Beantown...minus the beans

Clemson was playing Boston College this past weekend in football. Since it had been 7 years since we'd seen a game, we decided on a little road trip. Although Clemson lost (boooooooooo), it was a great historical trip.

Ok, here are the boys after our 9 hour drive. They were loaded with energy.

The next morning we headed out, and our first stop was Fenway Park.

We took a little boat ride around the harbor...and I just love taking pictures of the U.S. flag flying..

As the boat moved, Elijah got more and more relaxed and just started chillin..

We visited the Boston Children's Museum. Close to the entrance was this 3-story netted climbing structure. I think it also doubled as a piece of art.



Here's the Old North Church....the steeple was home to the famous 2 lanterns being hung to warn that the British were coming by sea. I wish I had my dad's history brain. This town screams history!!



On a bus ride, Elijah got so tired. We were going to be on there for a while so I told him to just lay his head down on my lap. He was out fast!...a heavy sleep, too. People kept bumping into him as they walked by, and he never moved!
Harrison was tired, too...but when he gets tired, he gets a little grumpy. :(

Ok....a little from the losing game. :( BC does ave beautiful campus. We walked around a little before the game.

Our team getting ready to run onto the field!! It was awesome to just take in the feeling of college football once again!


Sometimes....my boys' energy - I just don't get where it comes from!!! After an already long day, we were waiting on the T (Metro), and Zachary (and his brothers) were just about bouncing off the walls! Zachary started climbing behind the signs at the stop. There are multiple ones without an actual sign, so I got him to pretend he was te ad!

One year ago...

One year ago today, we left my home - we left Arizona. Yesterday was Halloween, and I wasn't in the mood for partying. Halloween was always a special time in AZ. All holidays were special with my friends. Last Halloween, as most, I gathered with my girlfriends and the boys trick-or-treated. It was extremely simple and completely enjoyable. Those families became MY family...

Time passes...time is supposed to heal all wounds...my wounds continue to heal slowly, periodically being scratched back open...it'll be ok

BUT, Halloween this year...we drove back from Boston to enjoy trick-or-treating wit our neighbors. The boys had a blast, and I enjoyed walking and talking with some neighbor moms...and a dad! :)

Burning the flag.....it's NOT what you think

At the Scout meeting/camp out we attended last night, we were witnesses to a very special ceremony. The Pack Leader (Joe) was given an old, worn out U.S. flag to dispose of properly. (This family friend also happens to be a concentration camp survivor). Joe researched the manner in which to discard Old Glory and had the Scouts help.

Some of the youngest Scouts (the Tigers - Elijah included) led, holding the old flag to the fire. Then each of the other Scouts followed behind and threw a small stick into the fire. At this point they circled the fire and Joe spoke to the group. The flag was to be cut into 4 sections. The blue/stars was to be its own section - not being cut signifying the unity of the states. Then each piece was individually placed into the fire and burned...with the stars being the last. We remained there quietly until the flag was no longer visible in the fire. Once the ashes were cool, they would be gathered and dispersed in Burke Lake Park where we were meeting.

Now, I know my boys may not have realized the significance of this, but I know they will remember it. I, for one, get teary-eyed whenever I sing the National Anthem. The ceremony itself...remembering our country's soldiers....remembering our country's past...and thinking of the life of the man who owned this flag....

Cub Scouts - Harrison's Bobcat

When joining Scouts, one of the first things a boy must due is earn their Bobcat badge - no matter what their age. At tonight's Pack meeting/campout, Harrison received his. I thought it was just a plain ol' badge like every other one he'd get. ..but it was a very special ceremony, made even more-so by being out in God's wonderful outdoors!

Several different Den Leaders took turns putting different colored stripes onto Harrison's face. Here, one of his own Bear Den leaders, Ron Seibert (and also father of Harrison's good buddy, Ben), paints one of these stripes onto him.

