Time to fly home

Well, that's it sports fans. Our bags are packed, the girls are showering and all that is left for us to do is have breakfast and wait for the limo service to take us back to the airport so we can fly home.



It has truly been a blast.



As is always the case, it is on that last full day that you find something amazing and last night, it was, for me a sandwich. We were walking near the hotel down Rue St. Honore and we stopped into a sandwich shop for some snacks. I picked up a sandwich called a "Croque Monsieur" at a sandwich shop called "Un Moment Gourmand". Little did I know at the time what I discovered.



When we got back to the room, I took a bite and fell in love. It was like a grilled cheese and ham but it had melted cheese on top as well and was heated Pannini style. Sophia and Georgia had some too and before I knew it, the sandwich was gone. I had to get another. (Sorry Don Cheney, no Royal with Cheese moment for me this trip.)



I ran down to the shop as they were closing and the sandwiches were gone. The person behind the counter recognized me and I pointed to where the sandwiches were. She was putting them away and had two left and I purchased them. I asked about the cheese and it was Gruyierre. (I'll be making them at home for sure!)



As I was leaving I noticed a tube of Chestnut paste (similar to Almond Paste) which I had in a few crepes during the week. I asked to purchase a small tube and the lady behind the counter gave me a huge tube at no cost to take home. People have been so great to us here. The French have been incredibly hospitable. It's the Italians that have been the pains to deal with. They cut you off when walking, invade your personal space and push you out of the way.



Also, I had been telling the girls about the Nutella and Banana crepes and they finally had the chance to experience them last night. They're hooked.



On an unrelated note, take a look at the picture below. You "Da Vinci Code" buffs will recognize it.



Remember the end of the movie where Tom Hanks figures out where the crypt of the Mary is? Well, it's not really like that and the inverted glass pyramid above is actually in a mall that adjoins the Louvre underground. Sorry to ruin it for you all!

Wednesday, April 23rd

Last Day. We're spent. Kids are tired. We're on a quest for Crepes today and the girls and I are seeing if we can each eat three!

Here's a picture of our hotel - Hotel du Louvre.

We'll be home tomorrow afternoon.

Tuesday, April 22nd

Renting a car and driving to Monet's Garden and Omaha Beach.




What a day.





If you are going to rent a car in Paris, the following quote applies from Jerry Seinfeld when it comes to insurance, "Give me every type of coverage because I'm going to beat the hell out of this thing!" We wound up with a Toyota Prius and it was great. In Paris, drive like you don't care and there are no other cars on the road because it's a giant game of cutting everyone off because you are the center of the universe. It was so great!

Just close your eyes and hit the gas! - Sandy took this while I drove

Once we got onto the highway known as A13, it was fantastic. People here know how to drive. You stay to the right except to pass and you don't stay in the middle or left lanes. It makes for much easier and faster driving.





We went to Giverny where Monet's famous gardens are. Truly spectacular and we now have a lot of inspiration for our back yard.

Monet's Water Garden

Then another two hours to the D-Day beaches. Truly awe inspiring to see the tombstones, the pillboxes and to walk on Omaha Beach and think about the footage we have seen growing up and realize that allof it took place where you were standing.

More than 9,000 US soldiers that never made it off the beaches on D-Day are buried here

This is looking down from the hills onto Omaha Beach

We did manage to have our own "Look kids - Big Ben, Parliament!" moment. Even though we had GPS in our rental car, when we left the US Cemetary, it had us go a different way to get back to the A13. As we followed the directions, we noticed the same farm houses and walls adn eventually realized we were going in circles in the French countryside. We took matters into our own hands and after about a half hour, found our way. We kept saying "Look kids, Big Ben Parliament!" but they didn't get it. We did. Clark Griswold would have been proud.

Monday, April 21st

EURODISNEY!!! (Walley World for you Family Vacation fans!!")

On Monday, most things are shut down, but not good old EuroDisney and with all the walking and driving we have done and will be doing, the kids deserved it! Plus, Georgia has never been to Disney so it was a special treat.

To quote Clarke Griswold, "We were on a quest, a quest for fun!!"

