Pawtuckaway and Hopkinton.. two fun days!

Labor Day weekend!  We were completely free to do whatever we wanted!  It was quite exciting.  True to form we spent the actual Labor Day.. laboring!  We got a lot of yard work done!  But the first part of the weekend was all fun and games!  We decided to go to Pawtuckaway State Park, it was a nice day and they have a few options on things to do!  We decided to have lunch first.. which was delayed a bit because the kids wanted to play in the water.. The initial plan was to eat lunch, do a hike, then come back to the beach and put on bathing suits and swim... turns out you should never plan anything :)

Notice the dragonfly on Cora's head!!? haha!  Three kids means three heads.. which means disagreement.  The two younger ones wanted to play in the water, Caden wanted to play on the playground.. so I took water duty.. clothes, not suits.. and amazingly they stayed fairly dry!

Rob took playground duty (it was hot in the sun!)  

Finally we met on the playground and played  bit more before we decided it was time for our hike... hike being a relative term.. Cole is instantly tired, and while Cora is a trooper we can't go too far because a two year old just isn't ready to hike long distances.. and well, we all know she is too big to carry!!

So we went on more of a walk.. Caden and I found interesting things to take pictures of.  It is fun to have a photo buddy!

These water bugs were interesting!

We saw LOTS of mushrooms

Our crazy kids!

Alligator tree

Our little Amazon woman!  We made it!  Probably not much more than a mile, but we all walked it!  Rogers' family in training for.. hmmm, maybe just a little bit longer hike!

Sunday we checked out the Hopkinton Fair.. The Sevins are seasoned veterans to this fair and gave us a tip to go early!  Great idea, because we avoided a bunch of the crowds.. AND a lot of the heat.  By the time we left it was super crowded and SUPER hot.. ugh not a fan!  But we are of course fans of fair food.  While Rob and Caden were off getting fried dough Cole and Cora shared a cotton candy.

Weekend as a Single Mom...

Yes!  I will do this!  I am only two months behind!  Could be worse right?!  Thankfully, once I started getting really behind I stopped taking as many photos knowing that I would eventually have to do something with them!  Must be some sort of survival instinct!

Anyway.. Rob was off on his annual man-cation with his BU rowing friends... boy would I have liked to be a fly on a wall in Denver! They are so silly when they all get together.

The fun began on Thursday night when Rob had a softball game, so Kelly and I took the five kids to Kids Night which kicks off Londonderry's Old Home Days activities!  Another thing about being a single Mom is that you are also the only pack mule, so carrying every one's things and corralling them constantly also puts a damper on photo taking!

Did I mention I got to hold the three kids balloon items while they went in the bounce houses? carrying around 2 swords, a butterfly and three pairs of shoes and a backpack = no photos!

I ran out of money... so Kelly took the kids on the train! Next year I'll be better prepared!

Friday was the last day of British Soccer Camp!  It is a very well run camp that comes to town each year.  well worth it! I only got to watch the last day of camp.. and I was shutling back and forth to home for swim lessons for the other two.. and once back on the field we shuttled back and forth to the port-a-potty which was literally 200 yards away from where they were playing.. not sure why it was so far away.. but it was very inconvenient! Needless to say... again, no plethera of photos!

At the end of each day they play a 'World Cup' Tournament.  Caden was on the Argentina team.. and they won the cup!  You can see the camp director on the left.. clearly from Scotland!  He was hilarious!

After camp we went to Caden's Elementary School where they posted the classroom assignments!  It was very exciting getting to see who Caden's teacher was going to be and if he knew anyone in his class!

Friday night was Old Home Days Fireworks!  Pizza and cheesy bread for the road!

Cora and Charlotte walked around hooked together by glow necklaces all night!

No room for the tripod in the wagon, this was not my opportunity to practice fun fireworks pictures!

Saturday morning we trekked ourselves to the parade!  Luckily with the removal of a side, the wagon acted perfectly as a bench!

Cora was a little apprehensive with the noise of the bagpipes, cannons, fire engines, etc.  You can see she doesn't know whether to clap or close up her hands to cover her ears!

The ears won!

After the parade we ventured to the town common where vendors are set up and you can get 'free stuff'! play games, and do other fun activites. 

Sunday my Mom, my savior :) came to watch the kids while Kelly and I went in to Boston for a photo walk in Back Bay! (her birthday treat!)  Super fun to just go off in dtake photos without worrying if you are holding anyone up!  They offer other walks in other areas of the city as well.. I am sure Beacon Hill has some great shots!  But here a couple of my favorites from our day.

Staycation - Part 2

Our Staycation continued! With mini golf at Mel's Funway Park.

Don't let this picture fool you!! Mini golf isn't fast paced enough for Cole... he didn't do much traditional putting, but he did like pushing it around like a hockey puck and retrieving the balls from the hole.

Caden was a pro.  I think this is the first summer where he really gets how the game works.

Cole enjoyed the ball bridges :)

And they stood still for just long enough to get all three together!

And of course you can't leave without having ice cream!

Rob had a game that night so we went to watch, but more importantly play on the playground!

Friday we went to the beach!  We ventured to Crane Beach in Ipswich to meet up with the Padgett's!

Baby-Padge got to test the chilly water a bit with his toes!

Caden was in his mood, and didn't enjoy the beach until we were ready to leave.. typical!

Cole loves the beach and could've laid in the much warmer tide pools all day long!

Could anyone get much happier at the beach?!

Oh wait!  he just did!

Cole practicing his Ostrich pose.

A beautiful day at the beach and a visit to Russell Orchards for some Cider Donuts and a peek at the animals!