Fireman Jack hits the big city

Yesterday, the four of us packed in the car and headed the hour or so north to Boston. Our first stop, the Boston Children's Museum. While it's a museum that targets kids of all ages (and some adults too!) it has a special section for toddlers 0-3, called Playspace. That is where we headed first. It's a nice space for just little people to run around and not worry about big kids running them over. They even have a babies only section for crawlers! Emma can't wait to check that part out on our next visit!





Matt and Jack ran all the way up the ramp to the Playspace section. So exciting!




The main attraction in Playspace is a HUGE train table, complete with trains of course, as well as dinosaurs!

We probably could have stayed here, at the train table, for hours. But, with a little urge, we got Jack to try out the climbing gym area too.

We climbed the net up to the top level, and Captain Jack took over the ship's wheel.

Of course, we had to take a break in a pint size arm chair and look at the "bubbles", or fish. On the other side of the fish tank is the crawlers only section.

Our next stop was Peeps World. We spent some time getting wet at the water table. Using different kitchen utensils to pour water into funnels and buckets.

After we dried off, we headed over to the sand table for more pouring and dumping.

One of the really cool parts of the museum is the Japan House. A real Japanese house from Kyoto that was broken down, transported, and erected inside the museum. It reminded me a lot of a house that our friends stationed in Japan a few years ago lived in. Jack's taking a look at the backyard in this picture, probably thinking that he'd love to throw all that gravel at the window, and I was thinking, never have a toddler and a backyard like that!

Here is Jack checking out the inside of the house - woven mats on the floor and a very small Japanese style table.

Our next stop, the Construction Zone. Lots of trucks, ramps, and pullys.

And of course, in the Construction Zone, you must don your hardhat.

Checking out the controls of the Bobcat.

Next, we moved on to Boston Black. A model of the Haitain section of Boston. There was a barber shop, beauty salon, grocery store, bus full of Carnival costumes, and as you can see below, some Steel Drums to play. Jack even played two handed!

Emma had her picture taken in a Carnival costume!

After the museum and lunch, we headed back to the car. On the corner by the parking garage, we just happened to notice the tiny Boston Fire Department Museum. Of course, we had to stop!

Fireman Jack checking out a vintage firetruck. And Fireman Emma posing too!

Such a long and fun day in Boston. We were soooo tired, we had to take a little snooze on the way home!

Thoughtful Thursday

A few examples of Jack's budding photography...

A respite from being cooped up in the house.

New Friends, Playdates, and Rich the Milkman

What an exciting day! This morning when Jack woke up, he looked out the window and preclaimed "Snow!". This is morning number 5 (at least) that Jack has let me know that we are STILL covered in the white stuff. Little does he know what he will see tomorrow morning! But, as much as I am hating the snow, I know it's super fun for him to wake up each morning and see it!

Our mornings have finally fallen into a routine. Jack wakes up (too early) and gets in my bed and watches Fireman Sam while I try to catch a few more minutes of sleep before Emma gets up. Then we go downstairs and everyone has breakfast. After that, Jack plays, Emma hangs out and I get a couple things around the house done. This morning while I was emptying the dishwasher, I hear Jack talking to Emma. So, I peaked around the corner and what did I see? Jack, standing next to Emma in her exersaucer, pointing to the pictures of the animals, and telling her what each animal was and what it says. So cute! What a good big brother. After he made it through all the animals, he started to bring her trains and cars to play with. She had about 15 when he was done. But, I guess he thought she was still bored, so he brought her a basketball. I think that was her favorite!

Late in the morning, our friends Miss Liz, Charles, and baby Henry and our new friends Miss Ashley and Maddox (Maddox's daddy is in Matt's class) came over for a play date. We had a ton of fun - all of us. Some good adult conversation, the boys got to play and get their crazies out, and Emma got to flirt with her boyfriend Henry! But, before the fun ended, we had a special surprise....the MILKMAN!!! I found a local diary - based in RI, but the cows live in CT - that delivers their milk, along with a few other yummy, local, organic things. Our milkman, Rich, drives an old school milk truck, painted like a Holstein cow. Very cool. He sat outside our house for about 5 minutes and the boys were glued to the window. He even honked and waved when he left. Talk about an exciting morning. AND....Jack and I finally got our yummy glass bottled milk back!

We also had a good "word" day today. A "word" day is when we learn and say lots of new words. Today we said a couple new sentences - trash truck, bye kitty....and a few new words - marshmallow, Muno and Fuffa (from Yo Gabba Gabba). And, he actually helped me read our bedtime book about tractors!

Tonight, as Jack was giving me our goodnight kisses in bed, I whispered to him "just wait till you see the snow tomorrow morning". He looked at me with excited, shining eyes, and whispered "snow!" Can't wait to see the excitement those 10 new inches will bring tomorrow.

Neither rain nor snow...and can I please turn left?

Today's update for "New England or Bust" - #2 and #3


"Neither rain nor snow nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds". You may be familiar with this creed....but again, in Maryland, most if it doesn't apply. Even the slightest flurry can cause closures, including the Federal Government, and when the government closes, you guessed it, no mail. Well, last week we had a warning that we were going to have "serious winter storm". Luckily, we had about 6 inches, and not the 12 inches that the rest of the state saw (and after last winter, I have to say that 6 inches really isn't that bad), but the schools in the area were closed, including Matt's school, along with the entire base. And, it takes a lot to have the base closed. The weathermen were warning everyone to stay off the roads to allow the plows to do their work. Matt went out to shovel around 4pm, and as Jack and I watched him, I noticed that there was mail in our mailbox. Even though the weatherman said to stay off the roads, and EVERYTHING was closed, our mailman not only braved the roads, but also trudged through 6 inches of snow on an un-shoveled driveway and sidewalk to get our mail to us. Apparently, up here in New England, they really stick to the creed!

