White Mountains Camping Trip

We had a great time camping in the White Mountains last weekend. We went with the Stevens (Mike's sister Bonnie and Family) and Aunt Stacy (another of Mike's sisters). Here's our girls and the two Stevens cousins in front of our tent. The tent was a Christmas present from Grandpa Bruce. We finally got to try it out and we love it. We stayed dry despite the rain all night, there was plenty of room for everyone to sleep, and we especially loved the screened in porch as it helped keep the tent from getting muddy from shoes.

Here's me and the burly mountain man I found in the woods.

Our first adventure took us to Ripley Falls. It was quite a hike but the kids were all awesome hikers. It was well worth the hike as it was a gorgeous waterfall.

The kids loved scrambling around on the rocks.

Mike and Geoffrey had to challenge themselves so they balanced on some fallen trees and rocks and made it over to the other side.

The next adventure was to get to the top of Mt. Washington, the highest place in the Northeast. Although the day we went up was gorgeous the observatory once recorded winds at 231 miles an hour.

There are several ways to get to the top of Mt. Washington.

One way is to hike. Since it takes six to eight hours for experienced hikers to climb, that was out of the question.

Another way is to take the train-too expensive for all of us.

The third way is driving. Not as easy as it sounds-they give you a packet of info and make you promise that you don't get nervous about scary cliffs and large drop offs. Even Mike was nervous. Here is a view about 2/3 of the way up as we got into the clouds.


Rachael and I as we neared the top.


Here we are at the very top.

Here's the GPS view of where we were. More proof that we made it to the top.

We had lunch at the top and while we were eating the clouds rolled away and we had an amazing view from the top. We have A LOT of pictures. But I will bore you with just these few. Truly breathtaking.

Send in the Clowns

I know this is totally out of order but I just saw that some of my friends had posted some great pictures of us (especially Rachael) from the 4th of July parade. The first is us watching and enjoying the parade and the second is Geoffrey (and friends) wearing his Patriotic Uncle Sam hat. The third picture is of a clown that decided to take a break--right on Rachael's lap. The kids love to tease Dad (Mike) about his childhood fear of clowns. I wonder how he would have reacted to this as a kid? Anyone else afraid of clowns?

Harbor Dinner Cruise

Mike's work hosted a two hour dinner cruise around Boston Harbor. It was a Perfect night-not too hot, a little bit of a breeze, clear skies, beautiful sunset. They even had entertainment for the kids--magic and some balloon creations. The kids were perfect for the whole 2 1/2 hours. We all very much enjoyed ourselves. Here's a few pictures I took with the kids camera.

No Name Restaurant

After we saw the Tall Ships we at lunch on the Pier at a restaurant called, "No Name Restaurant." Clearly a popular place because there was a line out the door when we left. I told Lilly that this may be the one and only time I was glad she was whining. "I'm huuungryyyy..." So we beat the crowds in order to appease the kids. We enjoyed some classic seafood. Here's what the kids thought.

Rachael, "I ordered a hamburger. No seafood for me please."

Lilly, "Give me some Salmon!! Heck, I'll catch it myself if they let me."

Geoffrey, "I've tried it and I still DON"T like seafood."

Can you tell that my oldest two spent the first few years of their life in the Midwest?

Reagan, "I'll just stick to french fries. Oh, and do you mind if I lick my finger and touch the camera?"

I may have grown up in the Midwest but I definitely enjoyed my very fresh fish and chips and some yummy scallops. I can't say I was wild about the oysters though. Maybe someday.

Tall Ships

On Saturday we went with Grandpa Peterson to see the Tall Ships in Boston Harbor. We moved to Boston just over nine years ago on July 3, 2000. About a week after we moved here, the Tall Ships came into port. We figured that we had better go see them because we would DEFINITELY NOT be here when the Tall Ships came again. Well, here we are. . . and here are the Tall Ships of 2009.

Reagan was really tired that day. When we got home we figured out why. She had a temperature of 103. The fever lasted a day and was gone by Sunday morning. This fire boat had its pumps going.

Baby Birds getting Bigger

The baby birds are getting bigger. Ugly or cute--what do you think??

Here's mommy and daddy bird. They often sit in this nearby tree and keep an eye on their babies from there.

Hatched

The baby birds have hatched. Both mama and daddy bird seemed especially watchful yesterday. Sure enough, there is a nest full of fluff. Now that I've seen daddy bird, I can guess that they are probably house finches.