Labor Day weekend was super relaxed and fun for us this year! It started by heading to the dollar theater to see Central Intelligence. It was a funny movie!

Saturday we went to Lagoon! It was SO much fun, we got there early and got on all the rides we wanted super quickly! We also went on the Sky Coaster which was amazing! It's the HUGE bungee jumping type thing that lets you free-fall and then swing! We had so much fun. We went to lunch with Randy's family to celebrate his dad's birthday, which was awesome too!

Sunday we taught our church lesson, then headed back to Kaysville for the weekend. We celebrated Bethany's birthday which was so fun, and sang Happy Birthday to Candace over FaceTime - and she started BAWLING. It was SO sad!




Monday we woke up and went up to the Ogden River Parkway for a fun family hike/walk and some frisbee! We had a blast - my family is so awesome and we all had so much fun!

Then we had a big dinner with all the extended family that live close by at the Mandarin in Bountiful, which is our very favorite Chinese food. It was wonderful to be with the whole family for the weekend!

Our last day of Boston was wonderful, but it was so sad to be leaving! We woke up and walked with Ben and Kim to the Longfellow house, which ended up being one of our very favorite places we went!


The Longfellow House was first owned by a wealthy Loyalist family, who quickly abandoned it after the Revolutionary war started going on in full swing. The house then was occupied by George Washington during the Revolutionary War while he commanded his troops. After the war was over, the Craigie family bought the house. When Mr. Craigie died, his financial situation made it necessary for his wife to take in boarders to the house. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow lived in the house, until he later met his wife. Her parents then purchased the house for them to live in, they raised their family there until both of their deaths. It's an absolutely beautiful house and it so amazing, Longfellow's daughter knew her father was a famous poet, so upon his death she started preserving the house for a museum. There are things on his desk and tables and bookshelves that were exactly where he left them. They haven't been touched again at all. The house is full of beautiful things, remembrances of George Washington and his time there, and all the owners of the home before the Longfellows. Randy and I were absolutely blown away by it, and all the stories. They were also celebrating the National Parks 100th birthday, and because the home is a national monument they were having a birthday party! It was really cool to be there on such a historic day.

We met up with Ben and Kim and went to Tasty Burger, which Randy and I both agreed was on par with, if not better than Shake Shack. BUT Shake Shack does have superior ice cream, so of course we had to stop there after for one last shake. After that we packed our things, played with Candace, and then got in the car to go home. It was bittersweet, we were excited to get back to our own home, but so sad to be leaving such a wonderful city!

Our flight home was a little crazy, but we made it back with souvenirs and a suitcase full of exhaustion.

Boston was amazing, and is a vacation spot I would go back to again and again!

Can't wait to see where our travels take us next!

Wednesday in Boston was BUSY.

We started the day by stopping at Starbucks for a frap, and then Insomnia Cookies again, since we'd gotten a free cookie coupon. The cookies weren't even out of the oven yet so we got hot, gooey cookies and it was amazing.

We got on the T and switched trains a couple times to get to the Boston Museum of Fine Art. We were bummed that we'd totally figured out the subway system, and were leaving the next day!

The Museum of Fine Art is, in a word, spectacular.



*Travel Tip - if you love art, spend some time researching what's at the museum before you go! I made the mistake of thinking I would remember and was PAINFULLY mistaken! We had an awesome time still, but I wish we had looked through our old Art History book before hand and read up on the pieces there, and some of the vocabulary and artists. Huge shout out to Mr. Orem for instilling that love of art in both of us!

I had been to this museum before, but you can never see enough, and coming with Randy was magical. I can't even go over everything we saw or how awesome it all was, so here are a few of the highlights:

Roman statues, Egyptian mummies and works of art, Greek statues and art (fresco secco and all!) rooms that exactly resemble real rooms in homes from the 1600s and 1700s, Watson And The Shark, Paul Revere, George Washington, dozens of John Singer Sargent works, a work by El Grecco, An entire floor of impressionists (think Cezanne, Gaugin, Renoir, Degas...) the Little Dancer by Degas (an original, not a copy) and an entire room dedicated to Monet, Pollock, Fredia Khalo, entire rooms of Italian artists (Rembrandt, Titan, etc.)