It's a 45 minute train ride from Paris and the train takes you right there. It's smaller than Disney World and hearing things in French takes some getting used to. It was raining on and off but it was a blast just the same. One thing we noticed is that parents don't mess around when kids are misbehaving and we saw more kids get whacked upside the head or behind in just the line for the Dumbo ride that we see back home in a year.

We're not tourists, we're Devo!

We're having so much friggin fun!!!

The first ride we went on was Space Mountain. It's a bit different here. Over hear, Space Mountain does a few corkscrew rolls where you go upside down. The girls were in front of us and because it was so dark, we couldn't see a thing. When the ride ended and the lights came on, we couldn't see Sophia or Georgia and our worst fears of them falling out was running through our minds. They were ok and laughing - they got smooshed down into the seat. Take a look at the picture that was taken while we were on the ride and you'll understand what I mean (sorry it's sideways!)

Parenting at it's best!

They also had in the other park, Disney Studios, "The Tower of Terror!" Of course, Georgia, Sophia and John went on it!

Sunday, April 20th

Notre Dame, Monmarte and the Champs D'Elysses today.



Here's the painting Sandy bought at Mont Marte and the painter she bought it from.

Us at L'Arc de Triumphe

Saturday, April 19th

We've been too busy to blog and with the incorrect converter, no computer power. (Today is actually our last day and everyone is sleeping in so I'm updating things. I'll do the updates by day. Starting with Saturday.

As I mentioned earlier, Sandy was sick for most of Sunday but rallied at the end of the day to meet, Georgia, Sophia and I under the Eiffel Tower. Here pictures from the first day.

(Sorry - accessing the files is tricky and I can't rotate them well)

We're here - Clarke Griswold Would Be Proud

First and foremost, I don't have the correct converter so blogging might stop soon.

But, what a time we've had so far...

When we landed in Paris, we were told that we (the four of us) had to stay on the plane! Apparently, they had our niece Georgia registered as an unaccompanied minor and they wouldn't let us take her off the plane!!! After everyone else had deplaned, we were ushered to to the front, asked to sit down and surrounded by Air France personnel. When we explained that we had the Power of Attorney letter and that no one in Boston gave her an unaccompanied minor badge, they looked at each other and told us to have a nice trip.

Then, as we are in the shuttle being driven into Paris by the Stevie Ray Vaughn listening driver, Sandy starts to feel sick. When we got to the hotel, she jumped out, went around the corner and christened a wall so to speak. We think she has a touch of food poisoning.

The hotel did everything they could to get a room ready for us but it wasn't until 12:30 so we went to the Louvre and saw a few things.

Sandy toughed it out and we wound up sitting in the lobby for 45 minutes. What a great hotel staff - the person running the front desk walked us to our room.. They explained that the hotel has a three person / room rule but that because of the time we've had so far, they would look the other way. Plus, they came back and gave us gifts for the girls. So, big thumbs up for the Hotel de Louvre!

Jet lag has kicked in and we're going to nap.

The internet connection is really slow and doesn't let me download pictures so between not having the right converter and slow connections, pictures may have to wait until we get home.

I think the spirit of Clark is with us.

T-Minus One Hour To Takeoff!!

Wahoo! We're here and ready to get on the plane.

Here's a picture of the ride up...

(Left to right - Sandy, Georgia, Sophia)

Time to shut down and board the plane...

5 DAYS TO PARIS!

WE'RE IN THE 5 DAY COUNTDOWN TO PARIS!!!

We hope that we'll have time each night to post pictures and stories of what we've been able to see and do.

Stay tuned...

Our First Ski Weekend - Sophia Surprised Us Again!

We had our first ski trip of the season this weekend up at Mount Cranmore in North Conway, New Hampshire. The weather was warm and there weren't many trails open. In fact it was like skiing on a Slurpee but it didn't matter because it was fantastic!

I didn't learn how to ski until I was 17 but have managed to do well and get better every time I ski and after 20 years finally got new skis and boots this year and what a difference they made. It was the best day of skiing that I've ever had. Some things do get better as I get older and this is definately one of them. But this wasn't what made the day amazing. It was what happened toward the end of the day that made it a day I'll never forget.

