Boston part 2

We had a lovely brunch cruise on board a Boston Harbor Cruise boat. This time there was narrative about all the surrounding buildings and areas we passed...and food!
Part of the Boston skyline.
Logan airport's flight path is right over the harbor, so a few big planes buzzed right over us on their way to land.

Here is a harbor view of the USS Constitution.
The white steeple in the skyline is the Old North Church. We see that later.
This is the Old South Meeting House. It gained fame as being the place for the organizing of the Boston Tea Party.

Then we stopped by to see the Boston Temple. We finished off with letting the kids swim at the hotel. It's amazing how quickly the day passes by. We still haven't finished seeing all the Boston stuff we wanted to.

Beantown

We took the Beantown trolley on it's hop on/hop off tour. Our first stop was the USS Constitution aka Old Ironside.
The tour guide had McKinley in this hammock while she gave her shpeel about the ship. The tour guides are actually sailors in the navy as the USS Constitution is an active ship. It only moves on the 4th of July into the harbor for a 21 gun salute, then back to it's spot again for another year.



We also checked out the Cassin Young. It's a destroyer ship and is in dry port right now. It was a manly interesting thing to see.
Another stop was here at the State House. We went inside another day because we had to make it back to the harbor for our Tall Ships Cruise.

We sailed on the Liberty Clipper. We had to help hoist the sails at the beginning. It was harder than I thought it would be with so many helpers. It was probably in the 50's on the water...a little chilly, but I would prefer it to be a little chilly (and Seattle-like) instead of hot and humid.

Salem, MA

Today we drove up to visit Salem...of the infamous Salem witch trials. We went to the Salem Witch Museum, visited the Old Burying grounds and the memorial to the 19 people killed during the three months of the crazy accusations in 1692. We ate lunch at the "Witches Brew"

They told us about the Wiccan religion practiced by the "witches" today. Part of their belief involves three stages of womanhood: The Maiden, The Mother, and the Old Crone. On a side note I took care of a patient in Seattle whose parents were Wiccan (with a free love, open marriage apparently, since there were two women in the threesome)---they were strange beans. I wonder how that baby is doing now.
Sawyer the Witch! Did you know in Wiccan religion men and women are called witches? Only bad witches are called warlocks. Well now you know that useless bit of trivia too.

This is the Friendship docked in Salem. We relaxed here for a bit on the grass by the shore.
The kids gathered seashells and rocks.
Sawyer found a tiny crab...so cute!
Then we visited the House of Seven Gables of the famed Nathaniel Hawthorne novel fame.
We drove up to Gloucester, MA to see a lighthouse. It was a beautiful area too. I love sea ports!


We finished the night with a late dinner and headed back to our hotel (in Billerica).

Cape Cod, MA

We left this morning for our Boston trip with the grandparents. Our first stop was Cape Cod. We had the Go Boston Card that included a harbor cruise around Cape Cod in Hyannis. It was a pretty little area. On the tour they pointed out the Kennedy compound and such. The blue sailboat below is Ed Kennedy's...I really couldn't care less about the Kennedy's. It was a little chilly, but a nice, relaxing ride.

Next we stopped by the Worden Cemetery in Dennis where my ancestors were buried so I could show my mom. We were hoping to go to the Plimoth Plantation and the Mayflower II, but by the time we got there 4:45 it was too late. So we walked around Plymouth and then drove on to the hotel to Boston.

Baptized

McKinley was baptized today. She was lucky enough to have both her grandparents come visit for the occasion. She was nervous and excited. When we arrived at the church there were fans set up to dry the carpet. Apparently the counselor started filling the font early that morning (although the baptism wasn't until 1:30) and it got out of hand and the Primary room got completely flooded. The water was a bit chilly for them needless to say. McKinley also said there was a giant spider in the font! When she stepped in the water though, she said she didn't feel nervous. She said she felt a warm comfort.

Grandpa Korth did the talk on the Holy Ghost and Grandma Van Leeuwen did the prayer. Both Grandpa's were the witnesses. After we had refreshments with the other kid's family (Eickbush's) getting baptized.

She had a good day. She had many family members far away who remembered her and her special day and I know she felt loved.

Baptism

This Saturday! I can't believe she's old enough. I guess I can't believe I'm old enough to have a kid who's old enough.

Grandparents are flying in tonight to visit for the next couple weeks, so we are busy getting the house "clean" and ready for them. We are excited to have family come and visit. Hopefully they don't mind the "rustic" accommodations.

Happy Happy Birthday

Hayden is Four Years Old today!

For his birthday breakfast he wanted "circles with chocolate", also known as chocolate chip pancakes.

For his birthday lunch he asked for ice cream. So we got an expensive scoop at a local Ice Cream Parlor. He alternated between a scoop of ice cream and a lick of his "Push Pop".

For his birthday dinner he requested "Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for everyone!"...yuck, but we're doing it.

So here is our Q&A session with a brand new 4 your old!:

What is your favorite color? blue

What is your favorite thing to eat? birthday cake

What is your favorite thing to do? play playstation

What is your favorite toy? Buzz and Woody for the playstation (he doesn't even have it yet)
What is your favorite book? Buzz and Woody

What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be Buzz and Woody

What do you want for your birthday? Buzz and Woody

What will be the funnest thing about being 4 years old? birthday presents!