Catch Up!

As I was going through all my pictures I've taken, one cute little face kept popping up. Yep, this cookie coated one. NY law makes all one and two year olds be tested for lead. As I sat him on my lap and the technician started prodding at his veins (or lack thereof), I felt so bad for him! He doesn't even understand why he's about to be stabbed! Then of course it's my job to hold him down. Not an easy task. Even the lady commented on how strong he was. Luckily, she got blood on the first take and he stopped screaming right when it was over. He seemed unphased afterward, but I still gave him what he rightfully earned. An Oreo. He scarfed that thing down so fast then got it all over me and the seat while I was trying to clean him up with a wipe. Worth it.

Dad likes to tickle. I'm just glad my thighs have gotten a break, but that means Collin's are fair game. During one session I thought it was a good opportunity to snag a pic of his chompers. Gap and all. So cute.

Miss Elsie had her one year party a week late (she was born the day after Collin), so we tried to do an impromtu photo shoot with the two of them. I think his outfit is funny... kind of like a fat kid's vest. Frumpy. Trying to hide something... only there's nothing to hide on him! :) It was impossible to get them both to look at us, but I still love the progression of faces Collin makes. Here, he's biting his upper lip and sticking out his bottom one (something he's been doing a lot of).... an unsure, almost pensive look.

Getting a bit more annoyed with all the activity of trying to get his attention. Hands go to ears. Frusteration is mounting!

He's HAD IT!! Stop bothering me people!!! Photo session is OVER! :)

This past Saturday, he had more professional photos for Easter/1st Birthday, so he was due for a trimmy trim trim. He hates the cape though so hair gets all over him. And when I'm done and looking at his hairy back, I can't help but laugh, wondering if this is what he'll look like in another 25 years! Probably.... sorry son. :)

For his birthday, Grandma Ann sent some money to go buy a book. Well, yea for coupons, because we were able to get two! I love Eric Carle, but he sure is costly. And the B is for Bear... well Collin loves it, but I may love it more. Very good buys. Children's books are wonderful. I was so excited to walk into Borders and be able to look around. I've always thought it would be so fun to own a bookstore. Smell books all day. Ahhh.

It's a very busy couple of weeks with Young Womens. Mutuals, Super Saturdays, meetings, broadcasts, etc. The kids had to perform a skit for Super Saturday a couple weeks ago, so I thought it would be fun to teach them The Evolution of Dance. They loved it. And it was fun to teach it to them. If you've never seen it you have to search for it on You Tube. Only, it's pretty long, so we set up a lap top on the stage so they could watch while they danced.... only the video was slower than the music and they got confused and kinda lost it. So I was in the back behind the kids who were watching (but in front of all the adults!) and had to do it too so they could watch me and catch back on. I felt kind of dumb, but oh well! It wasn't perfect, but they had fun and I was proud of them for at least trying! Here's a shot of us the night they learned it.

We also had a fun activity last month making {No Sew Fleece Pillows}. I found the idea online and it was a hit. Kind of a lot of work for me preparing for it, but again, worth it.

We must interrupt our regularly scheduled post for a New Moon shoutout! Karli invited me to an exclusive showing of New Moon at her house last Friday and I can't even tell you how much fun it was. I was not prepared for what I saw when I walked into her house. This girl went all out. The soda labels were now {Type A}, {Type B}, or {Thirsty?}. There was Twilight wrapped Sweethearts....

Movie theater popcorn.....

even a Concession stand!

And a banner of Twilight pictures over the seating area.... including a blow up mattress (that came in quite handy later)

What I loved most was that the girls weren't truly Twilight obsessed. It was a healthy combo of admiring you know who and rolling our eyes when Bella moaned and Edward whimpered while kissing. {Gag!} Just a fun girls night being silly and laughing our heads off. And laugh we did. All I have to say is Tasha is hilarious and at one point, Karli, Rachel N. and I were literally having fits of giggles, rolling/ jumping all over the aforementioned mattress. I could NOT contain myself! And by the time we checked our watches it was 4:20am. WHAT?! How does that happen? Seriously, a night to remember. Thanks ladies. I consumed so many calories. And I burned twice as many hysterically losing it.

