Lowell Splash Park

It was SO humid out today! We went to the free splash park in Lowell for the first time. It was just what we needed! The boys had a blast splashing around and the best part of all, it was free! They played there for about an hour or so before it started raining, but we didn't care, we were wet already anyway! We decided to go to the playground they had right next to it, it was one of the coolest playgrounds they've ever been on! I am really glad we went today and I totally plan on going again real soon!

Friendly Farm

The kids and I drove with Jamie and the kids up to Friendly Farm in Dublin, NH. We met up with Misty, Dawn, and Misty's friend Jamie, and all their kids. It was your typical petting zoo with lots of farm animals running around. It was very interactive. The kids were able to hold baby chicks, pet bunnies, and feed sheep, chickens, and goats. The goats and sheep were very aggressive, we ended up losing both of our bags of food; one to the pushy goats and the other to a pushy sheep. It was definitely a cute little place and the price was decent since we got a group rate. I'm not sure if the kids enjoyed it, they were kinda in rare form, well, not-so-rare form lately ;0) It was just really hot and humid and I think they might have been tired from camping the weekend before and with the heat...anyway, because it was so hot, Jamie invited us over to her house to go swimming. The water was perfect and just what we needed after a hot, hot, hot day. Thanks Jamie!

Camping at KOA

The boys hangin' out on the porch swing.

This weekend our fam met up with Dan's fam and we went camping at the Boston/Cape Cod KOA. We got rustic cabins right next to each other and where they were was perfect (K4 and K5-for future reference). It was like we had our own yard. We brought Fred with us because it was a very dog-friendly place. They even had a doggie playground with obstacles and stuff, not that he could do anything, but it was really cute. Fred had the run of our yard and was actually really well-behaved.

The campground was very family-friendly too. There were two playgrounds, a free train, a jumping pillow, a pool and they had lots of activities for the kids to do. We never end up doing any of those when we camp, but it's nice to know that there are things to do just in case. The kids had a great time and the weather actually co-operated with us. It did rain each night, but that was after we were in bed and then it was nice during the day, so it worked out well.

I would definitely recommend this place it's clean and the people were really friendly. I can only recommend the two cabins we stayed in because where the others were located, I don't think we would have been as happy. Ours were more private than the others throughout the campground. Ours were close to everything, which at first I thought would be a problem, but it worked out nicely that everything was a short walk. The downfalls of the place I would say would be that there was no lake or anything like that with boat rentals or anything. There also was not much in the way of trails. Good family campground, but maybe not for seasoned campers.

Salisbury Beach

Today was a beautiful day! We went to Salisbury Beach with Jamie and the kids. She also had Joshua her Fresh Air Fund child. It was the most perfect day of the summer. There was barely a cloud in the sky and it was hot, but not too hot. Ryan and Devin were PMSing a little bit and I say this because I have a theory that children pick up on menstrual hormones. Much like feremones that are released by people in the air, there are these other hormones that pre-menstruating woman release and children, at least mine get their own version of PMS. I swear sometimes this happens with my boys. It's not every month, but a lot of times right before I get my period, the boys will be overly sensitive, cranky, dramatic, and Kristian and I will look at each other and be like, "what the heck is going on?" "why are they being like this?" Then I realize, it's usually right before I get my period. I'd say it was just ME being over-sensitive and maybe my nerves are on edge at the time, but 9 times out of 10, it's them, ask Kristian! I think I am going to do a study on it. We'll see. Anyway, back to the beach, Ryan was PMSing for the front part of our time there and Devin's turn was at the end when we were leaving, so that was really annoying, but there was a good 3-4 hour block in there where they were fine. In that frame, we had a really fun time.

I'll post pics soon. =0)

New York City

The boys and I went down to NY with my mother and Alex (my brother) aka Uncle Bert. They had come up for a race, never to just visit me ;0), and we traveled down with them. We were going to NY to help out my sister and watch my nephew Alex, so we stayed at Aunt Dani's house for the week. On Wednesday of that week, my father and I took Alex (my nephew) and Ryan to New York City. Originally, my father and my Aunt Susan were going to take the two boys, but being that it was Ryan's first time in the city and that he's only 3, I wanted to go with him. Turns out my aunt got sick and she ended up not going. It's a bummer that we didn't get to see her, we really enjoy spending time with her, but we had a nice trip anyway.

We took the train in and went to Central Park. The kids played on the playground/splash park area for a little bit and then we headed to the zoo. On our way to the zoo, the kids climbed these enormous rocks, that look like they are very dangerous, and they can be, but they actually weren't as bad as they looked. The kids spotted the amusement park and wanted to go there instead of the zoo. We figured, why not and decided to go there. The kids really had a great time riding the rides. The weather was perfect and all in all, it was a really nice day even though, "we have bigger fish to fry."

While we went to the city, Devin stayed with Nana and Pa. They took him to Friendly's where he had his first clown sundae. They also took him to the Holtsville Ecology center. It ws nice for him to get some individual attention and he loved every minute of it.

...Pictures coming soon...