I went to a wedding last weekend. I think it’s the first wedding I’ve attended since Mark’s wedding in 2007. (a quick blog search shows that Alan and I actually went to a co-workers wedding in 2009 as well, where we look like babies!)
Anyway, the music teacher at DBS got married last weekend. She is an awesome lady and we have become good friends over the years. She invited a few people from the district to attend her wedding in the beautiful White Mountains of New Hampshire. Despite the super rainy season we’ve had, her wedding day was clear and sunny and perfect!
I was going to stay over night at the fancy hotel, but when I found out it was a two-night minimum and would cost nearly a thousand dollars, I took up a friends offer to carpool instead! I’m glad I did. We had a nice drive up and back and it was nice to show up with a friend.
It was beautiful and black-tie formal and a lovely evening. It was also, I realized, the first time I have attended a fancy event as a single person. It was fine, but weird. She put all of us district people at the same table, which was a table of nine, with everyone else being married. It was weird not having a partner to turn t, or dance with, or hold out an arm when I was walking heels. Again, all fine, but different. Fortunately I had a few good friends there (all co-workers I’ll no longer be working with 😞) and we all had a lovely evening.
A beautiful day in a beautiful location
No good pictures of me.
A very fancy 4-course meal, following a lovely outdoor cocktail hour.
Evie got her license today!! She rocked her driving test and returned victorious! By the time her license actually comes in the mail she will be in Sweden, and she can’t drive there anyway (Rotary rules), but all that aside — she passed the test and is now legal to drive on her own!
She even got a good license photo!
Then she lorded her success over these two who are both old and have had their permits longer. :)
Snails abound as we celebrated R’s 17th birthday today. He’s not a big fan of birthdays, but got calls from his siblings, and he enjoyed the cupcakes Eve made for him and the small gifts we got him. He enjoyed the envelopes with $$ in them too! LOL. We got take out for dinner and he’s spending the evening watching TV snuggling with his favorite person. I think he’s having a good day. :)
A wax candle Eve made.
Chocolate and caramel snail cupcakes that Eve and I made.
We bring Eve to the airport to begin her journey to Sweden. She’s flying out of Logan and has a layover in Amsterdam. Her host family will pick her up on the morning of the 9th in Gothenburg, Sweden!
August 12th
We bring Lex to college! He signed up for the marching band at WPI and they move in to the dorms a week earlier than the general student body. That gives them time to practice and prep before the first football game on September 1st (I think). I took Lex dorm room shopping and he has been patiently working through the Road to College to-do list from WPI. I want to buy him all the stuff for his dorm, but he keeps saying no. LOL. I guess I’ll just spend my money on tuition instead!
August 17th
R and I will be taking a trip to New York to visit the Rochester Institute of Technology. College tour number two for him. Well, of the colleges he’s interested in, he came to all of Lex’s tours as well. :) We’ll sneak in a little family fun as well, since we are so close by. He starts his senior year on August 30th.
August 28th
I start my NEW JOB!! Goodbye Dothan Brook School and teaching small children, hello Howe Library and adult readers. It will be very different, but hopefully very great. I’m excited to get started, but even more excited that I got to finish my summer vacation before starting a new job. Life is good.
Hey, we went to Norway! It was unreal! Our shared photo album has 1808 photos and videos (literally!) so I had a hard time picking a few to share here. Feel free to browse the album if you want to see all of the photos.
Day 1: Travel
On July 2nd we took the bus to Logan Airport for an 8:50 flight to Iceland. While we were all waiting at the gate, they announced that an emergency slide had accidentally deployed AT THE AIRPORT and therefore they had to drop the passenger list by 35 people. They did not pick and choose who got booted, instead they offered some compensation and a hotel, then waited for over two hours before 35 people eventually volunteered. It was like a tedious game of chicken between the airline and the passengers.
Finally we boarded and flew off into the sunrise!
Our adventure begins.
Finally on the plane!