I've also got some videos! Collin has figured out how to make us laugh, by scrunching up his nose and snorting air in and out. So funny.

                                       

Then, on Sunday, we were watching America's Funniest Home Videos, and we realized that whenever someone got hurt, fell, had a pie smashed in their face, etc, and we would laugh, Collin would start crying! He really would have fear stricken across his face and turn to me, screaming. Well that just made us laugh harder. It was hard to get on video, but this one is a bit of a sample. We think that he must just relate to the pain, because last week he fell down the stairs for the first time and got a good sized bruise on his forehead. I blame it on his father :) You see, only hours earlier, we were talking and Trav said, ya know, this kid needs to fall and hurt himself! EXPLANATION: Every time he goes to dive off the couch or something, we're there to catch him, so he doesn't understand consequences or that it's dangerous. JINX! Fate was listening, because later that day he learned all about consequences. Poor kid. It's called learning I guess.

                                       

Well, on a final note I was going to post a picture of my brother's open house on Saturday but it seems that my sister's didn't think to take pictures!! :) He was married a year ago in Switzerland and hasn't been back to the states since, so they finally had their open house in my parents newly landscaped backyard this past weekend. I really wanted to be there, but it's hard to justify plane tickets when loans are tight and you think...well these are the prices you just have to pay when you are away at school. But then, my extended family only gets together every couple of years for a nice picture and they did it last Sunday, so it was kind of a bummer to not be a part of that. And then our other extended family is having their reunion this weekend and we've already missed the last one. Plus it's Easter and Conference, so I'm feeling kind of homesick. I just didn't realize how much was happening so close together. If I had known, I might have caved into a flight home, but oh well. I suppose these are the times that will make me appreciate when we are able to live in AZ again, much more (If that ever happens!). It's also my mom's birthday today. I love my mom. She called me last Saturday (the day of the open house) to tell me she missed me and wished I was there. I had wanted to talk to her all week, but knew she was super busy and I didn't want to bother her. So it meant a lot that she called on the busiest day of all!

Hope you have a GROOVY birthday Mom! I love you!

My Last Supper

Rachel and I decided to do a sugar diet.

When Trav got home and I told him, he promptly texted Rach,

"Why do you hate me?"

She didn't get it at all. Her husband was thrilled with our endeavor.

Now to be fair, maybe sugar diet isn't the best wording... more like dessert diet.

I hear some people announce their sugar diets, but then assure that they'll still be eating things like ketchup and orange juice. That gives me a good chuckle.

I, on the other hand, will still be eating my Fiber Plus Dark Chocolate Granola Bars.

Hey, it's not considered a dessert (except now it will be) and it only has 7g of sugar per bar. That's a load less than the 17 raisins in my morning oatmeal that weigh in at 29g of sugar.

And I imagine that I'll be going back to freezing my {No Sugar Added, Chocolate Carnation Breakfast Drink} to be consumed as my late night treat.

Hey, I've got to have options.

As it is, I've had to deter continuous instincts throughout the day to grab handfuls of the delectable, chocolate, egg morsels that are sitting so innocently in my Easter pail.

And I chose an orange after my sandwich instead of a cookie.

Folks, that's progress.

So last night, I had my last binge. THE GOAL: Make myself sick with sweets. Not rocket science.

So, normally I would wecome any {Good Luck} wishes, but I think they should probably be directed at my now {buddyless} dessert eating companion. He doesn't take to Splenda sweetened Orange Julius' or the absence of freshly baked cookies very well.

He'll live. Hope I do too.

