Monday, September 3, 2012

Summer Vacation to Boston

Two weeks ago, we took our first real bonafide road trip. We have done shorter trips before, but this was the real deal: the 8-hour drive from DC to Boston (Woburn). It was tough but we had so much fun. We also did a lot in a short amount of time, so here's the photo recap. And, if this post is too long for you, just skip down to the bottom of the post for the video recaps. We're a multimedia bunch around here.

Wednesday
We left after P&F woke up and hit the road around 7am. Unfortunately, we didn't even make it to Baltimore before the whining started. Thankfully, I had loaded up the car with new toys, books, and snacks. We also brought a DVD player just in case it was needed. And, let me tell you, we needed it. The typically 8-hour trip ended up taking 11 hours due to all the traffic. I've never been so happy to hear Clifford's voice as when we hooked up that DVD player.

After spending 11 hours in the car and arriving in Woburn at 6pm, we didn't do much else beyond unpack, eat dinner, and go to bed. Thankfully, P&F went right to sleep in my mom's basement in their pack-n-plays with little fuss. The only drama of the night was when Piper brought a wipe into the tub with her and it got stuck in the drain.


Thursday
Thursday, we woke up early and tried desperately to free the wipe from the drain. With no such luck, we left the house to figure it out later with a plumber and headed into Boston to the New England Aquarium. We got there right after it opened, so we practically had the place to ourselves.

Piper and Fletch loved the seals. They were pretty cute.




I told Piper the fish in here was Mr. Grouper from Bubble Guppies, and she about died. She also didn't want to leave the exhibit and kept talking about it the rest of the time.



After finishing at the aquarium, we took a quick ride on the nearby carousel. Piper LOVES "horsies" and carousels.


Fletch isn't such a big fan so he sat on the bench instead.


After all that fun, it was time to head home for naps and to wait for the plumber, who miraculously rescued the wipe. Thank goodness because that night we all had a wedding to go to. Auntie Corinne and Fred finally decided to tie the knot.

Here are the kids, mom, and me all dolled up.


Piper and Fletch loved the gazebo at the ceremony. Piper kept calling it her castle. They also loved all the attention from friends and family. That is, they loved it until the ceremony started. Piper did not like having to sit still and be quiet, so unfortunately, she had to be whisked away by Eric. But, Fletch and I were so happy to see Auntie Corinne get married.







After the ceremony, they had a terrific reception at Polcari's--an Italian restaurant in Woburn. P&F thought the red napkins were the greatest toy in the world.



Fletch also couldn't get enough of the delicious dinner.


Piper hammed it up for all the other guests.


And here is the happy couple...


We had so much fun at the wedding. We didn't get home until about 10pm, and Piper and Fletch didn't bat an eye at missing bedtime or being out late. They knew what a special occasion it was and were thrilled to see everyone.

Friday
On Friday, we decided to take it easy and went to Rockport for the morning. We started with a quick stop at a local playground to let P&F play for a bit before sitting in the stroller. Then, we were off.

Fletch loved watching the boats on the water. However, he was forced to stay in the BOB for part of the time to avoid taking an unfortunate swim.

 




Piper "read" to us from this historical marker.






They loved all the toys in the beach toy store.


After a busy morning of counting boats and pretending to be pirates, we settled in for a delicious seafood lunch. I had the best lobster roll ever. I'm still dreaming about it.


On Thursday night, Laura was nice enough to invite all of the girls and our families over to her house. Piper and Fletch had so.much.fun, especially on their trampoline. Just like last time we got together, it was so cool to see all the kids playing and to have time to talk and catch up.





 Saturday
We saved our final trip into Boston for Saturday where we spent the morning at the Public Garden seeing the ducklings and walking around Boston Common.

The kids loved riding the ducklings. May way for Fletchie!


As you can see from all of these photos, our third child is named Dora. She wears a backpack and has a friend named Boots. She goes everywhere with us these days.






They both have discovered a love for butterflies, especially Fletch. So of course when they noticed all the butterflies in these flowers, we had to watch for a while. For the record, I still think butterflies are gross.


After the butterflies, we did another carousel ride. Piper was in heaven.



After a busy morning, we all napped and then had P&F's early 2nd birthday party. They got so many great gifts.



They also had delicious cake. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures of Fletch enjoying the cake because he freaked out at the candles or something and was a mess. But, he still had a good time at the party.


And, as usual, Piper had a great time hamming it up for the camera.


Sunday
Finally and sadly, Sunday came. It was time to go home. Piper woke up looking a little under the weather, but we just hoped for the best. The ride was going really well until Connecticut where she started to get fussy. We pulled off the highway at an exit to look for a pharmacy to get baby motrin, when all the sudden we heard a horrible noise from the backseat. Poor Piper got sick everywhere. So, our quick stop in CT turned into an hour long clean up. However, as you can see, everyone was in great spirits while we cleaned the car. Piper was especially happy when we let her wear Fletch's clothes.



The trip home took 10-11 hours too, so not much better than the way there. We got stuck in traffic, had the delay due to Piper getting sick, and got caught in a big rain storm. However, nothing could ruin our good mood after having such a wonderful vacation.

And as promised, here are a few videos from the trip. Enjoy!

Piper and Fletch at the New England Aquarium

Boston and Rockport

Second Birthday in Boston

Public Garden and Boston Common






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