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| Family photo with the sun in our eyes, and Chris firmly holding Marissa's shoulder in case mommy lost her balance at the railing. |
We had several long travel days and lots of driving. The kids were great travelers!
We packed up the girls four days in advance, with clothes in outfits in zippy bags by day/location to keep their things organized. Two days after the last day of school, we woke up at 5am for an early flight. The girls could barely sleep the night before because they were so excited, so we encouraged resting, but only Marissa napped for maybe 40 minutes.
Marissa got a window seat in her carseat, Piper in Middle, then me in aisle seat. Across the row were daddy in the middle seat--I can't believe he took that and let Addisyn have the window seat. Did I mention that the kids were really good!? Addisyn and daddy took advantage of the free onboard WiFi. On my side, Piper and Marissa mostly colored and entertained themselves...I did let them use kid apps on our old phones.
I am proud of Addisyn and Piper--they were responsible for their own carry-on backpacks the entire trip.
Glad I brought our own portable booster seats so we could sit 3 across. A minivan rental was overpriced and we barely fit all our luggage in the SUV. We were able to spread out and use the back row after our suitcases were out.
Addisyn and Piper wrote in their journals almost every day. I tried to get them to include something interesting or fun as details.
Addisyn's Journal: "I went on 2 planes. I saw clouds. And I got snacks like cookies. It was a long day."
Piper's Journal: "It was bumpey on the airplane toilet. I was really good in the airplane."
------- VIRGINIA BEACH -------
Everyone was excited to see Aunt Marcy! Addisyn and Piper were good helpers taking care of the dogs and pig. And they loved the trampoline in her backyard. Marissa enjoyed taking turns on the trampoline as long as no one else was jumping at the same time (or she'd fall on her face). I'm a little bummed we missed Matt by just a week, but Marcy enjoyed our company before his deployment ends.
Our first day in Virginia was really hot and humid, so we turned the AC up in the car and drove the touristy sites: the Naval Air Museum with retired planes mounted outdoors, snapping some quick pictures with Aunt Marcy and real Addisyn, to mimic the pictures with "flat Addisyn" from her visit a year ago; the Chesapeake tunnel/bridge, stopping for Father's Day lunch at the restaurant on the island at the tunnel entrance; the beach to see the Neptune statue, taking more pictures of places flat Addisyn was; dolphin statues and giant gorilla.
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| Tunnel entrance--we tried to hold our breath "underwater" the whole time, but it was too long. |
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| Neptune Statue--just the bottom of it...it was too crowded this day for a full picture. |
Piper's Journal: "at aunt marcy's house. getting to aunt Marcy's house was exciting. I liked the night. I liked holding my breath under the tunnel"
Monday was beach day. We wanted the girls to connect with geography in a personal way, and what better way to teach them about the Atlantic Ocean, than to let them swim in it! Sandbridge beach has small sand dunes at the entrance that was unique from the beaches we are used to in SD. *Note--wear good flip flops when you go to the beach in 90-100 degree heat because the cheap ones I wore today let the heat right through and thankfully the rest of my family had on good soles because my feet were on fire so badly I frantically made Chris pour cold bottled water from our cooler all over my feet, and everyone else was fine.
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| Addisyn and her daddy "eggbeatering" together in the Atlantic Ocean. |
Addisyn's Journal: "We went to the Atlantic Ocean. We are at Virginia beach. I did a summersalt when I was ridding in on a wave."
Piper's Journal: "We went to the Atlantic ocean. and the beach. we hab soooooooooooooooooo much fun. I went on the trampoline it was really fun."
Piper declared Tuesday as "fun day" because she wanted to do something fun during the day of her night for sleeping on the top bunk bed. We found out about a water park on one of the local military bases and met our old neighbors Pam and Deja there for a few hours. Gator Pool at Little Creek was a perfect place--3 big water slides and 4 small slides, an "alligator crossing", and a separate toddler pool and spray park area. We even met the base commander (CO) who happened to be there and posed with him for a photo op, which is now on their facebook page (Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story)! (Look for Marcy's butt in one of the pictures--heehee--she doesn't want anyone to know.)