(The end date is May 10.... anyone that wants to join us is more than welcome to! :)

My #1 Man

Ashamedly, I'm a week late on this post, but given this kid's history he probably won't mind. I really think that the two weeks I went overdue with him felt much, much longer than the past 52 weeks I've spent with him! Every day I look at him and wonder where my little baby went. Trav and I are always telling him what a {bigger boy} he is. And now he's officially 1. Not that he could tell you. I worked and worked with him to hold up his pointer finger to show that he was one year old (my mom used to do that), but to no avail. He's certainly not a conformist. :) Thanks to his surrogate aunties, who helped me get my rear in gear, he actually got a little party. It even had a theme. Thanks to Real Madrid (the team responsible for hooking Trav), Collin celebrated his first birthday, soccer style.

Don't laugh at my cake. I was pretty proud of myself until I saw all these fancy batman themed/fondant created cakes on other blogs. I guess decorating just wasn't my calling in life.

Rach saved the day and helped me decorate the sugar cookies. We had contorted claws for hands by the time we were done. Trav also made homemade cookies and cream icecream that was to die for (keeping with the black and white theme).

Collin was in good company, playing with friends, until we dragged him away to put on his awesome hat...

He just loved it and wanted to wear it all night. Not! At least it was good for a picture.

Only Dad is left without the appropriate attire. And you call yourself a soccer fan. :)

Boy that flame sure was enticing.

He just kind of patted at the cake, until Trav took a chunk and fed it to him. Even then, he nibbled at best. Not the {dig in} feast we were hoping for.

Doesn't this face just look like he got caught doing something bad and is giving you the {I didn't do anything!} angel eyes?

If there's one thing he loves, it's to clap!

Thanks to our friend's the Shaws, Shaheen's, Marchants, Reheisses, and Carter's for coming! He got lots of fun presents and toys and some great clothes from Grandma Evan's. We opened her package the day before and she must have had some inspiration, because she had sent a soccer outfit! Just the perfect thing to wear to his party. And Grandma Sharon sent some moola and a card that said we could spend it on diapers, toys, or a night out at Duffs! :) Score!

Here's some pictures of our babers at 10 days. I started getting a wee bit baby hungry looking at all of them.

I couldn't get over his widdle chin in this one!

I feel like he's giving me {the look}. Like, I don't know why I'm here and not in your belly! I thought I made it clear that's where I wanted to stay!

Just thinkin.

He had his one month check up the following Monday and his stats are:

18 lbs. 15 oz.- 5th %

28 in.- 10th %

head circum. 50th %

Just a little guy. I try to fatten him up by smearing cream cheese on half his foods but he must have a speedy metabolism. I'm hoping that now that he gets to drink whole milk (and not my skim) that the rolls will come on. :) But the doctor says he's healthy so that's all the matters!

His habits seem to change often, but as of now, a few things about him are...

*He sleeps about 11hrs at night, from 8pm-7am

*He loves eating an Eggo with cream cheese smeared on it first thing in the morning (after nummers of course)

*He is a clown and loves to show off, giggle, and give big cheesy smiles if it means he'll get smiles back or lots of attention!

*He is literally into everything! He opens doors, cupboards, cell phones and loves to pull stuff out of where it belongs, onto the floor. He also loves climbing the stairs, but not so much falling down them. :)

*When he's tired, he'll crawl over to where I am and lay his head on any part of my body he can reach and nuzzle his face into me.

*He is just starting to get upset when one of us leaves the house and he'll crawl to the door and cry.

*He LOVES older kids and animals and will light up so big when he sees them.

*He wants to eat everything we are eating. Even if I've just fed him and he's stuffed, if we sit down with food, he'll screetch until and he gets bites. Likewise, if he refuses a food, but we start eating it, he'll usually start taking bites.

*He loves bananas, Eggos, Mandarin oranges, grapes, cheese puffs (the baby kind, not the Cheeto kind), and cheese.

*He is still sporting the Mohawk which is what he gets most of his {comments} from strangers on. Either that or his big eyes.