Basically it was everything. Randy and I were there from the moment it opened and spent almost 4 hours wandering until our feet hurt. There is SO much to see, I wish we had split it up into two days!

We hopped back on a train and went to the North End for a delicious pasta and seafood lunch.

We then headed over to the Boston Tea Party boat and museum. This was one of our favorite things! *Travel Tip - this museum is PRICEY. It was worth it to go once, and it's fun for both kids and adults, but not completely necessary if you're on a tight budget.





We were given the name of an individual who was at the Boston Tea Party to represent, we were given feathers to show that the colonists dressed in disguises to keep their identities hidden. We participated in the town meeting, went onto the boat, threw the packages into the sea, and even saw an actual crate that was thrown into the sea during the Boston Tea Part! We then watched a movie where they said that Lexington was the place of the shot heard 'round the world! SO we decided to agree that Lexington was the place haha - such a funny back and forth during our whole trip.

After the Tea Party Boat we walked back towards the harbor and then wandered in the Financial District. Randy and I love big cities so it was so awesome to walk around and explore. It's even more cool when EVERY corner has a historical meaning!

We walked past a really beautiful, huge building and we wanted to know what it was! A plaque on the outside told us it used to be the Custom House, and we wanted to peek inside. It's now a hotel and it's absolutely BEAUTIFUL. We just walked on in and went up to the second floor where there were paintings and a giant rotunda. It was awesome!













We then of course had to head back to Primark for some last minute grabs.

We then wandered through the parks back to the North End, watching street performers, and ended our night at Modern Bakery where we got some cannoli and cake. *Travel Tip - The best cannoli was from Modern Bakery in my opinion.

We sat in a beautiful park overlooking the city until it started to get dark. We didn't want to leave, so we just sat and looked and were a little sad but mostly so happy we had the chance to go at all!

We watched the sunset, then hopped on a train and went back to Cambridge for the night, had more fun chats with Ben and Kim and went to sleep very happy campers!

Day 5 of our Boston trip was one of our favorite days! We woke up and went with Ben and Kim to Harvard and had the grand tour. We saw the law library which is HUGE and so beautiful. We went up to one of the floors and could see the whole campus, they also have a museum inside the library with some rare books and paintings, which was really cool.



We walked the Harvard Yard and all the freshmen were arriving that day, which was so fun to see! We went to the regular library and learned about the family that donated the library, basically the story is that the father and son drowned on the Titanic, so the mom donated all their books and built the library, but required the school to never change it and to have an office with fresh flowers for her dead husband. You walk in the library and see the huge marble pillars and the office, with fresh flowers on the table, and it's really incredible. It was one of Randy and my favorite things that we did in Boston!

We also saw the freshman dining hall, which looks like Hogwarts! People who aren't freshmen are NOT allowed inside. So we went into the chapel where they have memorials to all the students of Harvard who died in different wars. It's so beautiful inside!



We also saw the famous statue, it's like the 3rd most photographed statue in the world! The students go and rub his toe, so it's rubbed gold!






We also walked through an exhibit on the Harvard Lampoon, the satirical magazine (somewhat like The Onion). It was SO cool to see who was involved with the magazine in the past, including John Adams, etc. And to see what kinds of things they satirized and how far they've come! Ben had some awesome stories to tell us all over the campus and we got lucky to have such awesome tour guides.

We then walked to Insomnia Cookies, which was delightful. And then we went and had Japanese ramen. It was SO good, and fun to hear the Japanese and see Ben and Randy both understand it!

We walked to the Harvard Store and saw all the freshmen there buying merchandise. It was SO busy and reminded me so much of the BYU bookstore! It was way cool.

Then because we hadn't eaten enough yet, went stopped by JP Licks for some ice cream which was delightful! We walked through the campus with our ice cream for a bit, and it was so much fun!

Ben then took us through the Harvard Art Museum while Kim and Candace went home for a nap. The Harvard Art Museum is really awesome! There are works by Monet, Picasso, Rembrandt, Japanese Art, etc. It was awesome to walk through and see artists that Randy and I have studied, and go through with my brother and geek out over artists together!

We walked back to the apartment and just hung out for a while, and then Ben and Kim went to a movie and we got to babysit!

We fed Candace and ourselves, played with lots of toys, read books and did things like this....

 

basically I'm stoked for when we have kids of our own to play around with.

