Baby Peeping At the Zoo!

Grandma Sandi has been talking about some new additions to our favorite zoo. We were not going to miss out on seeing these little cuties while we were in town!

This sweet little pumpkin eating baby elephant weighs in at over 300 pounds, but she is all baby to me!

If you look past our giraffe enthusiasts, you can see the skinny little baby giraffe! Oh My! We were all big fans! ...well except for those of us whose super powers do not include the tolerance for animal smells.

We had our own personal Zoo Expert to give us a tour of her zoo.

She did a nonpareil
job of directing THIS unruly crowd to some of her favorite highlights including the penguins, lions and the CAROUSEL!!!

Cousin Lizzy knows a GOOD TIME!

Thanks for the Super Fun day at the zoo Grandma and Grandpa!

Thanksgiving Dinners That Couldn't Be Beat!

You know it REALLY was THAT GOOD when I forget to pull out the camera! I did emerge from my tryptophan induced stupor every once and awhile to snap a few pics. After all, Thanksgiving was kind of the point of the trip.

What is Thanksgiving without days of preparation? This year I avoided it all, but I did send young Abz in for some crucial training.

The Big Moment... who knew that broccoli would top the list of delectables?

The all important Turkey Day nap...

And the Stuffing Sandwich, what it is ALL about for Pops, and his brother Brian (who had to enjoy his sandwich in a cafeteria in Iraq this year). Sorry about the back lighting. I fixed it in iPhoto, but it did not carry through to blogger. Jenny, if you are reading this, can you send me your pic of this all important sandwich eating moment?

Got Snow?

WE DO!!!

It took some convincing that snow is cold and takes certain cumbersome, but warm equipment to fully enjoy it.
But after a stubborn walk through the winter wonderland in jammies and socks we were all on board with dressing like the Pillsbury Dough Boy.

How SWEET it is!

You know life is SWEET when you make a fun discovery in the place that you thought you knew so well. (Well, actually all credit goes to Mindurs. Thanks for taking us along.)

Now add to that sharing the adventure with super fun Glama, a super cool sister, two super rad nephews, and two of the BEST kids ever! Now apply 7 stylish "Candy Maker" hats and head into the Sweet's Candy Factory for a FREE tour with CANDY SAMPLES. Come on! Just imagine parading 4 toddlers past stacks and stacks of candy just inches from their little greedy grasp. Good thing that tour comes with strollers with operating straps and plenty of samples!

Now try to get out of there without $20 of delicious CANDY!

Did I mention that Sweet's is the home of the ORANGE STICK?!!! Mmmmm! Orange Stick!

Land of Cousins...

...well except for the glaring exception of Cousin Mike, Cousin Davis, Cousin Kenneth, and Cousin Belle. Next time we will have to make a better effort to coordinate these events! But we sure do love playing with the cousins that are here!!!

We love these wild and crazy boys! Ashie and Coach are endless energy!

Then there is Cousin Lizzy, who is kind of like Abz long lost twin, separated by 11 months and different parents. Okay, I really want these girls to look the same. It seems like an easy enough trick, all Lizzy has to do is look like her daddy (Pop's twin brother) and we are there. I think they could at least pass for sisters.

Lizzy, who is currently suffering from Daddy deprivation while her dad is in Iraq, is a big fan of our Pops who she calls, "Uncle Brian" (which is her dad's name).

And there is nothing like older cousins who dote over you! Ally and Missy are super fun stuff. They are good for a game of tag, hide and seek, tickle wrestling, and general body slamming. We can't get enough of these girls!

We just run run run with our cousins until we pass out in our tracks.

We are super excited for Cousin Nick to come on the scene tomorrow!

To Utah or BUST!

For the little Toads it seemed like the day would NEVER come! But finally, we packed our bags and hit the road... or actually the great blue skies for the mother land. I'd like to note that this was the first (and probably last for a while) trip STROLLER FREE!!! Yeah toads!

In other big news, EVERYBODY got their own seat! ...another first, and last for at least 2 years.

The trip was smooth and exciting for our expert travelers.

Now bring on the FUN!

The Wonder Years

Pops and I moved to Boston more than 8 years ago. We often reflect on that first weekend that we were settled here. We went to the book store, grabbed our beach chairs and headed down to Wollaston Beach (before we knew any better). I remember sitting on the beach, basking in the sweltering heat completely content and saying, "Do you realize NO ONE in the world knows where we are right now." The only obligation we had was for Pops to start school in a few days. Nobody expected us at work, church, Sunday dinner, or anywhere. It was liberating. Of course those things eventually fell back in line, which is good. But it was good for us to have a fresh start and only have each other.

No matter what, that time of our lives just can't compare to anything else. We were young (and still are), childless, lived and worked in a fabulous city, explored, and made some of the best friends of our lives. It was great to be independent, and still have a cradle of friends who cared for us. We stayed up late night after night playing games, chatting, eating cookies, and answering to no one. We celebrated holidays, birthdays, and everyday together. Good times.

But eventually the kiddos started to come into the scene. Our first was born before Pops was finished with school, and I was still working full time. The good times still rolled; our close friends Tim and Lisa had a baby within weeks of ours. Without them and Derek and Sandy I have no idea how we could have kept it all together. Lisa and Tim ALWAYS picked up the slack when both Pops and I had to be at work at the same time and Sandy (who lived in the apartment upstairs from us) took on the night shift, babysitting me that is. Superkid and I would wait anxiously at the window for her to get home from work and swing open the door the minute we saw her. She would come in and play with us all night.

I cannot express how much these friendships mean to me. All I can say is that when they all moved away, Boston, well... I will love Bean Town forever, but the best part of it left with them.

So then one day last summer I got a call from Lisa and she was master-minding a girl's trip for her, Sandy and me to San Francisco with air fair and room provided by Tim's frequent flier miles. Are you kidding me?! This is like winning the jack-pot. I haven't been so excited for anything in as long as I can remember. The trip was amazing. 5 full days of eating exotic ethnic foods my family would never consider, roaming the streets, mastering the busing system (at least Sandy did), watching chic flix, shopping, reading, soaking in California sun, and the best part...reconnecting with some of my favorite people ever. Oh! And did I mention we saw Wicked!!!

We pretty much ate our way through the city...

And scoffed at the idea of constraining bodies in car seats and seat belts...
We showed this town that no matter how wacky and wild their streets were, they were no match for these wacky and wild girls...


We took in all of the major sites...
And gained a little perspective for the toilets in our stewardship's...

We challenged our satiation level for chocolate...

And found some cheap thrills...


We took some glamour shots...
And enhanced our glamorous figures...


And even when times got tough, and Sandy proved her loyalty by scraping 2 hour old bird poop out of my hair with a baby wipe...
...it was nice to leave some aspects of motherhood on the back burner for a few days.

Now for my photo-genius finish...

Thanks for the BEST GIRL'S TRIP EVER!!! ...so what are we doing next?!!!