Flying into the sunrise.
Iceland
Day 2: Travel/Oslo
After a smooth flight and boring layover in Iceland, we arrived in Oslo. We took the flytoget (airport train) to the central station and found our fancy hotel right there, conveniently located right next to the station. Like someone was thinking when they booked the hotels!
We were all pretty tired by this point, so we rested a bit, then tried to figure out food, ending up at a pricey pizza place in the hotel. Dinner, then much needed sleep.
These swans were cracking me up! They kept flipping over to grab food for the babies. I was laughing harder than it probably warranted, but whatever. I loved them!
Four outta five folks smiling for the camera.
Check out the Google album for lots more pictures from Frogner Park.
After visiting the park and marveling/laughing/thinking/headscratching over his statues, we hung out with some swans, got a little snack at the park’s cafe, then moved on to the Fram Museum. The Fram Museum tells the story of Norway’s polar exploration. The boat “the Fram” is the centerpiece of the museum, allowing visitors to climb aboard and experience (kind of) life on the ship. I thought the history was neat, but the place was soooo hot and weirdly dark, so I had trouble staying focused. Last year I read an excellent book about Antarctic exploration last year that included the story of Roald Amundsen, one of the explorers in the museum. It was neat to have some prior knowledge already.
The Fram!
Lex testing his ability to pull a 300lb sled.
Eve gives it a go.
Rose and her new BFF
The snack area was made to look like cabins on a boat. Adorable!
Rose really liked this museum. :)
From the museum we took a ferry back to our hotel area and did a little relaxing at the hotel. Rose and I went for a little walk and found the Parliament, the Royal Residence, and a Ukrainian demonstration. Then we collected the kids and went out to dinner at Norway’s version of the Olive Garden, without the breadsticks!
Day 4: Oslo
The hope for day four was to visit the Viking Museum, one of our original goals for this Norway trip! I read in various places that it was under construction, but that much of it was still open to the public. We got there (with the help of Lex’s excellent public transportation navigation) to discover that the WHOLE museum was closed and NOTHING was open to the public. The teens gave me a hard time for trusting old web pages, but we got past that and went to the closest nearby attraction: the Norsk Folkemuseum. This indoor/outdoor museum showed various parts of Norway’s cultural history. We all enjoyed some parts and found other parts boring. Rosy and I reminisced about family trips to Hannaford Mills and kids/teens and our level of interest then versus now.
Lex’s favorite part of this trip — public transportation!
They have a phone booth preservation project.
I love this.
Beautful old houses from the 1600s.
A bed and hanging cradle.
We were fascinated by the grass roofs, particularly their construction and effectiveness.
From there we hopped another ferry to an island Lex found with an old monastery on it. It was a VERY old monastery with nothing but crumbling stone walls remaining. We had a little lunch and did some exploring. We also happened across a random art sale on the same island. The work was beautiful, but this was not a vacation for purchasing fine art.
The monastery…
or what’s left of it anyhow.
Five outta five smile!
We were all pretty tired by this point so we got back on the ferry and just rode it for the full circuit, about 40 minutes. Then back to the hotel for some DIY dinner and down time.
All worn out
I love the colors of the houses. All so quaint and picturesque.
Feeling rejuvenated, we girls decided to take a walk to Oslo’s newest library, the Deichman. I loved this library! It was so huge, but also calm, quiet, natural, bright, well organized, and just super interesting to look at. I enjoyed it so much I went back again on our last day in Oslo too!
The library with the statute and pool in front.
Happy girls.
When you walked in an immediate sound dampening could be felt. I think it as in large part due to the cool ceiling structure.
Six+ floors of beautiful library space.
After the library we walked next door to the Oslo Opera House. This building is made out of tons of white marble from Italy and designed with striking angles you can walk on all the way to the roof of the building. It is a beautiful building. It was closed when we got there, but I’m guessing it’s as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside!
