Summer!

Wow, another update already.  Oops this is going to be a long one - sorry about that but theres been lots going on at the lately. 

Grandma and Grandpa came back after their trip to Spain and Ireland and we've had visits from Aunty Sally and Cousin Penny so we've been getting out and about a bit.

Grandma and Grandpa arrived back on Tuesday 8th June with some fantastic presents.  Heres Lexie in her Flamenco dress.  Didn't she think she was beautiful.

On thursday my Aunt Sally flew in from Tucson.  We took a drive down through Warwick on the way to the airport to pick her up and actually found a public park at one of the headlands which was nice.  Generally all the sea views around here are obstucted by houses so its nice to find a bit of public space along the shore line.

  

On Friday we all (minus Andy who had to work) piled into the minivan we hired and headed down to Connecticut. Our main destination was Essex where they have a steamboat and river cruise excursion which we wanted to go on.  We got down to Essex on Friday afternoon and had a walk around the town.  It was a beautiful little town. 

We had hoped to stay in Essex but there was no accommodation in town so we headed down to the coast at Old Saybrook.  Another beautiful little town - and booked into the Super 8.  It did have an outdoor pool but it wasn't quite warm enough to use it so we took a drive around Saybrook instead.  Just down the road a bit we found a public beach so decided to jump out and let the kids have a play around - which of course ended up with both Lexie and Josh soaked to the skin  - so Grandpa had to race back to the motel for a change of clothes whilst the kids stripped down an splashed around in the water - It wasn't too bad int here actually, nice and shallow so it had warmed up a bit.  Great fun was had by all.

By the time we had finished at the beach it was nearing 5 o'clock so we headed around the penninsular to a little waterfront restaurant for an early dinner.  Got a fantastic corner table with views in all directions and had a great seafood dinner.  The kids were great - even though Josh was so tired he could barely lift his head off the table!

 

The next day was the train and steamboat excursion.  The weather wasn't too great  - but the rain held off most of the morning.  We got on the steam train at Essex station.

Lexie was having a ball again, that girl loves her trains.  Josh wasn't quite so impressed - he fell asleep as soon as the train started up.

The train took us up the track to Gillette Castle, then back down to Deep River station - The scenery along the way wasn't  actually that great - we thought it'd be along the river but it wasn't so all you could see was the trees on either side of the track.  At Deep River station we got off and caught the boat (the Becky Thatcher)  Up the river to the swing bridge at Haddam.  

This was quite a nice journey, but unfortunately the rain that had been threatening all morning came down.  We managed to get in the very front cariage for the train trip back to Essex which was great - we could see the engine through the front door to the cabin and really get the smell and sounds of a steam engine.  Lexie spent the entire trip right up near the door.

 

Once back at Essex the rain really set in and since you couldn't see more than a few feet in front of your face we decided to skip any further expeditions and headed up the freeway towards home.

Sunday and Monday were spent quietly at home, then Tuesday we decided to catch the ferry into Boston.  We drove over to Quincy (which actually took longer than the ferry trip) and only just made it onto the ferry as it was pulling out.  It was a great trip. very windy and a bit cold up on deck but definitely fun.

We then caught another ferry around to the Naval yard and checked out the USS Constitution.

Check out who's steering the boat!

After a quick lunch we headed back into town, tooka quick walk around Faneuil hall, killed some time at the merry go round

 

then jumped on the Ferry home.

Wednesday we took a drive up through Cambridge, tried to check out MIT and Harvard but Josh chose just those moments to have a screaming fit then headed out to Concord, MA.  Had a quick lunch at Concord (For a change Lexie and Josh were NOT good little kids at the restaurant), and walked through town and out to the old north bridge.

  

A nice little day trip - well it would have been if Josh had behaved himself.

Thursday we had to take the minivan back to the hire car company, but we did one last outing in the morning, We started the day with breakfast at Bobs, then drove out to the cranbery bog at Patriot Place.  Of course knowing our luck the cranberry bog was under reconstruction so we didn't get to see any actual cranberry bushes, but we had a nice little walk around the pond then checked out Bas Pro shops and all its exhibits.

Sally had to head home on Friday so mum, Lexie Josh and I drove her down to Providence in the morning.  Then  in the afternoon we decided to have a barbque and fire (after my haircut that is).

 

Saturday was another beautiful warn day so we spent it in the pool in the backyard.

 

After a weekend at home Monday we headed down to Capron Park and Zoo.  We had a picnic in the park - which was actually harder than we expected due to the lack of picnic tables and the wet grass.

We then headed into the zoo - checked out all the animals, then ended up back at the splash pad.

The rest of the week was spent veging around the hose - playing the backyard and shopping etc. 

Thursday night Penny (Andys cousin) arrived for a visit - unfortunatley due to delayed and missed flights she didn't get in to 10 pm and Andy had to work the next day, but hopefully she had a good time relaxing with us on Friday.

Friday night we went out for dinner to celebrate Grandmas birthday (a couple of days early, but it was our only chance before they left).  We went up to Legal Seafoods at Framingham and had a fantastic seafood dinner, Mum had lobster and the rest of us an the assorted wood grill with 5 differnt types of seafood - yum!

The kids were back on their best behavious and we had a great night.

 

- then home to a gluten free cake so Lexie could help blow out the candles.

Saturday - Grandma and Granpa head home and we go back to our normal day to day......