Beach Weekend

We decided to check out some local beaches this weekend...it was so beautiful out! Around here, there are lots of lake beaches. I miss being 5 minutes away from ocean beaches...I guess having grown up on an island, I didn't really appreciate being so close to the beach. Now that we have to drive 45min. to an hour to get to a beach, I really miss what I used to have. Anyway, we really wanted to go the beach, but didn't want to take the hike, so we starting looking into what was around here. There are actually a lot of lake beaches around here. Not as good as ocean beaches, but it does the job.

On Saturday, we went to a state park in Andover, MA. We were going to go to Berry Pond, but there was an "incident" when we got there, so weren't allowed in. Luckily there was a campground nearby and since it was closed for the season, we were able to go in and go to its beach area. Fred was with us. Fred loves to run around in the woods and wade in the water. The boys had a great time too! The water was well, lake water, something we just have to get used to I guess. I mean, we've been camping tons of times and know that is what that type of water is like, we've just never swam in it and maybe never will. Are there always leeches in fresh water?



On Sunday we went to Wasserman Park in Merrimack, NH. It is a beach for Merrimack residents, but since it was off-season, no one questioned us being there. We really liked this place. There was a lot more area for us to lay a blanket down. Still, there were more rocks and dirt than sand, but that's what you get. There were fish surrounding the dock, so we decided to feed them bread. The boys got a kick out of it. It is really cool to look down and see fish wolfing down chunks of bread. They also had a really nice playground there which we hit on the way out. All in all we had a great time, but Devin was running a low grade fever in the morning and by time the afternoon hit, it had gotten to 103, so we went home.

I'm a Mom Again!

We got a kitty! We've both always loved kitties, but when I think what pushed me over the edge was...I was at my friend Jen's house and her cat, basically tried to make out with me (I'm not pressing charges Jen ;0). Anyway, it reminded me that I love cats and I mentioned it to Kristian. He is such an animal lover, so the mere mention about maybe possibly wanting a cat was all he needed. So, we started to look on Craigslist...our only criteria was that it was free and had long hair, we're partial to long-haireds (have you seen Fred, luxurious). Anyway, miraculously, there was a listing about a mommy cat that just had kittens. There was no pic on the listing, so we asked to see a pic and fell in love! It was so tempting to take the kitties too, but considering Fred is afraid of cats, yes, our DOG is afraid of cats, we figured we'd start with just one.

To our surprise, the introduction went very well. There were no screachy yelps of fear from Fred. I think we handled the intro pretty well. The kitty appears not to be afraid of kids or dogs, just like the woman who took her in had told us. We are watching two other dogs, Boo and CJ, this week, so I think maybe that is a little too much for her to take in. We decided to have her start upstairs and settle in up there. So far so good! The kids are super excited, but are being very careful and such good listeners!

As for the history of our little girl...as far as we know, she was found in Concord, NH. The people that found her gave her to the woman we spoke to, Wendy. Wendy is a sucker for cats, so she took her in not knowing she was pregnant. These people were so nice, not only were they giving her for free, but they also offered to give money to pay for her to get spayed. We met them at Macy's and brought her home! We haven't figured out a name, obviously or I'd have mentioned it ;0)

Franklin Park Zoo

Did I ever say how great having a museum membership pays off!? Well, once again, we got to have an awesome day, for free! The Franklin Park Zoo is in Boston. It is smaller than say, the Bronx Zoo, but it still had a lot of animals and what I liked best about it, was that there were many view points of the animals, so if there was an animal that was far away, you could see them better from another location. There were so many cool animals! Some of the animals were also pretty, freaking disgusting! I won't go into detail, but there were a few animals that showed us their dark side. Thank goodness the kids had no idea of what was going on. Anyway, the day was beautiful and we had loads of fun! Here are just a few pics of the day:

my boys!

One of the most interesting things at the zoo was a tractor...huh? That and Mack from the movie Cars, and a pick up truck. yeah, uh, kids, we're at the ZOO!

Can you buy a prarie dog at a pet store? I want one! So cute!


Peacock


Neither of the kids were a huge fan, maybe because I told them "Aunt Dani almost got bit by one of those."

Ring-tailed lemur

More Cute Sayings

"Onions are stinky. They help people cry." -Ryan
"The moon is cold like a taco. I want a bite." -Ryan
Ryan was holding my lip gloss, "This is a burp mommy? No, not a burp. What is this mommy?"
"I wanna stay on the Earth."-Ryan
"Uh-Oh milk!"-Devin
"That's not a donut, that's a Volkswagen."-Ryan
"I wanna go on an airplane with you and hold hands."-Ryan
"Have some."-Devin (as he pulls up his shirt for us to eat his tummy)
"pico truck"-Devin
"Up truck"-Ryan
"When I grow up, I want to go to work like daddy. Daddy carry me in the parking lot?"-Ryan


Movie quotes that funnily come up at appropriate times:
"This is not over!" -Ryan (Bee Movie)
"Where's the baby? There he is!"-Ryan and Devin (Ice Age)
"A parking lot? I need a place where kids' brains can grow." -Ryan (Curious George)
"Why am I the poop checker?"-Ryan (Ice Age)
"They make the honey, we make the money." -Ryan (Bee Movie)

Easter Weekend

As always, we went to NY to see the fam. On Saturday we went to Danielle's house and decorated Easter eggs. This was Ryan's first time coloring eggs. He actually did really well although they were done after three eggs! Then all the boys did an egg hunt. Devin did awesome! He was spotting them left and right. Ry was doing good at first, then was distracted by the toy box. Alex was a seasoned pro!

On Sunday, we went to Dad and Pat's house. They always have an Easter egg hunt. It was a little chilly, but beautiful out and the boys had a great time! Once they filled up their buckets, they cashed them in for a special prize. Of course, Grandma Pat made some delicious food and very yummy homemade cookies. Unfortunately we were only able to stay for a couple of hours because we were meeting Kristian's family at East Wind for Easter brunch. The place was beautiful and they had every type of food you could imagine. I basically got a plate full of bacon and a few other things. It was awesome!

Here are some stolen pics (thanks Dani):