The stunning white marble opera house
Day 5: Travel to Trondheim
Day five was a travel day on the SJ High-Speed Trains. The website says the train can go “up to 125mph” but I don’t think we ever went that fast! It felt like normal highway speeds, but we loved the roominess and big windows. The trip took seven hours, which was great, but also we were ready to be off the train by the end! Trondheim is a touristy city on the water (aren’t they all?!) with cobblestone streets and lots of eateries. When we got to the hotel we grabbed some pizza, then crashed. The one adventurous eater in our group was very tired of pizza by the end of this trip.
Lex, eagerly awaiting the train!
Adorable little houses
We saw lots of grass roofs on buildings still in use today.
A Norwegian village
Lake
Bridges and water
Sunset in Trondheim
Day 6: Trondheim
Our Trondheim adventure started at Nidaros Cathedral, “the world’s northernmost medieval cathedral and Norway’s national sanctuary.” We walked around the property and marveled at the sheer size and complexity of the cathedral (while reminding chatty teenagers that we are at a church and some people might be offended by their teenage internet meme ramblings!). We decided not to go into the cathedral, but we did go into the nearby Crown Regalia to learn more about the royal family and see all the fancy royal regalia. We were not allowed to take photos in the Crown Regalia, so you’ll just have to rely on the professional ones available on their site. :)
Nidaros Cathedral
Covered in saints doing weird things.
Tired out from religion and royalty, we crossed the Gamle Bybro (Old Town Bridge) and headed to Bakklandet, “a charming neighborhood cobbled with history and filled with cozy restaurants, bars and store fronts.” We were either too early or too late or just expecting too much, but, while cute, this neighborhood did not fascinate us nearly as much as I was led to believe by the books and internet. We wandered the main street, so a cool/weird bike lift, got snacks at a cafe, then decided (sort of ) to walk up hill a bit to see the fortress.
Very photogenic. All of these photos are unedited. I tried editing a few, but kind of like the moody lighting on the originals better.
Quintessential colorful wooden houses on the shores of the fjords
A dock along the shore.
Moody teenagers in moody lighting.
I love all the random art you find in city areas. This was a radio and from the back it had a full size inscription (in Norwegian) written in cursive wrought iron.
Close up of this fine fella.
I haven’t translated this yet. Lemme know if you do.
Each city had unique manhole covers. Each showing a different scene/saint. Someday I might research the relevance of each to the cities they are in. Someday.
It ended up being a very big hill, but also a pretty cool fortress with amazing city views. Kristiansten Festning was built to watch over the city of Trondheim way back in the 1600s. We explored the building, the cannons through the years, and the grounds. We also found a fun rope swing on the way up the hill that the kids all had fun trying out. By the time we were done at the fortress we were all worn out and cranky (not me, of course, but everyone else!) so we headed back to the hotel.
The fortress defending the city of Trondheim!
The royal electric mower defending the fortress against evil invading weeds!
There’s Nidaros Cathedral where we were earlier in the day!
After a little rest, Eve, Rosy and I headed back out for more exploring. We found the place we would catch the ferry in the morning, we found lots of cool shops, we found umbrellas in the sky (that made me ridiculously happy!), we found some weird statues and buildings, and then we found the boys and all had dinner at the Norwegian version of TGI Fridays.
More moody clouds
Ok, I’ll stop now.
While wandering the streets we came across a street of umbrellas. It made me ridiculously happy!
The next street had these colorful flags!! I tried editing the photo a bit to bring out the colors. Less moody, but more colorful.
I have mentioned that I love this girl? The sun is shining on her at 10:45pm.
Sunset-ish
Day 7: Cruise to Bergen/Kristiansund
I wanted to see the eye-popping, jaw-dropping cliffs of the fjords that you hear so much about in Norway and I though the best way to accomplish that was from the water, so we took a two-day, one night cruise from Trondheim to Bergen. We boarded the good ship Vesterålen (which I learned just this moment is a also the name of district and archipelago in Norway!). The boat was not super fancy, but it did the job. We spent two beautiful days cruising the Norwegian coast, checking out the desolate outcroppings of homes, adorable lighthouses, and outstanding vistas. We didn’t see the sharp high cliffs, but fear not, those came later.
