7/11

The kids had their dentist appointment and then we headed straight to seven eleven to get our free icee to celebrate seven eleven's birthday. And yes, we immediatley filled up on sugar right after the dentist, it was great! The kids also got great news that once again NO cavaties! Yeah!

Where's Flamingo?...

Matt had this idea to make a story book about this flamingo and his travels. So, we took along this flamingo where ever we went on our East Coast vacation. He went everywhere and was always being shared between all the kids. The poor thing looked like a rag doll when we got home. When ever we would take a picture of something we had to take a separate picture with Domingo. He was a fun edition to our vacation. Below our just some highlights of the photos we took with Domingo. Matt is so clever to think of this.

Maine

Our final destination was the southern Maine coast. Our hotel was in York Maine right across the ocean. We could see the ocean out the window of our room. We had so much fun playing at the beach and enjoying the ocean. The first day the water was cold and then it got warmer the next few days. One our favorite parts was to got out at night or early in the morning when the the tide was out and search for starfish, shells and hermit crabs. I just love the ocean scenery. This was a perfect way to end our vacation!

I was so excited to see these lighthouses. There are such a sight to see. One of the many highlights was when we walked out on rocks at low tide and there was a baby seal stranded. We tried to get it back into the water, but I think it was hurt or something was wrong with it. Poor little cute seal. The kids were thinking it had the flu and wanted to rest. We also saw a pirate ship type looking boat floating in the ocean as we were looking for lighthouses.

All the cousins really enjoyed being with each other. They didn't want it to ever end. It was so much fun to be with family and site see and visit with them. It was also really convenient to have our hotel room right next to where Aunt Tracy and Matt's parents were staying. They had a beautiful deck that we would sit on an chat and look out at the ocean. We are already missing the ocean and being with them. We will have to visit Maine again.

New Hampshire highlights

After Boston we picked up our rental car and drove to New Hampshire where Matt's brother's family lives. Laura hosted a fun BBQ and an awesome firework show of our own. It was really weird to actually light "real" fireworks. They don't have the same firework rules we have here in the west. We lit up the sky and the kids had a blast. We had a great time staying the night at their house.

Laura made her famous cookie bowls that we filled with ice cream. They were delicious!

Matt's brother Mike gave us a tour of the University of NH campus and showed off his snazy office. Thanks for the tour and we bought a few souvioners in the bookstore.

More Boston Highlights

Fenway Park was neat to see! We just didn't have time to squeeze in to see a game, but just seeing the place was a treat! We are baseball fans so now we can say we have been to one the most historic baseball parks.

The major focus of our Boston trip was to see the famous Boston fireworks. We staked out our spot early in the day and waited about seven hours for the fireworks. I think everyone was a little relieved that we were actually sitting and not walking. We passed the time at a nearby park, playing games, being silly and talking with each other. Laura and I got pizza for dinner and ate it in the park. I still can't believe we could get 6 kids to stay in one spot for that much time.

And then finally, what we thought was the firework show because it was 30 minutes early started, but it was just a 2 minute teaser. The real show didn't start until 40 minutes later. It was a fantastic show and glad we got to experience it. Then after the fireworks show we walked back to the hotel and climbed 11 flights of stairs to get to our room because there was a line to get on the elevator and all of us did not want to wait to get to our beds. I couldn't believe that all the kids made it up the stairs first. Where is this energy coming from.

Boston Adventures

So, school got out on Friday the 1st and we flew to the East Coast for our family vacation the next day on the 2nd. We were so excited to spend time with Matt's twin brothers family and Matt's parents and sister were also vacationing there as well. So, it was just meant for us to visit. This is longest time the kids and I have been on a plane and been that faraway from home. It was hard for me adjusting not being able to stick to our usual routines, but we all survived and after a couple of days I was feeling better. Our first stop was Boston, next New Hampshire and then our final destination was the Southern Maine Coast.

Bunker hill was neat! It was a huge tower that has 294 circular steps to the top. We and all the kids went to the very top. Boy! That was a work out! My legs felt like jello afterwards and we were all sore the next day, but it was worth it. Carter and Miles climbed the stairs twice in a row, now if that doesn't make us adults feel out of shape. Carter said his legs felt like they were on fire!

My (SIL) Laura was a great tour guide for us since she has been to Boston before. We walked...walked...and walked. Did I mention that we walked..well we did alot of it! A few of us had blisters on the back of our heels from all the walking. My other (SIL) Tracy introduced me to this chapstick type stuff for your feet so you don't get blisters. It worked great! Our feet were feeling so much better. Thanks Tracy! We saw and did so many neat things that we kind of forgot that we walked so much. We did it with no strollers and all the kids did great!

The USS Constitution Museum was fun for the kids to act as a pirate would. What a fun place it was to see all the different stuff pirates ate and did while on the ocean. We only had a short time before it closed, but it was time well spent in that place. The inner harbor ferry that we rode to and from to the museum was also a great highlight too.
Our hotel was in a nice location and we could see the Charles River from our window where the fireworks would be shot off barges in the water.All the cousins loved buddying around with each other. They had blast together!

Ashlynn's last day

Look out first grade here she comes! Ashlynn has graduated Kindergarten and is super excited to start first grade in a couple of weeks. She has mixed feelings about having lunch at school because she has been my lunch buddy for the past 2 years. She is ready to move on with this stage in her life. She is such a smart girl and will continue to learn more and more.

Their program was so cute to watch. They sang cute songs with hand motions and props to go with their songs. They had a red,white and blue theme to honor the holiday of 4th of July. We are so proud of you Ashlynn!!