seen - he could barely contain himself:

At one point, after a sequence involving numerous magic wands that kept changing colors, he yelled out "That was just SO SO MUCH MAGIC!!!!"

He REALLY wanted to be selected as a helper but alas was not. He took it gracefully, though:

It was so fun to watch him:

Looks like we may need to search out more magic shows for him...

Father's Day Weekend

2011-06-19T22:17:00.005-04:00

Happy Father's Day to all the dads, step-dads, fathers in law, and father figures out there!

We had a fun Father's Day weekend. On Saturday we decided to take Henry on a spontaneous zoo trip.

The weather was perfect, and Henry had a great time at the zoo playground:

And on some rides:

Animals, of course were also seen:

He loved the butterfly house and waited very patiently hoping a butterfly would land on him (alas, it was not to be):

Sarurday night we went out to dinner at The Fireplace:

(Yes, I am still stuck on the Hipstamatic. I promise to stop soon.)

And then Athan's for gelato:

This morning Henry decided to wrap Mike's gifts using his Magnatiles (inventive!):

Then we headed out to a pancake breakfast:

Alas, Mike actually had to go into the office for a while today. but luckily it wasn't long and we got to spend the afternoon in the backyard, playing and grilling for dinner. It was a great weekend.

Happy Father's Day to Mike - we love you!

Hipstamatic

2011-06-13T21:29:00.004-04:00

OK, let me start by saying that I kow this post is old news - we are about 3 years at least behind the times. BUT - we finally made the switch and got iPhones this weekend. One of my favorite apps that I have seen people use is the "hipstamatic", which makes the pictures you take look like those old school photos from our youth. So, I took a million photos today of Henry, as he would have been seen about 25-30 years ago (am I that old?):

I promise my obsession will end fairly soon. Maybe.

Rainy Saturday

2011-06-11T21:20:00.000-04:00

Today was supposed to be our big MOMS Club Family Barbecue. Alas, the weather had other plans (50 degrees and rain? In JUNE??? Come on New England...) So instead we met up with Jake and headed to The Children's Museum.

Mike and Henry waiting for butterflies to land on them:

They had a Wizard of Oz exhibit (kind of random) that Henry really liked:

And of course the construction room was a big hit:

Slip Slidin' Away

2011-06-08T21:49:00.003-04:00

It hit 90 degrees here today, so we broke out the slip n' slide!

Henry and Jake didn't quite get the full concept of running and sliding (and to be honest, we didn't work very hard to teach them correct form, assuming that it could lead to potential disaster), but they had a great time anyway:

Santa Fe

2011-06-08T14:19:00.011-04:00

On Friday Nana and Papa flew into Boston to watch Henry and let me and Mike head out for a mini vacation. We decided to go to Santa Fe, since neither of us had been there before and it promised all that we were looking for: good weather, relaxation, beautiful scenery....

We stayed at an outstanding resort, The Encantado

Our casita:

The first day we relaxed at the resort - I had some amazing spa treatments, we spent time at the pool, went on a short hike, and then went into town for a wonderful dinner at Geronimo's (I had the elk - tasty!):

On Sunday we spent the day in town, touring art galleries:

Having guacamole and sangria at Coyote Cafe:

And admiring the architecture:

On Monday we headed to Hyde State Park to hike:

This sign gave me pause:

For lunch we went back into Santa Fe where I had the best sandwich of my life at Cafe Pasquale:

And then headed out for a drive to Tent Rocks National Monument:

We came home last night to a very happy Henry who had obviously had an outstanding time with Nana and Papa. Thank you both so much for coming and taking such good care of our little guy - we really appreciate it!

Carnival

2011-06-02T20:43:00.004-04:00

We headed to a local school carnival this afternoon with Jake, and the kids had a great time:

Memorial Day

2011-05-31T21:28:00.006-04:00

We had a fun Memorial Day with lots of friends breaking in the grill for the season. It was a combination Memorial Day celebration, a celebration for the runners (Me and Michelle for the half, Shoma and Robin for the 5 mile, and Kiera and Jim for the Boston Marathon. They win.), and a good-bye gathering for Melissa and Alexander who are sadly leaving Brookline and moving back to London.

