Boston!

Jason and I were able to sneak away to Boston last week so I could run in the marathon. THANKS Granny and Grandpa Conder for babysitting the kids for us!!! We had so much fun! Jason was VERY SWEET to go with me. He is NOT a fan of flying, big cities or crowds of people. I'm fairly certain he won't encourage me to qualify for Boston with the promise of accompanying me again.. hee hee. But, I am so glad he went. Minus flying in the thunderstorms with lighting all around us and becoming uncomfortably cozy with passengers of an overly crowded commuter train, I think he had good time. Anyhow... we took only a zillion pictures. Most of which I can't take any credit for. Here are a few of them...

There are so many monuments and statues we found along the freedom trail, and some we happened to pass by. Ben Franklin's monument site (top right) is in a graveyard in the heart of Boston, so strange to see a cluster of old, tilting headstones surrounded by skyscrapers on all four sides.

The old buildings and churches in New England are AMAZING. Not quite the architecture I'm used to seeing. Bunker hill was so tall (bottom right). We climbed up the winding 294 steps in the center of the monument and could look out the small windows at the top. Beautiful 360 views from up there. While in Cambridge, we strolled by Harvard's Law School (top right). Juuuuust a bit bigger than UW's.

Boston...cont'd

I think heading out to Revere Beach was one of our favorite parts of the trip. Jason has never been to the ocean-front before (Pacific or Atlantic). It was so relaxing to just walk along the beach and pick out seashells for the kids. There were even some guys windsurfing which was cool to watch (see 2 pic's down). We also made it to Cheers, the USS Constitution and the Cassin. Had some tasty lobster our last night there... was REALLY good, but could have eaten a little more without those beady little eyes staring at me.

The race was so cool!! Hard though. I think the 8+miles we walked over ther weekend sightseeing may have been part of the reason I felt a little "off". But, at least I beat my 2002 time and I felt good afterwards. I seriously doubt there is a marthon out there with more spectator support than Boston. It is IN SANE!! In a good way. Dave (my little bro) made it down from Portland, Maine to hang out with Jason and see me finish. Although, they missed seeing me - but can you blame them? There's only thousands of people there!! Now the girl running in the flourescent green wrestling suit, the guy w/a pink tutu and the running "juggler" were a bit more noticable! Btw... look closer at the flowers on the bottom right pic... notice what they are using instead of flowerpots??

Just a few more shots from the plane, the beach and w/Dave by the Charles River. Was such a great trip!!! We sure missed the kids, but knew they were happy to go to the zoo, Dinosaur museum and UofU red/white game with Granny and Grandpa. I think they were a little bummed to come home.... hee heee. THANKS again Kathy and Gerald!!!!

Easter

Kaycee and Jackson had so much fun decorating their Easter eggs this year. Thanks to Grandpa Bruce for providing the decorating kit!! Jackson was mostly interested in the dying process while Kaycee performed most of the decorating. Jason and the kids ate almost all of our Easter eggs this year. Who knew they liked boiled eggs so much??? I guess packaging can add more appeal, eh?

We had no problem getting the kids out of bed on Easter morning. Jackson could have cared less about hunting for Easter eggs once he discovered his bowling game. Kaycee found and counted 37 eggs throughout the house and in the back yard. As she said "I can't believe my eyes, the Easter bunny came!". Later in the day, Jackson gave us his take on the holiday saying "So....someone shot the Easter bunny.... and then, he came back to life...??". Only in our household could he gather that interpretation. Heee heeee.

Lilies

Thanks to the salesmanship of a 16 year old schoolgirl, we've subscribed to the Family Fun magazine for awhile. Kaycee found a cute lili project she wanted to make for her Kindergarten teacher in it (Mrs. Perez's birthday is on Easter). So, we made these fun Lilies yesterday. She was so excited to give them to her today!! Had to give them to her early since spring break is next week. I think we will make some more. Which is a good idea, since nothing else seems to be looking like "spring" around here lately... snowing again today!!!! Grrrrrrr.

Little Fishy

Yesterday Jackson finished his first session of swimming lessons. He did such a GREAT job!! We tried lessons last fall, but soon discovered that he couldn't sit still long enough for it to be safe for him (or me... I about had a heart attack watching him run around like a maniac while the lifeguards chased him). But, this time around, he proved to everyone how well he can follow directions and wait his turn. He LOVES, LOVES, LOVES the water. And he is improving with every lesson. THANKS COACH CHRIS! He's such a little fishy!