*He loves his pacifier! I'm in trouble. No idea how I'll wean him from that. Not a thumb sucker though.

*Much to Trav's dismay, he seems to prefer his {mommy}. Not really a fair advantage though when he spend the majority of his time with me!

*He has 4 teeth. The top two just came in a couple weeks ago, all spaced apart- and I am in love with them! But not when he grinds them with his bottom teeth!

*He holds onto one or both of his ears when he's tired or just thinking.

*His eyes are brown around the pupils, but then turn greenish/hazel around the edges.

I really feel so lucky that I get to be home with Mr. Towaga all day. When Trav and I decided it was time to start our family I really needed a lot of confirmation from Heavenly Father. Being a mom scared me to death. I didn't know if I was ready. One Sunday in church, while we were singing the opening song, out of no where, I had an overwhelming feeling that it was time to start having kids. Right after the song ended, Trav leaned over to me and whispered in my ear, "Do you think it would be ok, if we started trying to have kids?" I was stunned. We had had the same prompting at the same time. I knew it was right, but I was still so scared! Shortly after that, I had another, even more poignant experience letting me know it was time. I couldn't deny it anymore. Just a couple months later I found out I was pregnant. And 10 months after that I wondered why I had waited so long to do this! Being a mom has been the most difficult and the most rewarding experience of my life so far. Nothing compares to your baby's smile. I love the faces he makes and all the noises. Last week we were out front enjoying the weather, and I watched him for at least five minutes, discover a rock for the first time. He inspected it, pounded it on the planter... tasted it. Then triumphantly held it out to me like he'd found the Fountain of Youth. It was adorable and I love that I was there to watch it. It's all the little things like that that remind me how lucky I am. I don't know what I would do without Travis and Collin. They give my life meaning. They keep me going. And they make me laugh. Even while I'm secretly freaking out inside. Take this video for example... (sorry it's sideways! I always forget it's not like a picture, it doesn't rotate.)

Happy Birthday sweet Collin! I love you!

A Visit From Mr. Squish Cheese

Ya know that thing you used to do as a kid.... My mom's Chinese, my dad's Japanese, and I'm Squish Cheese! Haha, I mean tsk tsk, so politically incorrect. Well, that's what I thought of when my brother came to visit from Switzerland. Maybe I should explain... he married a great girl named Jael, from Switzerland, a year ago and we lovingly refer to her as Swiss Miss. So I figured I could call him Mr. Swiss Cheese... which lead to Squish Cheese..... ok it's a stretch, but it gave me the giggles.

ANYHOO, his flight got in Thursday night, and I had a brief scare at the airport when I couldn't find him. I panicked thinking he flew to some other Buffalo airport. No worries, he just got confused and had gone to the Departure area instead of Arrivals. I found him eventually. I hadn't seen him in over a year so it was great to catch up, riddle him with questions about Europe, and watch him devour my chicken enchiladas with great pleasure. :)

Friday we drove to Palmyra to tour the sites. Ususally Palmyra seems far away, but after Boston, an hour an half is chump change. Christopher was on feeding duty. Collin kept getting impatient and screaming at him, so I watched for a minute then told Christopher that he likes BIG bites and gets cranky when he's given bity bites. And keep em coming fast! He adjusted accordingly and Collin's behavior improved. :)

The day before was that blissful, sunny day I mentioned, but Friday was windy and chilly.

Not walking quite yet!

We just walked around the temple. For whatever reason, he didn't see the temple when he was on the Scout Jamboree nearly 10 years ago.

When we got to the Smith Farm visitor center, it was time for Collin to take his nap in the stroller. Except he didn't want to sleep. We covered it with a blanket, but Collin still found a way to reach us through a little hole in the back.

The Smith log house.

The Sacred Grove.

The ground was mushy from the melted snow, but we found out near the end of the trail that it wasn't completely gone yet! Oops. Trav was sure he was going to fall.... and I had my camera ready, but no such luck.

