The Boston Children's Museum

Every Friday during the summer there is a free venue (usually kid-friendly) in or around the city. Today was the children's museum and the place was PACKED! The kids managed to have a lot of fun though, and try most of the stuff that didn't have really long lines. Here are some of the pictures that I got when I wasn't chasing them in different directions all over the building.

Artwork from a Four Year Old

Nora's most recent artwork was so good that I don't even have to explain what she drew. We may have an artist in the family after all!

Beach Day

Ahh, our first beach day of the season was, how else to describe it, a day at the beach! Last summer the beach was challenging on many levels. I wanted to go because I knew how much fun Nora always had, but taking a baby was so hard for me. I felt like I was constantly following Wells around (who was crawling) and taking random objects out of his mouth. Also, he would do thoughtless things like rub sand into his eyes. Also, the timing was tricky. Wells was still napping twice a day and so I had to squeeze in our beach trips during the few hours in between. Just the memory of the whole ordeal makes this summer seem so blissful. We headed to the beach after breakfast, brought a picnic lunch and made a day of it! Wells and Nora played happily for hours. The hardest part was getting all of our gear to and from the car. It's going to be a great summer!

Indoor Camping

Buying Wells his first sleeping bag today sparked a camping theme for the remainder of the evening. It all started with an outdoor "hike" followed by bedtime stories in their sleeping bags and toaster oven s'mores for dessert. It was the best of camping except without the bugs, and now that the kids are asleep I can use the computer and take a hot shower. ahhh.

Fairy Party

We went to an awesome, fairy-themed birthday party this morning complete with a professional face painter. While both kids were a little too conservative (or chicken) to allow her to actually paint their FACES, they both requested body art on their hands. Nora wanted a purple butterfly, and Wells, a "baby ball". When Nora's was done, she said "where's the other wing?" instead of 'thank you' as I had hoped. Wells spent the rest of the party holding his arm out with a cheesy grin on his face to anyone who would admire his ball. Lucky kids.

Reaping the Fruits of our Labors!

We finally got a small harvest from our garden this morning. This bowl of strawberries was ripe for the picking and made a delicious addition to breakfast. Strangely enough, another bowl was ripe in time for dinner. I think last year we got maybe 3 total (yes, 3 strawberries). It's true that they come back better each year!

Pop-i-cle

One of the kids' favorite snacks is popsicles. Wells basically shouts for one every time I open the freezer. "Pop-i-cle! Pop-i-cle!" This day I thought he looked especially cute because it matched his shirt. Yes, that is a missing tooth in Nora's mouth, and No, I'm not ready to talk about it.

basket beauties

After their bath the other night, the kids dumped out some of their toy baskets and sat in them while I put dinner on the table. It was so funny and I was totally amazed by how long they were amused that way. The only bummer was having to clean up the toys later!

Welcome Summer!

This past week the temperatures soared into a range that justified filling up the kiddie pool- and actually letting the kids get in! We did it a few times, actually, but I made sure to take pictures of the first. Nora has always had the water bug, Wells, not as much but I often wonder if it's just because he hates being cold because he loves the bath. I made sure to set the water out the night before so it was nice and warm by the time they got in, also it was so hot out that chills were not a concern. Wells had a great time and they both played happily until I made them dry off for dinner. The best part was sitting in the shade next to the pool flipping through the mail while they entertained themselves together. Bring on the heat!

The Boston Temple

We held an activity for the children on the grounds of our local temple Saturday morning:

http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/boston/

It turned out be a clear and mild, but very windy day. We took the kids on a tour around the temple and taught them a little about that sacred building and some of the things that are done there. It is one of 131 operating temples with 9 under construction for those who may be curious. We feel very fortunate to have one so close to our home. Growing up in Philadelphia, our closest temple was a 2 1/2 drive to Washington DC but my what a temple it is:

http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/washington/
After, we attempted a little photo shoot, for better or for worse. Here are the best of the lot. I was totally amazed as I flipped through the pictures that there was one that had all of us looking at the camera and smiling- even Wells. As that is a very rare event, it promptly became our up dated blog header even though there is a strand of hair blowing into my eye and a wedding party standing behind us.

Growing up Way Too Fast

Already drinking (root beer) and cavorting with (baby) girls... what's next???

Busy Little Bees

We hold a Friday morning pre-school rotation and I'm in charge of crafts. We made these adorable bee hats at our craft time this morning. The kids spent the rest of the day 'buzzing' around the house and stinging each other (and me). On another note, as of yesterday, Josh is completely finished with classes- for the rest of his life! He turned in his final project yesterday for his last class and then came home early (well, 6 pm- early for him) He seemed a little surprised to note that I was more excited about this milestone than he was! One year to go... the finish line is in sight and none too soon, Wells climbed out of his crib independently this morning (luckily without getting hurt) and Nora broke her toddler bed while jumping on it. Did I mention that their (shared) room will not fit a twin bed? Just a peek into what's on my mind lately...

Nora's Primary Talk

In church on Sunday Nora gave her first talk in Primary. The topic was "My faith in Jesus Christ is strengthened when I obey". I'm not sure if you will be able to make out any of the words from this video, so here it is:

"When we learn about Jesus, a seed is planted in our hearts. This seed is called a Testimony. Just as a seed needs sun and water to grow, our testimonies can grow when we obey the commandments.

Some of the commandments are: praying, fasting, going to church, learning about Jesus, and using His name in a reverent way.

I hope we can all nourish our testimonies so that they can grow within our hearts."

She actually wrote most of it herself, illustrated the words that she couldn't read easily and helped make the visual aid.

At her request, Josh went up to help her from the stand and Wells was there to watch also. She did such a great job and we were all so proud of her. We took the video as soon as we got home. Go Nora!