Harrison also had an opportunity to paint some white onto my nose - signifying purity of heart. (I wish Brian had been able to attend this one) Here he is once we got home. Notice the Bobcat badge on his left pocket is upside down. It has to remain that way until he does a good deed! :)

Following are just some other pictures I took from this evening, starting with a great game of kickball that even Zachary got into! I believe he kicked a grand slam his first go-around.


Following are just a few pictures of the trees that Elijah and I thought were beautiful. The first one is of smoke from campfires drifting through the trees and sunlight.

Here is their fearless Pack Leader, Joe Margraf, giving them guidance before a pre-dinner hike.

Sorry, Joe.....Harrison wasn't listening for a minute and I had to take a picture. I did make him stop after this. :)

One of the Pack rules is to always have a buddy wherever you go....a great rule, but I think Elijah took it too seriously. He would not let go of his buddy's arm (Zachary) for a while!

Dinner!!! They grilled hot dogs and hamburgers for us. Harrison and Ben sure enjoyed theirs. :)

And finally...this was a cool tree Zachary found that was hollow a good bit of the way up. I tried to get a picture of the stick Zachary was using to see how far up the hollow section was.

Scouting at the fire station

Elijah's Tiger Cub Pack went to an open house at the local fire station. Brian took him and Harrison and brought back pictures. Yay!

While his leader, Mrs. Grass, was talking to the boys, Elijah seemed more fascinated with her oldest son. :)

Any trip is made better with bagpipes!!!

Elijah is part of a 12-boy pack. It is huge. I think most of the boys made it to the fire station yesterday.

Grandpa McAlister would be proud. Apparently he loved being in the ambulance. :)

A local Taekwondo dojang was there teaching the boys a little. Elijah has been asking to take taekwondo like Harrison, so I know he enjoyed this.

They even let all the kids use the fire hose. What a blast. I would've gotten in line for this had I been there!

Notice, how the lollipop never leaves during hose time :)

Harrison got a turn, too.

They even had a mascot for all those photo opportunities. :)

It's always cool to see them in all of their gear.

Now, we have to work on and practice an escape plan for our home in case of a fire - not only because it's a smart idea but also because it's one of the Tiger Cub requirements. Elijah and Harrison both seem to be enjoying Scouting so far. I know Brian is excited to have them involved. He still has his uniform from when he was a Boy Scout. I told him he should wear it to the next meeting. That'd be wild!

Zachary's hair

Zachary seems to really enjoy coloring his hair...and not just shades slightly off of his natural color. His latest wish was to have black, so after we got it trimmed today, the black went on! He really liked it, but made my heart skip a beat at first. When he first got out of the shower he was crying - only tricking me into thinking he didn't like it! What a stinker!

Cooking some soup!

At the beginning of this week, we had some wonderful, cool weather! In an attempt to WILL that weather back and stay - I decided to make some soup today....that and Elijah has been asking for soup for days! :) Potato soup is what we decided on.

Here I am sauteing some the celery and bacon grease!!! It called for butter, but since I don't do dairy, I used the bacon grease!!



Here I added some chicken broth and flour. It also called for half & half...but again no dairy, I used lite coconut milk.


Time for some potatoes!


It's looking soooo yummy. I let it cook for about 4 hours!



And finally, time to eat! I put some Wheat Thins sticks in there. I realized afterwards I should've cut the potatoes smaller. My 'soup' ended up more like a stew, but it was still good!

My Sewing Son

My mom gave me a sewing machine (that had been my Grandma's!!) a long time ago and it has just been sitting....sitting....sitting - all alone and untouched. Zachary used a friend's sewing machine in AZ and has been asking to make something. There were just SEW many other things going on, that I kept putting it off. Zachary is very persistent though! SEW, we finally got it all together today, and Zachary made a pillow.

Here is Zachary starting his first stitches!


He might have had a little too much fun with the stuffing! :)



Harrison wasn't happy that he wasn't allowed to join in. This is a fake frown, but he really was frowning early on!


The final product! His soft, pillow!!! Zachary was so excited to do this project. and very proud with his final product!