The tour guide here found a connection to Trav through Snowflake which resulted in much more time spent here than usual :)

And of course we had to go to Duffs. Kind of a scary picture. I'd say it's a cross between the guy on Billy Madison that puts lipstick on at the end, and Pee Wee Herman, haha. He quite liked his wings.

On Saturday, I had plenty to do to get ready for Collin's party, so Trav took Christopher and Collin to Niagara Falls for a couple hours. I blasted the radio while they were gone and I was baking, and all I could keep thinking was... the music is going to wake the baby!

It was fun having Christopher around to help celebrate Collin's birthday! He came to church on Sunday with us and we had imitation Cafe Rio for dinner to help fill his Mexican food {canteen}. He left Monday to head to AZ and get ready for his open house. Jael and her parents will come later, for a week or so. I'm sad we can't make it to their open house, but I suppose that's what happens when you move across the country. You miss out on some things. Now I think its time for us to plan our visit to Switzerland! :)

BoStOn

With Spring Break arriving and no newborn to care for, we decided it would be fun to visit an east coast city. I was really hoping to go to D.C., but we had just done our {finances} and it would have been too pricy. [Major downside to starting to help with the bills.... you realize how sad you're money situation really is! :( I don't recommend it.] So the next option was Boston. Not a shabby alternative. Plus, our friends, the Shaw's, were planning on going so we made it a double date!

The night before we left, we peeked in on our snoozer and saw this. After I put him down, I heard him giggling and playing, even rocking the crib. Looks like he had a LOT of fun.

He woke up at 6:30am, so we were on the road by 7:15am. I was pretty pleased with ourselves. That never happened in my family. Always pulling out hours after the scheduled departure time. Maybe it's a given that with each additional body, you tack on 1/2 hour.

Look at my big boy in his big boy car seat! Ok, so he's a pound low and a week short... just don't tell Megan! :)

No sooner had we passed the toll booths than the problems started. Way back in October we noticed that the car would start to rock once we got over 65mph. We had it inspected and they couldn't find anything wrong and it hadn't happened in a while, so we thought we were good. Not so. It seemed that with every pot hole or divet in the road (and NY has tons!) the car would start to rock and swerve. Trav would have to let off the gas until it stopped and the process would start over again. Every minute or so. After a few miles and some more violent swerving (in my opinion), I couldn't handle it anymore. How could we do 7 more hours of this!! It seemed dangerous and I proceeded to have a meltdown. Of course. Our options were to turn around and go home or keep it under 65 mph- a maddening choice to any driver on a long road trip. Trav agreed to the latter. Bless his heart. Luckily, once the highway got nicer, it wasn't as big a deal, but still highly annoying. And Trav did get up to some higher speeds at times. I wanted to kill our car.

We finally pulled into Boston after about 7 1/2 hours, one hysterical tantrum from Collin, and two {we're lost} situations.

And I was pretty disgruntled for missing the {Welcome to Massachusettes/Boston} signs. Here's one from later in the trip. Totally not the same.

After finding a parking lot (parking is ridiculously expensive in the city... think $40 a day) we walked to the New England Aquarium. I should have gottem a picture of the outside, but that's the problem with trying to take video and pictures, you can never get it all with both! Here's us inside in front of the penguin exhibit. Shelley's favorite :)

Freaky, funky dragon fish. If I was snorkling and saw this, the water would probably get a lot more yellow.

Da boys.

Getting so tall!

I'm in love with Collin's face in the picture. Sigh.

Riding a turtle with his best bud, Gavin. Can you even see the turtle? :)

Here's the real deal. It was crazy big.

Da Girls. Check out the boys' faces. Adorable.

Then we walked back toward the parking lot where we saw a restaurant that had been recommended. I was entranced by all the pretty skyscrapers. Yes, environmentalists, I think they're pretty.

