Catching Up

One good thing about summer vacation is that I have time to update my blog.


On Thursday, I took the kids into the New England Aquarium. I had originally planned on taking the comuter rail but was shocked at the price so I decided to drive in. With my GPS I have a much easier time driving in Boston. It cost $18 to park but it would have been $15 for me on the commuter rail plus the kids so we came out ahead. We spent a couple hours at the aquarium and then walked over to a fountain that was spraying water intermittently and to a carousel. We then walked over to Faneiul Hall for lunch at Zuma's. I loved their shredded beef tacos. When we started home, we stopped at the Farmers Market in Plymouth for some awesome strawberries! They were way more expensive than I'd ever pay in a store but they were so good.

Jason said he thought this would be a cool job.


Jess holding an American lobster molt. I learned that usually lobsters eat their molt to replace the calcium they'd lost so it's unusual to get a whole molt. The woman talking to us was surprised that Jess held her pose so long (my flash didn't want to work). I told her it was lots of experience with having a scrapbooking mom.

Jason with the molt. We also learned that not all lobsters have claws. The woman said that if you order lobster tail in a restaurant, you are likely getting a slipper lobster which doesn't have claws.

We wanted to see if this fish was longer than Jess. Jess wouldn't lie down until Jason tried it.

Jess is longer.

We spent a long time going from window to window down the large central tank. Jess and Jason really liked watching the turtle.

Riding the carousel after leaving the aquarium. This is Jess's favorite amusement ride. She rode Carefree Wonder.

Jess loves watching street performers. These guys were singing Knocking on Heaven's Door.

Last weekend our church had a scavenger hunt around Plymouth. The other teams were all adults but I joined with another mom and the kids she had (1 hers, 1 a friend). Here we are checking out our map and list. We didn't know we were supposed to do everything in order. At one point, I had to go to the bathroom and left my team which we weren't supposed to do but when you gotta go, you gotta go. I didn't pick up anything we were looking for along the way so we were still "legal".

One of the things we had to find was a 1990 penny. Of course, none of us had one on us. We went to The Chocolate Bar and the clerk looked through her drawer but she didn't have one either. We ended up going into a bank and buying 2 rolls of pennies and going through them. Then we added a penny to make up for the one we took and sold the rolls back to the bank.

After the scavenger hunt, Jess and I went to a costume party at the house of one of the moms in the meetup group I joined. I had mentioned not being sure what Jess would wear because her costume has so much glitter on it and Liz said not to worry about the glitter.

Jess with Liz's cat, Squeaker.

Nicky bought Simba for Jason when he was a baby. It still talks when you press its paw.

Jess wanted footie pj's. I always hated them as a kid but for some reason she was on a real kick to get them. I had told her she'd have to wait until fall because I couldn't find them but then I came across them at the Children's Place on a big sale. I got Suki a matching pair. Jess loves to put them on but doesn't end up wearing them all night because they make her feet too hot.

Penguins squawking.

International Fair

We went to the international Fair at Bay Farm Academy which is a Montessori school in a local town. I'd seen a flyer for the school on a restaurant door and thought it'd be fun. I checked out the website for the school. Now, I'm not really a Montessori fan to begin with but I don't think any school for toddlers (school goes to 8th grade) is worth $18K a year (and before anyone says that you'd pay that at a regular daycare, this $18K only covers the school day. If you want extended care or summer care, it's more). Anyway, the fair was a lot of fun and I hope they do it again next year. I'd posted it on my meetup's board and two other moms met me there. The kids starting off by getting a passport. Each area was setup as a different continent and there were crafts to do. Once the craft was finished, the children's passports got stamped. At the end, the kids got a squeeze ball that looks like Earth.

Jess with the world in her hands.

Jess chose the bumblebee for her kiddie yoga pose to try. She did a great job! We checked out their brochures and may see about signing her up for a class.

Jess tried several different foods today. Here she is eating a beef patty from Africa. She didn't like it very much but she gave it a good shot. She tried Zanzibar chicken which she loved. We also tried a drink that had watermelon in it and was very good. Children from the school put on presentations about different countries - what a great job they did!

Jess enjoyed writing Arabic letters in the sand.


The turtle means longevity. Her tattoo lasted over a week even with all the baths she took so it lived up to its meaning LOL

Southwick Zoo

I hadn't been to Southwick Zoo since Jason was small. I decided to take Jess and we had a blast. I got in free because it was teacher appreciation day but I still spent a lot of money. The one thing I don't like about this zoo is the number of kiddie rides they have. They're pretty expensive and I don't really see the point of having them. I did let Jess go on the carousel but that was it for mechanical rides.

I don't remember ever seeing a white wallaby before.


The guide standing by the tortoise area told us that this tortoise is middle age (100 years). I commented that he wouldn't make a good pet since he'd outlive his owners by so many years. Very seriously, the guide said "Oh, Ma'am, you can't have one of these as a pet. They don't live around here."

Jess rode the camel. She said he walks different. He kept stopping to eat while walking around the pen with her.

Southwick has a deer forest where you go in and can feed lots of deer. They were very friendly and followed everyone around looking for food.

Jess riding the elephant.

There were lots of goats in the petting zoo. It was hard to get food from the dispensor because the bigger goats were all over it.

Jess scolding a baby goat for trying to eat her shorts.

Trip to Roger Williams Zoo

Every year we go to Roger Williams Zoo in Providence, RI. I think, though, that Jason may be outgrowing it :( He was a bit bored.

For some reason, Jess is always pointing out animal butts. So, we got a picture of the zebra's.


We see this bird every year. It hangs out by the window and follows kids hands/fingers back and forth.


Jess is very good at talking to people and listening to their explanations. She keeps telling me she's going to be a doctor someday but she's not sure if she wants to be a people doctor or an animal doctor.

Jason going for a ride.

Kids riding the elephant.

Every year we take a picture by this dog starting when Jason was really little. At some point, I'm going to have to dig all those photos out so I can make a page where it shows him growing up.