Look who came for a visit?!!! We were so excited to welcome my mom for a visit on her birthday weekend. It was a quick trip but we packed in a ton. We spent today at Brimfield flea market walking around, scoring a few unique finds and visiting. We saw the coast, attended various kids sports, and went out for a nice seafood dinner. We even fit in a little crafting. Thanks for a lovely visit mom, come back soon!!!
School starts later here on the East Coast than in Utah. Of course I had to take first day of school pictures ... the kids started just after Labor Day. We have a senior, a sophomore and a second-grader!!! These boys are awesome, we love them so much and are so proud of them. You boys are going to rock 2017-18 school year!
Ben - gearing up for the HS JV soccer team!
UPDATED: With paint color
It's really difficult to blog personal stuff anymore. I'm fairly consistent with the crafty stuff but not so much on the home front. There are so many other social media platforms and Instagram is my go to. I usually only share one or two photos on Instagram, and the older boys don't like me to post pictures of them at all. My Instagram feed looks like we only have one kid, a.k.a. Nicholas.
I figured I will share some more photos of my yellow door (shared in Instagram last week). I recently painted our front door yellow and I love it! It wasn't hard to do. It took only 2 hours and made such a difference. It looks so good in this forest full of green we live in. I plan to paint both of our back doors this color as well. Just waiting for a rain free day.
As usual my trusty model Nicholas was game to take pictures.
Yellow front door with awesome 9.99 yellow mums from Costco! Not yet in bloom.
Yellow mums are blooming!
Fun new place to play!
Outside the garage. I took old black pots and spray painted them teal.
Seven year old kids are awesome!
Yellow door filled in with flowers.
UPDATE: A few of you have asked me what the paint color is. That would of been a genius move to post the color when I originally posted. Oops. Better late than never. Here is a picture of the top of the paint can with the reference number 3006-1A. It's a Valspar Paint called Dijon. Hope this helps.
THANK YOU Brooks family for an amazing visit. So much fun! Geoff, Ky & the kids came from Utah for a visit over spring break. We packed it in, everyday something new.
Ky ran the 120th Boston marathon. So impressive! We watched and cheered her along. There were so many people cheering it made me tear up. Many spectators along the route provided water, food, lube and basically looked out for all of the runners needs. With Chris' navigation skills we were able to see Ky 4 times along the route! We even caught up to Melissa once. When we hit the city we were blown away by how many spectators. Geoff and I tried to find Ky after the run and it was insane to navigate. 27,491 runners and 500,000 spectators. WHOA!
The night before the marathon we had a quick Sunday dinner with our family, the Brooks Family and Paul and Missy (Melissa ran the marathon as well). It was so great to catch up with everyone and it literally was the first time we've had more than 2 guests over. LOL.
120th Boston Marathon - KY is AMAZING!
I should have posted pictures daily. Instead I'll bombard and download highlights from the week here. We had such a great time. Come back soon!!!
Kennebunk - Maine
Cape Elizabeth - Maine
Cape Elizabeth - Maine
Boston Duck Tour - the kids got the drive the boat!
Red Sox game
Lobsta!
Antiques! - Pyrex bowl sets for 45$ & 60$ - Mom you got a deal!
Even though the older boys aren't shown in pictures they had a nice spring break too. Ben spent the first 1/2 of break in DC for a School trip. 80 kids took DC by storm. Ben got some visit time in toward the end of of the week. I believe he kicked Geoff's butt multiple times in FIFA.
Andrew had 3 baseball games, more driver's ed, game nights with friends and also tagged along on most of our adventures above. He's good at avoiding the camera!
I am so very happy we had a mild winter this year. I think we deserved it after the record breaking winter from last year.
This March, so far, has been warmer than last March and the world around shows signs of awakening. Soon all of this will be green but for now ... this rusty, tan, brown is the color of March. Right down to the two golden retrievers that are finally enjoying some outdoor time.
Views form the yard.
Dogs - ug, a bath is in order.
Bust stop shenangans.
Annisquam Harbor Light Station 2/2016
Mom with Annisquam Harbor Light Station in background - 2/2016
When mom was here we spent a day seeking out the coast and a few lighthouse North of Boston. These were shot in FEBRUARY! Can you believe it? The only indication that is was bitter cold is the freezing people in the companion shots.
The above shots are of Annisquam Harbor Light Station. This lighthouse was Established in 1801 and is one of the oldest in Mass. It is not open to the public and was tricky to get to. In fact we may have trespassed a little to get these shots.
American artist Winslow Homer (1836-1910) lived at Eastern Point Light in 1880. Below are views of the Eastern Point Lighthouse and Harbor. I found the harbor views most interesting.
Shot of Nic looking out from lighthouse base.
