The Absence of Solitude

Plymouth

One day while Allen was working I took the kids about an hour south to Plymouth. We visited Plimoth Plantation and Plymouth Rock. Usually the Plantation is only open from April to Thanksgiving, but we lucked out on it being the area school's winter break as well so they were open for limited activities. The kids LOVED this place and we will definitely go back when everything is open. It is basically a living, working museum of the Plymouth Colony of 1627. While we were there, we took a little tour around the village, learned to write with quill and ink, made some small pottery, colored pilgrim pictures, saw all sorts of animals, played dress up in Pilgrim clothes, and overall just had a good time. 

After Plimoth Plantation, we made our way back to the cute little downtown area to see the Mayflower and Plymouth Rock. The Mayflower was closed for tours because it was President's Day so that's just one more reason to go back. Plymouth Rock was not what we expected as far as size goes. (It has been worn away by erosion and broken in attempts to move it.) It was still a landmark that we were glad to be able to see and I hope the kids remember it. 

Plymouth Rock 1620

Plymouth Beach---about to get blown away. 

I was so happy that we were able to make this quick trip to Boston. I have been wanting to go there for some time and it was really worth the drive that ended up being much longer than it should have been, temper tantrums, and a little bit of craziness my family brings along. We made some great memories and that's all that counts!

More Boston Highlights

I lied. There will be one more post after this one about Boston. I totally forgot about our little trip to Plymouth. This collage of pictures is just some of the random things we did throughout our stay. 

• We stopped by Fenway Park. We couldn't get into a tour that day but we did see the "Big Green Monster" wall. Sadly, the kids weren't too impressed. 
• While in Lexington and Concord to see The Old North Bridge, we went to Walden Pond where Henry David Thoreau spent two years living in the woods. It was really a peaceful, beautiful place even in the winter. I am sure it looks gorgeous in the spring and summer. 
• One day we went to the New England Aquarium. It was so very crowded, so very small, and we only stayed for about an hour and a half. It was the one bomb of the trip--It was so not worth it! (That is unless you were doing a whale watching boat tour from April to September.) 
• We had to get the obligatory tourist photo in front of Cheers. 
• We spent one afternoon wandering around Harvard and found a really good hamburger joint across from Harvard Yard. Our family of six probably looked a little out of place but we enjoyed it. We also drove by MIT because Ethan wanted to see what it looked like. 
• While walking the Freedom Trail we paused at the Holocaust Memorial. It is six pillars and on each one inscribed in tiny letters, are one million names to represent the 6 million people that died. 
• On our way back to the car from Cheers we stopped at the Public Garden to see the Make Way for Ducklings statues. The kids loved this book and the little ones had fun climbing on the ducks. I would love to go back and see this place when everything is in bloom. 
• And lastly, while touring around Boston we found Mike's Pastry. It was recommended in one of the books we were using and I am so glad we decided to find it. When we got there, the line was out the door and around the corner! I am not one to like cannolis but oh.my.goodness.they were SO good! They were definitely worth the wait.

So tomorrow I will wrap up our trip with the visit to Plymouth Rock and Cape Cod. 

 

Another day in Boston

On our second day we made our way over to the Boston Museum of Science. We weren't planning on staying too long mainly because we expected it to be a bit lame...like our science museum. We ended up staying for four hours and still didn't see everything! The kids all loved it! I think having MIT and Harvard just a few miles away probably contributes the greatness of this science museum. 

After the museum we had a picnic at Boston Common before starting the Freedom Trail. There is a red brick line or trail through the city and it leads to different places of significance in Boston, most of them from the Revolutionary War. 

These were just some of the stops along the trail. There are many, many others that I just couldn't fit in or that we didn't make part of out stops. My favorite was the Paul Revere Square statue with The Old North Church behind it. It was kind of cool to see imagine the lanterns hanging in the belfry giving away how the British were approaching. Allen, Lauren and Simon climbed to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument to get a bird's eye view of the city. (Allen later regretted that choice when he woke up with some sore legs.) The kids were getting tired and a one was a bit out of sorts so we cut this part of our trip shorter. I will have to go back to delve into more of the history and do more of the tours here without small children. 

We made a couple of more stops on the way back to the car...but my two little ones are needing me so I will have to post about that tomorrow. 

 

 

Old Ironsides

Our first stop as we entered Boston was to visit the USS Constitution. It is the oldest commissioned warship in the world. The Navy is even planning on taking her out to sea for the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812; the war where the ship received the nickname, "Old Ironsides" when the British cannonballs bounced off the ship's hull. 

We were able to get into the last tour and once we got on the ship, Simon was heaven. He kept talking about it being a pirate ship. He would tell Jillian how pirates would steal treasure and hide it on the ship. It was pretty comical. He also wanted to shoot one of the cannons so badly. In the picture below with him next to the cannon, he is actually saying, "KABOOM!" 

The other ship is a decommissioned war ship called the USS Cassin Young. Ethan was really impressed by this one. We missed the last tour for it and all week he kept asking if we could go back but we never made it. 

We were able to visit the USS Constitution Museum right next door and the kids enjoyed looking at all the model ships, trying out some of the jobs of sailors, and pretending to sleep in the hammocks. It was a great little tour and history lesson for all of us and a good way to start the trip for the kids! After we left the shipyard we headed to the hotel but not without a stop at the nearest Chick-fil-A for dinner and Sonic for a slush. :) 

 

The North Bridge

We just got back from a trip to Boston and I will be posting about our adventure just as soon as I get through the mountain of laundry that followed me home and the many, many pictures I took over the last few days. But there is one thing that I thought I would post about today. 

