Danielle Arrives in Beantown

After many, many ups and downs with her job (you'd think she'll be working for the FBI instead of the National Parks Service!) and a changed plane ticket Danielle arrived at the Manchester, New Hampshire airport. She didn't hate me for being late picking her up. We laughed a talked the whole way back. Danielle took a sneak peak at the sleeping little ones. We stayed up WAAAAY too late. It was good to catch up. Looking forward to a fun summer!

Patiently waiting on the curb.

So excited to be here!

Danielle has been updating her blog too--danielleduffy.blogspot.com.

Memorial Day in Marlborough

You can't beat a small town parade. We took the boys out to Marlborough and got there just in time!

I must admit I couldn't help but getting excited when the high school marching band went by. I hear those drums and I still get chills. I'm a true band nerd at heart.

Will is always with his Dad.

Hanging out with little friends.

I'm pretty sure this photo was taken after David had been running through some plants that he shouldn't have been into. The after BBQ was great. We enjoyed friends and big backyard with plenty of space to run and play.

Will Gets a Haircut (Finally!)

I have this notion that once you cut your baby's hair he isn't a baby anymore. I let David's hair grow out quite a bit and sadly I let Will's grow out even longer. After he was mistaken for a girl twice in one week (didn't offend me--boys can be pretty right?) I decided it was time. I ignored the haircutting video from the library and the never-been-used Costco clippers and buzzer and went for the more expensive but posh photo op at Snip Its.

Loving the hair covered sucker.

You are now a man my son.

My two gentleman are looking very sharp.

Will will be 15 months this Saturday. I really enjoy this age and I keep wondering why I don't quite remember specifics about David at this time--you know like a year and two months ago--and then I remembered that Will was a brand new little baby when David was only 14 months old. Sigh. Sorry David, I wish I had specifics I could remember about you, but they do say the oldest gets more attention.

Wagon Capacity

Who knew that a 2 (okay maybe a 2.5) person wagon could hold four darling boys?! They sang all the way to the playground so they could hear their voices shake as we went over the bumps.

All of the the people we passed laughed and smiled. The Holt boys gave me some hope for my kids. Maybe they...er...ahem...David will grow out of mischief when they get a little older...

I'm including this picture because it is the only one with Will's face but the other one is better of everyone else. I smiled to myself and almost teared up as the older ones played with the younger ones.

Cape Cod Lite

We finally tried out the Cape. Most of our time was spent driving around some beautiful sea side towns and neighborhoods but we just couldn't find a beach that worked. We were surprised and excited to find an LDS church building because there aren't many here in New England. There was a reception going on inside. Brad didn't think it was a good idea to accost someone in the parking lot to ask about beaches...

But after a lot of driving around for quite awhile we found a great one!

Will with his rocks.

Brad and David skipping rocks into the ocean.

Sticking out tongues while perched in a lifeguard chair.

William and David really differed in how they felt about the water as this video will show!

We enjoyed a few moments on our (gasp!) first East Coast beach trip since we've been here and can't wait for more beaches and hopefully more Cape Cod trips in the future.

Ragnar Relay

We headed down to Gillette Stadium--home of the New England Patriot's--to support a few friends at the finish of the Ragnar Relay. It was 198 miles; twelve people and from what I hear lots of work and fun! Most of our friends had finished running earlier in the day but we were glad we made it (by mere seconds!) to watch the team enter the stadium.

Becky and Melanie

Congratulations!!

Jackson had fun with us on Friday while his Mom was running but David decided to put Desitin in Jackson's hair. Our poor friend is still looking a little greasy here--that stuff is hard to get out and dish soap is the only thing that does the trick.

The whole team. Go I Be Pro Fun!

David found his friend Chris.

As always, Will was firmly attached to his Daddy.

I've been in awe as I've watched my friend Melanie run four times each week in preparation for this race. She has been preparing since January. Sometimes Melanie ran twice on Saturdays. She even trained on her vacation. It has been really motivating for me to see her make and achieve such an amazing fitness goal. I've appreciated the night time texts inviting me to the gym. Why does working out always seem easier when someone else is there with you?

Congratulations to Daija, Becky, Heidi, and Collette as well, I'm so impressed.

For you runners out there Ragnar holds several races in the West including the Wasatch Back in Utah, the Del Sol in Arizona, and the Northwest Passage in Washington. All sound wonderful. I think my Aunt Heidi Hansen and my cousin's wife Cara Lyon have participated in Utah. I'm particularity intrigued by the one in Washington starting out in Blaine and ending at Deception Pass.

Penny's "P" Party

Our little friend Penny turned one. The boys and I were invited to her letter "P" themed party. It was the most darling idea! The kids were to dress up as something starting with the letter P. We saw a pencil, a punk, polka dots, pink and plaid, and many other fun costumes. The star of the party was a picnic table. She wore a red and white stripe dress and a head band that had all the things you'd find on a picnic table attached.

Here is a pirate and his mom; a purple crayon.

What did my boys go as?

My original idea was to have them go as pillows but Brad liked his idea better...

Prime numbers!!

The numbers conveniently correspond to their ages.

Here is David pinning the patch on the pirate. The girls put a crown on a princess. The reward was a Blow Pop.

We had peaches, pears, pineapple, peanut butter sandwiches, punch, and of course a huge "P" cake. Penny's Dad took lots of photos and even wore a paparazzi tag around his neck.

Even though most of the adults didn't dress up we figured we were all parents and people so that had to count for something. Happy Birthday Penny. Thanks Dave and Jessica for such a fun time.