Happy Halloween from Beacon Hill!

The Mortensen's heard that David and I would be flying solo for Halloween and they invited us to check out Beacon Hill with them. It was great because Richard works for Mass General and can park for free on the weekends. David liked riding in their "truck" (SUV but we don't make distinctions) with his little friend Lilly.

Beacon Hill is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the country. It is so unreal. I felt like I was walking around a move set. Federal style row houses, narrow gas-lit streets, and brick sidewalks. We even trick or treated John Kerry's house. We didn't see him but we did hear he had been out earlier. I suspect it was his son who was handing David his piece of candy.

My little dragon navigating the brick sidewalks.

This is one of the many decorated porches.

I think we'll be return to Beacon Hill next year.

To find out more about William's Halloween--

Click Here.

My sister-in-law Amy was quick to photograph and blog so I knew what my little guy was up to. Thanks for taking such good care of him!

Trunk or Treat

Brad and David took off for Phoenix very early this morning. Brad was going for a military dental conference and offered to take William since he was free. I hope that my letting William go doesn't make me a bad Mom! I subjected David to lots of errands that quite frankly were easier to do with only one kid around. We prepared for the Trunk or Treat and picked up our friends. Their Dad/husband was out of town too so it was perfect.

Dragon friends David and Bean

Bean is our downstairs neighbor and both boys can't get enough of playing with him.

David, Tessa (our old neighbor), and Jackson

We took turns passing out candy and trunk or treating. Since David had already practiced yesterday he was a pro.

The Shore family is UP!

This was by far one of the best costume themes of the evening (made better by the fact that Spenser is sporting Brad's jacket...how many of you own a grandpa jacket?!)

William Trunk or Treats in Phoenix:

Hanging out with Aunt Brooke and Grandma Kathy

Meeting his cousin Alex for the first time.

And just being a cute fireman.

Brad was worried about how Will would adjust to everyone and everything. We've learned that you can't expect too much from a toddler who is thrown into a new time zone and plenty of strange "new" people. I won't forget when Brad called. He was ecstatic, "Will LOVES your Mom Deidre, I think it is the webcam..." From all reports Grandma Kathy had a good time with Will and he really enjoyed her.

Pumpkin Carving

For some reason pumpkin carving has always kind of been lost on me. Halloween was a very big deal at my house growing up. I think we even may have carved pumpkins but I guess it never made that huge of an impression. Thankfully our friends the Mortensen's had a pumpkin carving party so my family didn't miss out on this activity.

In all honesty the kids played and tried to eat as many treats as they could steal while most of the girls talked and left the carving to the guys. Good results all around!

My three boys and their pumpkin

Thanks to Heidi and Richard for hosting such a fun night on their huge patio!

Lexington Halloween

I hold a special place in my heart for the town of Lexington. It is charming, and as most everything in New England, historical. Battles of Lexington and Concord anyone? When my friend Linda told me the local businesses passed out Halloween candy I had to be there.

A dragon and a fireman.

I had visions of a fireman and his dalmation puppy but David loved the dragon costume and I didn't have the heart to force him into something else.

The boys sat and watched a little dance performance on the green in front of the train station. Some younger girls dressed as bats and performed and cute number and the older ones were zombies dancing to what else but Michael Jackson's Thriller. Even I'll admit that I love me some Michael Jackson music.

We started to make trick-or-treating rounds. Both boys instantly picked up on it. William usually said "thank you" after receiving a candy. David sometimes had a hard time navigating around crowds. His peripheral vision was compromised because of the costume I guess. It was fun and so cute. David was also unusually quiet which is becoming common for him in public situations especially around strangers. Will alternated between wanting to be held and walking on his own and also between keeping his hat on and wanting to take it off.

Stopping to rest on a chair outside a local cafe. Trick or treating can be tough.

Enjoying a sucker.

Local scenery...