Vesterålen
Adorable lighthouse everywhere!
Rugged villages on the shores of the fjords
The view from the back deck
Water makes me happy.
Air, land, and sea.
We spent a lot of time in the deck 7 lounge, which had comfy seating, tables, beverages, large panoramic windows, and (best part for the teens!) outlets. I enjoyed sitting on the deck (I really enjoyed it!) but I was worried about sunburning. Is that even possible in Norway?! I didn’t want to find out the hard way. So I alternated between the deck and the lounge.
Deck 7
Panoramic views from Deck 7
Zero views from my deck 5 cabin!
More lighthouses. I could make a whole album just of these. 🤍
The ship made a few port calls along the way, including one in Kristiansund where we had an hour to get off and explore. We were all jonesing for some fresh water, so we got off and took a walk. The town was very touristy, of course, and mostly closed for some reason (because it was Sunday?), but we enjoyed the walk and found the provisions we were looking for.
Kristiansund – the Hollywood of Norway?
Checking out the birds in the fountain.
Another manhole cover.
So many colorful buildings!
Don’t let the Eve drive the bus! (She was way too big for this thing, but she humored me anyway for the photo. She’s a good daughter.)💗
At night we slept in tiny windowless rooms (cabins?). It was not my best night sleep, but that’s ok because it was one of the best midnight views ever.
Sunset @ 11:23pm
Midnight
Day 8: Cruise/Bergen
We arrived in Bergen in the afternoon of day 8. This was the first time we would have an apartment (instead of a hotel) and we were looking forward to spreading out and doing some laundry. When we pulled in to Bergen it was a beautiful, sunny day and probably one of the hottest of the summer. There were people out everywhere! The restaurants and streets were packed. People were sunbathing on sidewalks on the piers near the boats. It was crazy. We were joking that they were going to be seriously sunburnt and hung over the next morning. Worst Monday morning ever! LOL. The 10 minute walk to the apartment felt like forever due to the heat and crowds, but it was worth it. The apartment was great (mostly) and had a great street view.
From the boat you could see the mountaintop we would be on later that evening.
The view from my window.
Rose went right to work doing laundry, only to find that they had a washer and a washer/dryer combo, which (as she remembered very well from the weekend we had one at our house on Perkins) does not work AT ALL. So basically we had two washing machines and zero dryers, five people’s worth of laundry to clean, one warm night, and one very rainy day. Needless to say my room looked like a Parisian Laundry. (I don’t really know if that’s the right term, but it’s the phrase that kept coming to mind!)
With rain in the forecast for the next day, we took advantage of the beautiful evening and took the Fløibanen funiculars to the top of Mount Fløyen. It was a 5 minute ride that took us to a beautiful mountain top! They had a store, cafe, museum (maybe?), a playground, a troll forest, and goats at the top of the mountain as well. We were there at 10:30pm though, so most of it was closed, which was fine. We were there for the views! (and the goats)
Riding the funicular to the top of
Bergen
Bergen
Us-ie
Approaching 11pm
More moody clouds
Lex and I took the last funicular run down the mountain at 11pm, while the other three decided to take the 3km walking path back. They found some beautiful scenes along the way.
Day 9: Bergen
We spent our rainy day in Bergen trying to get our laundry dry and exploring under umbrellas. We found two malls, across the street from each other. Both were tall and narrow. City malls, I guess. We found a fun comic book store and delicious street waffles. Somehow the “no plans” rainy day went by faster than any of us expected!
I loved this kardemummabullar and tea. If the cafe wasn’t sweaty and packed I could have stayed there all day.
But instead I returned to the apartment to watch the laundry dry.
