Visit from Grammie and Papa

Over Memorial Day Weekend, Grammie and Papa Malenfant took the train all the way from New Mexico to visit Nathan and Alex, and Michael and I of course as well.  Nathan and Alex were excited to show them all their favorite places, and just spend lots of time playing trains.  Thank you for a wonderful visit, we miss you!

Grammie and Papa arrived late Thursday night, and Nathan was good enough to wake up to greet them :)

The first morning, we went to the Wenham Museum, where they have a large model train exhibit.  Heaven for Nathan!  We grabbed lunch afterwards just down the street in Hamilton at the Weathervane, great seafood for everyone!

Saturday morning was supposed to be hot hot hot, so we packed up early and headed to the beach at Breakheart Reservation.  It ended up being a little cloudy, but nice and breezy on the water.  The boys had a great time splashing around, and Nathan even worked on some swimming.

Sunday was just a quiet day hanging at the house, taking a long walk around the neighborhood and trying out the sprinkler.

For our last day we went to the Museum of Science and geeked out for a few hours.  Before dinner, we showed Grammie and Papa one of our favorite parks in Wakefield, and then walked just down the street to Zuzu's for dinner.  A new favorite for us!

See you October for Balloon Fiesta, Grammie and Papa!!

Sticking my toe back in the water...

It has been over a year since my last post, and I have made a resolution to start posting again, but on a smaller scale!  No more staring down the 126 photos I have to sort through and tell a big story.  I hope to just post cute and fun pictures for Grammie/Mimi/Papas/Aunts/Uncles to get a peek of what the kiddos are up to (and us too of course).

This weekend Michael had to be a superhero and work all weekend, protecting the drinking water for many people!  So the boys and I kept busy, first going to the Boston Children's Museum on Saturday, and then Breakheart Reservation on Sunday.

 Playing in the sand at the museum...

 Alex is happy anywhere he can stand up!

 Rawr!

 Hand stamping (Alex even did a little)

 Chillin' for lunch outside the museum...

 Sunday morning at Breakheart Reservation beach.

 Alex enjoying the picnic

 When Michael got home, we set up the sprinkler, and the boys had a blast in the water!

I love when the weather gets warm, because I can take arts and crafts projects outside and make a big mess.  Nathan had fun making a big painting this morning!

 Then we tuckered him out at the local playground with some friends, and he insisted on sleeping in his old bassinet.  He will always be our baby!

One Weekend in Maine

With Michael traveling for work, we decided to head up to Maine for a long weekend. We got to spend lots of time with Nathan's Uncle Will, Aunt Lynn, Cousin Christopher, Mimi and Papa.

We stopped by Portland to have lunch with the crowd before heading to Brunswick. While there, we decided to check out the Children's Museum. Shockingly, Nathan loved it.

Driving the car with Mimi.

Wouldn't be a museum in Maine without a lighthouse!

Sitting in the reading nook with Mimi.

Back at home we just relaxed and enjoyed time with family!

Doing puzzles with Papa.

"Playing" with Cousin Christopher.

Helping Papa break up the ice.

Wouldn't be a trip to Maine without going to Freeport and LL Bean. Nathan gets a peek at the trout in the hunting & fishing section.

Nathan and Christopher enjoyed an appetizer of lemons at Buck's Naked BBQ (they both liked the lemons, they must be cousins or something).

Playing with the train set at the restaurant, great place for kids!

New Mexico comes to visit Winter in New England

Yes, it has been over 2 months since my last blog entry, and a move across the country... But winter in New England put my photography/blog skills into hibernation. But things are thawing out, and with a visit from the Malenfant grandparents, I had the perfect excuse to get started again!

It was a short visit, but we packed a lot of fun into four days. Nathan was beside himself with joy when he saw Grammie and Papa at our front door last Thursday morning. Daddy and Mommy were ignored for the rest of the weekend.

They spent a LOT of time reading, and Nathan showed off his ability to sit through an entire page and book. Grammie had a special gift she had made, a Nathan alphabet book. It was full of photos of Nathan and his world for each letter of the alphabet. He loves it, and now knows about 10 new letters!

Reading his special alphabet book with Grammie.

Reading Richard Scary with Papa.

That night we decided to try dinner at Gibbets Hill Grill in Groton. It is a wonderful restaurant housed in an old (replica?) barn and they use all local ingredients (and try to raise everything on their farm).

The boys walking up to the restaurant.

Nathan devouring all the cornbread.

The next morning we took Grammie and Papa to Nathan's new favorite place, the Discovery Museum in Acton. It is an old Victorian house that has been transformed into a place for toddlers to explore and learn.

Nathan showing Grammie how colors work.

Nathan on his 29th trip down the slide.

I'm on a boat! (up in the ocean room)

Learning about seashells.

Nathan's "flash" smile for the camera.

Saturday morning we headed out to New Hampshire. Aunt Gingy was visiting as well, and we wanted to get everyone together! So we met aunts, uncle and cousins up at Parker's Maple Barn for a great breakfast and learned how maple syrup is made.

Enjoying our big big breakfast together.

Corbin showing Nathan how the souvenir penny machine works.

Walking over to the sugar house to learn about maple syrup.

Sugar house.

The guide telling us all about hydrometers and sugar content (Corbin and Andrew right up front!).

My artsy maple syrup shot.

Aunt Gingy making Nathan laugh.

Thank you for a wonderful visit! We miss New Mexico all the time, but the biggest part is Grammie and Papa. The next time we see them, there will be six people in that photo!!