Rosh Hashanah

Bubbles,

bubbles,

bubbles and

more bubbles.

We've got tickets to the show.

Allie is Patsy Pig.

The whole cast.

Take a bow. You did great!!!

No, we aren't converting to Judaism... but it seemed like as good a title as any. Today we are celebrating being in Boston one full month! It's been a fun and exciting month. Owen didn't have school today, so we did what we do. We went to the Children's Museum. It was actually not that busy. They even changed a few of the exhibits. Today we focused on the Bubble Room and we went to see one of their 15 minute stage plays. It was Tale of the Three Little Pigs. They asked for audience volunteers, and you guessed it... Allie was VERY eager to join the cast. She earned the part of Patsy Pig (The smart pig who built with bricks. That's what Allie said.) All in all, it was a good day, even if we aren't Jewish. :)

Ballerina

Today was Allie's first day of dance class. I don't think she was all that impressed with the lesson itself... she's the oldest in the class and she's had more dance experience than the rest of the class. But I think she enjoys the interaction with other little girls. Her class is in the second floor of an old baptist church. It's AWESOME!!!

Here is the North side of the church.

Here is the sign outside, advertising the classes.

South side huge window.

Dance studio on the inside of that huge window. (We are up above in the second floor looking down.)

The name of the room that she has her class in. Very fitting!

Striking a pose before class begins.

Watching herself in the wall of mirrors.

Watching the teacher during warm-up.

The last picture I was able to take, before the teacher shut the door.

It was rather dark inside the church, so my pictures aren't the best. But this place is so cool looking. It just amazes me what they can do with buildings here. They don't tear ANYTHING down, they just re purpose it.

First Day of First Grade

Ready for First Grade! (Yep, same outfit as last year.)

Allie wanted to be in the picture too!

Riding in the car to school.

We met daddy there. The boys walking/talking into the school.

The sign outside of school.

The teacher was very busy talking to all of the parents individually. So she posted her instructions.

We found his desk.

Classic... Mommy and Owen!

Getting in the groove.

Allie saying "good-bye".

Over-all, our first impression of the school was positive. The principal was very nice and introduced herself to us when we first got in the building. We didn't get to talk to Owen's teacher, Mrs. Headley. She was surrounded by a dozen parents. I get the feeling they have a high turn-over of students at this school. I can't wait to hear all about his day at 2:25!!!!

Labor Day-Play Day

What do we do on the very last day of summer... PLAY!!! Yesterday I got a text from Maddie's mom about meeting at our favorite park for a play date today. So we packed our lunches and walked to the park.

Allie played in the sand, until her friend showed up.

Owen met two boys (brothers) that liked his shirt... they were fast friends!

Sand surfing down the big hill.

Maddie and Allie making fish faces.

Owen was the captain of our ship.

Playing on the ship.

Owen swinging on the hammock swing.

Whale Watching

I'm not sure where to begin... Today was the BIGGEST, LONGEST day we've had here in Boston. At 8:00 this morning, we decided to go whale watching. The boat was leaving at 10:30. So after getting dressed, packing our backpack and some quick walking and a train ride... we caught the boat.

Here is the breakdown of our trip, in numbers.

4 hours on a boat

2 bags of jelly beans

47 pictures taken

5 barf bags (yep!!!)

8 wet wipes

50 whales seen (at least)

It was ALL worth it. I got this photo.

My little man seeing his first whale in the ocean. "Happy Belated Birthday, Owen!"

Hurricane Earl

I am so happy and excited to have Hurricane Earl coming to visit! I had better explain this last statement.

Yesterday, it was 91 degrees INSIDE our apartment. It was MISERABLE!!! I tried my best to find stuff to do where it was air conditioned and we didn't have to walk to. But that only kept us busy until about 1:30. Then we came to our sauna and melted. Both kids were either naked or almost naked. I had all the windows open and both fans on high. I was really thinking of bringing back the Moo-moo style. Mrs. Roper had a good thing going there.

Well, this morning we awoke to 75 degrees in here. It was lovely! Apparently, after Earl comes through tonight, the highs won't get above 80 outside. This means cooler temps inside. I am so looking forward to his visit. I'm hoping it's a short and fairly uneventful visit. I'll post tomorrow as to how it goes. But right now, I love this cooler weather.

It's HOT!!!

So where do we go... Frog Pond! This is the fountain right by the train station entrance. We brought our lunches, so we played at the playground and ate. Then went and waded in the pool. It was a perfect day. We even met our first "friend". Allie met her at the playground. Her name is Madi and she is 5 years old. Her mom's name is Chris and they lived in the Boston area. This mom was so nice. She noticed that my daughter and hers were playing together and she tells me, "Your kids are amazing!" Not one to argue with that fact, I simply said Thanks. She then tells me how most kids are scared of Madi because she is different. This is when I look closer at the kids playing. Madi is big for her age and has some speech issues. Her mom tells me that they are studying her at Children's Hospital because she has an extremely rare chromosome disorder. They tested her when she was born for Down's and she came up with a new result. Then she speaks up and says, "Your kids look at others and see who they are on the inside, not what the outside looks like." I almost started crying when she says this. I love my children! The girls played together for about 30 minutes, then they had to leave. So I got Chris's cell phone number and we agreed to set up some play dates at local parks next week. Not to be left out, Owen then searches for a boy to play with. He always tends to find one around the same size as him, no matter what language they speak... PLAYING is the universal language.

Allie checking out the spray park.

Owen, NOT PLAYING!

It's time to get WET!

Allie and her new friend, Madi.

Owen making multi-cultural connections.