Our first taste of east coast sea food. Two thumbs up for the crab cake sandwich. Yum.

They had lobster buzzers. Awesome!

The Shaws found a great deal on a hotel in the city, but we were going to stay with Travis's cousin, Kimi, who lived outside the city. Unfortunately, it took flippin' FOREVER to find the freeway entrance and then spent over an hour in bad traffice before getting there. Oh, and Collin screamed his head off for about 20 minutes too. It was like the red faced, painful screaming that just tears your heart open and grates at every last nerve. I thought he was hot, so I undid his car seat to take off his jacket. Still screaming. By then, we were in stop and go traffic on the freeway, so I finally {and reluctantly} pulled him out to change his diaper. Here's the gross part, so skip if you don't want to hear... he had pooped and it was hard and stuck in him bum and the second I wiped it away, he pooped a super long one in my HAND! Ugh! Trav is driving while listening to me start to freak out whilst juggling poo {literally}, all scrunched up in the front seat in a Boston traffic jam. Fabulous. Luckily after that, the poor kid felt much better and was even laughing and giggling when we pulled into Kimi's driveway. Turns out, they have 7 kids and 4 still live at home. It was a gorgeous house in a little town called Lakeview. The kids were so excited to meet Collin and loved playing with him. It was really cute. We even had FHE with them which was quite reminiscent of a FHE with my own big family. Then we crashed. At 9:30pm.

The next morning {Tuesday} we drove about 25 min. to a town called Quincy, parked the car, and hopped the subway to go into town (cheaper and faster than parking in Boston). Here's Collin's first sub ride! I liked Boston's system better than NY. Mostly just because it was cleaner. I hear it's easier to navigate too, but I wouldn't know... that's Trav's territory.

We met the Shaw's in Boston Common to start the Freedom Trail through the city. This is a monument of Robert Shaw, a leader in the Revolutionary War. Had to get a pic of the Shaws since Doug's name is Douglas Robert Shaw. :)

This is the new State House, where Massachesettes senators and reps meet. We had to go through security to get inside. I got nervous when I suddenly remembered my mace in the stroller. No problemo though. Guess they're just looking for WMD's. :)

This is looking up into the tower.

The Flag Room.

Where the House of Representatives meets. I thought this was so cool.

I was worried about Collin's naps, but he was a champ and just conked out in his stroller.

This is the Granary Burying ground where Samuel Adams, Ben Franlin's parents, John Hancock, Paul Revere, and..... Mother Goose are buried!

Apparently this women, Elizabeth Goose mothered 20 children, 10 of her own and 10 of her husband's first wife. So she is considered Massachesette's {Mother Goose}.

And she died at 42. Seriously sad. So I know this is terribly irreverent, but in my defense, it was Rach's idea! :) I think it's supposed to represent that all mother's are worked to death :)

Paul Revere's grave.

(Pray tell WHY people feel the need to layer monuments with rocks to pay their respects?! So weird)

This is the site of the first public school where Ben Franklin, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams went to school. Guess who didn't graduate? Good ol' Ben! A glorified high school drop out. Haha, just don't tell the kids at Ben Franklin Elementary School that!

And here is the famous Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Only we had no idea how to pronounce it and couldn't find anyone else who really knew either. It was so frequently used as a meeting place for Patriots that is was called the Cradle of American Liberty.

And right behind it is the equally famous Quincy Market.

A look down Quincy Market and its shops.

By then we were hungry, so we hoofed it across the bridge and over to a restaurant called Warren Tavern. Like most buildings and restaurants, it claims to be the oldest tavern in Boston and apparently was a place that Paul Revere ate and where they gave one of George Washington's funeral speeches. {Not a bad shot of Trav at all :)}

I wasn't super impressed by the food, except for the clam chowder. We have now officially had New England Clam Chowder and it was delicious. Campbell's will never be the same.

