Things don't stop or even calm down around here. After our major trip to IKEA in August and the Master Bedroom Renovation, we still have Aid's and E's rooms to redo, or rather, re-floor.
And so we now have 2 down and 1 to go....
OK, so by the 16th game you're going to get tired of seeing soccer pictures, here's the big guy on Saturday early in the morning.
E on his new "Bear Chair".
Gettin' ready for another big game.
Super close up of a nice throw-in...great form Nums!
For what it's worth, his team is pretty much in-sync...skill-wise, well, there's much to be learned :)
Goal kick!
Mr. E, that's ALMOST, how you sit in a chair.
Ready to accept the ball and move up field!
Chasing after the ball, and the "ringer" Zachary for this week. Loser kid had like 15 goals. He scored every single one (except for the "own" goal that some other white team kid put in for us). His parents were yelling like he was the next Pele. Good luck chump and thanks for stayin' classy parents.
Ok enough with the negative....hope you all enjoyed!
What a busy day today for the big guy. First a bowling birthday party at 12, then a soccer game at 2 then a co-worker party this afternoon for Daddy...I'm sure Aid will sleep well tonight!
Here's some pictures from Aidan's big day:
First time ever bowling....he did good, knocking down more pins than standing up. I'd say that's a winner for a first time!
They were using 6 lbs balls, but that's still a little heavy for the big guy!
By the end, we had a little more speed on the ball, rather than just the slow rollers!
Onto Aid's first (but team's second) soccer game. He played good, had some good defensive and offensive moves. The team we played against had two or three "ringers" so it wasn't much of a game. But as always, we stressed to Aidan (and he to us) that he had fun, and that's all that counts.
Here's our Soccer man:
Pregame warm-ups.
His #1 Fan, Mookie!
"Our goal is THIS way!"
A happy little man.
Fancy Footwork, tongue out.
Aidan's big break away. He dribbled the ball all the way down to the goal, but it just went out of bounds.
Chasin' after the action with his coach nearby.
"Oh man, they scored again, that #5 has GOT to be 6 years old"
Listening to his coach for the instructions
Full speed chasing the ball!
Bumblebee soccer, everyone attack the ball!
And finally a textbook throw-in! Great job today Aidan.
Ahhhhh....back again from another fun and very exciting trip. We had planned our trip to Boston some time ago after Mommy had suggested that we go....and what a good suggestion it was.
I will tell you, Boston is now up there with some of the best cities that I've ever visited. Denver's there as well, but pound for pound, Boston is definitely a nice and beautiful city. The people were fantastic. Normal people on the subway would help us get the stroller with the boys in, they'd always move politely or offer us seats. It was really refreshing to be in a culture were people were genuinely nice. We didn't see that in Denver, and most certainly don't have in here in St. Louis. Oh well....if things go south here....we'll definitely be considering a move to Boston.
So without further ado and enough from the Boston Cheerleader that is I, let's go!
So we blasted off mid-morning on Saturday and it marked the first time we couldn't all fit in one row of a Southwest 737. Both times Mommy shared the row with the monkeys while Daddy got the opposing aisle. I think Mommy got the raw end of the dealio here.
Happy Boys, snacking in Pre-Flight
So below is the big guy with "Travelling Bear". You see his new room, the Watermelon Room, has this bear, known as Travelling Bear who travels with his class wherever and whenever someone travels. So, we signed out Travelling Bear to come with us to Boston and take some memorable pictures along the way for Travelling Bear's Journal and Picture book. And let me tell you, Mommy and Daddy were REALLY into getting Travelling Bear the best vacation ever, so watch through the pictures and you'll see him from time to time (actually 26 times, but who's counting?)
Aidan and Travelling Bear, wearing his festive scarf and Halloween Outfit. I guess T-Bear wanted to get into the October mood!
Now we got everybody looking....and Mookie has traded in the Elmo hearts for a huge bag of popcorn. That's our Mooker's the king of junk food!
Mommy snapped this great shot of Downtown Boston. Obviously you can see the airport, but also in this shot is the Charles River (upper center), all the wharfs downtown (center) and the USS Constitution (Right Center) that you'll see closer later.
So you know Daddy is a little off his rocker. I asked the Flight Attendant if Aid could get a shot with T-Bear in front of the cockpit. As we were taking the below shot, a SWA worker came on and said, "Hey do you want to sit in the Captain's Seat?" Hell yeah Aidan's sitting in the Captain's seat!! Magic folks, Magic!!
Nice jet.
Who's flying this thing!!!!! (What a nice gesture from SWA to allow us to get this shot, on Sept 10th and all too!)
So next we were off to our hotel, and then onto the "T" which is Boston's subway system (and where we met the first of many helpful people get us oriented with riding on the subway). The Blue Line took us into Aquarium Station where we walked out on Long Wharf. Here's a windy family shot.
Little windy, but still beautiful!
Speaking of the weather, 75, 70. 82, partly cloudy, generally light winds. Nuff said. Perfect.