Addisyn and Piper were much too fast on the slides and I didn't get many pictures of them this day, but Marissa was so excited to swim "all by myself!" in the 1' kiddie pool.
Addisyn's Journal: "Today we went to a water Park. I like the white slide. I like the white slide because it is twisty and twerly. I had sooooooooooooooooo much fun."
Piper's Journal: "we went to a water Park I loved the white slide First it was Fast Sucond it is twisty twry it is so much "F u n.""
For the 4 nights at Marcy's, the three girls shared a room with Tatem's old bunk bed in it. Addisyn and Piper took turns each night on the top bunk, so they each got it an even ("fair") number of times. We packed the pink pop-up tent and Marissa slept in there each night. Naps and bed times were way out-of-whack since we had activities each day.
The kids enjoyed catching fireflies and playing with the animals. Memories in the making. Marcy isn't used to so much commotion at her house and enjoyed our stay but was happy to go back to her routine when we left that Wednesday.
Traveling to Boston and Plymouth was a much l o n g e r day than we thought it’d be... not a long flight, but an HOUR to get rental car and an hour drive getting out of Boston traffic, paying tolls on the highways, making wrong turns, GPS not working in the long tunnel… Glad we were smart enough to have booked a hotel room with a balcony, so Chris and I enjoyed each other’s company while Addisyn and Piper fell asleep inside (Marissa on my lap and then I laid her in bed later). Addisyn and Piper shared a queen bed, and we had a crib supplied by the hotel. We thought we'd let the kids swim in the indoor pool that afternoon, but it was so late by the time we got there, we got up and swam first thing in the morning.
Our hotel was walking distance to Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower II, so Thursday after swimming and breakfast, we enjoyed a walk by the sea. Marissa even got out of her stroller for a walk on the jetty rocks.
We all liked the Mayflower and learning how life was for 102 people for 66 days at sea. The ship was actually a lot smaller than I envisioned. The actors were great, dressed for the time period and staying in character. The "Captain of 27 years" was especially impressive playing his role, even to the point of subtly condescending me as an educated female--which I thought was hilarious.
Piper's Journal: "We went on the mayflower we saw the captain. I got to sit on the bed."
Lots of walking meant we needed a good excuse to take a break. The kids all thought ice cream was a good reward for being so well behaved. Daddy was happy to enjoy this sit-down moment with his clan.
Next stop, Plymouth Plantation. We wanted to use our free time to see some of the sites mentioned in the "Good Night Massachusetts" books Cousin Laurie and Charley had given the girls as gifts years ago, and this was in it. We saw how the natives lived in one area, then the pilgrims village in another. Just like the Mayflower, actors were in time-period costume and character. I was impressed at how a family shared such a tiny one-room home. I guess when the only personal belongings you have were just what could be carried across the ocean, you don't need much space.
Wiped out! I captured several pictures like this one on this trip.... At least it made for quiet driving.
We continued south on our way to Marion where Susan and Bernie had rented a house (“cottage”) for us. They arrived earlier than us, so they parked the MH on the side and opened up the windows to get fresh air in the place by the time we finally got there after dinner. There were 3 bedrooms and an enclosed porch with beds, so it was able to sleep 10 but we were glad it was just us with just one bathroom. Addisyn and Piper both wanted the top bunk bed, and two of the rooms had bunk beds, so they slept in separate rooms, Marissa on the bottom bunk of Piper’s room. Addisyn claimed to be lonely when she was the first one awake the next morning so she went next door to wake up Piper for companionship. Thankfully they let Marissa sleep longer.Lots of walking meant we needed a good excuse to take a break. The kids all thought ice cream was a good reward for being so well behaved. Daddy was happy to enjoy this sit-down moment with his clan.
