Canobie Lake Park

Last month P&G had their company picnic for all of the Boston employees. The picnic was held at Canobie Lake Park, and the kids loved it. You would think that after four days of rides at Disney in August, this might not measure up, but they didn't care in the least. I guess when you are 3 and 6 years old, a ride is a ride! I will have to remember that before we spend a whole lot of money going to Disney again!

Here is Rebekah on the carousel.....all smiles!

The great thing about this park was that there were so many rides for young children. We initially saw the bumper cars that were geared for the older kids, and our guys were bummed that they weren't big enough to go on them. Well, it wasn't long after that we found these bumper cars...specifically aimed at the smaller crowd. They were sooo excited! Even Disney doesn't have bumper cars!

There were also a number of these flying rides.....they go around in a circle and the kids could control the up and down for their specific craft. They went on helicopters, spaceships, airplanes, dinosaurs and more. Every time they wanted to go on one, Kevin would complain that it was the same thing as the previous ride. I guess he doesn't think like a kid anymore! :)

Another hit were these cars that the kids could 'drive'. The are like the antique car ride...they run on a track and the kids have a gas pedal to press.

This ride was a mini version of one of those 'death drop' kind of things. The ride was only about 10 feet up, and instead of a free fall, it just bounced the kids up and down. They loved it!

The dinosaur ride....redundant in Kevin's mind.....LOL!

This little canoe ride was so mellow that an infant could have ridden in it. It didn't impress Noah at all, but Rebekah liked it. I don't know what he was complaining about in this photo.....but whatever it was, it wasn't a big deal!

Overall, it was a fun day despite some threatening weather early on. We actually drove to the park in pouring rain, but by the time we arrived it had begun to clear up. Luck was on our side that day!

The Next Survivor Series

I LOVED this email that I had forwarded to me...so instead of forwarding it to all of my 'mommy friends' I decided to post it instead. Enjoy a good laugh!

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.

Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.

There is no fast food.

Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, and complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money. In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.

Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time--no emailing.

Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment.

He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the A & E.

He must also make biscuits or cakes for a social function.

Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.

The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.

The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn himself with jewellery, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed.

During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.

They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.

They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 8:00 am.

A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight,shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name. Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labour, each child's favourite colour, middle name, favourite snack, favourite song, favourite drink, favourite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.

The kids vote them off the island based on performance.

The last man wins only if...he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice.

If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right to be called Mum!

Mystic, CT - Part I

Way back in August we took a day trip to the town of Mystic, Connecticut. We had never been, but I had heard of the movie Mystic Pizza from the late 80's. Despite the fact that I have never actually seen the movie, I knew that it was set in this town.

Our main purpose for visiting was to see Mystic Seaport, a living history museum. The museum has a lot to see, and the day we visited there was even a food and wine festival taking place. Who could ask for more?!

This is one of the ships that we toured....

Here we have Kevin and the kiddies sitting on a huge anchor....

A boat out in the harbour....

Here is a photo of the kiddies while riding on a water shuttle that takes you from one end of the museum to the other.

A scenic lighthouse...

Bekah and I on the water shuttle....it was a bit sunny!

Sigh.....ahhhhh.....Timmys.....this reminds us of Canada! For the record...it is sooooo much better than Dunkin' Donuts!

The famous family owned Mystic Pizza. It was this pizzeria that caught the eye of a Hollywood screen writer. The movie was actually filmed here and in neighbouring towns.

A quick stop at a beach on the way out of town.

A close encounter with some scuba divers completely captured Noah's attention!

I have more pics to share....but I will spare you the pain of posting them all in one day! Check back soon for more to follow!

Drumlin Farm

Last week while Kevin was away traveling, the kids and I joined some friends on a day trip to a place called Drumlin Farm. It is part of the Mass Audubon Society....the largest conservation organization in New England.

It is an amazing place for families. There are animals, a learning garden, hiking paths, hayrides and more. The kids loved it!

We went with my friend Audra and her three munchkins. In the photo below, you can see Audra's hands trying to keep her littlest munchkin from poking out the goat's eyes! Yeah....um....Brooke, she isn't scared of animals!

And there is Bekah....although she loves animals...notice how her hands are tucked in close to her body? Yeah....she's no fool!

Bekah wearing her 'cheese' face....

All five kids digging in the learning garden......after two or three of them got dirt in the face, we decided it was time to move on....