On the last couple of trips we have taken (Philadelphia and D.C.) there seems to be one moment or place that stands out and makes me overcome with emotion. For Boston, it was the North Bridge in Concord, MA. 

Obviously, it is a reproduction of the original bridge over the Concord River and is nothing spectacular. However, this was the site where the first official battle of the Revolutionary War took place. This was where Paul Revere was sent to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British were coming. There is a monument to the Minute Men at one end of the bridge with Ralph Waldo Emerson's first stanza of the poem, "Concord Hymn" and after reading that is when I got a little lump in my throat. I am sure many of you know the last line:

"...And fired the shot heard round the world." It was surreal that right on these very grounds where I stood was the start of freedom for generations to come. And for that I am so very grateful to live where I live. 

Beach Days

I think the heat followed our Texan family all the way here because we had our hottest temperatures while they were here visiting. We spent a couple of Saturdays at the beach with Matt & Mandy picnicking, swimming, playing in the sand and just having a good time.

  

 
 
 
 
 
 
My children have asked nearly everyday if we can go back to the beach. I think this will become a summer favorite, despite all the sand!

Niagara in Pictures

On the way home from Ohio we stopped at Niagara Falls. Allen, Ethan, and Lauren took the Maid of the Mist boat up to the falls with Leigh's family. It was the Moore kids first ever boat ride and apparently they thought it was "awesome." After the Falls we drove to Matt and Mandy's house for dinner and a visit.

 

  

 

 
 
The phantom fever started on the way home making its way through all the kids except Shayne and Lauren over the next week. But we didn't let that stop us from still having some fun. The next posts will be more condensed with several days in one otherwise we might all get bored. ;-)
 

Let's start at the very beginning.

Three weeks ago we met Leigh's family in Ohio to begin our adventure. We toured historic Kirtland and walked the grounds of the Kirtland temple. We were also able to see a show put on by the local stake about the history Kirtland played in the beginning of the church.

 Outside and inside the Newel K. Whitney Store in Historic Kirtland

 

 This is the room in the Whitney home where the School of Prophets took place. It was a small room where men met to discuss religious topics. This is the fireplace that they all threw their tobacco and pipes into when the Word of Wisdom revelation was given.

 

Ethan and Shayne enjoyed learning about the sawmill and ashery. The ashery was a major means for providing the finances to build the temple in Kirtland.

 


 

The Kirtland Temple

 
We had a picnic at a park next toPresident Grover Cleveland's childhood home and let the kids play before going to the local production of "This is Kirtland."  Then we made it back to the hotel where the kids were a bit disappointed to learn that the water slide at the pool was already closed for the night, but they still got in some swim time.

Up next: Niagara Falls, NY

 

Grandma's House

We were in Texas for just over a week, splitting the time between our families. We stayed at Allen's parent's house first and spent a lot of time outside. I can't tell you how amazing the weather was while we were there. The temps were in the 70s, big blue sky, and there was very little humidity. It was likely one of the few weeks in which southeast Texas has weather worth making me or anyone want to live there. (I'm joking...sorta :) We were able to see not only Grandma and Grandpa but also aunts, uncles, and cousins in the area too. These are a few snapshots of the kids in Grandma's yard playing.

  Jillian hanging out in the chair. It took her a couple days to venture into the grass.
 

  Aidan and Simon pretending the broom was a horse. They kept calling each other "partner."

 

 Rachel and Ethan. Ethan enjoys being one of the 'big kids' now.

 

 Aidan and Ethan. I love Aidan's smile in this picture. I hope these two grow up to be great friends.

 Marie and Lauren. You can't tell Lauren loves all the attention she gets from her older cousin, can you? 

 

 Dogpile on Amber! I really enjoyed seeing the older group of cousins interacting with the little ones. 
 
Just like in this picture... Katie and Rachel getting ready to play a game. 
 

Between the pictures I took and the ones my nieces took, I have a TON. It's so hard to pick out my favorites so don't be surprised if you see more pictures of Grandma's house in coming posts.  We really enjoyed our time there visiting and reconnecting with everyone.
 

Our New Year

What do you do when its been 20 degrees or lower for weeks on end? We found the answer...go some place where it's a constant 84 degrees.

We went to this indoor waterpark resort called Splash Lagoon just a couple hours away for the New Year's holiday weekend. Our hotel was attached the park and there was something there for everyone. It was big enough for lots of fun slides and pools but small enough we felt safe letting Ethan go do slides alone and then check in with us every so often when we were busy with the little ones. It took Lauren until the second day to gain enough nerve to go down a slide but once she did, she was hooked. Simon and Jillian loved the little toddler area and mini water slides. On New Year's Eve they were open until one in the morning so I stayed in the room with the three younger ones so they could go to bed (they crashed at 7:30 p.m.) and Allen and Ethan went back for few more hours. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and may even go back again.

 
And while we were there, we enjoyed some good eats. Well, at least places we don't have locally. We went to Chick-fil-A and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and we also went to Quaker Steak and Lube. This place was featured on the tv show, Man vs. Food. It has the hottest wings in the USA. The guy on the show ate a plate of Atomic wings. Allen ordered the seasoning two below that and didn't think it was that spicy. So the waitress brought out just one Atomic Wing for him to try...he said his mouth was on fire! We ended up going next door to Steak 'n Shake for milkshakes to ease the burn. :) Quaker Steak now has a new one called the Triple Atomic wing. You have to sign a waiver to eat them!!

 

And this is how the weekend ended...

Everyone was worn out and slept the entire way home!!