Leaving Philly

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"On board and all ready to go!"

Our Weekend Date with Zane

Andy had to go to Philadelphia to help support his friend, Shawn, who was running a race that weekend.  We decided to make a date of it and take Zane for a special overnight trip.  Here are Andy and Zane in front of the Hard Rock Cafe.

The next morning we walked over to IHOP.  Zane specifically requested a smiley face with whipped cream.  That's my boy!

That morning we had some time to kill before Andy had to go help out at the race, so we walked to Independence Hall.  It is under construction, as you can see the facade.

We then walked up to the US Mint.  Zane wanted to see how money was made.  It must be top secret since no cameras are allowed inside.

Then we walked back to the hotel, checked out, and went to the Market for lunch.  Zane got a double-scooped ice cream cone.

Happy as can be.

After lunch, Andy had to meet Shawn, so he dropped Zane and me off at the train station.  We would be taking the train home.  In Harry Potter fashion, we had to board at Platform 9.  (No 3/4, though.)

It was Zane's first real train ride, not counting DC Metro or the NY Subway.  It was so much fun having this one-on-one time with Zane.  It was nice to 'spoil' him with special little things:  like a double-decker ice cream cone.

Target receipt = gold mine!

Watch your Target receipts, ladies. Last month, after I checked out at Target, I noticed a coupon for a FREE photo book from Shutterfly printed on the bottom of my receipt. Score!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Whirlwind Visit

This is a picture of me, Harrison, and my Grandma Montgomery from 2004.

Oh how I love my grandma! I had the opportunity to fly out to Boise to visit her. It was a quick 24-hour visit, but I will cherish it forever. She is one of the most kind, giving, and caring person that I know. She is such a good example to me and such a good friend. I am so grateful for the knowledge that, even though her body may be failing her right now, she will ALWAYS be my grandma and I will ALWAYS be her granddaughter.
On the way home, I had a three-hour connection in Salt Lake. Zach and Stacie were so nice to come visit me, so I took them out to lunch. It was a great visit, even if it was only for 1 hour!

Ahhhh, P.F. Changs and your Great Wall of Chocolate!

England!

Posts to follow shortly, describing in every detail our fabulous trip!

I just need to finish editing our pictures, and get back on top of things.

"Snap back to reality, oh there goes gravity…"

The World

While You Were Sleeping, probably one of my favorite movies of all time. I always thought it was so romantic that Lucy's mom had given her father a globe. And, being the romantic that he was, he thought she had given him the world. That was how he knew he was in love with her.
For years now, Andy has wanted a map of the world. Not just any map, but a huge, ginormous map to hang up on the wall.
One day, while lurking on decorating blogs, I came across this one. It was so unbelievably awesome and perfect that I had to show Andy.

And so, being the romantic that I am, I gave him the world.

(Technically, it was with the $$ my parents had

given us for Christmas, but you get the idea.)

After painting the room (Nordic Blue), hanging the map, (no small feat, it came in 3 sections), painting the trim and hanging it to make a frame, the map was complete. We just sat and stared at it, it was so beautiful. Kids are not allowed to touch. (Abric shows how big this map really is.)
And Andy, being the realist that he is, gave me an Oyster Card --- a pass to the London Underground.

We are going to England!

Yes, it will be next month in February.

Yes, it will be freezing.

But we got a super deal.

And I would rather be cold than hot, anyway.

Yay!

A Beautiful Day

The local forecast for Saturday was a high of 64. We knew we couldn't stay home on a day like that! We picked Harrison and Zane up from a slumber party at a friend's house down in Maryland. Our van hit 100,000 miles on the way, so we had to document that.
We ended up taking the long way around the Baltimore beltway (thank you, GPS). With 5 hungry boys, we stopped at the first restaurant that wasn't fast food. It happened to be P.F. Changs. We were worried about our pocket book, but decided we needed to feed the kids fast or the day wasn't going to go as well as we had planned.

I. Love. P.F. Changs! They were so kid-friendly! A kids' meal was only $3 and it came with chopsticks and chopstick helpers. Even Ewan was able to master the art of 'Kung Fu Panda Noodles', as they call lo mein.
Abric loved the 'horsies' out front. You'll have to click on the picture and enlarge it to see his enthusiasm.
Our experiment for the day was to ride the DC Metro with all four kids and a disassembled jogging stroller. Andy carried the main part, each boy had a wheel, and I had Abric.
All the boys loved riding the train. Ewan is in a pull-a-face-for-the-camera phase, which really grossed us out because those trains are not clean. You can even see his gum.

Happy, happy boys.

Abric getting in on the face-pulling action.

Why did we ride the metro? To go to the National Zoo, of course. It is free!
We saw lots and lots of different animals…. and lots and lots of different people. (It was packed.)