Eve and I met Harry Potter!
This post contains more manhole covers than any other post I’ve ever written.
Day 10: Ferry to Flåm
This might have been the most beautiful day of all. It’s hard to even decide. We took a ferry to the tiny fjordian (is that a word?!) village of Flåm. According to Wikipedia, “Flåm is a village in the Flåmsdalen valley which is located at the inner end of the Aurlandsfjorden, a branch of Sognefjorden.” The ferry was hot and crowded, but once I found my way to the deck all was right in the world. I secured a bench there and spent the entire five hours on the deck, enjoying the view and the breeze.
We ferried through the fjords and as the waterway got narrower the cliffs got taller and more gorgeous. I was surprised and awed by the number of waterfalls we saw the whole way along. The ferry made several stops along the way at adorable little villages, including one called Vik that I wanted to hop right off the boat and visit.
The village of Vik
The kids enjoyed the views! :)
There were soooo many waterfalls!
We arrived that afternoon in Flåm and were shocked to find a giant Norwegian Cruise Line ship parked in the bay. We all agreed that it was WAY too big for that small little village. We walked the path over to our lodging for the night and discovered it was a beautiful hostel run by two men. I thought the listing said they were brothers, but Rosy heard somewhere that one from from London and the other from Australia. Wherever they were from, they were both very nice and their house was awesome. We settled into our rooms and then enjoyed a cup of tea on the deck overlooking the marina and water.
The mountains
Flam
The view from the porch of our adorable hostel.
We took a little walk into the village to check out the train museum and make sure we knew where we were going the next day. Then we headed to the marina for dinner. While enjoying our falafel burgers (me and Rosy, anyway) we watched the giant NCL pull out of the harbor. We joked that they were going to bump into the coast once or twice while doing their K-turn, but nope, they did a great job. Of course!
A cruise ship that is way too big for this little area.
Our dinner view once the boat left.
More mountains
A new family portrait
I think we all look better from a little farther away. :)
Except Rosy. She looks awesome in all photos!
Think this should be River’s senior picture?
The teens started getting a little silly. :)
“You’re the nerd. No, you’re the nerd. No, you’re the nerd!” – caption by Rosy
Day 11: Travel to Oslo
The next morning we sadly checked out of our adorable hostel and headed into the village to catch a ride on the Flåmsbana, a beautiful scenic railway straight up to the top of the mountain and a tiny village called Myrdal. The train had AH-MAZING views of the valleys, mountains, and waterfalls. It was outstanding! Along the way they told the story of huldras, a seductive forest creature found in Scandinavian folklore. Lots of shops around Norway had books about Nora the huldra. On the Flåmsbana they stopped at Kjosfossen waterfall, which falls over 300 feet! The train pulled over so we could get out and have a nice look see. Then a huldra appeared! The mountains filled with music and a huldra in red did some magical dancing. A lovely touristy experience! LOL.
Kjosfossen waterfall
Kjosfossen waterfall
The Flåmsbana ended in the little village of Myrdal, population zero. The only way in and out of that village is via train, either the Flåmsbana or the Vy fast rail. Can you imagine taking the beautiful Flåmsbana to work and back each day? World’s best commute?
Myrdal
We hung out there until our fast train arrived to take us back to Oslo. After sailing the waterways, then climbing the steep mountainside, the Vy train took us across the TOP of the mountains, giving us views of barren homes, rocky ledges, snowy landscapes, and shimmering ponds. It was very cool. Even when rainy weather swept through it only added to the vibes, as the teens might say.
When we got back to Oslo we checked back in to the same hotel from the first time. I had originally booked a different hotel, but after spending a few days in Oslo earlier we decided the first hotel would be better, so I rebooked.