We broke out the pool:

(How many kids can you get in a kiddie pool?)

The jumbo fun ball:

(don't ask how many kids - and adults - got crammed in that)

And the stomp rocket:

Mike was a force to be reckoned with on the grill:

There were lots of shennanigans with a tricycle:

Of course there were 'Smores:

And cake:

The ladies:

It was a great time. Thank you to all of our friends for being with us, and to Alexander and Melissa, we will miss you terribly! Watch out for the London invasion - we'll all come visit soon!

Cross it off the Bucket List...

2011-05-29T18:09:00.005-04:00

Anyone who knows me will tell you I am in no way athletic. I did things like the tennis team in high school and the soccer team in middle school, but I was really, really bad at them. As an adult, if I could avoid sweating in any way, I did.

Then, in January I had a crazy idea to run a half marathon. It was one of those things that was on my bucket list, but always in a nebulous "future" sort of way. I had done a few 5K's at that point (my first last September), and in a haze of champagne on New Year's I decided to sign up for the Run to Remember Half Marathon. Then I told a bunch of people I had signed up. Then my friend Michelle decided to run it with me. Unfortunately, that then meant I couldn't fake an injury or back out.

Training was no fun, but I was excited to actually do the race. Last night, I started to panic somewhat though - what the heck was I thinking trying to run 13.1 miles?? My longest training run had been a few 10-milers, so I would be going 3 miles further than I had ever run. But, all of a sudden I found myself in the corral with Michelle starting off - I was offially insane.

The weather wasn't great for running - about 70 degrees and almost 90% humidity at 8 AM. That slowed us down, but I felt great for the first 6 miles. Miles 7-10 were OK. Then, a little before mile 10 my left knee gave out (I had been having IT band issues with both knees during training). It hurt to run - a LOT. It also hurt to walk. Going downhill was agony. I kind of had to hobble the last few miles. I looked like I was drunk.

But, I did it!!! My goal was to average 10 minute miles and finish in 2 hours, 10 minutes. Due to my knee, a slow start (over 9,000 runners meant we were pretty bottle necked for the first 3 miles), and a quick port-a-potty break we didn't make that goal., but Michelle and I average 10:35 minute miles and finished in 2 hours, 18 minutes! (also, just to note that my GPS running watch says we actually ran almost 13.5 miles, not 13.1...but I guess I am being nit picky).

Here we are running by Mike, Henry, and Michelle's family - we are right at the finish here, so I looks slightly crazed - I was so happy to see Mike and Henry, and that finish line!

And, running to the finish line (under the pedestrian bridge):

After the race - sitting!:

So, now I can say I have run a half-marathin and cross it off my "to-do" list. While I had a great time, I can guarantee you I will never, ever, ever run a full marathon. Now THAT would be crazy!

Kid's Race

2011-05-28T12:53:00.007-04:00

This morning we headed down to the World Trade Center to pick up our numbers for the half-marathon tomorrow.

The guys all walking in to the Trade Center:

Our route tomorow (dear Lord, all the way out past Harvard and back!):

With Michelle - both of us trying not to look panicked at the fact that this crazy idea we had is actually happening tomorrow:

The best part of the Expo was that they had kid races. Here are Jake and Henry showing off their race bibs:

Doing some last minute stretching:

And they are off!:

Goggles

2011-05-27T20:50:00.002-04:00

Are fun.

Favorite Playground

2011-05-25T20:51:00.004-04:00

One of Henry's favorite playgrounds has been closed since last Labor Day for renovations. It was supposed to re-open around Thanksgiving, but for who knows what reasons it only re-opened two weeks ago. All winter and spring Henry has been asking to go. When it finally re-opened we were so excited to visit...then it rained for two weeks.

Today the stars aligned with gorgeous weather, a free afternoon, and good friends, and Henry was in heaven.

