Boston adventures

Subway reflections

Today I bring you two treats - the long-awaited school photos (and for Juniper, also terrible soccer photos) from this year, and a whole bunch of pictures from our relatively impromptu Sunday trip to Boston.

The confident kindergartener

First, the school pics. Just so everyone is clear, I painstakingly did Juniper's hair the morning of picture day.  When I had finally done everything to my satisfaction, she ran back upstairs for the finishing touch - a big sparkly headband. This, of course, squished and squashed and deformed the cute braids I had masterfully woven into her hair, and left a huge unsightly bump of hair on the top of her head.  What can you do? Absolutely nothing, of course.  On the plus side, I convinced her to wear a dress that I made her - a tradition I hope to continue as long as possible.

The super dapper preschooler

Linden, as you can see, is dressed in a tuxedo shirt (the only plain white shirt I could find), with a much-too-large woven New Brunswick tie that his grandma and grandpa had given him last time we were home. Also, the photographer clearly photoshopped out the big scar on the bridge of his nose that he had sustained from an aforementioned library accident. But seriously - do you get much cuter than that?

And finally, Juniper's soccer picture.  Ummmm - how were we hoodwinked into paying for what turned out to be a slightly blurry shot, with uber-glasses-glare, where she isn't even looking at the camera?  Lesson learned. Also, we decided to get these done in the end because we thought it would be nice for her to have a team shot memento, but as it turns out, only three other kids stayed long enough to be in the team shot anyway.  Fail!

Boston!

We had been talking for awhile about how it was high time that we mustered up the hutzpah and went on a weekend adventure of some sort. There has, for the last month or so, always been one reason or another why it just did not end up happening.  But on Sunday, we finally organized everything we needed, and got ourselves out the door for a day of Boston fun. We actually had not been in quite awhile, and it was easier in some respects than previous trips... no diapers, feeling confident enough to blow through Linden's nap, knowing exactly how to navigate the subway, etc etc.  A trip is only as successful as the kids let it be, however, and Linden was, through much of it, more than a little hard to handle. I mean, he had is moments of joy (like, any time he was on the train, or when he was finally allowed to run free at Boston Commons/Public Gardens), but I think he was just generally overtired. Overtired = bad news. But truly, in the end, it was worth it - we had a lot of fun. Here are some shots from the day:

The train journey begins!

Visiting Myrtle the Turtle at the New England Aquarium - always the most important stop.  She is over 500lbs, and somewhere between 80-90 years old!

Mesmerizing moon jellies

Juniper checks out some Pacific sea nettles

This is a gorgeous carousel, with so many fun animals (a whale, a fox, a grasshopper, a bird, rabbit...). Linden chose a lobster, and Juniper is riding a magical butterfly

Juniper appreciating the busker at Quincy Market

Enjoying some gelato after a yummy meal at Wagamama's

Once he was allowed to run free, Linden decided it was important to climb every lamppost in Boston Commons

Clearly, it was much more fun than you can even imagine

Looking down at the lovely fall colours from the bridge over the Public Gardens pond

Juniper was sad that the swan boat was retired for the season, but was still content to sit for a spell and contemplate life, etc.

Best buds

Make way for ducklings!

Happy Remembrance Day (or Veteran's day, as the case may be), and we'll see you next week!