Father's Day (Matt is in Australia)

 Happy Father's Day Matt, to the man I love. 

I hope that you know how grateful I am for you and all you do.

 

This year Father's Day was a little different for us since we were in Boston, but Matt was in Australia. It was fun to celebrate with my dad in person though instead of just giving him a call on the phone!! We had dinner at Patrick's house.

Somehow Rylie got Auntie Katie to try her wedding dress on for Rylie to see, complete with veil, necklace and tiara. Rylie LOVES dressing up. 

Afterwards, Rylie tried Auntie Katie's veil, tiara and necklace on. Thanks Auntie Katie. :)

Happy Father's Day Pops! 

Thanks for investing in my life and the lives of my kids.

Love you!

Derek finished the Millennium Falcon Lego set!!!!! 

He was super proud of himself.

I loved watching his determination and focus. This is by far the largest Lego set he has built. 

Can't wait to see which set he tackles next!!

Pops helping Derek put the finishing touches on the Millennium Falcon.

I got to run around Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield, one of my all time favorite runs when I lived here. I usually run it with Matt so this was strange to run it by myself, but still so relaxing!

Went to church at High Rock with Patrick and Katie and the boys. Katie was teaching Sunday School so Derek and Rylie got to have Katie as their teacher and Max was in their class. Because Matt was in Australia, Patrick and I were sitting in a pew with Mom and Dad, just like when we were little. :)

Adventure Ropes Course & Zip Line

Grammy had suggested to take the kids to a ropes course at Jordan's Furniture since we arrived in Boston, but I thought it wouldn't be cool and didn't want to waste my time. Finally, we made our way to Jordan's to check out the ropes course and boy was I wrong....the ropes course was AWESOME. Sorry, Grammy I was wrong. LOL.

There was a smaller ropes course closer to the ground perfect for Rylie's height. 

She was so brave and adventurous.

Above Rylie was the larger ropes course with 2 levels, just perfect for Derek. Once I watched him for a while I thought to myself I've got to get up there with him. Derek had no fear and tackled both levels of the course with confidence. I think his favorite part was the zip line!
Since Grammy and Pops were there I had the opportunity to climb with Derek. It was amazing!!! I loved every minute. Derek challenged me to take on the different course obstacles. Since the course wasn't busy Derek got to stay on for over an hour!!!!

Rylie finished climbing before Derek and ventured through the furniture store with Grammy. 

She picked out this fancy bedroom set! She LOVED picking out things to buy!

North End coffee, Old North Church & Painting Uncle Patrick's garage

Since high school, my family has had a tradition on Saturday mornings of going into the North End for cappuccino and Haymarket for fruits and veggies. When we come to visit Boston we love to go.

LOVE this picture of Derek and Rylie with Pops and Grammy.

Kids got "coffee" in special mugs (heated up chocolate milk) and fresh muffins.

After coffee, we headed to the Old North Church to see the church where the lantern was hung to let Paul Revere know whether the British were coming by land or sea. One lantern was hung (1 if by land, 2 if by sea) which meant the British were coming by land. So Paul Revere got on his horse (his house was in the North End) and he rode his horse to Lexington to warn the Minute Men.
The church is super cool. Each family would "rent" a pew box and sit together in their box each week for church. The preacher would speak from a pulpit that was raised up at least a flight of stairs. The kids loved exploring the church.

On the phone with Daddy in Arizona.

Only 4 and 6 but looks like they're going on 13......

Walking through the streets of North End.

After the North End, Patrick invited Derek over to help him paint the side of his garage. Derek did a great job painting and stayed so focused, until the other cousins got out the slip 'n slide.

Dinner at Uncle Patrick and Auntie Katie's house

We went to dinner at Patrick and Katie's house for dinner after the Museum of Science. 

We ate dinner outside and played soccer. 

It is so fun to watch the cousins play together.

 

Boston Museum of Science

We have wanted to explore the Boston Museum of Science since we saw it featured on PMK a few years ago (Popular Mechanics for Kids). It is an amazing museum and was so large we will have to go back another time in order to explore all the exhibits.

 Building a robot that can doodle...similar to design squad challenges

 

Electricity show!!! This was by far my favorite part of the museum. It was sooo neat. Bright lights and loud noises. 

We explored the frog exhibit, spider exhibit, human body exhibit, dinosaurs, and many others. Rylie and I took a special trip together and went to the butterfly exhibit. She desperately wanted a butterfly to land on her. She stood still and held out her hand, but no butterfly landed. Ironically, a butterfly landed on my shoulder (and I could've cared less).

This was Rylie's favorite color butterfly!