Two Birthday Parties

2011-05-21T21:34:00.005-04:00

We have had a big few days. The most exciting news is that after a solid week of rain and a full month of May gloom and cold temperatures (we haven't gotten above 70 yet!), the sun FINALLY came out (bad news is the rain is supposed to come back in a few days, but we aren't talking about that...)

On Friday we celebrated Alexander's 4th birthday with a party at My Gym (popular place for parties - and for good reason!):

And today was a joint birthday party for William and Charlotte's 4th birthdays. This one was a costume party at a local park. Henry wore his pirate costume for about 30 seconds before I then had to carry it the rest of the time.

Our friend Sarah made cupcakes that looked like ice cream cones - very cute:

For the "make your own goody bag" Henry chose to write "Mom" on it - no prompting involved!

The sad news of the day is that Henry and two of his friends have now come down with really high fevers. Henry is not a happy camper right now - feeling pretty miserable. Fingers crossed that it is short lived!

Urban Dare

2011-05-21T21:15:00.004-04:00

Today my friend Robin and I competed in "Urban Dare" - basically a one day version of The Amazing Race through Boston. I love The Amazing Race, and have always harbored a secret dream to go on the show. However, I also know I would be THE WORST PLAYER EVER due to several factors, including (but not limited to): My complete lack of a sense of direction, my lack of driving, my inability to speak any other languages, my impulsivity, my inability to read a map, and my low tolerance for frustration. I figured this was a good way to ease into it (although there was a clue that involved Spanish - arrrgh!) I knew it would be a good time, and it was.

We started at noon - Robin and I recycled portions of our costumes from the Avon Walk (why let perfectly good mesh gloves go to waste?)

We did not win the costume portion of the race - some guys in kilts did. Oh well.

We had a list of about 14 clues we had to solve. Once solved we had to figure out what order was best to do them in, how best to get there (running, the subway, etc. No taxis allowed), and then run all around either taking pictures at each location or completing tasks.

Here we are with General Patton's feet:

And me performing a task (involving getting through a plate of whipped cream with no hands to find the piece of bubble gum and then successfully blowing a bubble - bizarre). The guy in the statue is the inventor of Pullman sleeping cars...learn something new every day.

It was really, really fun. We didn't come close to winning. We had an unecessary detour to Brookline (don't ask, it wasn't pretty), got off at the wrong T stop once because we were talking and missed our stop, and never did find the Plaza named for Luis Minoz Marin(anyone????), but we consider this our "training year". Next year we will know what to expect, come armed with better maps, and see what we can do.

Boston Avon Walk

2011-05-19T13:36:00.004-04:00

This past weekend was the Boston Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. It was my 8th time participating in an Avon Walk either as a Walker, a Crew member, or a Staff member. This year I once again Crewed the Walk - I was team leader for a Rest Stop (my partner in crime Robin joined me again, as well).

As always, it was a great time (except for the 3:30 AM start time on Saturday, that is...). Alas, not many photos from this year due to my camera breaking (most of these photos are from Robin's phone - not the best quality) and due to the torrential downpours we had most of Sunday.

Once again our theme was "Totally 80's" (I just like an excuse to wear leg warmers and listen to Kenny Loggins all day...) - here is our team on Day 1, getting ready for the 2000+ walkers to come through:

With Robin and our tent (all new tents this year - and pink!):

When you only get 2 hours of sleep and then work for 12 hours straight, you get a little loopy:

The rain was pretty bad on Sunday - everyone was pretty soaked and freezing most of the day. But, as we like to say on these Walks when ever anyone complains - whatever we are going through, being tired, cold, wet... It's better than cancer.

The Walk raised over $5.2 million for breast cancer prevention, research, and education. As always, it was an amazing experience.

Every year I say I am going to take the next year off...that has yet to actually happen. In fact, this year we are extra crazy and Robin and I decided that we are going to be walking in the New York Walk this upcoming October (only 5 months away!). Yes, I will once again be raising at least $1800 and walking 38.3 miles over 2 days - and I can't wait!