Ben and Kim got home, we put the baby to bed, discussed at length the pros and cons of Star Trek, watched the Olympics and played games.

It was such a fun day, and hanging out with Candace, Ben and Kim was seriously such a blast!

We interrupt the Boston Travel series, to wish my darling sister and niece happy birthday!


Beth turned 16 this year, and Candace turned 1! Huge milestones for both of them!

Bethany is seriously one of the best people I know. Not afraid to say what she thinks, so kind to those around her, good at everything she tries, and involved with her friends, church, school, and extra-curricular activities, she's a busy bee. She still finds time for family and we love spending time with her. I was lucky enough to go shopping with her and join her for a sushi birthday dinner. You're the best Beth!

And Candace, the little lady who made me Aunt Vikki officially. She's a doll and I can't believe it's been a whole year since she joined our family! She's so sweet and fun, she loves family and Pooh Bear and reading books. She's the best niece I could ever ask for, good job Ben and Kim!

Happy Birthday to these two lovely girls, now back to your regularly scheduled Boston Travel series!

Day 3 of our trip to Boston was a Sunday, so we got up and went to church with Ben and Kim! Their church building was very different from ones in Utah, with an underground parking lot and several floors. The talks were really wonderful, and it was fun to be with Candace and our family during church! After their Sacrament Meeting, we took Ben, Kim and the baby home and we jetted off to Lexington and Concord!

*Travel Tip - we didn't end up needing to rent a car (HUGE THANKS BEN AND KIM) but I did some research, and found the cheapest way to do it is to rent it beforehand for the days you'll be needing it.

We stopped first at Lexington green which is really amazing. It's a large park with a statue in front, and a monument in the middle. It's where they fought the battle of Lexington. Something Randy and I found funny throughout the trip, is that there seems to be disagreement as to where the "Shot Heard Round The World" actually happened. On the monument at Lexington, it said that this was the site where British soldiers first fired on the colonists, making it the place where the Shot Heard Round The World happened. Here several colonists were killed as they stood their ground in front of the approaching British troops.



It was so cool to stand on the green, and look out at houses and the tavern which all look pretty much the same as they would have then.

We stopped in the tavern, which is now a shop and museum, and of course Randy had to get a Root Beer! We saw monuments to all the ships that were named after the historic city, and glanced at some churches and homes as we drove out.



We then made it to Concord, which is one of my favorite places! It's a quaint and picturesque little town, and once we got there we stopped for lunch at Helen's, one of my favorite places. It was bustling with locals and tourists alike and was really yummy.

We then drove up to the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery which is really amazing. The cemetery is beautiful, full of hills and winding paths, and almost all of the headstones are up out of the ground, making it look textured and beautiful. Some of the people buried there include Louisa May Alcott and her family, Ralph Waldo Emerson and his family, Henry David Thoreau, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, and many others. It was quiet and peaceful there, and it was such a nice way to spend some time on Sunday.

After we went to the cemetery we drove to the North Bridge, where we learned that maybe the Shot Heard Round The World happened there! This is where the British troops came after the fight in Lexington, where the Concord and other colonial minutemen were gathered. When the men saw smoke coming from the town, they decided to go to the North Bridge and meet the British. And then the colonists received their first order to fire on the British. We walked across the bridge and up to the Visitor Center where we learned more about the battle that happened there.



Next, we went to the Old Manse right next to the North Bridge. The Manse has been home to MANY literary figures, including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne's wife has actually inscribed on the window with her diamond in a couple places, and you can also see a lot of the original artifacts including desks and books. This tour was incredibly cool, because we were alone! So we got to see some extra things they don't show all the tours, ask as many questions as we wanted, and also play a piano in the house from the 1600's! It was AMAZING. The house and the grounds are simply wonderful.



After going to the Old Manse we drove around Concord, past the Orchard House where Louisa May Alcott lived, saw Ralph Waldo Emerson's house, and a dozen other historical places. It was so awesome, I just love Concord!

On the way back to Ben and Kim's, we stopped at the Boston Temple, which was so awesome. It's an incredibly beautiful building and it was wonderful to walk around and feel the Spirit that is there.





We then drove back to Ben and Kim's where we had a delicious dinner, and dessert. We played games and watched stand up and had an awesome time hanging out with our family.


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