4th of July

This past 4th of July we were so lucky to be in Boston. All weekend they have festivities, and while we didn't partake in as much as we should have, we did hit what I would consider the top two events. We didn't even have to go alone. Long time family friends, Jim and Kay, from NM, and our new friend Wellesley joined us.

On the 3rd, the Boston Pops and other celebrities that perform on the 4th, do a dress rehearsal. If you get there early enough, you can be one of the lucky ones to get inside the gated area to watch the performance that night. We got there so early that we had time for a little walk along the river.

Afterwards we sent the guys on a very long walk to fetch us Regina's pizza and Mike's pastries for the evening, while the rest of us stood in line to get into the gated area for the concert. They barely made it back in time.

This ended up being the last time we had food from Regina's and Mike's before the move to NM.

We had great seats for the evening!

The Pops were spectacular and the guest star of the evening was Martina McBride.

Only a few thousand get inside the gated area.

On the 4th, Jim, Kay, Kyle and I headed down to the opposite side of the river from the previous night to watch the full fireworks display. All along the river they have speakers set up so you can enjoy the concert happening across the river. At one point during the show they play random music and all around us people joined in to sing along with Neil Diamond and other artists.

The show lit up the buildings across the river. The river itself was full of spectators on all sorts of boats, event small kayaks. It was a great experience that I hope I never forget.

Graduation and New York City

Near the end of June we were lucky enough to be able to attend my niece, Dagny's, high school graduation in New Jersey. It was definitely the fanciest graduation I have ever been too. The rain made it impossible to hold graduation as the school would have liked, but it was still beautiful. The women all wore white dresses, while the men wore white dinner tuxes. All of the women received a dozen red roses.

Dagny

After graduation the grads went out to dinner at a country club, while the families took a quick tour of the graduation party location. All students who attend the graduation party are locked in all night long, but who wouldn't want to be. There was a casino, dance stage, pin ball machines and of course food to chow on throughout the night. Their entry even had an ice sculpted front desk.

The next day my parents, Kyle and I headed into NYC to walk the main drag and visit central park. The park is so much bigger and more beautiful than I thought it would be.

There was an amusement park right in Central Park. Not sure if it is there all of the time, but they certainly have the space for it.

We headed for the zoo, as Kyle and I love zoos.

 Not all of the animals were happy it was late June:

I just loved the glimpses of NYC throughout the park.

The zoo was even better than we thought it would be. If you ever get the chance, visit the oasis that Central Park is right in the heart of the city. You'll be pleasantly surprised how quickly the city disappears.

Catching up - Some of the Wiens clan come for a visit

The first weekend in June, Kyle's sister, Deneen, and our nephew, Nathan, came to visit us from NM. The weekend was a whirlwind of activities and the time flew by, but we had a great time while it lasted.

After picking them up from the airport we strolled around Boston Commons.

During our stroll we discovered a little bit of hockey fan support for the Bruins during the Stanley Cup.

That night we had dinner at a local favorite pizza place, Regina's. The food was fantastic. We followed it up with a stop at Mike's pastry shop, which we ended up visiting a few times over the next few days. I think that may have been Nathan's favorite part of the trip. We did run into a little bit of trouble after dinner. There were severe storms in the area that night. MA even ended up having a tornado touch down. Needless to say, the rain was pretty intense and we waited in the subway stop for Kyle to bravely get the car for us.

We spent the next day driving up the North Shore, towards Hampton Beach, NH, to spend the afternoon with an old friend of Deneen's, Mary Rae, and her family. Sadly, I don't have pictures of the time we spent together, but we walked the Hampton boardwalk, went to an arcade, and had a wonderful afternoon all around.

Rockport

 The next day we went back to Boston and spent time at the science museum.

After the museum, we walked down to the harbor and toured the USS Constitution, which is a must if you visit Boston.

Sadly, the aquarium wasn't open by the time we got there, but we were greeted at the front door by some of aquarium's residents.

One of our biggest adventures was our trip to the Patriot's Gillette Stadium to see the US men's soccer team take on the World Cup winners, Spain. We underestimated the time and traffic to get there and missed a little of the game. That didn't diminish the experience though. We were in the 4th row from the field by one of the goals. The game was sold out with about 65,000 people in attendance. We also couldn't ask for better weather. The only down side of the game was that most of the crowd seemed to be rooting for Spain. Totally threw me off. I was saddened that the USA team didn't have more support. USA did lose the game, but it was a wonderful experience.

This was my sad attempt at a soccer ball cake. I think my sugar flowers came out much better than the cake.

 The top activity of the trip:

Catching up - Part 1

It has obviously been forever since I posted a blog entry.  I will attempt to get this blog caught up to the present prior to Logan's arrival in January.  So, in my next few posts, I am going to give a whirlwind tour of our lives between May and now.

To start with, there were a few more adventures in MA before we made our journey back to NM. Kyle and I spent a weekend in Boothbay Harbor in Maine. We stayed at the Topside Inn Bed and Breakfast and really enjoyed the quaintness of the town. We spent time reading in a fabulous nook right outside of our bedroom, played a few games, and walked around the town.

On May 29th, Kyle and I were lucky enough to spend a few hours kayaking around the Boston Harbor. It was a great way to see the city from a different perspective.

USS Constitution

We got to go through the lock between the Boston Harbor and the Charles River.

These jellyfish were everywhere.  First time we have ever seen so many outside of an aquarium.