The One Where We Thank Our Veterans

I just wanted to take this time to remember and honor an important group of people who have made this country what it is today. Our Veterans

To you, we hope to understand our deepest appreciation and sincerest gratitude for what you have done to keep our country protected, safe, and secure.

To those of you in our family who have served a true Thank You.

Happy Veteran's Day. Enjoy the day!

The One With the Happy Halloween

Yesterday was Halloween....

It was fabulous and perhaps one of the best Halloweens ever.

It started with Kiff and I helped Nani with putting up decorations to make the house the annual haunt it has been since the late 1980s. Complete with lights, sound effects, and motion activated decorations, we helped get it up and running.


We took the sojourn back home and did the same thing here, creating a friendly light and decoration spectacle of our own (or sound effects did not work)...with the best display we ever had. In between set up, we had a quick lunch and watched a Scooby Doo mystery.


After, we carved our jack o' lanterns, which were great. Then, we had our annual fall meal of sweet and sour meatballs.

Following that, we journey outside. Em wore her small witch hat, Bri was a cheetah, Kiff was a skeleton, and I had a latex Frankenstein mask....fun, but a little smelly.

We went to our neighborhood - unloaded a stash - then went to Stone and Martin...farther than we had ever gone, before the 8:00 bewitching hour came. We even were able to go to the green house which has the Hollywood scare display for the first time...it was great. Kiff saw some classmates on the way, but it was fairly quiet. We only got 17 trick-or-treaters...bummer.

We watched It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, put the kids to bed, then watched The Raven with John Cusack.

Quite a way to spend Halloween.

The One With a Happy Halloween

happy halloween
2015

The One With the Trip to Vermont, Not

Yesterday, we were going to make a pilgrimage to Vermont to see the leaves.

However, Emmie has a cold and that did not go as expected. So, we de a tour de force of central and eastern Massachusetts.

1. We went out to the border of Vermont and picked apples. It was a beautiful, crisp day with the scent of fall hanging in the air. We got a peck of empires, snagged two pumpkins, and ate a cider donut as we went on a surprise venture in the late morning.

2. Then, we wound our way to a Johnny Rockets, which I did not realize still existed. What a blast, especially for the kids. They played music in the juke box, including "Monster Mash," Johnny B. Goode," "Rockin' Robin."

3. After, we worked our way through Lexington, going through the center and by the Orchard House. Because Bri learns about the Revolutionary War, we went to Minuteman National Park to watch the Road to Revolution video. The kids filled out booklets and became junior rangers.

4. We wrapped up by going through Salem - never a great prospect in October. It was wild....but we showed Chiff where Leslie's Retreat, an event from the Revolutionary Times, occured.

All and all a wonderful - unexpected - day.

The One Where Emmie Turns 40

Emmie's Birthday just occurred

It is a big one.

Happy 40th birthday Emmie !!!

The One With the Walk

I love these days

Cool breeze

Leaves turning color

Just a hint of autumn frost in the air

That was yesterday, as we walked in our neighborhood before supper.

Not something we can do everyday

But yesterday was the day

Making memories

Laughing

Seeing our neighborhood up close

That is the way to spend an autumn afternoon

The One With The Trip to The Museum

This past week, we had to pleasure to take our annual pilgrimage to the Museum of Science in Boston. It is one of our favorite places, and we always go their on teacher's weekend.

Some of the highlights.

• We always go into the Hall of Human Life. Although it was never my favorite place as a kid - I can still see those pairs of lungs - the updated version is much more engaging to me. Kiff and Bri love it a ton and we were able to do some many interactive experiments. My favorite was the "How well do you concentrate" exhibit" where I scored a 126. NICE!!!

 • We went to the playground in the park, which is always fun. The kids love trying the hands-on exhibits there.

• The butterfly garden was another favorite spot. It was fantastic and we saw a ton of butterflies, including one that was going to be release.

• We saw a movie about the changing Arctic and Antarctic in the 4-D theater. That was very somber.

• We had a chance to see one of the WCVB weather ladies as well as the engineering experiment where the kids got a magnet....much like they had a few years ago.

• We had a quick lunch and then visited the library where we got the parking validated....who would have thought we would have free parking.