Boston

I love getting away with the girls! It is so fun to see the excitement in their faces. This is what I love about children...it doesn't take a lot to put a smile on their face...you know, to get them excited! When we told them we were going to Boston for the night and staying in a hotel, their faces exploded with excitement! On Friday morning, they were all over the place, they just wanted to leave!

Since Diana & Luis were leaving out of Boston, we thought it would be fun to finish our visit with each other in Boston. Luis had never been, so off we went. We ended up staying in different hotels because we wanted a better location and didn't mind paying extra, where they wanted to save money and didn't care if they had to walk, etc...but that didn't matter to us. When we got to Boston, the girls wanted to swim. swim. swim. So, off to the pool we went! It is amazing how much Mairead has progressed since the middle of the summer. She is an awesome swimmer now! And Lilah isn't too far behind either! Clara thinks she can swim, and wants nothing to do with her little tube OR anyone holding her....Yeah. right, I'm just going to let her go. Right, Clara! :)

After the pool, we got dressed and headed to the North End for some yummy Italian food. The girls were a little wild, but overall, it was a great dinner. We topped off the night with some amazing desserts from Mikes Pastry. YUM.

The next morning we went to the Aquarium as a family while Diana & Luis went sightseeing. The last time we went, Lilah was about 16 months, so she didn't remember it at all! They loved it! Lilah loved the penguins and watching the turtles. They held the star fish and played with horseshoe crabs. Clara even loved it, too. She reminded me of the first time we took Mairead. Mairead was the same age and just loved the fish. Clara screamed and yelled in excitement at everything. She loved the penguins. It was the cutest! It brought back so many memories of when Mairead went...it seems like it was yesterday.

Once we finished there, we headed over to Quincy Market where we met Diana & Luis for lunch before we headed back to Maine and said our good-byes. We picked a funny restaurant called "Dicks Last Resort" - believe me, we didn't choose this place for the food, but we did choose it for the hilarious atmosphere. The waitstaff is rude, they make fun and are just plan mean....honestly it has to be a stress free work place....I mean, could you imagine telling people how it is??? Awesome. Anyways, it was hilarious, even the girls loved it......especially after the waitress threw a bunch of straws at us. Mairead had a had made that said "I make boys cry on the playground", Lilah's hat said "Chicken makes me toot" and I had the beautiful had that said "Reason men drink" - Kevin loved that one. It was a great lunch - minus the food - with a lot of laughs.

My glorious hat!

Diana & Clara

The girls are joining in on the silliness!

Afterwards, we said our goodbyes and we headed back home to Maine. It's always hard to say goodbye to Diana, but after close to 18 years of friendship, we know we'll pick right back up the next time we're together...Overall, we had a great time together!

Luis with Mairead & Lilah

"Chicken makes me toot"

"I bet boys up on the playground"