family fun

It's been too overwhelming to post about our family vacation in the mountains - so many photos, so many stories, so many memories. Here's the summary: we hiked, we swam, we saw trains, we ate ice cream, we conquered StoryLand. Fun! It was great to spend the week together in such a kid-friendly, yet parent-pleasing place. Visit us if you want to see the complete slideshow. Ha! Here are the highlights:

a mini vaca

We spent a few days in Pennsylvania last week. I had thought Mo would be gone that week, so I made mini vaca plans with my mom. As it turns out, Mo didn't have to travel, but we thought we would go on our adventure anyway. It was fun!

One of Xavier's favorite moments? A hotel room with big windows, overlooking the traffic of Route 1.

One of Grami's favorites: Riding this bug ride at Sesame Place with Finnian, Isaac and Dustin Pedroia and family (look across from Finnian).

Finnian and Isaac's favorites: Swimming and splashing everyday!

My favorite: Visiting dear family friends and watching my kids enjoy their company and beautiful home, just like I did when I was little.

It was a magical trip!

Block vaca

Yesterday we went on vacation for the day. Mo may work some long hours during the school year, but in the summer, when we can, we take advantage of his flexible schedule. We went to Block Island.

The boys' favorite part of the trip? The ferry boat ride, of course. These kids really love transportation. It was cold, windy and foggy. The water was choppy with pretty big swells. Mo and I both felt seasick and I had horrible flashbacks to working on a ship, when I couldn't escape that terrible feeling for months at a time. The three boys? They loved every minute of the rough ride. 

"The boat's jumping!" They laughed and squealed after each roll, oblivious to our ferry neighbors, whose faces became greener and greener as the trip wore on.

All three were glued to this window until I knew I was going to vomit and made them go outside with me. It was so foggy, you really couldn't see much out there.

Thankfully, we survived the hour-long transit, puke-free. While it definitely wasn't a swimming day, it didn't rain on us, so we really enjoyed just being outside. After a long walk, we ended up at this beach, where we engaged in a few of our favorite summertime activities: throwing rocks in the water, getting wet, digging, looking for dead sea creatures and filling my pockets with treasures to take home.

Finnian was fascinated with the remaining pieces of this crab, while Isaac was intent on lifting the biggest rocks he could find. We then enjoyed a nice stroll, lunch and homemade ice cream in town. We also spent some time exploring a jetty. Finnian was adventurous and Isaac only almost fell in the cracks a few times. That child has no fear. Xavier was a champ too, spending most of the day cuddling with daddy in his carrier. In fact, when we returned home without Mo (he had to stay to meet his boat), Xavier crawled around from room to room saying "Dada, dada" until bed. We all loved spending a Tuesday with Mo. And we all loved being on vacation for the day.

Not Finnian's best pose, but look how sweet my Isaac looks. Someday we'll get the elusive shot of everyone looking at the camera with normal faces.