Noah and Braden.....Audra's munchkin number two....

The littlest munchkin again!

This photo was painful. I tried to get the four of them to all look at the camera and after about three tries, I gave up!

Noah and Rebekah in the window of a barn mural.....

Noah and Brenna.....aren't they cute together?!

The hay ride!

All five kids sitting on the hayride.....from the left they are Brooke, Braden, Noah, Brenna and Rebekah

The kids participating in a 'painting with flowers' craft with one of the staff....

A teepee (also known as tipi) in the learning garden.....

Overall, the kids were all quite well behaved and the day turned out well. We had fun and no one got in trouble. That's what it's all about! :)

My Proudest Mommy Moment

Recently, the four of us went out to pick blueberries at a local farm. After we finished our picking we went to the farm store where the kids each picked out a treat. They each chose a chocolate train on a stick.

On the way out of the store, Rebekah's train broke in two and what was left of it fell into the dirt. She immediately started screaming and crying. Noah quickly took one more small bite of his train and then handed it to Bekah saying, "This is about how much you lost."

I seriously could have cried at that moment. I was so proud of him for being selfless. I know how much Noah LOVES sweets, so I understand how big of a deal that really was.

It is in those moments that you feel like maybe all that you do each day really does matter after all.....

A Day At the Zoo

Kevin has been away traveling again this week. When he is away, I find it even more important to be out and about keeping the kids busy. I know that the evenings will bring no help and no reprieve, so the days must be busy and fun to keep every one's spirits up! So, this week was no different. Monday, we went to a new, small zoo in a nearby town. Tuesday, we met friends for a movie and today, we went to a wonderful farm and conservation area.

I have more pictures than I know what to do with!

Today, I want to share the photos from Monday's zoo adventure. The zoo is called Capron Park Zoo. It is small, reasonably priced, and they have a wonderful array of animals considering the small size! They also have a wonderful playground area that we hit on the way out.

First up were the kangaroos.....

Next, we saw this Black and White Ruffed Lemur.......kind of cute, isn't he?

Next up was this little fella....I can't remember exactly what his story was though......

Then we were on to the Meerkats....remember Timon from the Lion King?! :)

And here are my two little Meerkats.....

And my two little bats.......

Remember the song, Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree? I never knew exactly what a Kookaburra was....and now I do!

And here we have a Llama....Bekah recognizes them thanks to Diego. :)

Here we have a blurry photo of an Asian Bear. I couldn't figure out how to get my camera to focus on the bear instead of the fence. I guess reading the manual might help.....

Here is my little cub......

Here is Noah, stepping WAY outside his box, in order to pet a Corn Snake! I was so proud of him! :)

A majestic looking White Lion....

This display was really cool. It showed wingspans of several different birds. Here is Bekah posing next to a Condor (above her). It's wing span is over 9 feet! She knows about Condors thanks to Diego too!

That pretty much sums up our day at the zoo! I'm sure we will visit this one again.

Milestones!

Three things.....

1) Noah tied his shoes, by himself, for the very first time this morning.

2) Rebekah can almost spell her first name...she is accurate about 50% of the time right now...the other 50% of the time she forgets either the 'k' or the 'a'. Pretty good for three years old, in my humble opinion!

3) Rebekah is wiping her 'hiney' by herself after going potty...only after the less messy of the two deeds...if you get my drift.... (is that TMI?!) :)

Sigh....they are growing up!

The Aunties' Visit - Part II

As I talked about in this previous post...my sisters were recently here for a visit. One of the things we did together was go on an outing to Salem, MA to learn about the Salem Witch Trials.

Bekah...hanging out with Noah and Auntie Heather while Auntie Patti and I made lunches for the trip......

Bekah and Auntie Heather sharing a laugh.....

Noah sharing the visit.....

Auntie Heather, in Salem with a wax dummy outside a haunted house.....

Noah insisted on having his photo taken too....no wonder the child has nightmares!

Our tour guide at the Witch History Museum.

Some history around Salem......

Information on the residents of The Burying Point can be found here.

Rebekah, near the memorial. Don't you wish you were this photogenic?! This child loves the camera, and the camera loves her!

Heather and Patti spending quality time with the pirate outside The Pirate Museum.

Salem was fun to visit....once. It was a bit high on the cheese factor scale....but the history of the region is interesting to learn about. Overall, it was a fun day!