Then we walked to the Bunker Hill monument. After Lexington and Concord, this was really the first battle of the Revolutionary War. It's where the phrase "don't shoot til you see the white's of their eyes" comes from. Why? Because we didn't have enough ammo to be shooting and missing.

There is a steep, spiral staircase that goes all the way up the monument and you can look out the {windows} at the top. The boys went first, then me and Rach. Oh man, were our legs burning. We had to stop and rest several times up, then for the rest of the day we were complaining about our shaking legs and for the rest of the week we complained about our sore legs! We are big complainers :) Here is a view of the city from the top.

Not far from Bunker Hill is the harbor and the USS Constitution, aka, Old Ironsides because cannons would "bounce" off her sides. No tours on Tuesdays though :(

Back across the bridge and following the red brick line! (There was either a red painted line or red brick line that goes throughout the whole city, following the Freedom Trail so you don't get lost. The boys were pretty adamant about staying on the line :) This is the church where the lanterns were hung when Paul Revere went on his ride warning everyone of the British coming. {One if by land, two if by sea!} Interesting tidbit we learned.... back then everyone thought of themselves as British so it isn't likely he shouted "The British are coming!"

Paul Revere's house. They charged to go inside so we missed out.

But we didn't miss out on some amazing pastries! Mike's was the place to go, so we had to stop in and satisfy our sweet tooth! It's right in the middle of the {Italian} part of town. Every restaurant window showed fancy tablecloths and elegant wine glasses inside. The Italians know how to do it right.

Too much to choose from.

No room inside, so we parked it farther down the street and devoured our eclairs, cannolis, and gelatto. Mmm mmm

Back to Quincy Market to take a closer look around and act like our inner child.

We didn't scout out the original Cheer's bar, but there is a replica in Quincy.

I vaguely remember watching this show occasionally when Full House would end. At least I knew this guy's name was Norm. :)

Nearby was the Holocaust Monument. There were six glass towers with the numbers of all those people killed at the death camps engraved in the glass, going all the way to the top. An exhaust of air blew out some grates at the bottom of each tower representing the gas chambers. As you walk through and read the quotes and see all the numbers you can't help but feel extremely emotional. It was terribly powerful. I'm so grateful for monuments like this that help us to never forget the monstrosities of evil, Satan, and communism.

That night we ate at Durgin Park, looking for some lobster.

Doug manned up ordered the real deal for $26. You can kind of see it on his plate. We just got a lobster roll which was accompanied by some Boston BaKeD BeAnS! :)

The next day I knew we were leaving so I had to capture my makeshift contact containers. I forgot all my contact stuff and had to borrow solution. Pretty creative, huh?

Here's Kimi and Trav. We were so grateful for their hospitality. Such a great family. It felt like we were at home. Collin will miss his play buddies.

Since we knew we were driving home that day {Wednesday}, we drove all the way into Boston and once again got caught in nasty traffic. Then Google Maps led us astray and we ended up driving through ChinaTown. Ick. Not impressed at all. It looked dirty, rundown, and old. Then thought we were at the right spot and parked before realizing we were across the river from where we wanted to be! Crap. We hop the subway and make it to Harvard, 15 min. after the tour started. The Shaws were already there and tried to catch us up on what we missed.

I was thoroughly entranced by Harvard. {But you must say it in your fanciest/snottiest voice, like Haaaaauvard. :) Trav was disgusted by all the fake, prestigious hogwash that Harvard represents. I was drooling in awe. I mean, I get all excited whenever I'm on ANY college campus. If I drop Trav off at dental school I get all jealous of everyone walking around with their backpacks on, lunches in tow.... You can almost smell the learning, haha. But, HARVARD, now that's somethin' special! :)

This is the main hall where graduation used to be, then was the exam hall, and now is the eating area.

This is the inside. You can see a glimpse of our ditzy, leather clad, socialite tour guide. I thought she was nice, but I kind of see why the guys agreed more with the previous adjectives.

