Little Helpers

It's good to teach them young.  Of course they are the ones making the mess, but they are more than willing to clean it up. 

I just have to lower the standards a little.

The celebratory cheer!

Summary

Dale and I took a weekend and headed to Salt Lake.  We enjoyed hanging out with our kids.  They do know how to have fun.

The purpose of the trip was to visit KC and his girlfriend, Heather.  We had a great time and totally enjoyed having her with us.

She became like a daughter to me, at least in the mind of a very talkative quilt shop owner, but I'll take it.

This past week author, Avi, came to talk to the students in Manson.  I have read Something Upstairs by him every year during our Revolutionary unit.  I have enjoyed every book I have read written by him.

It was exciting to listen to him tell of his life and then answer endless questions from the students. 

This past weekend we went to Spokane for a sibling dinner.  I enjoyed the food and the company.

All of Dale's brothers and sisters were there with all the usual joking and teasing. 

On our way home from Spokane the next night we helped the sorely missed grandkids trunk or treat.  

Rock was totally in character as Buzz Lightyear.  

Ryker let us put the lion suit on.  If you haven't seen how he reacted the first time this suit was put on look at Aaron's blog.  It was a riot.  

This has been our month.  We have enjoyed visiting with lots of family and friends.  Bonnie and I took in a musical in Seattle and also a quilt show in Wenatchee.  Parent conferences are over and now relaxation can seep in.  

Genius

My son has it.

Yup, that's a fork that he's using to dunk the Oreo.

Dreams

Scrolling through pictures on Facebook Saturday night this was one of the pictures I saw.  It is the only link I can think of for my dream.

In my dream Helen and Leo were able to come back to earth for one day.  I remember sitting next to Leo and asking him for advice.  I can't recall what I was asking, but I remember the wonderful feeling of having this special gift of talking to him one more time.  And as I was talking to him Helen sat nearby smiling.  I'm sure just enjoying watching her family.  It all felt so real, that when I woke I laid in bed reliving the feeling of being with them.

I am grateful for the knowledge that one day I will be able to visit with them again and have it not only feel real but truly be real.

Boston

dIt is Boston history time, which we've really crammed into one day.  

We spent most of the day on a trolley bus.  It helped the aching knees.

The Old North Church was one of our first stops.  This is where Paul Revere watched for the lanterns, you know "one if by land, two if by sea."  So how many did he see?

Two exactly, well not these two.  This is Paul Revere's pew or room at the Old North Church.

Walking the grounds

Lunch was at the Union Oyster House where we met up with an old roommate of Marissa's with her husband.

We were also right next to John F. Kenndy's favorite booth.

Next was Faneuil Hall.  I loved the beauty of the building.

We then went to the State House.  We didn't pay the extra admission to go into it.  When I tried to take a picture of a picture outside the familiar head had to claim its place.

Another stop was the USS Constitution, Old Ironsides

It took a lot to drag these two to his side for a picture.

We got on an old destroyer before I figured out that this couldn't be from the time period we had been visiting for the past week, but Marissa was willing to deface the ship for a picture.

A theme is born.  The USS Constitution is a beautiful ship.  Ninety-five percent of it has been restored or redone, but it is a great looking ship.

We waited for a family with little kids to get their picture.  The girls were not to be outdone.

Our game at Fenway didn't exactly go as planned but we did see the ball field.

A little night vision.  I realized there was still so much to see, but after 10 days of walking and visiting we were a little tired.  I did go back the next day, thanks to Dale's patience, and visited the State House with the required money for admission.  

This is the picture I took the day before with Marissa's head.  Whitni and I took the Boston Massacre tour, well worth the admission.  It will help my lesson greatly.  Can you see what doesn't belong in the picture above?  It is outside and is a reflection.  The old and the new.  I thought it was cool.

Cape Cod/Plymouth

We drove from Philadelphia to Cape Cod.  I did not realize how close we came to New York until we hit the traffic.  We turned and there was the big city.  

We decided with the horrific traffic we were already a part of that New York would remain a skyline.

We finally made it to Cape Cod, a very touristy place.  We enjoyed visiting the Brewster Branch with some familiar faces - at least the first Mrs. Granny Smith, not from Washington but from Cape Cod.

It is green everywhere.  We enjoyed the ocean and the dramatic skies.

On our Sunday drive we did happen upon a lighthouse that is still being used.

Beautiful girls, wonderful ocean waves and those dramatic skies

Monday was our Plymouth day, but the dramatic skies got the best of us.  It rained.  It poured.  We did get a glance at Plymouth Rock.  So it is not as big as some of us thought, we can say we saw it.

We were pretty soaked by this point and decided to do Plymouth Plantation the next day.  

We ended up at an indoor museum with many tourists with the same idea.  Whitni and I gave up on this glassblowing demonstration, being too short and in the back.  I'm sure it was fabulous.

It was a beautiful day for Plymouth.  We did see a lot of places, however, where the previous day's rain washed parts of the trail away.

We started at the craft house.  This gentleman was making a chair that he sells for $4000. They also make them for the displays and houses on the plantation.  There was also a young man making cups out of clay. It was interesting to see how fast he could make a cup.  The one we saw was the ninth.

The girls tried to made friends with this young family.

The village.

Dale volunteered to man the cannons against enemy fire, usually that means his daughters.

We aren't dressed properly for this time, but with our simple minds and honest hearts I think we will fit in.

Whitni got some long awaited revenge in this humble home.  I think she's enjoying the 17th century.

I decided to try out one of the woodworker's chairs.  I do appreciate carpet, electricity, and plumbing.

From the pilgrim village we then went to the Wampanoag village.  Marissa had a battle with a worker at Jamestown who belittled her question about using only shells to scrape out the canoe.  She felt redeemed here watching these young natives scraping it out with sticks and tomahawks.

This young man needed to go back to wherever he came from because he did not seem to be enjoying his summer, but he did allow the picture.

This young man, however, loves his job.  This was where all the fun was.  They are playing a game here where the fun comes in distracting your opponent.  The tourist won this game, much to the surprise of the native.

We do need to get this poor girl out to a farm more often.

We enjoyed a visit with the gentleman in the center.  They stay completely in character with their great English accents.

The Mayflower II is a small ship.  Imagining the 102 passengers below deck most of the time is hard to imagine. These two would not have survived!

We were excited to see our deckhand on board the Mayflower in this cutout, but here as a pilgrim.

A beautiful day with lots of history seen.