Staycation 2014

After celebrating the 4th of July, we were officially on STAYCATION!  It was a nice relaxing week and our big day trip this year was to take the boys to Story Land.

Monday July 7th:

On Monday we stayed close to home so that Dad could get the oil changed on his car.  We all drove up to Laconia and hit the Captain's Cove on the way home.  The boys love to play mini-golf and since right before we played there was a fast moving thunder storm that passed through, we had the place pretty much to ourselves!  On our way home we tried out an Italian restaurant that had good reviews on Yelp and we were not let down!  The food was delicious and fresh and I'm looking forward to going back again.

Argh!

Ahoy Matey!

With their prizes after playing!

Tuesday July 8th:

Tuesday we headed into Boston to take the kids to the Children's Museum.  We never think to take the kids there.  Even when we lived right off the Blue line in Revere, we never ventured much to that museum.   The boys had a blast and it was nice because it wasn't too crowded.  We left around noon and headed north to have lunch at the Rainforest Cafe.  We thought the boys would get a kick out of it and that also meant that we could hit up the Cheesecake Factory on our way out and pick up some dessert for later!

David pulling his own weight using the pully's

Shaun's turn!

Evan needed a little help getting up, but then he held on tight for the shot!

Woodworking!

Sitting on the bobcat!

Construction Worker Evan!

The big bubble maker!

Wednesday July 9th:

Wednesday was a stay home and purge the playroom day!  Not exactly fun, but it was necessary!!

Thursday July 10th:

Thursday we got up, I packed some lunches and we headed north to Story Land!  And no trip to Story Land is complete without the traditional pictures with Humpty Dumpty and the weird clown!!  We spent the morning riding on the rides we thought would get more crowded as the day went on and then left the park to have the packed lunches I made.  When we returned to the park I decided to leave my camera behind.  I wanted to go on the Splash Battle and since we no longer have a stroller to push (YAY!!!) were don't have any place to leave things when we all want to ride.  I got all the "token" shots that I needed to get before lunch so it was all good.

Oh No!!

The boys and I after our adventure on the Dr. Geyser's Remarkable Raft Ride!

David, Shaun and Dad ride the Bamboo Chutes!  At the end of the day we convinced Evan 

Evan hanging out while I watch the other boys ride the Polar Coaster, another ride he eventually rode at the end of the day!

Polar Coaster!

Evan and I on the Antique German Carousel!

#ClassicStoryLand

Cooling off!

My boys with Humpty Dumpty!

Friday July 11th:

We started our day taking Evan to his swimming lesson and then headed straight to the Lost River!  The boys had a blast here last year so we made sure to take them back again!

Even Dad has a fun time climbing through all the caves!

Evan was a little nervous but he made it through with a little help from Dad!

I love our Staycations and I'm already looking forward to next year!  Our next big summer trip is our annual trip to Maine!  That is coming up in a week!

365 ~ 2013: Day 29

Brotherly love...Shaun snuggles up with Evan, who is still a little under the weather today.

Project 365 - Day 307

Thankful for the time Shaun and Evan have to bond while their big brother is in school! It's been such a joy to watch their relationship grow into a real friendship (instead of Shaun seeing Evan has a nuisance!).

 

Project 365 - Day 253

Patriots Sunday! Anyone notice anything different?

Project 365 - Day 232

It was a gorgeous day today and how lucky that today was our annual trip to Story Land with our friends! This year we just went up for the day, but it was still a great time. The kids even survived dinner in town before hitting the road for the 2 hour ride!

Here are my boys (including Evan!) on the Bamboo Chutes!

Project 365 - Day 231

My heroes!

Project 365 - Day 194

Brotherly Shenanigans: What happens when you turn the sprinkler on to water the lawn and walk away to take a phone call from your sister.

Project 365 - Day 39

Shaun was very excited this morning when David helped Shaun beat the level he was stuck on.

Fall: My Favorite Time of Year

I love fall, it's my favorite season. I love the colors, the smells, the activities, the comfort foods, the decorations, and most of all the cool crisp air of a beautiful sunny fall day! Last weekend and into Monday was about as perfect as it could be.

Of course no fall day would be complete without an impromptu photo shoot! Took me a lot of tries but I finally got my annual fall portrait of the boys! Now I can replace the summer portrait with a fall one!

Look how much they have grown in the last year!


And just so that I could be IN some pictures for a change, I was able to pass the camera over to Charlie and quickly grab this shot after Evan climb up on my back, while I was laying on the driveway photographing the older two racking leaves!



And no fall day would be complete without making a big pile of leaves to jump and play around in!




It's a big, big world!


 I love fall and I love my boys!