Lots of sailboats on Bahston Harbor, many just hanging out and enjoying the day!
The Guys on the Hahbor.
BIG Yacht. Really cool boats.
So on Long Wharf (and many other places) they have these street performers. This particular one had 5 or 6 dudes doing all sorts of breakdancing and gymnastics. They were pretty good, but a little loud, so we headed on out.
Crazy dancin' man.
That's about the expression I expected the boys to have when watching these guys to their routine. :)
Since Boston's Big Dig project completed, they have taken much of the downtown area and turned it into beautiful greenways. Here in this section is an awesome fountain that the kids could play in. Ours stayed dry, but still...summertime in this thing would be great!
Neat photo here. Down at one section off of Tremont Street, we found this statue of the Democratic donkey. The boys had to get on for a quick shot. See below for the full story on the donkey (it's interesting).
A couple of jackasses. Ooops...."G" rated blog...sorry!
Read closely.
Republicans stand in Opposition
This is the King's Church Cemetery. Headstones dating back to the 1630's in here. Wicked old.
Below is the Old State House, also the point of the Boston Massacre, where 5 citizens were gunned down by British Troops and started a Revolution (no pun intended).
Another big area in Boston is the Quincy Market-Fanueil Hall area. We walked through it but didn't get any shots. On the other side of the street though was a carousel....time to ride!
Ride them horseys, Ride.
Ok, I debated and debated, should I get a Lobster? Last one I had was in Savannah GA, eons ago with my old pal Aaron when we used to get them during the Old Timers Earlybird special for $12.99. Well, this one at Legal Sea Foods was twice that, but dang, it was good!
1.5 lbs of good stuff. Sorry Mr. Lobster
Labstah and Labstah eater.
After convincing Aidan that all was well, he had fun with it (sorry that we are mocking a formerly living being here)
Labstah...no tail and claws...
Even the Mookster got into it too.
It was then time to get back on the Subway and head home. Little did we know that there was a problem and we had to get off and take a super crowded bus to the next stop. All was well though and through it all the boys....well they were champs. Here's the Blue Line at Aquarium Station.
The next morning we were back up and at it early for a cross town visit to the Boston Children's Museum. The boys were dressed up and ready to ride the rails.
Airport Station...here we go!
On Sept. 11th, T-Bear felt it was important to show his pride for the US. And he wore it proudly!
We got to the museum well before it was open so we stopped at Daddy's favorite, DD. T-Bear loved it too! The Cold Apple Cider hit the spot.
The Boston Children's Museum
T-Bear and the beautiful backdrop of Downtown Boston
Here's the site of the Boston Tea Party. They are building a museum there now.
Once inside the museum, the boys had a ball. Literally, they played in this golf ball room for a half hour!
Next it was on to burn some energy on the PowerMat. You'll see them chasing the green and red dots, which are actually supposed to be bugs.
Mooks is so fast, he's a blur!
Smoosh the bugs!
"I fought the bugs and the bugs won."
Let's rest here with Daddy...love those boys I do.
T-Bear back again sittin' on the musical chairs. (When you sat on them they played one instrument, when all seats were occupied it sounded like a full song!)
Inside Cheep Cheep land (or something like that) Aidan had to have his picture with this bird, who he thought looks like an "Angry Bird". Yep, I think its close.
Their water play was kinda blah...blah.
Aidan in the cockpit again!? This time at the helm of Arthur's Plane from Arthur (the PBS show).
T-Bear was watchin' them fly.
After the long flight, they headed over to Arthur's kitchen for a bite.
Next to the construction zone, where T-Bear realized that he's just not going to cut it as a construction worker.
But he was a good crane observer!
Maybe Mooks will be the driver?
Next, we got very lucky (kinda a theme of the trip, you'll see soon) that the Wizard of Oz touring exhibit was still there. Complete with replica Ruby slippers, a tornado, and a bunch of other cool Oz stuff.
The Ruby Slippers
Mommy's favorite, the angry tree that throws apples.
After Lunch at Au Bon Pain, here's our view of downtown...stunning day!
Nice calm day on the Hahbah.
We bought this great tourist package of being on an elevated trolley bus that we could get on and off at various spots around the city. It turned out to be great because there was a ton of stuff for T-Bear to see.
T-Bear, A-Man and Trolley Bus.
We burned Mookers out....poor chap.
But Aidan and T-Bear were still smiling!
This was the starting point for Paul Revere's great ride through Boston warning the citizens of the British movement.
And Mookie's back, and happy!
Neat sculpture of the first black regiment in the Civil War heading to battle.
Aid and T-Bear still smiling
As part of our package we got a choice of another free tour. We chose the Charles River Boat Tour and it was fantastic.
T-Bear and Aidan ready to get on the "Henry Longfellow"
Ready to leave for the Charles River Tour
Downtown from the River.
Everything in Boston has so much history. Just look at the pillars off this bridge.
All the rich Harvard kids racing their sailboats in front of MIT.