Eastern Point Lighthouse in Gloucester, MA 2/2016
from a c. 1915 postcard.
Breakwater & Eastern Point Lighthouse, Gloucester, MA; from a c. 1915 postcard. (Public Domain)
This impromptu day trip has created further interest with Chris and I in seeking out lighthouses. Likely more posts in the future.
It's been a couple of years since our entire family has been skiing together. We fixed this problem last week with a couple of days at Chris' hometown ski resort, Attitash. We stayed onsite and it was super fun to wake up and ski right out the door. Nic took a couple of lessons and we all skied! And while cold, the days couldn't have been prettier.
A little delayed but here are some fun pictures our night trip to the Ice Castle in NH. We went with Megan and her kids and it was a great night. So many fun places to take pictures!
I've been hunkering down working a bunch of hours lately so I have been neglecting the personal blog updates. All is well in Mallett land.
We have enjoyed a mild weather January. It feels like spring. I know this won't last but it makes daily walks with the dogs so much more pleasant.
I celebrated another year last weekend! GO 42! Andrew & Ben volunteered to watch Nic while Chris took me into the city for a spa day and a nice night at the Liberty Hotel. The Liberty is the old Boston prison converted into a luxury Hotel. We enjoyed nice food and people watching. It was a great birthday. Family and friends sent nice gifts and birthday wishes. It feels great to be remembered. THANK YOU!
The dogs are well. Puppy training is helping keep Scout in line. Nicholas loves him so much that sometimes his hugs are little to hard and invoke a tiny growl from Scout. Lucy is enjoying feeling young again and I am constantly picking up stuffed animal guts as these two dogs can really tear them apart.
Ben and Andrew are great but, as you know, not too willing for photos. Andrew is enjoying ski team and is improving daily. The snow here is different from Utah and he has a bit of a learning curve. Andrew made the local paper the other day. Benefit of living in a small town.
Ben and team won a soccer tournament. Five games spread out over a Saturday their team won 4 of 5 games and Ben had a 4 game shut out with NO goals scored! He played super well and had a great time!
Chris spent a large chunk of time finishing his chapter 4 & 5 of dissertation. These are out for review right now and hopefully with minor edits he'll graduate in April!!!
Morning dog walk.
Big car in the city. Parking like PRO!
Hi everyone! I made a few simple changes to my website recently. Most obvious is creating a personal blog and moving personal posts to this blog. My site has a couple of different audiences. While I know BOTH audiences are totally interested in my personal posts I thought separating the two made sense as I try to grow my craft blog. I have been hesitant to post too much crafty and too much personal and now I don't have to be so selective. Now I may even post what I ate for lunch. Kidding - I'll try to keep it real. So far I have moved personal posts from Sept 2014 forward. I will likely continue to move posts in the coming weeks.
As always, thanks for stopping by, reading, commenting and keeping up with us on our life's adventures. Hugs.
Folding socks. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY! psych.
Our last day in NYC had us strolling around the town playing tourist. We took a trip to central park and walked the sights. We all enjoyed greasy diner lunch food at Astros. Shopping and food.
Chris and I capped off the night with another Phish show. This show was more mellow and full of long jams. It was a good show. We had much better seats. I was able to score posters for all 4 nights. Woohoo!
Normally I put a little more effort into Halloween. This year we skated by and now, after the fact, I'm feeling a little bad about it. I did decorate the inside of the house, but we didn't even carve pumpkins. Next year. I gotta step up my game.
This year Nicholas was spiderman. Another costume recycled from when Andrew was spiderman. Yeah! I knew we saved those costumes for a reason. Nic really enjoyed Halloween. We attended the Fall Festival held at his school. It was awesome! He was excited to walk in the school costume parade (only K and 1st grade). Halloween night we went to a pizza party and trick-or-treating with a few new friends.
Ben got on the bus as Donald Trump (did his hair, wore a suit coat, slacks, dress shirt and red tie) but got off the bus as Ben Mallett. Somewhere along the route he decided not enough kids were dressed up. Instead his costume throughout the day changed from, business casual, puffy pirate, Trump and Mickey Mouse.
Andrew & Ben opted out of Halloween night festivities and decided to stay home and greet any trick-or-treaters we might get. NOT A ONE. :) I even purchased BIG candy bars for those brave souls who would trek up the hill. Instead they watched movies and chilled.
We missed spending time with the Utah family but luckily got to see cool pics of some of the cousins in costume. Nice work cousins!
This area has a ton of Halloween eye candy. I took numerous trips to various cemetery's to snap pictures.
We wrapped up a nice weekend. We attended the cutest housewarming party for Sam and Abby (Chris' cousin) and had a great time catching up with family in New Hampshire. Abby decorated her new home for the party with tons of burlap, chalkboard and wood. Super cute!
