End of School Fun

End of school is always a really busy time. We were fortunate to be able to attend the TCA Art show and see the kids art work for the school year.

This was my favorite of Justin's art. 

 Ashley's picture is the one she is pointing too.

 Katelyn won second place for this piece.

We planted our garden. The kids helped me buy flowers and dirt and then plant the garden. We had lots of fun.

Justin's art work. He labeled each one with a price to sell at a garage sale.

Mia graduated from pre-school. This is Miss Colleen sharing what she loved about Mia. Mia was a great student and learned a lot. She said that Mia knew how to play with all of the kids, but also knew when it was time to play by herself. She was a great helper and loved all the projects. We are glad Mia liked pre-K because she is doing it again next year. 

It was a very windy pre-school graduation, which gives Mia cool hair.

Justin is still dying to go fishing. He finally was able to go with Hans at the Fathers and Sons campout. He caught his very first fish. He was very excited.

Conleys came to visit us during the last week of school. Justin loves Anna. 

Katelyn and Elizabeth. Elizabeth went to Aerials with Katelyn for two 4 1/2 hour practices. Katelyn was so happy to have her there.

Mia and Eden. Eden really really really loves Mia.

Ashley and Andrew. Ashley is a little embarrassed.

All of the cousins. We had a great time. Melanie and I hiked the incline, went for a couple of runs, and did yoga. It was so nice to have her here. I really miss having her live by me. It was not easy to see them go. I appreciated them making the trip and we hope for many more!

BOSTON

We had a great time in Boston. We spent Sunday getting my marathon stuff ready at the expo and then at the Boston Temple. We met a few other marathon runners at the temple. One was from Colorado. And her husband was a dentist. It is way too common in Colorado to be a runner AND a dentist's wife. Sigh. The kids had a great time in our hotel too. It provided us with breakfast and with dinner, which was a dream for Justin. Justin and Mia shared a bed in the common area and the girls got their own room. The hotel backed this wide open green space where the kids spent hours playing and looking for 4 leaf clovers. Katelyn, of course, found one. She is just that kind of kid.

 After race day we went on the duck tours. I was way too sore to do much walking and this was a great way to see the city of Boston. The driver gave Mia and Justin turns driving. I love the East Coast.

 After Boston we drove to Connecticut. We enjoyed the beaches there and especially meeting our Connecticut Egbert cousins. I have no pictures to prove we saw them, but we did. They are great and I was happy to end an 8 year streak of not seeing them. Hopefully we don't go another 8 before seeing each other again. I love to see kids with cousins. They just know they are family and go off and play like they've always known each other. It was great fun. We saw the mystic seaport aquarium and two different beaches.

 This is a picture by a boat in Plymouth Rock. We enjoyed the walking trails, fun town, and beach in plymouth. The rock, while small, was exciting to see. I love being in history.

 We also went to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, which is a re-creation town of colonial times. This was definitely worth the stop and the kids loved it. They made herb seed packets, walked on stilts, enjoyed the animals, churned butter, learned how fabric was made and tried it, and more things I can't remember.

 These are pictures from where I grew up in New Canaan, CT. I lived in this house from age 9-15. I have lots of memories here and it was fun to remember and to share them with the family.

 This is the park that was in walking distance from my childhood home. They added these geriatric workout equipment parks later, but we had a great time playing with them. We were able to walk through Waveny Mansion and enjoy the green. Being here made me really really really want to move back. It's beautiful, green, and peaceful.

 These are pictures from Stew Leonards. This was my favorite grocery store growing up. We had a really fun time walking through, eating samples, and listening to the singing milk cartons.

Overall we had a great time. It was a lot of driving, a lot of fun, and a lot of fatigue, but completely worth it. I hope we make it back East again soon.