And this is the door leading into the main hall. It's the same hall that Harry Potter's Hogwarts Hall is made to look like. Only we weren't allowed to see inside since students were in there and it's disruptive to let tours inside. I was indignant! I wanted to see inside! Luckily, Doug was with me and wanted to see too, so on our way out, some students left the hall, and Doug grabbed the door before it closed and we peeked our heads in. I got it on my video camera but no time for pictures :( But it was amazing. SO COOL! It looked a lot like Hogwarts. Ah, all my fantasies in one place. I was as giddy as a school girl. Seriously.

This is their non-denominational church where graduation ceremonies are currently held. Well, on the porch anyway.

This is looking out from the porch of the church where all the families and students sit during graduation. The building behind the grass is the library. Donated from Mr. Widner, who died on the Titanic. He was offered a spot on a life boat because he was so wealthy, but then he remember a first edition book that he loved, back in his room, so he went back for it, and it was the last decision he ever made. Sad, but kind of silly. So when his mom donated all his money to make the Harvard library, it was on some conditions. One of them being that all Harvard graduates had to pass a swimming test before they could graduate. Because maybe if her son knew how to swim, he would have lived! Ha, I think that's funny. Our tour guide's father also went to Harvard and he was on the swim team and actually held the official swim test. They don't do it anymore though due to discrimination laws.

This is the second most photographed statue besides the Lincoln Memorial. Both made by the same man interestingly enough. John Harvard isn't actually the founder though, he just donated a couple hundred books to the school when it was new and they named it after him.

Rach and I just had to get some shirts. It's my new favorite article of clothing. I know I'm a big, fat nerd, but seriously, I'd give anything to go to Harvard! It was always my dream growing up to go to a fancy, east coast, ivy league college. My secret dream though, because I knew I wasn't smart enough to get in, and even if I got in I wouldn't have a scholorship and there's no way my dad would put down $40,000 a year just so I could fulfill my ridiculous fantasies of roaming colonial halls and rubbing shoulders with the prestigiously elite. Oh, but it would have been SO amazing.

Just down Harvard Square is a popular burger joint called Mr. Bartley's Burgers. They name all their burgers after politicians or current buzz words, i.e. {The Barack Obama- no experience necessary.... or The Viagara- rise to the occasion) Luckily, they offer all their burgers in turkey or veggie form, so I got to join the {cool kids} and have a burger too! :)

Next, we hopped the sub to Newbury Street. It's a well known street filled with fancy, high end shops. Just up our alley!:)

They knew I was coming!

We had been told we had to go to Lush. Ever heard of it? I guess it's all over the place, but I had never been in one. It's all homemade cosmetics. Just the fragrance when you walk in sells you on all their products. We got little demo's on their {bath bombs} and enjoyed a hand scrub. I would love to get their Buffy the Backside Slayer. A scrub for your cellulite back-end. :)

Rach and I checked out Betsey Johnson and just looked longinly in at True Religion and Kate Spade. Trav wanted to know who the heck Betsey and Kate were and what made them so special :)

By then it was time to hit the road. Here's one last shot of lovely Boston. We had a fabulous time. It was a short trip, but just right. And just the right price. We did it all for about $400! Thanks Boston! And it was so fun sharing the experience with Rach and Doug. You can't find better friends than them! We had a blast. What next, guys?! :)

Collin did great on the ride home, thanks to our portable DVD player, Kidsongs, and fishy crackers! I may have watched a few movies myself... love technology. I was so born in the right generation. We got home around 9:30pm and went right to bed! I know this was an uber long post, but maybe it will be useful to anyone planning on visiting Boston someday! If we go back I want to go in the summer or fall so we can see the pretty leaves and the Botanical Park, ride in the Swan boats, watch a game at Fenway Park, go whale watching, tour the Mayflower II in Plymouth, and have time to tour M.I.T. I felt like we did tons, but there's still much to see in beautiful Boston!