Old Manse, Concord

The Old Manse - The Emersons, the Hawthornes and the Ripleys each, at different times, lived in this house.

Em standing in front of the house where Ralph Waldo once lived.

The always glamorous Riles

Cakey standing on the North Bridge. Where the "shot heard round the world" was fired

Friends

I don't usually blog about Mike and myself, nor our friends. But I think with us moving I will make small exceptions. It is so hard to say goodbye to friends. Mike and I have friends here that we have known as long as we have known each other, some much longer even. The other night we were able to say goodbye to some (missing were Pat and Emily) at a going away dinner.

Me, Becky, Katie (still very pregnant), and Margaret.

I love these women. My friendships with them will, in part, define this time in Boston. We have vacationed with them, done my first overnighter away from the girls with them, started (and stopped) a business with them. These women are my 3 a.m. call in case of emergency (in fact once Becky literally was my 1:00 a.m.) call. To say that I will miss them terribly is an understatement.

The boys - Tim, Mike, Franz, and Chris

I love to see the temple

We had the best activity at the temple. I love the Boston Temple.

The gang

The "Chowins". We are together so much that Ally has nicknamed the Choes and Chatwins the "Chowins"
Em and Miya. What special friends. When you think of one you cannot but help to think of the other. These two at one point literally saw each other everyday, with school, soccer, and church.

I love these two together. Aileen is Riles best girl friend. Can you believe they are only four days apart?

Cakey just loves Ally. We all just love Ally.
I am so going to miss the trees of New England. With each season they bring a different kind of beauty. Icicles in the winter, blossoms in the spring, lush green shades in the summer, and Autumn ... glorious New England Autumns. Their crowning beauty. I will truly miss home at Autumn. I think my heart will ache for the vibrant colors that only a New England Autumn unfolds. But aspens here we come.

Castle Island

I chaperoned Em's field trip to Castle Island. It is an old Civil War fort. I loved spending time with her and her little friends.

It doesn't get much better than this ...

... the incredible Children's Museum, incredible friends, and a Friday night

In the winter I take the girls to the Children's Museum once a week. We can spend hours there and still only get to see a portion it. But the joys of a memebership is that we get to come back.

On Friday nights it stays open until 9 p.m.. This Friday we met the Welles and the Johnstons there. It was a perfect night.

The most girly girls one could meet. All four of them.

The girls favorite feature of the museum is this newly added three story sail climbing structure. The can literally spend hours navigating this.

In Chinese dress up K's boyfriend, William. They are such cuties. I cannot get enough of K.

My dear friends Susan and Jessica. I am so grateful to even know these incredible women. I cannot imagine life without them. No matter what my zip code may be these two women will always be among my closest friends.

E's Color Day ... Go Green Team

The green team did win, by the way. There must be something in the air in Boston with green teams winning (go Celts).

E's K- class

So determined

E and Thomas. First offical crush. This boy is the most polite boy from the absolute nicest family, which is one of the good reasons we are leaving. No boy talk in our house (at least until they are 18).

Saying goodbye to the North End

One of the things that I love most about Boston is the different neighborhoods (sections, really) with their unique personalities. My favorite area of Boston is the North End or Little Italy. I love the food, and the smells, and the European boutiques. It really feels like I am back in Italy. I will miss my favorite Italian restaurant, Artu's. I remember coming when it was just this little hole in the wall. It has gone more upscale, but the food is still great.

The North End is also the home of Paul Reverve and the Old North Church.
What an amazing city ...

Our little gymnast

Graduating from the Teddy Class

Our little R graduated from the Teddy Class at our beloved preschool. How can that be? It seems like yesterday she was just starting. Is it bad to say that I h-a-t-e that my babies are growing so quickly?

R just loved preschool and made so many dear friends. We just love that sweet girl. I am so glad that we get to keep her forever.

R and Miss Mona

What an amazing woman and what a great teacher. She is the perfect blend of discipline and patience.

Our sweet Miss Lucy. The single greatest teacher in the world.

R and her favorite preschool friend, Jayie.

Mike's parents were in town for a couple of days and were able to see her performance.

Weekend in New Hampshire with Sarah and family

Swimming at Squam Lake (which was freezing!!!)

The beautiful house where we stayed. It was the second home of one of the attorneys at Mike's firm. It was orginally built in 1810.

The General Store where the children got many many many treats.

Hiking. Em loves to hike. Its a good thing we are moving to Colorado.

A boy and his girls
Mike and I decided that we want to come back and live here. It overlooks the lake. Can you imagine it in the Autumn? Heaven must look exactly like this.

New England is known for its old stone walls. Long ago farmers would mark their lands with these stones. I have always loved these walls. I have often wondered who the farmer was that so painstakingly laid those walls. You can be on the most remote of hikes and you will find a stone wall. I think in Colorado we should lay a stone wall has a nod to our New England Heritage.

Sarah and Kate. Sarah and I have been friends since our first week at BYU. We met through our still great friend LeAnn. Oh the stories those two girls can tell. Having Sarah here was like having family. And I just adore her great kids.

The gang


Our little hikers

Cakey loves to eat sand at the beach. Max was kind enough to make her a mud pie.