Camping in New Hampshire's White Mountains...

I wonder if they are called the White Mountains because of all the clouds... The clouds were ginormous, amazing things.  Truly spectacular sights to behold...but I could have done without all the rain.  Still, we had a great family trip.  Every time we asked Liam what his favorite part of the trip was his response was, "Spending so much time together, especially with Dad."

Within minutes of setting up camp, Finn was right at home.  Trucks, dirt, what more can a little boy ask for??





And after just a few more minutes, Finn found a buddy with similar interests.  In fact, all the neighboring campsites were filled with boys ranging from 2 to 12!  My boys were in heaven.

Our first morning was all rain, so we took the boys for a ride on the Hobo Train.  It was a bit touristy, but the kids loved riding and having lunch on the 100 year old train cars.

You can't really see it, but the mountain stream is rushing past our site just beyond the boulders.  We stayed at the Franstead Family Campground. (http://franstedcampground.com/)

It is, hands down, the BEST family I have ever visited.  The sites are private and clean.  The bathrooms and showers are CLEAN.  They have a covered activity pavilion with ping pong and foos ball.  There's mini golf, a playground, and a shed on a field filled with basketballs, baseballs and gloves, frisbees, dump trucks, volley balls, you name it.  They really thought of everything.  If you want to camp in the White Mountains and you have kids, this is THE place to go!  Not to mention the creek running through the campground with tubing AND a beach!  It was awesome.

So...here we are...at the top of Mount Washington, the highest point in the entire north east...and it's all rain and fog and clouds.  Spent 40 bucks to drive up the hairpin turns and scary cliffs...it was kinda worth it.  It was cool to be up there..but I sure would have liked to have seen SOMETHING.  Another time, I guess...

You do get a 'free' bumper sticker with your $40.

We did get one afternoon of sun and we spent it tubing in our campground.  It was awesome.  It was 'gentle' and shallow enough that Liam could run to one end of the campground and tube down to us, waiting at the beach area. 

There was even a small wading area where Finn could tube as well.

We started this hike in the rain and the weather cleared up a bit.  This was the Falling Waters hike in the Franconian Notch.  Beautiful hike...but I did fall in a small waterfall trying to get Liam across safely. 









Sweet Finny Finn...

So...after my shoes were soaked, I tried to dry them out by the fire that night.  In the morning I discovered that I completely melted them.  Awesome.

Here we are heading up to the largest waterfall in New Hampshire, Arethusa Falls.  It poured for most of the 3 mile, super steep hike. So proud of my little hikers.

Definitely magnificent and worth the trek!

We are heading down at this point.

Finn clearly had HAD enough at this point.  But he made it down and was rewarded by the train driving right through the parking lot!

Here's a nice shot of our site.

Our last day...I think Finn was pretty sick of the rain...poor little buddy.

Basically the view we had each day. 

I am sure we will return to the White Mountains.  There are endless hikes and tourist attractions there. It's only a few hours away and truly beautiful.  Today, I am glad for my cozy, dry bed.  :)

Liam's 8th Birthday - Super Mario Party!!!

My dear sweet Liam turns 8 today and yesterday we had an amazing Super Mario party.  The highlight of the party was Liam telling me repeatedly what a great time he had.  It totally made staying up past 11 every night for the last ten days blowing up balloons and decorating star cookies worth it.

My posting pics is two-fold today.  I know the far-away fam wants to see the festivities, but these pics are also for the moms out there in internet-land who need ideas for a party.  I would have been lost without the posts of others!

Some of you will be shocked to hear that the one corner I cut was on the cupcakes.  They are Duncan Hines.  Finn can finally have a box mix...and while I hate all the chemicals in the box mixes, since everything else, including the frosting and favors was made from scratch, THIS was a short cut I was willing to take.  I bought "sugar sheets" (in the cake section from Wal-Mart) and had Bill cut circles for the 'mushroom' cupcakes.

Oh..Oriental Trading Co. had customizable swirly lollipops...with MUSTACHE stickers!!  I ordered those and made a 'Mario brick' stand out of styro-foam.  Star cookies were from scratch and took an eternity...but every one loved them.

 

When the kids arrived, they could decorate a wooden 'mario kart'.  I made race tracks out of some old wood I found in the basement for racing.

 

Simple, but loads of fun. A little rope and some duct tape = awesome!!!

Here is the start to the obstacle course. Cardboard boxes and paint.  Also simple and super fun.  I enjoyed spray painting the grass.  THAT was fun for me.

 

 The next 'event' was shooting down plastic cups with water guns.  (Water guns were also favors to go home with kiddos.  Wallet AND kid friendly, double yay.)  My wonderful friend, Karen, manned this very wet post.  Thanks, Karen!!

