Hope everyone is having a great week! We are gearing up for Adley's 2nd birthday this weekend!! Crazy how fast time flies. The kids had a play date with some of my college besties and their babes last week. It was supposed to be a pool day, but the Ohio weather kept us indoors, as it has been raining significantly more this season. But it didn't stop the kiddos from having a good time. The bounce house fit in the basement and the play room was destroyed...so the day was a success! Adley only wanted to hang with the big kids. She never left Hudson and Stella's side...
The entire crew! Ages ranging from 8 weeks to 4 years old.
The picnic was moved inside but the kids didn't seem to mind.
It has been a crazy month for Chris and his work travels. He was in Detroit for a week, then home for about 24 hours before he and Hudson headed out to Boston. The New England Patriots had their training camp and it was a must-see for my boys. Apparently Tom Brady may retire after this year so it was their "only chance" to see him. Not sure how fabricated that info is, but I bought it and accepted the fact that the men in my life have a man-crush on the #12 QB. As do I.
Not sure exactly what went on over the five days they were there...as Hudson was always screaming in the background (screeches of pure joy, that is). But it sounded like they had an amazing time of nonstop football and site-seeing; Chris' two favorite things to do in life. And Hudson is happily following in his footsteps. Lots of football, lots of history. And even some Tom Brady sightings!
[Chris takes over the keyboard]
I'll tell ya what happened.....Hudson was non-stop excited the entire trip! He kept wanting to take pictures with Pat Patriot (the mascot), and the cheerleaders (which unfortunately by the time we walked over there they had all left). But Pat Patriot was all-too-happy to take a pic with us!!!
There were all sorts of activities for the kiddos too at Patriot Kid Zone. This proved a double-edged sword for daddy though. Because as much as Hudson loves those Patriots, he can only watch so much of practice before the Kid Zone would call out to him. Daddy of course wanted to stay and watch practice, but my trusty friend Mike would keep reminding me, "Ummmm Chris.....I thought this trip was for Hudson?" Oh yeah. Sigh. Okay Hudson. Fine. I would love to slog through this sea of humanity in order for you to have fun.
Or other times, we'd just be sitting back in our seats and Hudson would say, "Daddy, I gotta go potty." Double sigh. We were THAT family! Luckily, most of the parents there could empathize with my struggles!!! Either way, it wasn't all bad b/c we got some cool pictures of Hudson "trying out" for the team!!!
Finally! At last! Back to watching practice!!!
Tom Brady showing off his Oooooooh! TB12 w/ his helmet off!!!!
complete mastery of the offense. Look how close he is!!!!
It was funny b/c Hudson has only seen Tom Brady in his game uniform. So when he saw him in his practice jersey he was confused. He'd be on my shoulders watching him and then say to me, "Daddy. I don't want this Tom Brady. I want the real Tom Brady, not the fake Tom Brady!" And if you know Hudson, he doesn't talk in whispers. The moms around me got a hoot out of hearing this. About five of them assured Hudson that yes, this was in fact the REAL Tom Brady. That got him excited again! Ha!
GRONK!!! Rob Gronkowski having to run a penalty lap b/c he jumped before the ball was snapped. The crowd cheered him on throughout.
Hudson and daddy posing with the minutemen! These guys stand near the end zone during games and fire their muskets whenever the Patriots score a TD!
It wasn't all fun and games though. Boston is a serious town, for serious folk. You can never indoctrinate the children too early when it comes to History! Whoop whoooop!!! I've been spending the last month or so really hammering home with Hudson all the historic sites in Boston (as did Angela too!). By the time we left for Boston, he was super-psyched to see Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and go on the Freedom Trail!!! :-)
So when got to Boston, I made sure we spent a couple of days in exploring all the historic sites. And it started with the Freedom Trail!
The Freedom Trail is a Boston staple. It's a path that goes through old downtown to all the historic sites of Revolutionary Boston. It's not an easy path either. It's a long, hard walk. It's a rocky road. But Hudson was determined to do it...he was going to walk. Hard.
First stop....Paul Revere's house!! Woop whooop! He wanted to go inside, but the place was cash only!! Arrggghhh. Sorry son, gotta keep moving.
After Paul Revere's house we came across the Old North Church!!! I know, right!! This was where Paul Revere hung those two lanterns up in the church steeple to signal to his compatriots that the British were coming by sea (as opposed to land....remember the old Longfellow poem, "Paul Revere's Ride"?) Anyway, inside the church they have what Marquis de Lafayette considered the most lifelike bust of George Washington. Hudson could hardly contain himself!!!
Oh we're still walking hard down that path. A couple things to notice: the tavern on the right (The Bell in the Hand) opened in 1795 and has a claim to be the oldest tavern in America still in operation. Secondly, look how small/narrow the street is!!! That's how most streets looked back in the day!
We arrived at the Old State House. It was where Hudson was standing when on the evening of March 5, 1770, British soldiers fired onto a Boston mob, killing five. Paul Revere dubbed it the Boston Massacre. We got here early enough on Sunday so that there was zero crowd. Otherwise, this area is packed with tourists. Yuck!
Eventually, we had to take a break at the Bullfinch Pub (the inspiration for the show "Cheers"), before setting off on a Duck Boat Tour!
Hudson was soooooo against a Duck Boat Tour at first. But when we got to Boston and he started seeing all the Duck Boats go by, he quickly changed his mind. He insisted on going! So we took a Duck Boat Tour (which goes on land AND water!!) and they even let Hudson drive the boat!
After that it was back on the Trail. Boston Common is the oldest public park in America. Hudson had his picture taken nearby a statue of George Washington (who he knows ALL about!).
The monument to Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts regiment - the all-black regiment that fought in the Civil War. Go watch the movie "Glory" if you haven't already. (this monument is pictured at the end of the movie).
Hudson wanted to make her great grandma DeeDee proud, visiting cemeteries with all due diligence!! I mean even Hudson couldn't walk past the graves of such stalwarts as John Hancock, Paul Revere, and Samuel Adams with stopping. There were a bunch of pennies at each grave site that people had thrown and Hudson screams, "Daddy LOOK! Penny Lane's all over the place!!!" (Whenever we find a penny, we tell Hudson it's Penny Lane saying hello).
And of course we couldn't forget good ol'
Dr. Joseph Warren, the colonial revolutionary who we all know died in 1775 while leading the fight against the British at the Battle of Bunker Hill!!!
We had an absolute blast! Hudson had such a fun time, and he says he wants to go back and next time bring his cousin Anderson with him to show him everything! Haha! Angela, here's the keyboard back to you!
Below is a pic of Hudson in Boston two years ago when we all went as I renewed my board exams for my Masters (aka the boys played as I studied for a week!). Chris tried to re-enact the photo, ha! Not sure they actually want people "sitting" on the duck but oh well....
But my boys are back safe and we are all hyped up and ready for the princess to turn TWO this weekend! Pink and purple is everywhere in my house. She will be showered with bracelets, glitter, accessories and all things girly. We are awaiting a special visit from all the Wilson crew. And hopefully the weather is accommodating so we can use her (early bday present) water slide pool again!