We checked in to the hotel, then I took the kids back to the Oslo library and opera house. That was my choice, their choice was Domino’s for dinner. LOL. We got Domino’s takeout and brought it back to the hotel. We all decided Domino’s in Norway isn’t as good as Domino’s in the US, though there was some debate about just how good Domino’s in the US even is. :) We reviewed travel plans, TSA requirements (and what is the Norwegian version of the TSA?), and then we all parted ways for our final night in Norway.
On the morning we flew home, Rosy was up early and went for a final walk around Norway. She came across the Palace Park and within it the Princess Ingrid Alexandra Sculpture Park, containing statues designed by elementary school children. She said they were a little terrifying! The park also had a statue of a giant spider. When I was home and showing pictures to my friend who is an artist, she got very excited about the spider and told me all about who made it and what it represents. Art is often more interesting (and maybe less terrifying) when you know the story behind it.
The kids thought it was pretty cool that the planes had Rolls Royce engines. :)
Iceland
Iceland
Smoke from the volcano
Smoke from the volcano
Blue skies over the Atlantic!
Lex tried to capture photos of the wing in all flap positions.
Hello Boston
We landed in Boston safe and sound, then took the bus home. We checked into our own house at midnight and went straight to bed!
Summary
The trip was awesome, despite a surly teenager, rain, heat, and flight delays. It was awesome. I loved the scenery, breakfast at the pastry shop, the awesome public transpiration, the art, and the views. Most of all I loved seeing Lex and Eve both confidently navigating their surroundings, figuring out the public transit, dealing with cranky people and less than ideal food suations, and doing it all with poise and confidence. Were they perfect, no, of course not, no one is, but they were confident and maintained a positive attitude throughout. It made my mommy heart feel at peace knowing they will thrive as they spread their wings and leave the nest next month.
Hi, Folks! Alan here. Been a long time since I posted, but peer pressure (in this case, from my closest parent peer) has beaten me once again! 😜
Three weeks ago (6/29), Eve and I went to DC to show her passport to someone in the Swedish Embassy in person. They said she had to come in for biometrics (fingerprints, pictures, etc.), but the lady we saw there said they changed the policy and now want her to do that in Gothenburg after she arrives. So, the question remains if we really had to do all this just to show a passport to someone in the Embassy in person, but it seems as such.
Anyway, we made a really good time of it. We flew down early Thursday morning to give us plenty of time for delays or other curveballs.
[5:03 AM] After getting through security and finding our gate in BVT, we went on a nom-wonder and discovered this sneaky observation tower. It was really cool to be able to see the entire airport from above. It was quite hot up there for some reason, so we did not stay long.Look out, DC! Here we come![8:45 AM] First order of business after landing: locate and consume waffles. With some help from The Food Hunter (Jenn), we found this rough little diner. Eve was hot for waffles, and I was excited when I saw grits on the menu! The waffles were good enough and filled the craving, the bacon was fine, but the eggs and grits were completely flat. The other place Jenn found us looked much nicer and had Belgian waffles, but it opened about an hour later, and we were hungry now.
Turns out, DC has plenty of chicken-and-waffle joints but a woeful lack of breakfast waffles. In hindsight, we surely would have gotten a better meal if we had waited, but this got the job done, and we had pressing matters to attend to…
… like wandering around until the museums open. We walked past the museums, the monument to Washington’s willy, and stopped at the WWII memorial. At this sight, Eve said, “What would stop me from putting my dogs in there.” I said, “A lack of dogs on hand?”