Ben had soccer games all weekend one in downtown Boston, one in Lincoln. The weather was enjoyable. Sports affords us reasons to stop in new places. A quick trip to the farmers market in Concord was beautiful and fun to snap a few pictures. I purchased a couple of HUGE mums for only 6$. Bargain! Nic participated in a vegetable derby race and won his heat. He built a car out of a large green pepper. The cars name is Pepperman.
We stopped at a coffee shop called HAUTE coffee and had a nice breakfast. Ben ordered cinnamon toast. The toast was literally two inches thick. Mom, you have competition.
Today was a holiday (Rosh Hashanah) and the kids were out of school. More holidays are celebrated and recognized here than in Utah. I cleaned and worked. Andrew had a dr. appointment to look into his elbow pain (overuse), we now have a referral to a sports medicine guy in Lexington in October.
Summer is ending and it's hard to believe it is the last day of August. This past week was full and we enjoyed our last bits of summer. We took a day trip to Mattapoisett to pick up Ben (Ben was invited to stay a few days with a friend). Nic and I really enjoyed our visit. We spent a few hours on the beach and toured around the amazing town with new friends. So peaceful and a summer highlight.
While Ben was away I headed up to Nashua, New Hampshire for an afternoon with Andrew and Nic for some back to school shopping. It was a quick trip (Nashua is about 40 minutes away). Nashua has a ton of the big name shopping stores (and a Costco) with the benefit of NH tax free shopping.
We love playing tourists. Saturday we headed to the city to continue sight-seeing and walk a bit more of the Freedom trail. This trip took us to Faneuil Hall and the Old State House where the Declaration of Independence was read from the balcony in 1776. We toured the Museum and brushed up on Revolutionary War facts. We even visited the "Historic" 1980 Beacon Hill Cheers Bar location and ate some grub at a Cheers replica.
More stops along the Freedom trail: Faneuil Hall and the Old State House and Cheers on Beacon hill.
We snuck in a play set just before the end of Summer. Nic is beyond happy. He loves his new clubhouse and slide. The weather has been perfect here for the last week and it's made being outdoors really enjoyable. The humidity is giving us a break.
Our new play set - before and after
The playhouse is huge but luckily we have the space. This would have never fit in our Sandy backyard. It makes our yard feel much more homey. The playhouse has an area for a sandbox. I plan to add sand underneath the play house one bag at the time of the next while. We'll see how that goes ...
Other highlights from last week; kindergarten orientation - Nic is beyond excited!!!, a visit from Leslie, visit from Abby and Sam, yard work—the hillside is free of weeds, bike rides, crafting, a new countertop area for my craft space, and lastly a bunch of work. Yeah for work!
Can I also just note how much I LOVE full weeks? LOVE. THEM.
A few updates from August:
Getting back into life and routine here in Mass. The weather has been hot and muggy. Some say usually muggy. We are finally enjoying a yard and continuing on yard work/improvements. Weeding is never ending in the woods.
This kids are great and enjoying the last bits of summer. Nicholas lost his first tooth! Andrew started Drivers Ed and recovering from a a sore elbow from tendonitis (we think). Ben is ramping up with soccer again and is working on his unpacking and organizing his bedroom (he finally got that loft bed he was promised). They all start school here in early September.
We've packed in a few city trips and have tried to act like tourists to become more familiar with our area. Boston is a great city, we need to "visit" more often.
I've been working, freelance, side projects and a bit of craft stuff. I'm still unpacking and organizing the house, if you can believe it?! We have so much stuff to get rid of. I need a DI drop off. Funny what you miss. Chris is head down and working hard. Loves his job. Life is good.
The yard in Boxborough. Grass is coming in and so is the crab grass.
Tooth business. Nicholas pulled it out himself. Going rate $3.50.
Boston Common in August 2015
Swan Boat ride - August 2015
We spent a good part of the Saturday on the North Shore, this time on Plum Island. Andrew had a baseball game in Newbury Port and since it's a good hour drive from here we thought we'd tag along and get in some sight-seeing.
Plum Island is a super nice area with really clean sandy beaches. The water was not too cold and it was clear. Nic found and gathered 40-50 shells. He loves to comb the beach. After the beach and the game I spent sometime walking around the town while Chris, the boys and Nic enjoyed the playground. There is a playground right in the middle of the town shopping, so smart! I did a tiny bit of shopping and we enjoyed burgers at Lexie's (L.O.V.E. = peace love and burgers). We will definitely head back to this area in the future.
