Denver, CO 2019

We stayed at an Airbnb in Denver and enjoyed walking around Denver each day of our trip. We had a bunch of delicious meals and some ice cream and played at the park near the Airbnb every day. We also visited the Tattered Cover bookstore.

Walking around downtown

We also went hiking west of Denver in Arapaho National Forest, and Kevin and James made it a little farther than me and Miranda and got to see St. Mary's Glacier.

Arapaho National Forest

She's a model

James loving St. Mary's Glacier

Loooks pretty awesome

Family

Jaime came by to visit us in Denver too! Hi Jaime!

Cambridge, MA 2018

We had a fun day in Cambridge. Kevin and I had delicious ramen for lunch at Chick Chick Boom. Then Andrew and Jon met up with us for some turkey sightings and coffee.

 

Chick Chick Boom

 

On the way to get some coffee

Turkey sighting

Turkey crossing!

 

Holiday decorations up in Cambridge

Then we went to the Miracle of Science for dinner and drinks with Casey and Jaime joining us.

 

Kevin, Jon, Casey, and Andrew

 

Clou sandwich

 

Jaime!

Group selfies are awesome

Cape Cod- July 2018

While Kevin and I were shopping for a home in Omaha, the kids stayed a week with Grandma and her best friend Nancy. They also spent a night at Great Aunt Nesie and Great Uncle Steve's and got to see Great Grandma, Great Aunt Mary, and Great Uncle Dickie. Kevin and I also spent 6 days on the Cape seeing family and friends.

Grandma hosting the Clous

Miranda at Follins Pond with family

Follins Pond

Kayaking with Uncle Andrew in Follins Pond

Brewster Scoop with Nancy

Bass Hole Sunset with Andrew and Mary

Backyard pool with Nancy

Backyard pool with Uncle Andrew

Aunt Nesie and Uncle Steve took them to mini golf, bumper boats, and a farm! And then they slept over in their camper for fun.

Mini Golf with Nesie and Steve

Bumper Boats

The farm

The farm with Uncle Steve

Grandma and Nancy took the kids to the terrifying reptile show at the Yarmouth Port Library:

James holding a real alligator

Miranda helping to hold a constrictor snake

Aunt Mary and Uncle Dickie joined everyone else for a party at Great Grandma's assisted living facility.

Party at Great-grandma's Assisted Living

While Kevin and I were on the Cape, we saw most of the family, and our friends Janice, Darren, Ellie, Casey, Jacyn, and Jaime. Janice is planning on being our first visitor in Omaha (tied with Grandma) and I'm super excited to see her again already!

Red Caboose ice cream 

Red Caboose with Janice, Darren, and Ellie 

Red Caboose train

Red Caboose train

WIth Casey and Jacyn

Grandma enjoying the view

Miranda loves Jacyn, James loves this stick.

Family fun

Making smores

Jaime is such an amazing friend, and dare I say, hero? She traveled hours to the Cape and back to enjoy a short visit before we move to Omaha. This despite the fact that I am pretty certain I will see in Omaha this winter as well. We enjoyed a lovely brunch at Grumpy's and a motorcycle parade.

 

Me and Jaime watching the parade

Motorcycle Parade: Big Nick's Ride for the Fallen

We visited Great-grandma some more, Dolores and Dave, the Cape Searles, and spent more quality time at Nesie's. What a long and fulfilling visit!

Another Great-Grandma visit

 

With Dolores's amazing flowers!

 

Dave and Dolores

Andrew, Kathy, Kevin, James, and Miranda at Date and Dolores's

Mayflower Beach with Dad 

 

Miranda, Brielle, and Aunt Megan

Scargo Tower

It's been two weeks since we left Long Island today! And we're off for our one-week road trip! Roadtrip stops: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Coco Key Resort in Omaha. By the time we move into our house in Omaha, we'll have been without an address for 3 weeks! I'm ready to settle in!

Boston 2017

Kevin goes to Boston once a year or more, usually for a sporting event, but I hadn't been since 2010 when I was pregnant with James. Before that, I used to go at least every other year.  I missed Boston but I was a little dubious about a trip in the winter.  But Grandma Kathy offered to babysit in Cape Cod so Boston in the winter it was.

We started with lunch in Cambridge on Tuesday afternoon. It was pretty chilly in the mid-20s. We went to the Crema cafe and got delicious sandwiches on pretzel bread, and warmed up with coffee and chai tea.  We started in Cambridge because there are two great bookstores in Cambridge: Raven books and Harvard Bookstore. It was heaven for bookworms and we bought 8 remaindered books altogether. We also cut through Harvard Yard.

 

Kevin at Raven Books

Harvard Yard- the first time I was here I was 16. Over 22 years ago!

Our hotel was in Copley Square, so we went back, checked in, changed and went to our free hotel happy hour. Then we walked over to the Boston Public Library and looked at the amazing John Singer Sargent murals. We walked down Newberry Street and the nearby streets looking at the stores and Christmas decorations.

Christmas tree selfie in Copley Square

Boston Public Library

John Singer Sargent murals

My favorite. The blue goddess is amazing looking.

Then we went to a lovely Mexican restaurant Lolita where we met Jaime for dinner and drinks. It's a really cute place and the drinks were especially good. Jaime and I have our own little long-distance book club of 2, so we talked about those books with Kevin and discussed some future reads. I'd never been to "Top of the Pru" in all my visits to Boston so even though Kevin was dubious, we got one drink there. Now I can say I did.

Jaime, me, and Kevin at Lolita Mexican restaurant

Oh yeah they gave us cotton candy after dinner!

Top of the Pru!

Making my (sort of Jewish) friend pose in front of a big Christmas ornament

Wednesday was much colder than Tuesday, with temperatures in the mid-teens. We hustled to a nearby breakfast diner, the famous Charlie’s Sandwich Shoppe. But it was too cold to keep walking so we took the T to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. It's a small beautiful museum that was the former home of art-collecter Isabella Stewart Gardner, and which is most known for the famous 1990 robbery of its paintings including paintings by Degas, Manet, Rembrandt and Vermeer.

Attempt to get pictures of famous people behind my selfie at Charlie's

 

In front of the house's Spanish-style courtyard

 

A part of the house with a painting of a Spanish Cafe and abbey replica

Kevin + Mosaic

 

Stolen painting fram

 

Jazz band in the beautiful courtyard

View from the top of the house

After warming up in the museum, we got brave about the cold again and walked along The Fens. We walked over to another- bookstore- the Trident Bookstore Cafe and looked through but it didn't have deals as good as Raven Books and the Harvard Bookstore. I was exhausted. We had a little nap back at the hotel, and then after a failed attempt at waiting outside a ramen shop, we ended up having delicious Cambodian food at Kim Pang.

The Fens- it is so cold and all the ground is ice ice ice.

We took the T to the Museum of Fine Arts. Our first stop was the Takashi Murakami exhibit. Then we made our way through other parts of the museum that interested us, but ooh boy was I tired by then. I kept looking at my Fitbit, and by the end of the day I was up to 20K steps.

Thankfully, our final activity for the trip involved sitting. We saw the Strauss Symphony of America at Boston Symphony Hall. The performance is inspired by Vienna's beloved New Year's Concert, conductor Michael Zehetner, soprano Jennifer Davison, tenor Matjaž Stopinšek, and dancers from Kiev-Aniko Ballet.

 

Me at the Murakami exhibit

Murakami exhibit

Regular exhibits at MFA

Strauss Symphony of America


Boston Symphony Hall selfie


Strauss Symphony of America

A successful no-kids trip to Boston!