[9:38 AM] She said, “I always have my dogs. They are rarely on hand, and are always feet.” (OK, I made that line up, but that is what she should have said.) So, we watered the dogs until it was late enough to head to the Natural History Museum… to hunt stegos!Safety tip: don’t try to walk past the Washington Monument with wet feet. Luckily it was only a flesh wound. I’ve hurt worse.The Natural History Museum was easy to find, and we knew the elusive stego was in there somewhere. After wondering a bit, we found this guy. He looked like he might know the guy we were looking for, so we asked for directions. Apparently, Simon is a big fan of this one, so Eve took this picture for him. (Shutup, Bevis.)[10:58 AM] There’s the big guy! Bestest of all the dinos. Ol’ H. E. Rectus steered us right!Then we found this little guy in the gift shop. He wanted to come home with us. How could we say no?![11:43 AM] Next hunt: Mom’s hole in the wall. Arlington is straight ahead, but the pedestrian entrance is across the street on the left there, and she is way off to the left. We needed water and bathrooms when we arrived, so we went straight that way after getting through security and then out the closest door. Unfortunately, we got 1/3 of the way to Mom before we realized we were outside the fence. Back to the entrance building, through security, take a right out of the building this time, and then…[12:21 PM] We found her! Hi, Momma! Now off to the final boss: the Swedish Embassy!The lobby was beautiful and strict but still pleasant. We had no idea what was going on, but they kept us moving in a way that felt like they knew where we needed to go, and they did! It was very well organized despite us feeling unsure right up until we talked to the lady in the little room behind the glass. She was also pleasant, asking questions while crisply typing and inspecting Eve’s passport.[1:58 PM] As we sat in the lobby waiting for our Lyft (we were very much done walking for the day), Eve’s expression summed up how we both felt: exhausted and not entirely sure the whole trip was necessary but relieved that we had completed the mission even if the parameters changed on arrival.
I guess neither of us cared to take any more pictures, so I’ll sum up the exfil. Our Lyft dropped us at Budget, and they happily got us in our car about 30 minutes before the scheduled pickup time. From there, we headed north, but not before stopping for pretzels and coffee. It took us an absurd amount of time to find the pretzel place in a big, weird, indoor/outdoor mallish/shopping-area thing. So confusing to our tired brains! But we got it done together.
Then, it was off to Rosy’s for an absolutely lovely night’s sleep. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the locals because Rose worked the night shift that night and Joyce was off playing Navy in the Mediterranean. Regardless, whenever you are passing through Bingo, I highly recommend a hotel collier.
Several hours of driving later and we were all done. It was a great trip, and we both enjoyed it in the end. It would have been nice to not have to do it, but I’m glad we did, and I think Eve is too.
Eve would never forgive me if I didn’t mention Six of Crows. That’s the book she required us to listen to on the road, and I highly recommend it. Also, she will secretly hold a grudge against you if you don’t read it (and then you will have no choice but to read the sequel, which I just started.)
“I get hungry a lot.” (which led to a conversation about nutrition and him deciding to have a PB&J for lunch (for the protein) with a side of fresh strawberries)
“Maybe tomorrow would be a good day to go shopping since we have no plans and I get restless after sitting around all day.”
“I like when I’m the first one up and walk the dog. Fresh air in the morning is nice.”
“I’d like to wake up at 9:00 or 9:30am so I don’t sleep away the day. It’s weird and disorienting when I wake up at noon.
Things I said to Lex:
“Who are you and what have you done with Lex?!” 😂
Today he woke up first, walked the dog, and happily came shopping with me and Eve. He tried on a bunch of jeans and settled on an style he likes. Eve also bought a pair of jean shorts and a button down shirt with crabs on it. We all had fun, until we got tired and headed home. :)
Holy moly we toured MIT yesterday! It was a lot of fun! We took the bus to Boston, met some friends, had some expensive pizza, and learned lots about MIT! It was a pretty cool day. MIT seems like a pretty cool place. They were working hard to present the college as a fun, relaxed place, not a high-stress toxic environment. Hopefully that’s true. River is interested in applying, which is why we were there. Simon was a little interested, which is why his family joined us, but not entirely sold. Eve said thanks but no thanks. LOL.
The bus ride down.
Screens for everyone. LOL.
Boston has some pretty crazy buildings..
I love this group of people. <3
MIT is right in the fancy, smart part of town, surrounded by Google and several big research firms. Lots of brainpower in a few city blocks! I can imagine it being a pretty cool place to spend a few years. We’ll see what the future holds.
