Memorial Day

All the first graders planted marigolds in school and were invited to march in the Memorial Day parade.

Jane left hers at a veteran's grave after the Memorial Day ceremony.

At that point we left the parade because Jane was so tired. I hope the next time we spend the night somewhere the kids get more sleep!

trip to Maine

On Sunday we headed to Maine to help open up the cottages for the summer. I wish I had taken photos of that because they started out looking awful and turned out to look much better! When we were just about done, we went out to lunch with Nana, Grammy, Uncle Abe, and Uncle Ben, Aunt Amy and cousin Reagan. The restaurant has a playground next to the outdoor seating - genius!

When we got back to the cottage, the kids wanted to explore the rocks.

I couldn't believe they went in the water!

They said the tide pools were much warmer.

That evening it rained and when it stopped, there were two rainbows!

We went for a walk after dinner.

We spent the night and the kids stayed up very late, as usual. It was raining in the morning and some of the rain was coming inside, so we thought about leaving early. But then it cleared up so we stayed a few more hours and the kids played outside. They were happy Nana visited again!

fun festival

Our town's annual festival was moved from the park to the elementary school because it had rained the night before and the field was too wet. It used to be at the school years ago and we actually liked it better! We could walk there since it's only a mile away.

The kids loved their hot dogs for lunch.

Jane found her friend Maddy and they explored the fire truck together.

Jane and Malcolm always love climbing in the ambulance...

... and police car!

The kids played on the playground before we walked home. The walk home was much less lively than the walk there!

As part of the festival weekend, there was a one mile kids' fun run the next morning. Jane and Malcolm participated for the first time and they did great! They both ran the whole time. We couldn't take photos because we were running with them!

gardening frenzy

Last week I took each child separately to a garden center to choose some plants.

We got one cherry tomato plant (so Jane can snack on them) and some herbs, but otherwise no vegetables. We belong to a CSA within walking distance so they do all the work for us! We just wanted to add some color to our yard.

It took many hours, but Jane and I planted everything and we even started some seeds.

Jane planted this whole section by herself!

Here are some of the things we just planted:

These are flowers we already had.

mother's day

The weather was great for mother's day. In the morning I opened my presents and Jane made me a pink bowl! Malcolm gave me a plant he planted in preschool.

Two years ago we had walked one end of Boston's Freedom Trail, so I wanted to see some more of it. We started at the other end - the U.S.S. Constitution Museum.

The kids loved playing on the hammocks and pretending to cook food they would eat on a ship.

After lunch we walked to the Bunker Hill Monument.

The kids wanted to climb to the top. I was very surprised how fast they went!

We went back to the Constitution so we could explore the ship.

After all that walking and exploring, the kids were ready for some ice cream!

I was urging everyone to cross the bridge so we could see a few more places on the Freedom Trail, but by then the kids were done for the day. We'll have to go back soon and finish the middle part of it - and eat in the North End while we're there.

It was a great mother's day!

porch on a rainy day