We saw lions

and tigers

but no bears.

The more we walked, the more I realized how unprofessional my camera is. Oh my!

We did finally see the elephants on the way out of the zoo.

Quote of the day: after carrying Abric, and Zane, around half of the zoo, I asked Andy:

Me: Are you tired?

Andy: No, because I'm wearing a marathon t-shirt.

Andy, I love how you can always make me laugh.

Back on the Road: Day 2

We spent the night in Kearney, NE, which is exactly halfway between Boston and San Francisco, in case you were wondering. That is just one of the fascinating facts I found out about Kearney while the boys swam and I did the laundry. This museum straddles I-80.
We stopped in Winter Quarters for lunch, just outside of Omaha, NE. This is where the Mormon Pioneers stayed during the winter of 1846-47.
We went inside the visitor's center for a tour. The boys got to dress up like pioneers.

First, we said good-bye to Nauvoo.

Then we packed our wagons to get ready for the trek.

We got to go inside a cabin that would usually house two families.

The boys got to spin a wagon wheel to see how the odometer worked.

The boys got to pull a handcart.

They also got to go into the bottom of a ship that would bring saints from England and Europe. One family only had one bunk to live in during the 3 month trip.

A pioneer with a wink and a smile.

Boston Bound

Andy had an opportunity from a co-worker to get a great deal on tickets to the NBA play-offs: Celtics vs Cavaliers. He decided to take Harrison so they could have some male-bonding time. They left early Friday morning, went to the game Friday night, then came home Saturday. A quick trip. A boys' weekend. Harrison said he was just pretending to pick his nose and has made an effort to point out that his knuckle is going up his nose, not his finger.

He they are, in front of The Garden.

(Or as they say in Boston: The Gaah-den).

Harrison was awestruck.

Andy and Harrison wait for the game to start. Man, am I lucky or what? I am surrounded by good looking guys!
The Celtics lost miserably….. the announcer called it the second 'Boston Massacre'. Andy didn't mind, because he was secretly rooting for the Cavaliers. Shhhhh…

After the game, they took a walk on the Freedom Trail. They stopped at The Old North Church, where the signal was given about the movement of the British troops: one lantern if they traveled by land, two lanterns if they traveled by sea.
This really is a statue of Paul Revere… it was just dark. Andy said the boys ran and ran. After being in a car for 7 hours and then sitting at the game, they were ready to run!
The group the next morning: three dads and three sons. Total guys weekend.
On the way home, they stopped at the Gillette Stadium where the NFL Patriots play, and more importantly in my book, where the MLS Revolution play.

Andy had invited his brother, Michael, to go on this trip because he was really looking forward to a guys weekend with his big bro. Because of his work schedule, he wasn't able to go, so Andy decided to take Harrison. This was great for two reasons:

1. I think it is the beginning of a new tradition for daddy to take one son at a time to do something special. These boys are growing up much to fast. We can't believe that Harrison is almost a teenager. (At least that's what he says. lol)
2. Andy and Harrison were in much need of some time together. They are too much alike. We all know what happens when you try to put two north poles of a magnet together: they repel away from each other. Andy and Harrison have the potential to become the best of friends because they are so much alike. The outing this weekend helped them get to know each other better.

BLT Reunion Day 3

Sunday was much warmer (in the morning), so we took advantage of the sunshine until the next storm came in.
Dainty Miss Morgan is all girl! I wish I had a video, but this was exactly how she walked on the sand. She is such a cutie.
After the beach, lunch, and some power naps, we decided to take a nice relaxing walk on the boardwalk. We found a playground, in the sand of course, and decided to let the kids play. I think that saying that Abric loved the slide would be an understatement.
The cousins played in the sand, dug deep holes, and buried each other. I cannot count the number of showers and loads of laundry we did this weekend.
Walking on the boardwalk on an over cast day. Andy packed the boys scooters last minute-- it was an ingenious idea.
There were a lot of sculptures along the boardwalk. We took 1 minute to take a picture with this fish and you would have thought it was the end of the world for Harrison. He was ready to go home. (As for our opinion, he was ready for a nice long nap!!!)
Ewan's turtle. The wind was really starting to pick up.
It was a busy, busy, busy weekend. I think Abric pretty much summed up how we all felt after dinner on Sunday evening.
Being at the big BLT Family Reunion means:

• getting to know Andy's side of the family
• listening to funny stories when Andy and his cousins were kids
• laughing until we can't laugh any more
• playing games
• getting haircuts (Amy is a rock star!)
• eating like kings and queens
• playing at the beach

But my favorite part of all is

• watching the cousins play and build lasting relationships and memories.

You can't put a price on something like that. We are already counting down until next year!