 Here's a close up of the cups.  I printed out one sheet with the images and used packaging tape to adhere them to the cups. 

 The final (and most time consuming to make) event, was the balloon/ghost stomp.  Inside each balloon was a gold coin.  AND, each balloon was decorated with a Sharpie to look like a ghost.  (I made about 68.)  The kids had to stomp and get three gold coins to finish the obstacle course.  I think the boys got a little nuts and stomped on more than their share...still, no one cried and every one had fun, as far as I could tell.  :)  Using a hand pump, it took me three nights to 'stuff,' pump, and decorate all the balloons...It took the kids about 2 minutes to pop ALL the balloons.

So, it took me over a week to make all the activities/treats and it took 20 kids about 14 minutes to run through it all.  Still, it was totally worth it.  I'm not saying I'm going to do an involved party like this again in the near future ore even the relatively distant future...but, the kids had a blast.   And Liam's thank yous were all I could ask for.  There's something to be said for making your kids' wishes come true. 

Another added bonus to this party - we asked that no one bring presents.  They could make a donation to their favorite charity in Liam's name, but as we said on the invitation we'd just be happy to see them.  And you know what?  Liam did not miss the pile of presents.  Not at all.  Between Bill and I and the grandparents, Liam got everything we wanted.

I kind of wish I took more pictures.  Don't we all?  While doling out hot dogs and filling water balloons, many photo ops were missed.  But I think ya get the gist.  It was a great day.  Let's see what 9 has in store for my first born bundle of love.

Teaching Basic Library Skills

Okay...I am geeking out.  I wrote some little jingles to help my little ones (K, 1st and 2nd graders) remember basic library terms: Fiction, Nonfiction, Author, Illustrator.  And, I am so psyched about them, I have to share.

To the tune of "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes"

Nonfiction books have facts, HAVE FACTS!
Nonfiction books have facts, HAVE FACTS!
When you read nonfiction all the facts are true.
Nonfiction books have facts, HAVE FACTS!

To the tune of "Clementine."

Imagination, Imagination,
that's where fiction comes from.
Made up stories from the author,
that's where fiction comes from.

To the tune of "Do you know the muffin man?"

Authors write the words we read  (make hand writing in air motion)
the words we read
the words we read.
Authors write the words we read
in all our books. (open palms, like opening a book)

Illustrators make the pictures we see  (point to eyes)
pictures we see
pictures we see.
Illustrators make the pictures we see
in all our books. (open palms, like opening a book)

Okay.  I am not thrilled that author and illustrator have the same tune.  I realized AFTER I started teaching the songs that since the songs are the same, it doesn't really help the kids differentiate the two terms (which they are FOREVER mixing up.)  SO, back to the drawing board on that one.  I will keep the author song and come up with a different jingle for illustrator.  In the meantime, I hope some of you can use these with your elementary grade students!

Revealing or not...in a weird way?

At this point, I don't think anything I could write would really surprise anyone.  So, let's assume I am not weird and every one does the following:

Imagine that some time near the end of your life, you'll be sitting quietly somewhere, reflecting on all the things that came and went, happened and didn't, joys and sorrows...and all the while this montage will be accompanied by a song - a song that captures the essence of you, a thread through the soul of your being, a song that makes your own heart sing when you hear it.

You all do this.  Right?  (Seriously, don't answer.  I know most people don't and that's okay.)

For a long time, I thought that song was, "Joyful Girl," by Ani DiFranco.  In all honestly, the song is not as joyful as I usually am, BUT it holds two lines that I think capture parts of me:

• "I do it because I am a joyful girl."  (duh)
• "This world owes us nothing, we owe each other the world."  (This just resonates with how I tend to approach things.)

Well.  A new song has entered my life, my soul and I suspect it will never leave.  It's called "Boat Song" and none of you will be surprised to learn that it is written and performed by my brother and Mira as The Sea The Sea.  I'm pretty shameless about my love for my brother's music, but this song, even Bill agrees, is really something special.

First, it's about a couple imagining buying a boat they see on the side of the road.  This, in itself, earns a huge chunk of my love.  I'm one of those passengers/drivers who imagines who might have built that tire swing, live in that house over there, drive that dirty old tractor in the distance, and so on.  

There are ocean references.  'Nuf said.

I don't exactly know how to explain this next part...the word "we."  When they sing it you can feel the togetherness of it.  And, in my mind, it's a kind of "we" that makes me think of all the years Bill and I have been loving and fighting and kissing and laughing and grocery shopping and just being the WE that we are.  It rings of time.  A we that will last until we're old and our grandkids are helping us up the stairs and coming over to shovel our walks. (Yes, in my imagined future they live close enough to come over and do that....)