Ok, so nothing is as bad as the "right turn to turn left" in New Jersey...but the left turn up here is no picnic either. We haven't travelled much yet, so this might just be a "Newport" thing, but there are no left turn lanes. You quickly learn to drive in the right lane so that you do not get stuck waiting behind the cars trying to turn left against endless oncoming traffic. Maybe things are just slower paced up here on "the island", you have the time to wait...but a left turn lane sure would be nice sometimes when I'm trying to get past everyone who is turning left to go to the endless number of Dunkin Donuts (maybe that should be #4 - people joke about Starbucks being on every corner...there are by far more Dunkin' Donuts per square mile up here than coffee shops in Seattle. Around here, I guess America does truly run on Dunkin')

For those of you interested in what our new digs look like, check out my Newport House pics on Facebook!

Matt and Jack go to Boston

So, this is Matt, not Amy writing. Yesterday, Jack and I went up to Boston for an awesome day at the Science Museum with some great friends. Mike, with his daughter Bailey, Derek with his son Charles and Jack and I all loaded up in Mike's Suburban. We all fit and we all had a great ride up, watching Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, talking about the Rules of the Road exam and eccentric SWOS instructors.

When we got there, we had fun looking at "balls" otherwise known as planets and galaxies until the children's section opened. Once it did, we explored all the awesome exhibits in there like the water play area where we learned how the wind makes sailboats go, playing with seashells and looking at and gently touching fossils.

After we all had run our "crazies" out, we had a delicious (and safe) lunch of chicken nuggets and fries looking out over the Charles River. On the drive back, we fought off falling asleep for about 15 minutes while watching Elmo, but we finally succumbed to the lure of a long drive and a fun morning.

I had an awesome day and I'd like to think Jack did too. It was one of those days that I'd like to think will stick with me.

New England...or Bust

Well, it has been a while hasn't it? I think most of you know everything that we have had going on in the last few months, so I don't have to explain why my updates are few and far between. But we are settled now (ok, almost settled)in Rhode Island and although I can't promise I will ever be good at daily updates, I think I should be a little bit better than once every 2 months.

I have to admit, I didn't think I would ever live in New England. I'm a fair weather type. San Diego is more my speed. So, when we found out that we'd be moving to Rhode Island in the middle of the winter, I was a little apprehensive - but what choice did we have? Of course I will make the most of my time here - already have the New England Fodors dog-eared. But, I can't help but laugh sometimes....when I was a kid, I had a car game. This game was a piece of cardboard that listed all the states in the U.S. It had a little orange sliding window over each state abbreviation. When you spotted a license plate from a state, you slide the orange window over. Of course I saw my share of mid-Atlantic and southern state plates, and living in a high military concentration area, Alaska and Hawaii weren't too unusual either. But, there were a few states that you hardly ever saw....Montana, Wyoming...you get the picture. But, as elusive as these "cattle drive" states were, there was one state that I never saw....Rhode Island. In fact, as crazy as this sounds, I remember the first RI plate I saw. It belonged to a friend of Matt's that I met out in Monterey. I've seen a handful since then, but crossing the border on 95 from Connecticut to Rhode Island last Sunday night, it put a smile on my face when I looked around and saw almost nothing but Rhode Island plates!

In the quick week I have lived in New England, I have realized that things are different here...or maybe it's me that's different. I think I'm a wimp...infact, I'd say that most all of us from the mid-Atlantic are wimps. Mid-Atlantic....MIDdle of the road weather. It's not too cold, not too hot. Of course we complain about freezing temps and snow, but we have nothing on the northeast and mid-west. Yeah, it's hot and humid in the summer, but the poor souls in Florida must have to chuckle when they hear us complain. I guess that deep down I knew this already (of course didn't want to admit it)but I didn't think I wore my wimpiness on the outside, until this weekend. On Saturday night, we had snow. It was a couple inches, even I'd say it wasn't much. But, when we went out to the Commissary, I wore my boots....my over the jeans, giant, blue with anchors printed on it, rubber boots. I didn't want to bottom of my jeans to get wet. Afterall, it was a couple inches. Well, let me tell you, I didn't see a single other pair of boots...and I even saw one pair of Crocs. It was at that point that I realized how different we are...me and the New Englanders. But, again, it made me chuckle, and I decided to embrace this 6 months and create memories that I will never forget. And, what better way to do that than to poke fun at myself and the "NE's" as I will begin to call them in a special little section of my blog that I'm going to call "New England or Bust".

So, on the heels of my boot embarrassment, let's stick with snow for crazy New England thing #1. When it snows, they have something called "Parking Bans". From what I can tell, these are areas that you cannot park during the snow, due to plows, snow removal, etc. These "Parking Bans" are announced on the bottom of the TV screen during your regularly scheduled programming, similar to school closures. But, as weird as these parking bans are, and even weirder that they flash across the bottom of the screen....the craziest part is that they can be there because THERE ARE NO OTHER CLOSURES!!!!! I pitty these kids...must suck to have hardly any snow days!

Well, I know most of you want updates on the kids and pics of the house. I will get them up this week....promise! But, for now...I'm just laughing too hard about Rhode Island licenses plates and parking bans to put them up! Stay tuned...I'm sure it will just get better as we travel more!