Back in MA!

Lagoon China panda had plenty of room. 

Lagoon China panda had plenty of room. 

USB plugs, headphone jacks and Tvs ... What more could you need? 

USB plugs, headphone jacks and Tvs ... What more could you need? 

We returned to Boston late last night, got to our home around 1:30. Chris picked us up at the airport and we were all very excited to see him. Our flight was turbulent but the plane we traveled on was amazing. We flew Delta, which we always do, but this was the first time we've ever been on this type of plane.  USB and 110 power outlets in every seat. Seemed like way more leg room (we were row 44 all the way in the back). I'm not a plane geek but this sure was awesome. The kids dug it too. 

The house faired well without occupants for the few weeks while we are gone. The yard, not so well. Crab grass has taken over the new lawn. Lots of mail and bills to pay. Three weeks is a long time. The house feels empty and not the same without Lucy. We will drive up to Leslie's home in Maine and pick her up later this week. We are so excited to see her.  

We missed the great Boston hail storm that happened on Tuesday but our car did not.  Read this article and you'll see why we need to get some bodywork done. The Nissan got pelted really hard, 20-30 little dents all over it.

Fun filled Utah days

We are cramming it in! Visits with friends, pool, park, lagoon, card club, cousins, sleepovers, movies, bowling ... you name it we are going to try and fit it in. Enjoying our summer vacay!!!

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Zion

We are just about ready to leave Zion and head back up to northern Utah.  It's been an awesome couple of days relaxing, hiking, sitting poolside and basically enjoying our summer vacation.  Random pics...

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Plum Island

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.

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Kimball Farm

Yesterdays outing took us to Kimball farm. About 15 minutes away from us in Westward, Kimball farm is a local mini golf, arcade, golf, bumper boat and fabulous ice cream kind of place. I equate it to high end Boondocks with a TON more charm. Very pretty, like walking around a botanical garden. The place was crowded but the boys and I had a nice time together and the ice cream was to die for! Phone died half way through so the only pics to share are from mini golf.

Boys also got nice new haircuts, looking sharp.

Bug bite update — turns out the bug was vegetation in the name of poison ivy. Yes! I have a nasty case of poison ivy, pretty much reeking havoc on my system. Finally got in to see a doctor and they have hooked me up. Hopefully I can better try to avoid the poison ivy in the future. I must of come across it in yard work. Better hire a gardener. LOL.

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Fun Fourth Weekend!

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

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

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

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!

Summer has finally arrived...

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. 

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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.

Strawberry picking at Verrill Farm in Concord, MA.

Depot Road yard - first mow.

Depot Road yard - first mow.

Surprise HAPPY mail from Utah. Dad mailed our growth chart we forgot to pack - thank you!

Surprise HAPPY mail from Utah. Dad mailed our growth chart we forgot to pack - thank you!

Fifer's Day

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!".

  1. 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]

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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. 

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June 11 Weekly recap

We had another great week and busy weekend. We helped Benjamin celebrate his 13th birthday and we now have two teenagers in the house. Happy birthday Ben!!! 

Ben is not really into having his picture taken however he is into playing destiny, texting, reading, soccer, hanging out with friends, going to the yogurt shop, and being sarcastic. We love this boy!

The weekend was filled with three soccer games, two baseball games, few frozen yogurt stops, dinner date, seventh grade dance, neighborhood barbecue and an overnight visit from Leslie. It's so nice to see family.

The grass is growing and so are the weeds. Somehow we were able to fit in a couple hours of yardwork to weed the yard but seems like we might need to do this every weekend for the next few weeks. No complaining here as we have growing grass!

Happy June! 7-1/2 School days left, we are counting it down.

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Settling in

We've had a very busy and fun week. The fun started on the weekend when Chris and I had a rare date night. We enjoyed walking around Concord and had a nice meal at 80 Thoreau. The next morning Chris chauffeured me around as I looked for yard sales. I found some goodies. Later we took Nicholas to a small carnival where he got his face painted and was able to play a few games. We topped the weekend off with a nice walk with Nicholas and Lucy through Steele farm. Nicholas is so sweet and always is picking me beautiful flowers. I fit in some crafting. The older boys were involved in a weekend full of sports, finishing homework and playing video games.

This week I helped with the end of season baseball banquet and used some of my crafting skills to make pennants and centerpiece decor. Chris and I attended the banquet With Andrew, and are proud of Andrew's accomplishments. Ben had two nights of soccer tryouts for next season and Andrew started summer baseball with the local legion team. 

