Summer Fun in the Northeast

Jeff's parents planned a trip out east to spend time with us and see some of the sites out here. We had so much fun driving all around in our little car all together and touring through various states. One of our favorite mini trips with them was to Newport Rhode Island. We walked around the town center which was buzzing with tourists and locals. We also walked around part of the cliff walk and walked aroud the grounds of The Breakers mansion. It reminded me of Downton Abbey!

Apparently there is no gravity at The Breakers!

Another cool thing we did while Paul and Penny were in town was a Duck Tour! We got to see Boston by land and by sea!

The main trip we planned for their time here was a weekend in Bar Harbor Maine and Acadia National Park. It was beautiful!

Such a beautiful place.

On the way home we stopped at Cape Elizabeth to see the Portland Head Light. Also a gorgeous area.

The only regret from this trip was not taking a group photo with all four of us! How did we manage that?? We had a wonderful time with you Penny and Paul and hope you can come back soon. 

A World Cup Tradition

Jeff and I both love World Cup. Every four years when it comes around I get so excited and love watching all the games. We were dating when the last World Cup was going on in 2010, and I remember waking up early in the morning to Jeff knocking on my door, or riding my bike over to Jeff's apartment where we would snuggle up to watch the morning games which we're being played in South Africa.

Fours years later we are enjoying the Brazil hosted games from Boston! There really is something special about the World Cup. Maybe it's because for a few weeks people all over the world take time out of their normal routines to stop and cheer for athletes from different nations and to appreciate teamwork and excellence. There is something extremely positive and meaningful about that. After one match Jeff turned to me and said, "maybe we should start a new tradition where every World Cup we decide which team we think will win and then we buy that teams' jersey and wear it throughout the tournament." I thought that was just about the best idea ever! And a new family tradition was born. So I'll be cheering on the games in my new England kit while Jeff dons his awesome Germany jersey. 

 

And obviously you have to support your home country, even if they are not the team you've selected to win the whole tournament. Don't worry USA we believe in you too! Three cheers for World Cup!!!

I believe that we will win!

Take that Girl to Maine

After Jeff got home from Florida we had the weekend ahead of us. We packed a picnic and our beach toys and headed north. Allie kept saying she couldn't wait to love Maine. So we made a point to get that girl up to Maine while she was here. And love it she did! But really, who wouldn't love a place whose state motto is, "The way life should be"? The beaches in Maine are so clean and pretty and there are so many cool things to see. While driving to York, ME we ran into some traffic and wondered what the brief delay was. . . 

Just a turtle crossing!

You can't go to Maine and not take a picture in front of a light house. We took several.

Jeff is good at catching candid moments

What better place to take your senior pictures?

What a pretty girl!

 After our photo shoot we unpacked our picnic at York Beach. I love this place!

This guy loves to play in the water

And this girl loves to build sand castles

Bay Watch

Seriously, I could spend all summer in Maine. What a treat. Glad Allie could spend some time with us there!

Allie's Visit

My youngest sister, Allie, was able to fly out and stay with us for 10 days! Jeff had to attend a work training in Orlando for five days while she was in town, but Allie and I got to spend some quality sister time together. We had a wonderful time touring various east coast college campuses, sight-seeing, watching 19 Kids and Counting (Allie introduced me to it), and hanging out. Allie even came to my after-school program and she was great with the kids. The week after she left my students kept asking "Is Allie coming back?". We got a lot of activities into the time she was here and we had a blast!

The Saturday before Jeff left we got to see a Sox game!

The first thing we did on Monday was take a self-guided tour of Boston College. What a beautiful campus!

We were glad that we did the tour on our own because we were able to sneak into the football stadium and take a few pictures on the field! 

Go Eagles!

After work we made an impromptu decision to go to the beach. One of the great things about living where we live is the proximity to so many awesome recreational areas. Revere Beach is only about 15 minutes from where I work, and from our apartment. Luckily for Allie and me, I had a tote full of beach goodies in the car that I had recently received at a staff meeting. There were two pairs of flip flops, two pails and shovels, sunglasses, and a beach towel. We were all set to play in the sand! 

The next day we took the official "Hahvahd Tour". It was really interesting and a lot of fun.

Rubbing John Harvard's toe for good luck.

 The next day before heading to my work, we walked around the Beacon Hill area of Boston.

Allie in front of the Massachusetts State House.

Acorn Street, the most photographed street in Boston

Admiring the beautiful flowers in the Public Garden.

On friday we drove to Storrs, Connecticut to visit the UCONN campus. Allie really liked it and was excited to find out that they have the Sports Law/Management program she is interested in. 

Huskies basketball arena.

It was fun to take her to these places and enjoy her company. More pictures to come!