Girl's Trip to Boston

 Katy and I did a day trip to Boston while she was here. Without kids. It was the best day of her visit. :) She's never been so we did a 6 hour tour of the Freedom Trail highlights. Seeing the same sights was so much more awesome without dragging three bored kids around. We actually went inside all the building, read plaques and inscriptions, and enjoyed a cafe in Little Italy. Not a kid friendly one! Bliss! Here's a few pics of the day.

Paul Revere Statue

 

Boston is a beautiful city. It really is. 

 

Granary Cemetery

 Fannueil Hall

 Cheers....just for my dad. :)

Here's the Sacred Cod inside the Capital Building!

 Old State House

 Paul Revere's House. So cool! I loved imagining who had walked those halls centuries ago!

 This was a tomb of the first white women to set foot on North America (supposedly). I wish I could remember her name. But she came over on the Mayflower. What a cool claim to fame!

 Quincy Market

 Capital Building

 Old State House. Declaration of Independence first read from the balcony. And the staircase inside.

 Mikes Pastry. Iconic Italian bakery. It was a mad house in there! But so worth it.

 Cannelloni Break!

 Capital Building on Beacon Hill

 Ben Franklin statue at the location of the first Public School, Boston Latin.

 Katy's horrible seafood lunch. Calamari? A little too "natural" looking for me.

I love this city more and move each time we go! I love the USA!

Katy Came for a Visit: Part 1

 Katy came for a visit. And that visit happened to correspond with Riley's Spring Break from UNE. So we played, and talked, and watched t.v. series, and played, and ate, and talked, and talked some more. I'm so, so lucky to have a *best* girl friend, even as an adult. She's like family. 

We took her to the usual Maine spots and enjoyed a few new things as well. Here's a look at the first few days of her visit.

Boothbay Harbor was a new trip for us. The views, even in the March cold, were pretty stunning. 

(Thanks Katy for each and ever picture)

 

This giant rocking-unicorn was a fun find! Hinder took a ride while we picked out a few popcorn bags from this local shop. They had every flavor from salt and vinegar to cranberry! We took advantage of the generous sample policy. :) 

 

Our day trip wore this little teddy bear out! What a trooper! 

Spring Point Lighthouse and Willard Beach. I took her here first thing after getting off the plane. It was a sunny, crisp day. A perfect first impression of Portland!

 Freeport Fun! Wicked Whoopies is such a New England place. All sorts of whoopie pie flavors.  

 We had such a good time popping in all the little stores that I can't go in with kids, and shopping for "chotchkies" for her littles. Searching for a gift for her husband Taylor was a task, but I thought this store was right up his alley!

 

And no trip to Freeport would be complete without stopping at the giant globe.  Hello again, Eartha.

 "Taty" (as Vyla fondly called her) is so much fun! She made this fort with the kids one day.

 We attempted to show her the beauty of Mackworth Island but the weather turned f.r.i.g.i.d. and we left in a hurry.

A Promise to Remember

"Meet together often, and share the problems and successes of the day. Plan your work and activities together so that each person may do his share and contribute to a happy family. We promise that as you do this and as your family members regularly pray together, sing together, read and discuss the scriptures together, and share their testimonies with each other, love and harmony will increase in your home."

-First Presidency, f.h.e. manual

Karate and Stuff

The simple days of regular life with these three munchkins are my favorite. With kindergarten looming in the fall, I've instituted a new tradition that all of the kids get in bed with me in the morning and we have a slow and lazy morning. It usually starts at 6 a.m., so we have plenty of cuddle time without making it a late morning. Pretty soon, each morning will be taken over by finding shoes, book bags, signing papers, and driving to the bus stop. And before I know it, he'll be off to middle school, then high school, then a mission. Sigh...

But for now, we're enjoying the little things.

 L got his first two teeth in the last week. He took the first one like a champ, without a single peep, but the second one was a bit more traumatic and meant lots more slobber, nursing at night, and these two fingers in this mouth all.the.time!

 It's already been five months since we brought this guy home. He's my buddy! He's keeping his Killian features- darker hair and hazel eyes. At least for now. He looks like a dark version of Hinder as a baby. He's such a mild tempered kid. But he has started using a shrill scream on occasion. Sometimes when he's very happy and excited, or else when he wants to get attention amid the chaos of the other kids.

 Hinder has been my life-saver lately. He helps a lot with the baby and is patient with Vyla when she's cranky. And she's been a little moody lately. I tease Riley that his cranky genes are making their appearance in our sweet little V.

Just kidding...but not really. :)

 Hinder started karate about a month ago and loves it. It's such a great outlet for the winter months, and he takes it very seriously. We have to drive up to Deering to attend, which is always a good excuse to stop and have dinner with dad at UNE afterward.

  We took this picture on Valentine's day when I realized that in 7 years of marriage we have SO few pictures of just us together. Like...maybe six? Not counting our wedding. Not acceptable.

 Mr. Hurst is as busy as ever, but so far, he's rocking this semester. Not without a lot of work and sacrifice, but he's getting it done. Next week is Spring Break and we are all so excited for some family time. There's nothing better!

 "Spring" break is kind of misleading though. We still have tons of snow on the ground and eight more inches are in the forecast for this week. Bad news for me and my running shoes. Good news for Mr. and his skis.