Wiped out! I captured several pictures like this one on this trip.... At least it made for quiet driving.
Addisyn's Journal: "At the house There was two bunk beds. My bed was creakey. I slept in a room by myself and my other sisters slept together."
Piper's Journal: "At the house. at the house i slept on the top bunk. i like scooping crabs on the beach."
Cape Cod beach was another place in the Massachusetts book to go see, but we had to improvise because the peninsula of Cape Cod is a lot further than the mere 1" it looked on the map. We did drive to the Cape Cod Potato Chip factory, which was a short, yet informative self-guided tour. Then we did the beach 4 blocks from our rental house the next day, along with some time at the community playground a mere 1 block away--what a great location!
The rental house was a good idea also because we were able to invite our New Hampshire family down to visit before the wedding because they had 2-4 hour drives to get there. Aunt Judy and Uncle Homie/Charley came for a bit, then DD and Doug and Erika enjoyed lunch with us and time at the beach checking out the crabs with the kids (Alex didn’t make it due to basketball camp). Piper collected a LOT of Fiddler crabs in her bucket (so nice of the rental house owner to leave some sand toys outside for sharing). Steve and Jayme also joined us for BBQ lunch. We tried to make the most of our few precious hours with family since we all drove separate ways after the wedding.
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| Cousin Erika joined in crab collecting. |
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| Chris chatting with DD and Doug. |
------- WEDDING FESTIVITIES -------
On Thursday night, Cousins Laurie and Charley Faucher, parents of the bride Katie (2nd cousin to Chris), hosted a houseful of family and friends over to the gorgeous 4-story house they rented in Marion for the week of the wedding. We got to meet some of Katie and Lex's friends and his family too. We hadn't seen Katie in years, so it was nice to visit.
The wedding ceremony was beautiful. Our girls were the only children there other than the flower girl and her brother who was an usher. We received several compliments on how well behaved they were. I did have to watch 80% of the ceremony from the back doors because once Marissa perked up after her short afternoon nap, she wanted to narrate all her observations inside the church. The perk of being outside the back doors was that I got to see the wedding party and the bride Katie jump up and down in excitement outside after exiting the church.
I was either standing or walking (in heels) while holding Marissa for about 2 hours before I finally had an opportunity to set her on my lap at the cocktail reception. (The perk: this is how I tone my arms.)
The dinner and dancing part of the reception was under a giant white tent on the lawn adjacent to the water. The view was beautiful for the large group family pictures.
Laurie and her wedding planner friend had goodie bags for the kids, so they were happy playing, coloring, and eating candy until the party kicked into high gear.
There was a live band. Piper was showing off doing splits on the dance floor. Both Addisyn and Piper made friends with a couple of girlfriends of Katie's, who also happen to be nannies.
Despite rain and a couple power failures, the dance floor stayed packed until it finally died down around 10:30pm. Luckily the rain waited till after all the official photographs were taken. From inside the tent, we didn't notice when the rain started, but it wasn't stopping so we made light of it and rushed to the car. We were soaked.
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| Parents of the bride, Laurie and Charlie, give their toast. |
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| Addisyn getting Grampy to play a game from her goodie bag with her. |
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| On the dance floor: Karen and Addisyn, Grammy and Grampy, Erika |
Congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs. Browning!
Piper's Journal: "at the wedding. at the wedding it was fun. Not just fun, really f u n! we had candy, we had a dance parety, now that is fun."
------- WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS -------
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| Enjoying a cold classic from Friendly's, the local restaurant chain. |
Cousins Laurie and Charley live in an outskirt of Worcester, the town where Grammy Susan grew up. We drove North-East to see the town and the cemetery where Great Grandma Grace is buried.