Captain Henry

2011-05-09T21:50:00.002-04:00

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T21:35:00.000-04:00

We had a lovely Mother's Day. We started the morning with our usual tradition of going to the Lilac Festival at the Arnold Arboretum. We met up with Jake and Lila and the kids all had a lot of fun running around amongst the trees and flowers:

In the afternoon, Mike took over parenting duties and I got to head out with friends for a mini spa day and movie. All in all, a great day. Happy Mother's Day!

Jumbo Fun Ball

2011-05-07T14:17:00.004-04:00

One of our impulse purchases at Costco earlier this year (hey, we all do it) was something called the "Jumbo Fun Ball". We gave it to Henry for his birthday but hadn't unpacked it yet - it seemed a little daunting to actually get up and ready. Today we had a nice, sunny morning (although it is pouring now), so we decided not only to have our first barbecue of the season, but to also break out the Jumbo Fun Ball.

It took a very, very long time to inflate, but once we did, we had a major hit on our hands:

Family Day

2011-05-06T20:33:00.007-04:00

Spring is in full bloom in Boston now. We have had a few nice sunny days, and the temperatures have been creeping ever so slowly towards the magical 70 degree mark. Our little dogwood is very happy that it isn't buried in 7 feet of snow anymore:

Mike decided to take the day off of work today (hooray!), so we had "family day" (well, family afternoon, since Henry went to preschool this morning...) After lunch and haircuts for Henry and Mike we all heaaded over to Castle Island in South Boston for some bike riding:

It was pretty windy down by the water, and the kite surfers were out in force:

Henry had a grand time watching them:

Afterwards, we went out for great seafood before finally heading home - it was a good day!

Fun Sunday

2011-05-01T19:21:00.003-04:00

Today we took advantage of the nice Spring weather and Nana and Papa's last day of their visit to enjoy downtown Boston a bit.

We visited the Tortoise and the Hare sculpture in Copley Square:

Had lunch at the Summer Shack (yum) and took our first trip of the season on the Swan Boats:

We managed to get a good picture of Mike and Nana. Not so hot of me or Henry. You win some, you lose some:

Thanks for a fun day and a fun visit, Nana and Papa!

Henry's Birthday Party!

2011-05-01T18:46:00.006-04:00

We had Henry's 4th birthday party on Saturday morning. We decided to tempt the New England Weather Gods and had it outside at a local park. We lucked out with decent weather - cool, but mostly sunny.

Henry was very excited about his birthday party:

We threw up a few decorations:

Put out the favors (buckets, shovels, chalk, sunglasses, and balls):

And let the kids go crazy:

For his cake this year, Henry requested (of course) that it have a monorail on it. Luckily. the people at our favorite bakery did not laugh and were up to the task:

(Donald looks a little freaky, but that's OK)

Henry obviously enjoyed the cake:

Thank you so much to all of our friends for coming to celebrate Henry's birthday, and to Nana and Papa for all the help!

One Day - 3 Parties

2011-04-30T20:52:00.004-04:00

Friday was a big day for us - 3 parties in less than 12 hours, plus the arrival of Nana and Papa for a weekend visit!

Of course, Friday was a big day becaue of the Royal Wedding. We all know I can't pass up a themed get together, so in the morning I hosted a Wedding Viewing Party for about 12 of my friends (Henry was at preschool - I don't think he minded missing it). We broke out the fine china, mimosas, scones, and tiaras and had a great time:

After Nana and Papa arrived and we picked Henry up from preschool, we immediately headed to JP Licks, where Sammy was havng his 4th birthday party, complete with balloon animals and face painting:

Then, in the afternoon we had music class and a 2nd birthday celebration for Liam (which I forgot to bring my camera too...whoops). Happy birthday to Liam and Sammy - we are partied out!

Preschool Party and 4 Year Checkup

2011-04-25T14:43:00.005-04:00

Birthdays are a big deal at Henry's preschool. You get to wear a special crown all day, cupcakes are always brought in, they use a special revolving/singing cupcake tray, all 3 classrooms meet to sing "happy birthday"...it is really fun. Henry was VERY excited that his day had finally come for his preschool celebration today.