T-Bear on the Rivah!
Harvard, Aidan's college in 15 years.
Their even proud of their bridges!
Snack time...Cheeto-heads.
Family on the River!
Spectacular!
Sailor Aidan in the wind.
Mommy and Mookie
Mommy please keep your hands and head inside the boat.
Back on the trolley, Mommy again got the boys. :P
The next few will be some great architecture of Boston...I can't remember what they are, but they are cool and mostly copied off of ones in Europe, because that's how our great society was founded, by copying.
Here's the John Hancock Building, tallest in Boston...looking good!
Oh NO! Aidan's nodding off too!
We ate dinner at The Barking Crab, which had some sketchy reviews, but honestly I thought it was good! Both Mommy and I had the Lobster Roll, it was full of lobster!
Me and my Big Crabby!
Travelling Bear at the restaurant.
Barking Crabbies.
Monday was our last day and we had it jammed packed with all of our little mates. T-Bear went back to his old reliable Halloween outfit.
We took the trolley up to Old North and stopped in the Italian district to have a snack at Mike's Pastries...a VERY famous place up there...famous for its cannolis especially. See below:
Aid and T-Bear got a cupcake with sprinkles
Mommy and Daddy split a caramel pecan cannoli.
CANNOLIS!!!!
That's the place folks, line's out the door on the weekends.
Old North Church. One if by Land...Two if by Sea (or River actually).. That's the place folks!
You bet T-Bear had to get one of the most famous monuments in Bahston.
Inside the church was the pew boxes that each family used to sit in....usually reserved for very affluent people (READ: Captains and Admirals)
Except for this one way in the back, it was reserved for strangers and wardens.
Nice organ.
This is Copley Hill cemetery...another very old place.
This woman, Mrs. Ann McMillian, lived to be 81 years old....in 1805!! That folks is amazing.
The epitaph reads: "Happy soul thy days are ended, all thy mourning days below, Go, by angel guards attended to the sight of Jesus go." Wicked awesome...wicked.
This is some neat Mommy and Daddy stuff, the boys, eh, they wanted more Cheetos.
But alas we are onto the USS Consitution, aka, Old Ironsides! The oldest commisioned active ship in the world. The USN still floats this bad boy from time to time. Have at it mates!
Family shot!
T-Bear on this one huzzah!
We lucked out and found a great pizza place called "Figs". Little did we know that it was by Todd English a world famous superchef. No wonder it was so darn good.
Mooks wanted the whole thing!
Walking back through yet another beautiful and clean park.
T-bear went the distance with the buckin' fish.
Now onto the debaucle of the trip. Daddy, in my infinitely planning wisdom er controlmanship, got us messed up on times. We had tickets to do a Harbor Duck Boat tour (were they drive you into the water). Well it was a 90 min tour that I thought was to go at 1PM. Well, our tickets said 12. And it was 1247PM. We missed the boat. Enter Angry Mommy!!!
Quick thinking and some luck later, I had us on a different boat splash tour called the Harbor Splash and we were ON OUR WAY!!!
Super Duck and Daddy Saved the Day.
Now here's a movie of the big splash!
BOOYAH!!
I should add here that across from the church was a wicked cheap souvenir store. 2 sweatshirts, 4 t shirts, and two stuff lahbstahs later (and only $60), we were in business. Aidan's lobster was affectionately and creatively named (by him)....Mr. Lobster. So T-Bear now had a friend.
I didn't get a picture of our duck boat, but here is what they look like.
Mooks and Mommy, two happy sailors!
Family time again on the Little Mystic River (yes, like the movie)
Old Mookie meets Old Ironsides!
As always, things just tend to get better...Aidan was invited up to be the First Mate and sit next to Captain Roger. They talked and laughed...what a sight to see our big guy being such a star!
Then the second mate got invited up and was promptly put into a headlock by the first mate (not really)
I can't say enough about how they helped us through this one. Listen goto Boston, do the Super Tours touring group. You will not be sorry.
Here's the trolley we were on:
They're huge.
Time was wearing thin and we were starting to stretch the limit when Mommy suggested that we do the Swan Boats in Boston Public Garden. It would our proverbial "Swan Song" of joy leaving beautiful Boston.
T-Bear's last shot, with the swan
Mooks was running out of gas...poor guy.
It was so peaceful. I just had to whisper to the boys in order to not ruin it.
The ducks came up right next to us. :)
The boats are peddled by college dudes.
Appropriate, I know.
The big GW...riding for the revolution
Postcard....amazing.
After some energy snacks, the boys were ready to burn at the airport...and we needed them to burn for the 3 hour flight.
And Ipods are good....real good!
Such little travelers they are!
All in all...fantastic trip. Unbelievable actually. This is why we work hard, why we do these things for our boys, to do things as a family and enjoy new experiences together...this is what a real vacation is to me and to us....and it was wicked good!
Have a great night,
Ty, Emmy, Aidan and Ethan
PS: All Bostonians say wicked for something that is extraordinary.