The fun continues as we celebrate a birthday for Ben tomorrow!!!

 

 

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Preschool Graduation!

Nicholas has graduated from preschool! Today we celebrated him in a closing ceremony at the Acton Coop. He started with this preschool class in January. He loved attending the Frogs class and enjoyed his teachers (Kelly & Emily). In Utah he attended the VIP preschool with Mrs. Bascom for the last 2 years. Thanks to all he is well prepared for kindergarten in the Fall! Yippee.

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Kelly created a darling scrapbook for Nic document his last few months at school. I've compiled of few of those pictures from his book into this PL layout. What a great year!

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And, of course... here are the end of year teacher gifts for Kelly & Emily.  I created the Tag from the Sprinkles of Life RMHC stamp set, Tree Builder punch and some BARC Wood paper. Nicholas signed the back of each tag and gave these gifts shyly to his teachers.

Sprinkles of Life tags - teacher gifts

Sprinkles of Life tags - teacher gifts

Sprinkles of Life Apple basket Tag using Tree Builder punch. Stampin' Up!

Sprinkles of Life Apple basket Tag using Tree Builder punch. Stampin' Up!

Let it grow!

The sun will come out three days after tomorrow Yep, this is a song title pun post. Last week our yard was seeded with Hydroseed and we were very excited and then we had three days of nonstop rain. We received a flash flood text alert for our area, which tells you how much rain we received. We now are wondering if the seeds have been planted or if they were washed away? Not much we can do, Time will tell. Chris and I are literally watching the grass grow.  🌱💦☀️

 

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Soccer Champ!

Winner, Winner... Ben has been playing on the local town soccer team as well as a club team. Lots of soccer games and practices. The schedule is winding down. His new Strikers team just took 2nd place in their division. Pretty cool. Ben's not digging having photos taken lately so I had to resort to stealth selfie paparazzi type photos.  Enjoy!

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AB Colonials 2015 JV Baseball season

Andrew enjoyed a great season of baseball on the AB Colonials JV baseball team. He really made some great friends and grew his social and baseball skills. We are so proud of him — it's hard to come into a new town, try out for a team, make the team and then play well. Way to go Mallett! His teammates call him 'Utah' or 'Mallett'. He played 1st base and pitched most of the season.  Here are his stats in Chris' words: 

Andrew had a terrific Freshman season. He was the only Freshman to make the JV team at AB. Played nearly every inning. He didn’t hit all that well (ok, but not great), but he played a terrific defensive 1B and couldn’t have been much better on the mound. 

 

Andrew pitched a lot. He finished with 4 wins and 1 loss with a save and a no decision on the season. He pitched in some very clutch spots and did well every time. His only poor outing was the loss. The team from Wachusetts hit him hard. His no decision was a 4-3 win in extra innings against Bridgewater Raynham. He gave up just 1 earned in that one – his first start; pitched terrific. He pitched complete games in his last two starts for the win in both. Three games back, he gave up just one hit through 4 before getting pulled in a blowout win for AB to let others pitch. Today (the last game) was his best effort of the season. He threw a one hitter, struck out 9, walked 3, and got the complete game win against Concord Carlisle.

Here are some fun photos of the team and shots taken at various games.

AB Colonials JV 2015 Team

AB Colonials JV 2015 Team

Number 18

Number 18

Coaches -vs- Cancer game

Coaches -vs- Cancer game

Andrew and Henry at the Miracle League game

Andrew and Henry at the Miracle League game

May: Yard/NYC/Baseball

It's been a busy week... I got the opportunity to go to New York for the Stationery show. Kathleen was in town and had the weekend free so she tagged along and we did a little sightseeing. It was super fun she treated me to see Les Miserables!!! We eat ate at fabulous restaurants and I got all my work complete. Not a bad way to spend the weekend.

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Our yard is slowly coming along.  This week we have the flowerbeds, sprinklers and walkway installed, now if we can just get our builder to hydroseed the yard we should be close to done! There was a little propane tank mishap and we met the local fire and police crew but that's all we will say about that.

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Baseball season is wrapping up. Andrew has a few more games until the season is over. The other day he pitched an entire game which was pretty awesome, they won 4 to 3.  Andrew participated in a charity event Saturday called the MIracle League where players help kids with disabilities play a game of baseball. Afterward Chris and Andrew took in a Red Sox game.

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