Wearing his birthday crown:

The cupcakes (Mickey Mouse, of course):

The kids gathering to sing to Henry:

Posing with the birthday celebration flag outside of school:

Immediately after cupcakes we headed to the pediatrician for Henry's 4 year check up (bad timing, I know). Henry did a great job - did well on his vision test, got to pee in a cup for the first time (which he was very excited about, and is also one of the things that made me glad he is a boy!) and did the usual weighing and measuring. He is only up 2 and a half inches (to 41 and a half) this year, which I was really surprised by (I kind of think he was slouching a bit), and his weight is up 5 pounds to 39 pounds (no wonder I am having so much trouble carrying him!) He is steady in the 72-75% for both weight and height.

He had 3 vaccines, which was no fun at all, but he was a trooper and the good news is that he is basically done with everything but his yearly flu shots - hooray!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T17:47:00.006-04:00

After the birthday excitement yesterday, the fun continued today with the Easter Bunny paying a call to our house.

He hid eggs in various spots:

(can you spot the blue egg?)

And was very messy, leaving a trail of jellybeans that led the way to Henry's hidden basket.

Henry was so tired from yesterday that he slept until 8:30 (he would have slept later, but I was convinced that our typical early bird had somehow been kidnapped in the night, and 8:30 was finally when I broke down and checked on him, thus waking him up). His first words this morning were "Did the Easter Bunny come???"

He followed the jelly bean trail:

And found his basket:

Then went on his egg hunt:

The weather was gorgeous today (a complete turn around from the cold, wet misery of yesterday) so we headed out for a bike ride along the Charles:

And played in the playground for a bit:

Here's an action shot of him with his new frisbee. Look at the intensity:

Then this afternoon he helped me get our deck ready for the warm weather that is hopefully here to stay:

Happy Easter to everyone!

Henry is FOUR!!!

2011-04-23T20:11:00.005-04:00

Happy Birthday to our sweet, wonderful, energetic, kind, curious, enthusiastic, handsome little guy. It seems like just yesterday he was born, and now he is four - it is hard to believe.

We decided to start his special day off with a bang, and had his gifts and a birthday balloon waiting for him when he woke up:

Henry was very excited to find them when he got up (and he slept until 7:30 - a birthday gift for US!):

Unwrapping ensued:

The original plan was to go out for a pancake breakfast, and then Henry had requested the Children's Museum. But, Henry changed his mind at the last minute and decided he wanted to stay home for breakfast and to play with his new toys (not surprising):

And instead of the Children's Museum he decided on the Aquarium:

(we had a great time, but a rainy Saturday at the end of school vacation week + a brand new touch tank exhibit = insanity at the Aquarium)

For dinner, we took him out to the Cheesecake Factory where he had an enormous slice of cheesecake for his birthday dessert:

It was a great day.

Happy Birthday, Henry!

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More Easter Fun

2011-04-22T14:46:00.004-04:00

The Easter celebrations continue! We colored more eggs:

Made bunny ears at preschool:

And this morning we had an egg hunt with some of our MOMS Club friends:

Marathon Monday

2011-04-18T14:55:00.007-04:00

It's Patriots Day here in Boston, which means one thing - Marathon Monday!! This year was really exciting because our friends Kiera and Jim (Kate and Ben's parents) were running their first marathon, and we were able to go out and watch them go by.

Since it is a holiday, the kids were home from school. Jake came over in the morning to hang out:

We watched the elite runners cross the finish line on TV:

And Jake and Henry were very busy making posters to cheer Kiera and Jim on:

Henry's posters of marathon runners:

Jake's:

And the adults:

Then, we headed down to Beacon Street to meet up with Lila and Alexander. We are about 3 miles from the finish and had been tracking Kiera and Jim online, so we had a good idea of when they would come by:

There goes Jim!:

And Kiera!!!:

They both rocked it - Jim in 3:44:02 and Kiera in 4:07:37 - they both put it an incredible amount of work and training, and it was wonderful to be able to see them run by. Congrats!

Eggs

2011-04-17T14:29:00.004-04:00

The Easter celebrations have begun - today Henry and Jake had their first egg coloring and hunting event of the week (many more to follow, I am sure).

