Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Lovebirds' Picture Heavy Post-Spring Break Catch-Up


How are we nearly into May??? Since we've moved to our new house it's been quite the whirlwind, and I realize while I haven't been posting nearly as frequently as in years past, I've appreciated how Instagram Stories has been able to give my loyal followers a snapshot into all that we've been up to. 


Yesterday Nia returned to school after a reallllllly long spring break (1/2 day on the 12th was the start of it!). We decided to make it a staycation exploring Boston, and I'm so glad we did. I still feel like we're still just coming off our 1st Disney Cruise - and yes, someday I'll sit down and recap everything, but in case you missed it our sneak peek recap video is here

We had a good spring break despite the sun being absent for most of it! Here's a rundown of all of our escapades...



Family Spring Renewal Clay Workshop - this 4 week session gave us a chance to work with clay as a family alongside other families 



Imajine That - we had a soon-to-expire Groupon deal that we used to meet up with my blogger buddy Amanda and her sweet boys (Grayson refers to it as "the dinosaur slide" - remember this???)



Six Flags - we met up with an old friend from both of our "pre-kids days" and now our daughters are about the same age so they were excited to hang out for a day of fun; this was on one of the most beautiful days of break! 


Easter Egg Hunt - this was Grayson's first time experiencing one and while both kids had quite a few tears from the overwhelming crowd, the "death playground," as Nia referred to it, made them forget their troubles



Franklin Park Zoo - we ventured here for the first time to meet a schoolmate friend of mine from Columbus, Ohio who's here for grad school; the kids were most interested in the playground and we ended up getting a membership so I'm looking forward to making the easy trip over to it many more times this year



Breaking in our Grill (and our Chillax!) - we hosted our first cookout guests for a simple feast thanks to Mr. Lovebird; my cousin from Ohio who lives here now stopped by as well as Gianne and Jay, the duo behind Organic Bath Co. and W.E.L.L. Summit (speaking of which, early bird tickets are on sale until this Friday, April 28 here!)



Easter Sunday Service - Rent the Runway had its first major fail ever for me which left me scrambling for an outfit the night before (they've since made good on it). I'm happy with how the day turned out, especially all the sunshine we had - the warmest day of the year yet here!


Whale-Mobile - this life-size whale made a special spring break visit to one of our local libraries allowing children to go inside and learn about the different whales that frequent the area; a whale watching experience is definitely in our future!



Planet Playground - we met up old friends back in New Hampshire for a playdate and stopped off at Beach Plum for old times sake before driving home - I really miss the ease of getting to the beach that we used to have



Cousins' Sleepover - we picked up our 3 little cousins bright and early to head over to a special free sundae bar and face painting at J.P. Licks before catching "Boss Baby," or as Grayson calls it: "Baby Boss." That night Nia had picked out a special dinner for us to make: Asian dumplings, and we're excited to now have this on our menu rotation - they were so good and I even ordered a bamboo steamer so we can crank out regularly





Boston Children's Museum - I thought there wouldn't be too many people at the museum the next day around lunch time but boy was I wrong! The kids and I met up briefly with my cousin from Ohio who lives here now with her family. Grayson was most interested in playing in the water area, so it was nice to give Nia time to explore the museum with her older cousin while Grayson and I checked out a special story time with the New England Conservatory



Circus - new mama friends invited us out to the circus the following morning and I had no idea what a big deal it was here! It was rainy and traffic was horrendous, but I'm glad we made it. When the Cuban dancers ripped off their shirts and busted their moves, Grayson exclaimed, "They in their underwear!" He definitely kept it interesting with all his observations and facial expressions (see him side-eying the clowns here!)



Taza Chocolate Tour - we had rescheduled a chocolate factory tour/story time from when we met Taza at the Boston Public Market (remember here?); it wasn't a full tour as Grayson's a bit young, but we had fun trying the chocolate and learning how it's made; I look forward to writing up more about it and returning with just Nia for a full tour



Kids' March for Science - while it had rained that morning while we were at the chocolate tour, after lunch when it died down we made our way to Boston Common to celebrate Earth Day. After experiencing the Women's March, I was thrilled to see thousands of people show up again for a great cause! There were so many stations for the kids and Uka and I navigated our best to keep them from the most messiest/staining ones


We got a little carried away with the props basket!
Portsmouth, NH (adults only!) - Uka and I made it back north for our friends' "World's Most Interesting Man" party; we were able to stop by the scene of the recent fire too - it was so heartbreaking to see the rubble in person, but I'm thankful no one died or was injured 



YMCA Pool Party - we ended spring break on Sunday with a birthday pool party for one of Nia's classmates; it was at a Y we hadn't been to before, and it's a grander facility than ours so I'm excited to return to check out their program offerings this summer (the kids start back with swimming at our Y this Saturday!)

Now we're just waiting for some consistent sun to show up, and I'm prepping to head into conference season with Mom 2.0 and BlogHer fast approaching. It will be good to be in some sunshine when I head to Florida for the conferences!  

How was your spring break? Do your kids have a super long break too? Mine definitely wasn't so long as a kid! ::jealous::