THEN, the song has this rolling melody that is as open and exhilarating as that gust of wind that greets you as you cross over the dunes to face the ocean on an early summer day.  Aaahhhh..... My heart literally feels like it's opening up and soaring during some parts.  And then, of course, there are the beautiful harmonies and instrumentals....this song....it will be playing in my head for...well...my brother and Mira are young, there is a chance they could top this, but I'm not sure.  Until then, all current and future life montages will be playing along to this song.

And now for the bad part.  You can't hear this song.  Not now.*  And I can't tell you when.  It may or may not have made the cut for the upcoming (incredibly awesome) album (I've heard the first rough cut, it's really great, biased aside, truly).  They promised to release it, though.  So, you will hear it one day.  I will blast it on Facebook and where ever else there are speakers I can plug into.  For now your imagination will have to suffice.

And, if, by some freak accident you have NOT visited their website or considered pre-ordering their upcoming album, I wouldn't be a good sister if I didn't include the following link:

http://theseathesea.com

*Psst, if you come over to my house, I can play it for you....but until then and/or the release of the song you are out of luck!

Boston with my boys...

Bill had to spend some professional development money and as a result we were granted a little family vacation.  While he attended the conference in the morning, the boys and I played in the pool.  The afternoons we spent walking around Boston.  Bill's work covered the hotel and parking and I am quite proud to report how little we spent on 'sights.'  We spent probably $200 in food but only $16 on super fun activities...and okay, I spent $20 on cheesy souvenirs for the kids.

Turns out The Boston Children's Museum charges only $1 admission on Fridays from 5-9.  We took advantage of that and had a blast.  We also wanted to see "Old Ironsides."  When we got there we found out admission IS FREE - but parking cost 12 bucks.  TOTALLY WORTH IT. 

It was a lovely weekend...not without it's trials and tribulations.  Liam is testing our every last nerve...and I feel like this will go on until he's around 25.  I am trying to figure out a way to parent, be civil, and not lose my mind.  Wish me luck with that while you take a gander at our pics.

 Liam living it up in the hot tub.  Okay, when I was a kid we were NEVER allowed to go in the hot tub.  My parents told me it would make me sick...and as far as I know hot tubs are dangerous for little ones.

Liam was not allowed in there...then, five other kids showed up and ALL of their parents let their kids in the damn hot tub.  Poor Liam was sitting there, all puppy dog eyes, the kids looking at him, like, "why aren't cha coming in???"  So frustrating.

I let him sit on the steps for a few minutes and then suggested a handstand contest in the regular pool.









Here's Finny - all chilly..and there's Liam...NOT running in the background...sigh...but he sure had fun...

Oh, how this kid cracks me up...

Big fat lolli-pops.  Yes. Yes I did.  Totally worth their sticky, happy faces.

So, here we are at the Children's Museum.  The first thing you see as you enter is this GINORMOUS climbing structure, three stories high.  Was it terrifying to let Finn up in there all by himself.  ABSOLUTELY.  Did he survive?  Did Liam actually step up and go find his little brother and help him down?  Yes, thankfully, yes he did.

These were fun.  The faster they hand-pedaled the more lights lit up above them.  Such a cool place.  Everything is hands on.

There were quite a few water elements/activities...a whole bubble room even!  Finn got soaked...luckily early on, so he was dry by the time we had to walk back to the hotel in the chilly Boston night.

 

Pilot Finn

 

Liam working in the art studio.  He was deep in 'draw' when I said, "Hey Liam, is there a booger on my nose?"  This is the face he made when he looked up.  :)

 

This is his creation after I left him alone.  His "self portrait."

Actual mini CATS for the kids.  They loved this!

Liam, ever the actor...

                                                                                       

Liam is so funny - he totally looks like he's taking a poo...

Out to see old Iron Sides - The USS Constitution - oldest active NAVY vessel, I'll have you know.

215 years old this past October and STILL sea worthy - pretty awesome.

Finn was SO excited.  He thought we were on a pirate ship from "Jake and the Neverland Pirates."  The cannons weigh about 6000 pounds!!!!  There are some 60 on the ship! The tour guides are active NAVY officers who volunteer.  They were really great.

Going below deck...SOOOO COOL!!!

And back home again...I know I put this picture on Facebook...but darn it, those rolls in the basket look so purdy...and I LOVE that instagram...

Finny all dressed up.  He hardly ever stands still, so it's really hard to get a picture of him in focus.  You get the idea, though.  ADORABLE.

Happy Thanksgiving, blog peeps!!!!