And on a side note - I ran a great 5K this morning (put on by the Boston Athletic Association, same as the Marathon tomorrow, so the run ended crossing the Marathon finish line with the bleachers, jumbo trons, etc all set up. All the glory of the Marathon without those pesky 26.2 miles to complete). I got a personal record - 27 minutes, 15 seconds. Woo hoo!!!

Missing Disney

2011-04-17T14:24:00.003-04:00

Henry misses Disneyworld a lot. Lately, he has started creating "Disneyworld" out of Legos in his room during his rest time (during which, alas, he no longer rests). Here he is posing with one of his creations:

Also, the other day he made his snack into Mickey Mouse:

First Bike Ride

2011-04-10T14:26:00.000-04:00

First bike ride of the season today!

Books

2011-04-07T13:59:00.004-04:00

Henry went on a drawing spree today, and then gave me specific instructions to label each picture, put them in a certain order, staple them into a book, and then dictated the text. Here are his masterpieces (under each photo is what he asked me to label the pitcure as. Everything in italics is the text that goes with the picture:

HENRY

(Henry)

(Mommy)

This is Henry. He is worried that he is going to meet a BIG BEAR. He will cry at the bear.

(Dinosaur)

It was not real. It was pretend.

(Ostrich)

My Mommy said "There is nothing to cry about"

"Squirrel"

A squirrel collects his nuts. He was so busy getting ready for winter.

THE END

(as you can see, we have a touch of a continuity issue)

FLOWER HAS A WORRY ABOUT A DOG

(Tulip)

(Big Fat Mommy)*

Big Fat Mommy found a flower. Big Fat Mommy worries that he might talk, so she got magic.

(From A Dinosaur Mouth)

The dinosaur was a great big dinosaur mouth. He wasn't real. He was pretend.
THE END

* Ummmm....no comment on the Big Fat Mommy picture.

Florida - Part 4

2011-04-04T20:33:00.005-04:00

Saturday was our last day at Disney, and also happened to be Mike's 35th birthday (!) I made him wear a button that let everyone know it was his birthday, so all through the day every "cast member" we passed wished him a happy birthday, and he was serenaded a few times throughout the day. I know he wasn't a huge fan of it, but he was a sport and I certainly enjoyed it :) Hey, if you are going to have a birthday while at Disney, why not do it up?

The weather was great again, and we headed back to the Magic Kingdom to do all of the rides we couldn't during the monsoon on Thursday.

Henry luckily takes after me and my love of thrill rides. While alas still too short for Space Mountain, he LOVED Splash Mountain and the Big Thunder mountain rollercoaster.

He was also once again a big fan of the racecars:

There he goes!

And has a weird love of the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse.

Here he is with the evil Zurg after the Buzz Lightyear ride:

We had (more) ice cream:

Henry and Mike took a spin on the teacups (I sat that one out...I don't do spinning rides):

And he found bliss with a balloon:

Then, it was time to leave:

We went out to a nice dinner that night to celebrate Mike's birthday, and Henry helped him blow out his candles:

All in all it was a great trip. It is so much fun to see Henry experience the fun of Disneyworld, and we feel so lucky that we are able to take him. We can't wait until our next visit!

Florida - Part 3

2011-04-04T17:17:00.007-04:00

Friday morning the sun came out and we ended up having perfect weather for the rest of the trip. Alas, Grandpa Tim and Nene headed back to Boca that day, so they only got to experience soggy Disney.

That day the 3 Powells headed to the Animal Kingdom park. They had a fun Dinosaur Land that Henry enjoyed a lot:

Including a "Dinosaur Dig" play area with lots of slides and "fossils":

We went on the safari ride where we got to see a lot of animals:

Henry used Aunt Gina's gift of binoculars to great effect:

We had ice cream, which Henry somehow managed to get all over his face, including his forehead:

We saw the "Bugs Life" interactive movie:

Watched a parade:

And just walked around enjoying the scenery:

And we finsihed off the day with a visit to the "Chip and Dale Campfire Sing-along" at the Wilderness Lodge: