Check out the Post about the George Family a couple of posts back if you haven't noticed it yet...

Mr. 4th of July HIMSELF

When we heard that Neil Diamond, MR. 4th OF JULY HIMSELF, was coming to Boston to perform with the Boston Pops this 4th of July, nothing could hold us back! ... well, except for maybe crowds of hundreds of thousands of people, so we went to the dress rehearsal on the 3rd. 

I have to say that the best, most memorable fireworks display of my life was when I was a small kid watching the home town fireworks display. For the first time ever the finale was set to music. Not just any music. Neil Diamond's "America"! Trust me, people in my small town are still talking about that magical night. In those days the fireworks were set off at the Old Central Jr. High and the whole town spread out their blankets just a few dozen feet from ground zero. It was par for the course to have little burning embers singe your naked flesh on those fiery nights. There was one exciting year when one misdirected firework blew up a van. I remember my mom crossing her fingers that it was ours. We would get there early and listen to the orchestra and bum Cracker Jacks off of Aunt Jack and Uncle Zella (no, I didn't get that wrong, that is actually what we called them). When I came of age, I was allowed to go watch from behind the scenes and blow up a big boy myself (which I think I actually chickened out of doing, I'm not a big fan of fire). I wasn't the only minor running around back there, besides my older bro., I remember Danny Sessions was having a great time. Those were the days when the fire department and other city employees were enlisted to the task of dazzling the town. 

I knew I wasn't missing this concert. To my surprise it was Pops who was over the top excited to go. It turns out that his Mom was a SUPER fan of Mr. Diamond and made a fan of her son too. 

So we grabbed our gear and trudged to the Esplanade to stake out our site. 
All morning long before we hit the road I played "America" to the kids and belted out the chorus with them. Superkid is a huge fan of the song and has his own un-melodic version which he sung all weekend long. So often that now whenever he starts singing, "Comin' to America..." Tadpole yells (from wherever he is in the house), "TODAY!".
So here are the Toad Boy fans...
And here are the Toad Girl fans...
We got there plenty early and filled our time by eating...
And drinking...
ourselves sick...
And then there was nothing left to do but dance dance dance!

We wish you were all here to party with us! This was a 4th of July to remember!

WANTED:

Wanted: The person(s) who scooped our Father's Day salutations to Pops with this display of shaving cream and toilet paper...

You know who you are and you know your blame. If anyone else knows who you are and cares to rat you out, you (the informant) will be handsomely rewarded.

And to our Pops, you are simply the best! We all think so.

The Adventures of Ava and Glittery

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Ava who lived in a mystical land named Texas. She didn't always live there, she once lived in the land of Massachusetts where she was well loved by a family of Toads. But in this cruel world sometimes circumstances take you away from those who love you best. But in Ava's case, when she left her friends her Mom gave her a magical pony named Glittery. Whenever Ava wanted to play with her friends Superkid and Abizella her magical pony would take her on a fantastic adventure.

One day Ava was playing Pretty Princess with her little sister PJ. They were having a splendid time twirling in their gowns when Ava realized the only thing that could make her happier would be to twirl with Abizella too. Just then she heard, "CLOMP CLOMP CLOMP!" coming from her balcony. Ava and PJ looked at each other and squealed, "GLITTERY!" They threw open the curtain and slid the door open to see Ava's magical pony stamping and tossing her lovely sparkly mane. Glittery said, "Are you ready for an adventure Ava?" Ava jumped up and down in delight and said, "Let me just go ask my Mom if I can go with you." Ava's Mom said she could, after she took the garbage out and put on a jacket. Ava rushed to grab a jacket and the garbage and hopped up on her pony. 

Ava turned to kiss her mother good-bye and just then she noticed the sad sad look on PJ's face. PJ was not a baby any more and she wanted to go an adventure too. Ava said, "Mom, why don't you get your magical pony Shiney and you and PJ can come to visit our Toady friends too!" So just like that Sandy whistled and her pony Shiney galloped up to the balcony. After grabbing their rain slickers, galoshes, and umbrellas the ladies were off on an adventure!
Glittery and Shiney galloped through the skies jumping over clouds and sliding down rainbows until they reached their faraway beloved Massachusetts. Oh it had been a long long time since Sandy had been back (Ava and Glittery, of course, had visited frequently) and Sandy wanted to spend  lots of time with her long lost friend Missltoes roaming some of their favorite haunts together. They started at the Children's Museum (and even caught up with some Zellers too!)...
The kids spent the first couple of days playing together and getting re-acquainted. Superkid and PJ were fast friends...


Missletoes and Sandy made another stab at trying to take a decent picture together (this time with Superkid as the photo-genius)...
PJ and Tadpole, who last saw each other when they were 1 and 2 months respectively, quickly developed a love hate relationship. Tadpole loved to tease PJ (usually by pushing her over, he doesn't have the same suave moves as Superkid who holds hands to show affection) and PJ hated it. Could you blame her? But by the mid part of her visit PJ came up with a few tactics to fluster Tadpole as well... like her sly little hand casually encroaching on his car seat territory. 
Eventually, Tadpole and PJ upgraded from sharing a seat on their Mom's magical ponies to a two seated dragon. 
And in typical Missletoes and Sandy fashion, they drove the kids into the ground. Every day.
Derek heard of all of the fun that his girls were having back in their old stomping grounds and summoned his own gallant steed for a lift up to Bean Town...


Together, the friends braved the elements day after day to see some of Boston's most spectacular sites...
Often pulling (and pushing) each other's weight...
And shielding each other from the elements...
They were all happy moments. There was time to play with "THE" ducks...
...and even take the ducks for a ride...
...and good times at the State Capitol basking in the glory of the Sacred Cod...
But sadly, after a week, Ava, PJ, Sandy and Derek heard duty calling back in their new home in Texas and had to return. Early one morning Ava, PJ, Sandy and Derek hopped back on their magical ponies and waved good-bye to their friends who loved them best of all. They flew up high into the sky. Glittery and her pony friends galloped up rainbows and slid down the other side into fluffy piles of clouds until the weather changed from wet wet wet to hot hot hot and then Ava and her family knew they were home. They hopped off their magical ponies, patted them on their heads and fed them a basket of carrots. They thanked their ponies for the best adventure of all time and asked them to came back soon. 

The End.

Pre-School Wrap-up

For our last pre-school day of the year we went on a trip to Castle Island. What a fabulous year of pre-school! We are all going to miss our friend C.S. who is moving far far away!

The school Bus:

The Quotable Toad

Pops said to Superkid, as he handed him some candy, "I don't want to see any chocolate on the furniture, only your lips, or you'll be dead meat!" Superkid asked, "Is that an expression?" Pops replied, "Yes it is, it means you'll be in trouble." Superkid said, "Because Mom says, 'You better hope it's an expression!'"

Abz asked, "Mom, why does Jesus like making Bennions?"

One afternoon while Pops was doing the afternoon toy pick-up Abizella asked, "Pops, what are you doing?" Pops replied, "I am picking up the toys because I love Mom and I want to make the house clean for her when she gets home." Abizella replied, "Oh, I pick up toys because if I don't Mom will throw them away."

Tadpole says, "Daddy's shoes!" "Mommy eat!" ...and often insists on bathing with his favorite blanket, which in reality needs a bath worse than him.

Super Cool Spontaneous Cuz

My cousin Julie and her fabulous daughter Mylee paid us a spontaneous visit last week. We were super excited to have company, it has been a LONG LONG time since anyone has been out to visit us (HINT HINT) and the kiddos were out of their minds with excitement (okay, we all were). I warned Julie and Mylee that I have a tendency to cram way more into a day than is possible (especially with wee ones along), but with only three days to explore they assured me that they were up for whatever I could dream up. I worked 2 of the 3 days they were here so I was pretty determined to show them a good time with the time I had. I am pretty proud of all that we stuffed into one long wet day, in fact I think I have broken my own record. Here is the list:

1. My fabulous coastal lighthouse tour...

...complete with rock hopping...
2. Tour of the Mayflower II
3. A stroll to Plymouth rock (and lots of puddle jumping which meant soggy feet for the next 10 hours)...
4. Stop in Plymouth for "Old Time" photo of Julie and Mylee dressed as pirates

5. Tour of Plimoth Plantation

6. Fly by the McDonald's drive through for lunch and a car nap for the kiddos as we raced up to Lexington 

7. Minute Man National Park, we made the last multi-media presentation, which in my opinion is an absolute must when you visit Boston

8. A fly-by Emerson, the Alcott sisters, Hawthorn's houses in Concord

9. A stroll through Sleepy Hollow cemetery to see the above mentioned author's grave sites

10. A march across the Old North Bridge in Concord, where we encountered a group of Harvard snobs that rivaled the patriots in hostility. Fortunately we had Tadpole and Abz to bust through their ranks and create enough chaos that we were able to pass to snap this pic on the other side...

11. Then we were off to Walden Pond and the replica of Thoreau's cabin

And if that wasn't enough...

12. A trip through Harvard square and a stop at the Harvard book store for T-shirts and caps (hey, if you can't beat the snobs, join them)

13. A scenic drive down the Charles past MIT

14. Dinner at my favorite Boston restaurant the Barking Crab

15. A walk along the harbor in front of the Moakely Court House looking back at the city by Rowe's wharf

Now some of you who have been here before may be going through the list checking these all off as adventures you have enjoyed with us but never all in ONE DAY! Go me!... actually, GO KIDDOS!!! I can't believe that we were in a state that I actually dared take the kids into a public eating establishment at 8:30 p.m. exhausted (and super filthy), but they did great. When I proposed the stop at the Barking Crab Superkid piped up from the back of the car and said, "Oh Mom! Are we going to get my favorite clam chowder?!!!" ...and then proceeded to tell our guests how much better it was than my clam chowder.

I am so happy that my cousin is such a fun gal. Actually, she comes by it honestly. Her mom, Aunt Jeanie (one of the many cool Zellas in my family, and Abizella's name sake) contributed to most of my fun memories growing up. She was the one with the cabin and the tent trailer. If there was some fun to be had, Aunt Jeanie was there. Even after her kiddos were grown up she would grab me and take me along for an adventure. I am not surprised that Julie got the same fun gene and it looks like she passed it to Mylee as well. Come back again soon!!!