Over the past three years, we've gone skiing once a year and we've had Sophia go to ski school for a day each time. We wanted her to learn the right way with the hopes that she would enjoy it and it would be something she could do for the rest of her life. We signed her up for ski school as usual and watched her for a while just before lunch at the instructional hill figuring that we would pick her up at 3 pm and call it a day.

So, at around 2:30 I was going down a trail and came up on a ski instructor with four kids he was guiding. As I got closer, I noticed that one of the kids looked a bit like Sophia. I got closer and the one that looked like Sophia said "Hi Dad!" I was in shock and wound up wiping out. A classic Dad move. I got myself up, walkie-talkied Sandy who was at the base of the mountain that I just skied next to Sophia and she couldn't believe it either. I caught up to Sophia and her group again and told her I'd meet her at the bottom. She got down with her group and we went over to her to tell her how proud we were of her. She was grinning from ear to ear. She said she was proud of herself too! The instructor said that she was ready to go down the hill so they decided to let her try and that she could ski with me for the rest of the day so she and I headed for the chair lift for our first ever father-daughter ski run. Here's a picture of us at the end of our first run together (Sophia is in the blue outfit and I'm the one that looks like a fat creamsicle catching up to her!)


She's fast. Way to fast and I had to keep up with her! I was actually scared at how fast and how well she did. We had time and we did it again. She took one heck of a spill and I thought that she hurt herself. As I got to her, she stood up and said "That was great! Let's keep going!"

Sophia and I have different nicknames for each other for different activities and I told her that her skiing nickname shoud be "Speed Demon". And, in return, she told me I should be "The Fat Creamsicle" because my ski clothes are orange and white. Maybe she's growing up too fast.

Here's a few more photos of the daredevil daughter and one proud father!


It was truly an amazing day and we went to dinner that night at the Peking which is a Chinese restaurant in North Conway that has some of the best Chinese food we've ever had. Here's a picture of the daredevil with her victory Shirley Temple.

We came home tonight so refreshed that it feels like we went on a week's vacation.

So, now that Sophia really can ski, our plans are to go skiing every free weekend we have for the remainder of this winter and Sandy is going to ski with us too! Sophia will still go to ski school on Saturdays so that she can learn all the right things, then ski with us for a while. Then we'll enjoy Cranapalooza (free concerts, smores by the outdoor fires with hot chocolate), hit the tubing hill and enjoy the fireworks. Not a bad way to spend weekends this winter.

I had always hoped that we would be able to do this as a family and I am still in awe of the fact that this is actually happening. It's better than I ever imagined it would be and Sandy and I are amazed by Sophia yet again.

It's been a while since the last posting and since then we celebrated the holidays and added to our zoo!

Since the last posting to the blog, we've celebrated Christmas and the New Year and we had a wonderful holiday season. We did a lot of ice skating (pictures below) and with the unseasonably warm weather, we even managed to go mountain biking!


It was such a wonderful holiday that we felt like we were on vacation for a month.

Plus, there's a new addition to our zoo - a miniature daschsund we have named Andouille (pronounced on-dew-wee - like the sausage)!


On the first day of the winter vacation, Sandy and Sophia were out for a mother-daughter day and came across this little guy in a pet shop. They had me come back that night to meet him and I knew that he would be coming home with us regardless of what I thought. You could just tell that Sandy and Sophia had already decided but I told them we needed to think about it more.

The next day, while Sophia was at the home of one of her friends, Sandy and I brought our beagle, Emma, to the pet shop to meet this puppy. An hour later, he was on his way to our home. I reserved naming rights on this puppy and he reminded me of a sausage and since I love to make Cajun/Creole food, the name Andouille was a perfect fit. We call him Douille (pronounced "Doo-wee") a lot.