After lunch at Friendly's, Susan led us over to 9 Maxwell St., the 3-story house she grew up in. If I wrote this down correctly from her story telling, Susan's paternal grandfather Carl Albin Forsberg (Great Grandpa to Chris, and Great Great Grandpa to our kids) married Anna Johanson and built the house, (probably) living on the first floor, raising their son Carl Frederick. Carl F grew up and married Grace Moe (from nearby Quinsigamond). When Judy and Susan were little girls, Carl A and Anna moved up to the top floor while Carl F and Grace raised their young daughters on the first floor. Susan shared memories of her Grandma Anna using the top floor front window to throw ice cream money to them, or to lower a basket by rope to carry up supplies.
We didn't have to drive far to see the church she went to and the school Grandma Grace attended. The whole community was primarily Swedish.
"New Swedish Cemetery" (Later renamed "All Faiths Cemetery")
We didn't have to drive far to see the church she went to and the school Grandma Grace attended. The whole community was primarily Swedish.
"New Swedish Cemetery" (Later renamed "All Faiths Cemetery")
Addisyn's Journal: "Today we went to the semetary. We saw grandma Grace's tombstone. The stone had Grace's name and her husband's name."
Piper's Journal: "We went to the cemetary tombstone. we saw Great Grandma Grace's stone it wus fun seeing the cemetary tombstone."
I hope this day helped the girls connect with their family history in a personal and tangible way.
We returned the rental car 370 miles later, checked into the Embassy Suites at the airport, and had Domino’s pizza delivered to our room for dinner at 8pm.
------- BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS -------
One full day deserves another... We spent our last full day discovering Boston proper. We had a couple more destinations to find from pages of the "Good Night Massachusetts" book. We found our way around using the subway "T", riding on 3 different color lines, blue, orange, and green.
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| Note to self: next time, turn the camera flash off when taking pictures of the subway. |
Tired feet landed us for lunch at the food court. Grammy and Grampy took a train adventure in from Worcester and were able to find us there and enjoy the remainder of the day with us, since it would be our last day together for another month.
We walked bits of the Freedom Trail on our way to find the Duck Boat Tour. We learned a bit of history about events surrounding independence being declared from Britain. The site that stuck in my mind the most was the Old South Meeting House. This is where in 1773 Samuel Adams gave the signal that started the Boston Tea Party in the nearby harbor. What caught my attention though is that to this day, the building maintains its role as a public meeting place supporting free speech.
"Upholding its mission as a platform for free and unfettered speech, the Old South Meeting House embodies the American tradition of civic discussion. The sharing of ideas, though often contentious, is the lifeline of our democratic society. Today the Old South Meeting House still hosts spirited, thought-provoking events, and is committed to presenting topics and speakers regardless of their popularity or unpopularity."We walked over to view (didn't tour) the Boston Tea Party boat, reading the signs overlooking the harbor, and tried explaining its significance at Kindergarten and 2nd grade levels. We discussed why voting is important to us and that our education is important to be able to make good decisions, so that we don't have to have a king tell us what to do.
I hope the girls remember visiting Boston when they get to studying this part of history in school.
Waiting for our Duck Tour to start, we checked out the seals in front of the Aquarium, and meandered across a park to entertain the kids and kill some time. We found a fountain, where Piper wished for wings, and then saw across the street a Carousel designed by schoolchildren, and all the girls got a turn riding on the butterfly creature on the Carousel.**Maybe when Grammy gets back from her summer-long MH trip she can send us a picture of the bus/boat she took with her camera.
Near the end, every passenger received a duck whistle souvenir and the ride got very loud. Marissa had fallen asleep before we ever hit water and missed the whole boat experience--I had to cover her ear while sleeping--she was SO tired that she slept all the way through dinner....but perked up with some smarties I had tucked away in the back pack and enjoyed blowing on the duck whistle with her sisters.
Piper's Journal: "We spent the Day in Boston. We went on the duck-boat. daddy told us we driving over lobsters but we were really floting. I loved my duck whistle."
We had a great trip and are so thankful we took the opportunity to go. We certainly packed in as much as we could in a short amount of time. Maybe we'll come back through in four years when we take our family MH trip across the country.
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