A final shot of my cute fireman:

I was happy to enjoy such a nice afternoon with David and Will. Today was definitely one of those rewarding moments that are so precious to parents. Had I tried to do this last year sans stroller it would have been a disaster. At just one and two my boys are already growing up...I wished for Brad or even grandparents to share the moment with!

Car Roads

Once while I was riding in the car with David I mentioned that something was across the street. He said, "No Mom, it's a CAR ROAD." Sorry. We've been making some creative car roads lately...

String Cheese

And a lovely toilet paper car road before church one Sunday morning.

SIL Weekend Wrap Up

I had a great weekend! From the moment I picked up Jorden and Katrina in Provo to the moment I left the resort to go home on Sunday morning...It was uplifting and relaxing in a not-having-to-worry-about-being-a-Mom-for-almost-four-days kind of way. Most importantly I got to know my sisters-in-law. I've always acutely felt the need to bond with other women and who better to do it with than (some new) family? My reasoning for the trip was that Brad and his brothers already know one another but that the girls haven't really had that opportunity. Moments when we've even lived in the same state are few and far between.

Perhaps the only downside to the trip was the almost two days of traveling part. I just wish it didn't take so stinking long to fly West!! I was thrilled to see Brad, Dave, and Will at the airport in New Hampshire late on Sunday afternoon. I'm also very thankful that Brad was willing to arrange his schedule to allow me this opportunity.

Timpanogos Caves and Park City

I think I questioned my sanity for a brief moment when we got out of the cars at the Timp Caves parking lot. It was early, cold, and windy. Burr. Not my definition of fun.

A group photo in the visitors center before we hiked.

The sun started to come up and it really wasn't so bad. There were a few places on the path with a painted red line that meant "don't stop here a rock could fall on you" so we hustled through those occasionally stopping for a rest or to enjoy the views.

The whole process was very interesting to me. It seems like the park rangers get an insane work out because they have to hike up before they give their tours too. I don't think they stay up the entire day either, but I wasn't sure.

I have this obnoxious habit of saying I'm from Boston when I visit places like this even though here I wouldn't claim be a native! I always find it interesting to see how people will react and indeed in our small group I was the visitor who had come the furtherest. (I think. Maybe there were a few Europeans on our tour? Minus the obvious English sister-in-law...Does anyone remember?)

The caves were interesting and very different from say Carlsbad or even Kartchener in Arizona. It was a network of three different caves and it was very narrow. The tour was long and sufficiently engaging.

A dog, my favorite formation inside of the cave.

More shots of all of us before the hike down.

Nadia, Katrina, and I made it down pretty quickly. We'd missed the restrooms on the top and had a good reason to hustle. I'm glad we went as early as we did. It was UEA weekend so on our way back we saw tons of families with small kids. I don't know if I'd be brave enough to bring Dave and Will, I'd fear they'd go over the steep edge.

We headed into Park City and changed. Noelene treated us to lunch at a tasty cafe. It was good she'd been up the weekend before for the BYU Law School event and found a great place. We made an impromptu stop in a little bakery and each found a treat.

Park City Outlets. Wow. I think we were beyond exhausted by the time it was all over but it was a very successful trip. I know that everyone found something. Jorden got a jacket, Katrina purchased a skirt she'd been eying at Down East, and Noelene found shoes at Bass. I know that Amy, Nadia, and I each found a few items too. Nadia never did find boots for her skinny ankles but we tried very hard.

I ran into a couple I'd known from our ward in Boston at the Gap Outlet. They only lived here for 4 months but we'd traded babysitting a few times and really enjoyed them. I walked by her and did a double take because she changed her hair. Then I saw their daughter and her husband. We talked and caught up. It was so fun and uncanny to bump into the Burtenshaws. Small world.

I'm glad everyone was ok with letting an impostor in for awhile. Danielle came up to Midway after we returned and we were able to visit for about an hour.

We all had a good heart to heart and once again stayed up beyond reasonable hours. We laughed and cried and even claimed a few future baby names. It was beautiful! I'm sure Katrina feels like she knows me very well. It was kind of her to agree to share a bed with me for three nights...