Rain day

Today it rained. Not just a sprinkle here and there or a passing shower but a rain like "someone is mad at us" type of rain (as my wise mother-in-law said tonight). Torrential.  However, our lawns were burning and the flowers were dying- it was much needed.

Despite the rain, the kids and I had a great time at my sister Stephanie's house. Rainelle brought Charlotte over too so we had the full cousin clan in effect.  Lots of playing, reading books, 10 minutes outside between rain storms, and of course your run of the mill ballet dancing. 

There were also lots of "let's build a tower and smash it down" games going on. 

A good fun day in Wakefield.  Thank you for hosting Stephanie. 

Yesterday we were able to spend the day with one of my oldest, closest friends, Lynda, my godson Benjamin and his sister Allie. Oliver and Henry spent a lot of time in the pool and it was really tough to get them out.  I wish I could have taken pictures but I was in the pool with them. I'm planning on returning next Monday and I'm hoping to document it this time around. Thanks for a great day Lynda! 

A logistical side note, the movers forgot one piece of furniture up in our attic. They had to come back today and get it.  What a PITA!  (for those who don't know what a PITA is-it is an acronym for pain in the  #%@.  (have to give credit to Tara for that one- love it, always use it, its perfect for most issues) On the upside, the moving company confirmed that our air shipment will be there on time. That means ALL of the boys belongings will be there when we arrive- barring any catastrophic event of course.  

Mark just reminded me that we only have 14 more days in the states.  The reality of leaving hits me in waves. I still feel like we have a lot of time here but clearly my mind is altered. 14 days is short and will be gone in a heartbeat. But for tonight I'm going to go to sleep thinking it is a really long time from now. 

Lovely Sunday

This morning started with a photo shoot for us compliments of Stephanie. We gathered at a Rogers Fort Hill Park in Lowell for the event. It wasn't too hot and the humidity had come down a little bit. I don't have any pictures of the shoot but I'm sure my sister will give me a sneak preview soon. What I can share is that the boys ended up soaking wet after playing in a fountain and had to undress before getting in the car. We then promised Dunkins after. This is what that looked like:

He does have underwear on with that jelly covered face. In any case, it was fun and I think a success! 

The second half of the day was spent at the beach in Salisbury. It was perfect weather and we had a lot of fun. The boys were chasing the waves and Henry was adamant about saving us when Mark and I were up to our knees. He pulled us out every time. They then wanted to make snow angels. We changed the name to sand angels and it started pretty well but ending up looking more like sunbathing, which I'm sure is frowned upon at this young age-

On the way home we got some ice cream which was very messy and we had two overtired boys on our hands. We officially pushed the fun. 

As I write this, Henry is STILL asleep in my car. I'm sitting in the drive way in Lowell waiting for him to wake up. 

It's not going to be pretty when he finally does wake up. After beach naps (comas) are tough to come out of. Especially in a car seat. Wish me luck. 

Cousin time and a day in Dorchester

Thursday night Rainelle graciously hosted dinner at her house for me, Stephanie and the kids. Thank you!! And thanks for cooking Doug! We had a great time - organized chaos of course. The boys even got some special time with their cousin Charlotte in the tub!

Friday am we ventured down to Dorchester to visit with my dear friends Katie and Kate. Katie bravely hosted this event.  3 moms, 7 kids. My 2, Kate's twins and Katie's triplets. It was only about 102 outside so we stayed inside and tore up 2 levels of Katie's house! Not one toy was left untouched and fun had by all! The kids were so good and very cute together. 

And yes, if there are dress up clothes within eye shot you can bet Henry will put them on. 

The house in Melrose is empty. It is a relief that it is done but it looks sad without anything in it. Hopefully everything is working its way to England. We had a lot of stuff go over - just not sure where we are going to put it all!

Packing up Melrose

 Welcome to our blog!  This is going to be our attempt at chronicling our journey to the UK and life once we get there. We will try to post often but please bear with us for the next few weeks as we are in the throws of packing, moving, ending daycare, transitioning to toddler beds, settling in with Nana (bless her), and of course trying to see everyone we possibly can before August 7th.  

The movers have been at the house since Monday and they still have the basement to pack up and move out.  We have been in Melrose for 7 years and although I don't feel that it is a LONG time to be in a house, we certainly have the "STUFF" one family might accumulate over 7 years. I have a new appreciation for movers/packers especially in this unbearable heat.  This task ranks high on my least favorite things to do - and to know that they do this every single day is truly something and I'm grateful that it is not me.  Right now, they are moving around me as I sit in the only unpacked chair in the house- and yes, I feel guilty.  I am planning on giving them what is left of the hoodies in the freezer if I can find some spoons.

The boys have settled into Nana's house pretty well.  It is the first time in big boy beds and they are experiencing a very new freedom.  Bed time is taking longer but they look really cute all tucked in with their 800+ animals on either side (pictures of that to come later).  I think Nana is adjusting to our grand entrance and lucky for her she can choose when to put her hearing aids in and when to take them out.  I sometimes wish I had that option. 

I have made Mark an author on this blog as well...that was your fair warning.  He is a bit cheeky and is sure to add some extra flavor to this blog.  

I believe you can subscribe to the blog, which will automatically send you an email when I post.  It saves you the step of checking the blog to see if I posted.  Feel free to comment, in fact I encourage it. Until the next post....