Happy 4th of July weekend! This was our first real 'holiday' weekend in Massachusetts. So much to do and not sure what to do we set out to hang at a beach somewhere on the south shore. Beaches were crowed or full due to the holiday. We luckily found parking and a beach spot at the very crowed Duxbury Beach. Nic loves the ocean and had a blast swimming and playing. The older boys read, chilled and helped bury Nic in the sand. Somehow we missed the local firework show. We got out dates crossed somehow. Bummer!
Duxbury Beach July 3, 2015
We took a trip to Plymouth Rock and played tourist for a few hours. We walked around the Plymouth harbor and enjoyed each others company stopping at all the sights; Mayflower II, Plymouth Rock, various anchors, candy and cupcake shops. The boys and I love a good candy shop. I purchased some Razzles but somehow left without salt water taffy?! The weather was perfect for strolling around with a slight breeze. We capped off the day with a seafood dinner - fried scallops, yum!
Plymouth Rock - July 3, 2015
Somehow have neglected to teach Nic how to ride a two-wheeler. We set out to solve that problem this weekend. We drove up to Nashua to buy a bike - Nic picked a spiderman bike and spiky helmet. He is dedicated to learn and stated "I can do this" while attempting to balance. He is so cute and enthused! A few more days of practice and he will be a professional.
Nic's new bike - July 5th, 2015
Because I can't stop complaining it's worth mentioning, but not showing, I've been attacked. It seems there is a bug that likes me more than the mosquito and its bite is way, WAY worse. I'm assuming (from serious internet research) I was attacked by no see ums, or small black flies - not really sure as I didn't see the attack, only the aftermath. Let me tell ya ... I am looking and feeling like a freak! My arms and legs were some serious all you can eat buffet. Since I am allergic to most bites these suckers followed suit and have swollen and blistered, oozed and have become serious sores. And the ITCH, whoa! I'll take a mosquito bite any day over these bites. Day five and not looking to heal anytime soon. Likely doctor tomorrow as my body is not tackling on it's own. Advice appreciated.
Hope your Fourth was a blast and bite free!
We are getting to know our area a little bit. Chris suggested we start using trip advisor for places to visit. Why not? This morning the boys and I drove a short 15 minutes to Concord and walked around and saw the sights at Minute Man National Historic Park. “North Bridge - Where Organized Resistance Began ...”
Let's get this summer started! The longest school year ever has officially ended and we are so ready for some time off. The boys finished their last day of school and let me snap a rare picture of them, not to be posted anywhere. OOPS.
This weekend we did a little strawberry picking and a whole lot of yard work. I hope to make jam this week. The lawn has come in enough that we were able to mow it for the first time. It took forever! I weeded and planted a few more flowers (100 daylilies I got online for a steal!) and the boys helped me weed. Once we get the yard established I hope the maintenance will be a little easier.
Saturday we watched Andrew's baseball game. He played 1st all game. He hit a single with an RBI that tied the game and then was able to score the winning run. It was an exciting game to watch.
Sunday it rained. ALL. DAY. LONG. Seriously not used to the length of these storms. It was a nice day to stay indoors. I got caught up on some work and did a lot of crafting. Chris relaxed and the boys vegged out with video games and movies. Not a bad start to summer.
Strawberry picking at Verrill Farm in Concord, MA.
Depot Road yard - first mow.
Surprise HAPPY mail from Utah. Dad mailed our growth chart we forgot to pack - thank you!
We are used to celebrating July 24th or Pioneers Day in Utah. In our small town of Boxborough they celebrate Fifer's Day. The town puts together a parade, fair with booths and fair type things. We were invited to sit along the parade route with a few new friends from kindergarten. Nicholas met 5 new kids and collected parade candy. He declared "this is the best day!".
A fifer is a non-combatant military occupation of a foot soldier who originally played the fife during combat. The practice was instituted during the period of Early Modern warfare to sound signals during changes in formation, such as the line, and were also members of the regiment's military band during marches.
Some history for you about our town and why it celebrates Fifer's ... taken from Wikipedia:
Boxborough is known for its annual Fifer's Day celebration. The day commemorates Luther Blanchard, the fifer who marched the local minuteman company to the Battle of Concord on April 19, 1775. At the North Bridge, minutemen companies from various towns of the Commonwealth successfully engaged the British, forcing the redcoats to retreat. During this action Blanchard was wounded slightly, one of the first battle casualties of the Revolutionary War. He survived to fight the British again a few short weeks later at the Battle of Bunker Hill, where he was again wounded. But in September of the same year, he died, ostensibly of the wounds he received in these battles. He is buried at the Old Burial Ground in Littleton, Massachusetts.[17]
Andrew had a baseball game near the coast later in the day so we decided to head down a bit early and check out Marblehead. We stopped by Devereaux Beach, ate some yummy seafood and watched Andrew pitch in the game.