Lex graduated this weekend!! He’s such an amazing young man. It has been amazing watching him grow from a tiny baby to a stubborn toddler to an anxious tween to a thriving teen. He wore the robe and the silly hat, he wore the FRC tassle I got for him. He wore the “hood” that he earned for rocking his Honors Program. He earned a few scholarships and a diploma. If the weather had been better, graduation would have been outside and we would have gotten to see him in one final band performance as well, but with the weather so iffy and so much rain all around, they moved graduation indoors and cancelled the bad. Sad. It was a great ceremony anyway!
We had had a little tiny party at our house after graduation. Alan’s new wife made cake (she’s a professional baker) and cookies, and I got pizza for the crew. We had a champagne toast with a goofy speech by me. LOL. It was a really great night all around!
My family rented a lake house nearby to combine graduation with our annual lake week. The weather didn’t fully cooperate, but it was a great house and location, and I was happy to be able to wrap up work, graduation, and all the other stuff while also spending some time at the lake with the family.
On Saturday we invited the D&D group that all three kids are a part of over to the lake house for swimming and gaming. It was only 60° but that didn’t stop the teens from getting in the lake!
Down to the lake they go.
Brr….
Rose and G’Tom kept watch.
Beautiful
WPI cookies by Rosy
<3
Game time!!
Sisters
It was a big, eventful weekend with lots of planning and prep. I’d like to say that now we rest, but truthfully now we are hard at work prepping for our Norway trip, Eve’s Rotary trip, and Lex’s college adventure. We have a big summer ahead of us, kicked off by an awesome graduation weekend.
I think I’ve fallen behind on blog posts about Eve. Oops! She’s got big things going on too!
We found out that she’s going to Göteborg (aka Gothenburg) in August. She’ll stay with a family who lives in an apartment right in the city. They have three kids: a son who is grown and out of the house, a daughter in her last year of schools, and a daughter who’ll be doing Rotary Exchange in Chile. They have a cat and a dog and a “weekend house” by the water. Eve is pretty psyched about all of this. Rotary in Sweden did a great job reading her application and finding her a good fit. She’ll be attending a trade school (that’s how it works there) with a focus on animal care. She’s thrilled about that. And today we learned that she’ll attend a week-long orientation camp with other exchange students after she arrives. She’ll have a week with the host family, then a week at camp, then school will start. They want her there by August 1st!
Last week she had a video call with her Rotary Exchange coordinator, the person who will be her Rotary contact over there. Today she did a video call with her host parents. She has been texting with the daughter of MY host sister, and with a young woman who helps with the Rotary Exchange program in Sweden. I’m amazed at how different her experience will be, thanks to advances in technology. I’m sure there will be pros and cons to it, but right now we’re experiencing a whole lot of pros!
She spent last weekend at an Outbound Rotary Exchange event where she got to hang out with other outbound students and some inbound students in the area. It was a big house on a lake in NH and she had a great time with the other kids.
Eve is an entirely different person this year. For the past few years she has *hated* school and spent her time with some mentally toxic people. This year she has a much better, much more positive friend group, she’s taking classes that she enjoys, she’s made some connections with teachers, and overall is a much happier human being. When we first started talking about Rotary Exchange it was, in part, because she was so miserable at school. I’m hoping that she’ll be able to enjoy this upcoming year in Sweden, then return home to the same group of friends and positive school relationships. I’m sure they’ll be some bumps in the road, but I’m so happy with how much better she is doing this year! I can’t wait to experience this foreign exchange adventure with her, from the comfort of my couch. :)
Eve absolutely loves her Advanced Bio teacher. On all of her bio tests, Eve draws little black cats doing things. Often it’s a series of motions, one on each page, flip-book style. Her teacher loves it and often draws little additions to the sketches. Eve decided to make cookies for her bio class this week, with a few black cats just for the teacher. 💗
