I surprised the girls with a trip to Boston to see my sister Ellen on July 19th. My mom went with us also. She had been wanting to go visit Ellen, but since my Dad doesn't really like to travel, it worked out perfectly for her to go with us.
I went to work on Monday and came home and told the girls I had a surprise for them and we needed to run the babysitter home, and then I would tell them the surprise. So we get home and I said, "Grandma is going to be here in a couple minutes. Do you know why?" Alicia wanted to know if that was the surprise. I said, "no the surprise is we are going to Boston!!" I thought she was going to cry. It was so neat to see them so happy and excited about going on a trip and flying for the first time. I was really excited about a vacation, but also very nervous about leaving Russell for this long of a time. I have only left him once for the weekend while I went scrapbooking, so I knew he was going to miss me, and I was going to miss him too.
Alicia and Lauren after I told them we were going to Boston
That night we went to Marquette and stayed at the Super 8, so we wouldn't have to get up as early the next morning. Mom did some shopping and got some new summer clothes and the girls got a couple new things also. We got up early the next morning to be at the airport by 6 am. Alicia woke up around 5:00 a.m. and sat up and said "who's excited to go on an airplane" and then raised her hand!! It was so cute and that was the level of excitement throughout the whole day. The flights went perfectly, and nobody got sick on the plane, including Mom!!
Mom wanted me to take this picture of the airplane in Marquette
Lauren on the airplane to Minneapolis
We landed in Boston 20 minutes ahead of schedule, but Ellen did some super driving and was there to pick us up by the time we had gotten our luggage. We headed back to her house for lunch and then went and got manicures and pedicures. The first night was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. It was so relaxed and neat to see the city for the first time. We just walked around and found things to look at, and got some treats from Mike's Pastries. We met Peter for the first time, Ellen's boyfriend and he joined us for dinner at Cheer's.
While we were getting pedicures, Alicia was getting her manicure and Lauren was waiting for her turn so she took pictures to keep herself busy!
Mom smelling the roses at a garden we found as we were walking around
Wednesday was a bit more intense but also had times for relaxing, which we definitely needed. We started out by walking the Freedom Trail which was much longer than I had anticipated. Lauren had a hard time walking the whole distance, so we would give her piggy back rides. It was quite warm out and with a 60 pound child on your back, you are bound to sweat. The one time she said to me, "Mom you can put me down now, your back is too sweaty." I busted out laughing and thought I wonder WHY my back is so sweaty!! We ended up skipping Bunker Hill and went to Zume's for lunch. I was starved after all that walking and ate way to much, but it was so good.
Taking a break on the Freedom Trail. Water and beef jerky was the perfect energy booster!!
Zume's were Ellen worked for a while
Next we headed to the ocean for a few hours of relaxation. The beach was nice and the water was about the same temperature as what Lake Michigan is. The girls played in the sand and went in the water a couple times, but they wouldn't go in without an adult. We layed on the blanket and rested. I wanted to go to a mall while in Boston to get some new shorts, so we stopped on the way back from the ocean. I found some good deals which for me always makes for a good shopping trip.
Ellen chilling at the ocean
Thursday the girls slept in till 10:00. I think they were exhausted! Ellen and I got up that morning and ran along the Charles River. It felt great to get some running in while on vacation. Once we got back to the house, cleaned up, and the girls got up and got ready we headed to the aquarium. The girls liked the touch tank and really liked the big shark that swam around this round tank that went through the middle of the aquarium. After the aquarium we jumped onto the train and went to the Museum of Science. This was one of my favorite museums. They had a large dinosaur area that Lauren really liked and also an area about animals that interested Alicia. The girls had a lot of fun in the kids area that let the kids play while teaching them about science. We ended up taking a taxi home that night because there was problems with the trains and Peter and his mother were coming over for supper. It was so hot that Ellen couldn't cook without turning the apartment into a sauna, so we ordered out pizza and then took the kids to the park down the road.
This is how excited we were about standing in line to get into the aquarium when it was close to 100 outside!!
Touching the sting ray
Friday was the hottest day of the trip with the temperatures reaching 103 and with the heat index 110! We drove the car downtown to the Museum of Fine Arts. By this time, I think the girls were pretty much done with museums. I know now this for future trips, don't try to go to every museum. Maybe just go to a couple and then do more unstructured activities. The Museum of Fine Arts had a really neat blown glass exhibit. It was so pretty and one of the neatest things I have seen. We ended up eating our lunch in the car in the a/c, because it was too hot to sit outside. After lunch we headed to the Prudential building which is the tallest building in Boston. We went to the top of it and walked around and looked at the city. We had planned on going out for seafood Friday night in the evening, but the heat left everyone drained so we decided to just go eat at 4:30 rather than drive back to Ellen's sit around for a half hour and then drive back downtown for dinner. We went to the Barking Crab and ate on the outside patio. Thank goodness it was shaded and there was a slight breeze!!
Blown glass exhibit
How cool would it be to swim in that pool?
That night we decide to go to a park down the street to let the kids play in the water. By the time we got there the water area was closed, but there was an ice cream truck there which made up for the kids not being able to play in the water. According to Lauren, this was one of the highlights of her trip!! Since the water area was closed at this park there was a smaller park down the street from Ellen that had a sprinkler that you could hit a button and the water would come on for a couple minutes. So we headed there and played till around 9:00 pm.
Saturday came way to fast. It seemed like the week flew by and I was sad about my vacation being over and going back to work, but I was ready to see Russell again. We talked to him on the phone a couple times a day and it was always so sweet to hear him and the girls talk to each other. He kept telling Alicia he missed her and would kiss the phone while they were talking.
Saturday we went and took a ride on the swan boats. This was what Lauren had been wanting to do all week. She had been in a bit of a funk so I was hoping this would give her a better attitude. She needs downtime and with all the activities and all of us sleeping in Ellen's room she didn't really ever have a chance to just be by herself. Her attitude was a tiny bit better, but I also think she was getting a bit homesick. So we rode the swan boats which were pretty neat and then went to the Franklin Zoo. We had a good time there and didn't rush but leisurely walked around and looked at the animals.
After the zoo we went back to Ellen's and got ready to go to Peter's sisters house in New Hampshire for a bbq. There was a ton of people there and they had a bouncy house for the kids, a swimming pool, live band, and lots of food. Lauren wanted to swim so bad, but wanted Alicia to go with her. Alicia was to shy because of all the kids she didn't know. Well she finally agree to put her suit on and sit on the edge of the pool. A ball came near her and she leaned over to pick it up and slid right into the pool!! Which made Lauren's night because she was dying to swim. We headed back to Boston at 8:00 because our flight was at 5:40 the next morning.
Our flights on the way back were excellent and we were back home around 12:00 p.m. on Sunday. It was a great trip and I'm glad the kids were able to learn some U.S. history, and fly for the first time. Russell wasn't super excited to see me when I first got home but quickly warmed up and wouldn't let me out of his sight for the next couple days!
Now I am planning our next vacation, hopefully I can talk Greg into going on the next one!!