About 18 hours after he came home, Sandy noticed he wasn't eating or drinking and was pretty lethargic. She brought him to the veterinarian and he wound up in intensive care for three days with an IV in one of his paws. It was horrible and he recovered pretty quickly. The veterinarian wasn't sure what was wrong with him but we were allowed to bring him home two days before Christmas and we got a great Christmas gift in that the place we got him from paid the $1,500+ in veterinarian bills for his three days in intensive care.

Andouille and Emma get along well and Emma treats Andouille like he is her puppy. He's tiny. he weighs about 4 pounds and is now 11 weeks old and he sure has a big heart. He's still getting used to running and it's pretty cute to watch his front end go one way and his back end slide the other way, especially on the wood floors. During the day the two of them spend a lot of time playing with (chewing on) each other and sleeping.

So the zoo got a little bigger this holiday season and our home got a little crazier. We wouldn't have it any other way!

Thanksgiving 2006 - What A Great Holiday We Had

It's the day after Thanksgiving and what a great time we had. We celebrated the holiday at Sandy's sister Sue's house up in Portland, Maine.

What a feast! We dined on a 37-1/2 pound turkey, stuffing, vegetables grown in Sue's father-in-law Allen's greenhouse and tons of pies.

In addition to a fantastic feast, the grown-ups were treated to an original play by the children that was both written after and performed a few hours after we ate.
The cast and director above (from left to right) Eddie Prevost, Sam Prevost, Effie Smith Drew (director), Georgia Smith Drew, Sophia Kozlowsky.


We ate well, laughed and had such a nice time.

We even brought our dog, Emma, with us and the picture below was taken before we sat down to eat! The drinking started early!


GOBBLE, GOBBLE!

A Great Weekend For The Folks At Sleepy Hollow Drive

It's turning into a beautiful fall here in New England. The foliage has been fantastic and the weather is great. It's going by too fast and Halloween is almost here.

This weekend, a few of our neighbors, Carol Parma and Stacey Antonino, arranged for the families in the neighborhood that wanted to go on a hay ride into a pumpkin patch, go through a straw maze and go cranberry picking in a cranberry bog at a farm called Bog Hollow Farms nearby. It was great. I have included a few pictures below. We are so lucky to have such great neighbors!

Hugo Chavez, Go Back To Venezuela And Take Danny Glover With You

So, Hugo Chavez, the outspoken President of Venezuela and South American whack-job comes to New York and blasts President Bush at the United Nations. Then he makes a speech the next day in Harlem at a church in which he continues to bash President Bush and Danny Glover, the actor of "Lethal Weapon" fame greets him there with open arms.

I'll be the first one to agree that President Bush hasn't been our best president and doesn't appear to be the brightest guy out there, but he is, after all, the President of the United States. In the past the Office of the President of the United States was respected world-wide, or rather, international politics was more civil.

For Hugo Chavez to come to the United Nations in New York, blast President Bush and get laughs from the United Nations audience and then to be allowed to go to a church in Harlem and continue it is just plain wrong! Before Hugo Chavez opens his fat face again, he really needs to look at his own country which has an unemployment rate of 12.3% and a per capita income of $5,800 but sits on top of an oil reserve. He should focus on making life better for the citizens of his own country instead of coming to the United States and taking shots at our President.

I wonder if he is compensating for his own failures and shortcomings (both public, personal and anatomical) by making the remarks that he does.

What is this world (and country) coming to when the leader of a small, third-world country can waltz on into the US and blast the President and an actor that got lucky with a series of movies but has been a hack actor prior to and since the Lethal Weapon movies supports him.

Here's where it really gets outrageous! The US pays Citgo (The US subsidiary of the Venezuelan State Owned Petroleum Company) $5 more a barrel over market prices based on a 20 year-old agreement according to the New York Times in an article titled Hugo Chavez Gets US Handouts published on August 20th, 2006! Looks like its time to ban oil imports from Venezuela to the US. We could claim that continued oil imports from Venezuela at higher than market prices are a threat to national security! I wonder if the citizens of Venezuela with the $5,800 per capita income would still keep Chavez in power then?

Based on the events this week that unfolded as a result of Chavez, I would love to see the following:

• Chavez gets a one way ride to the US Southern Border in the back of a truck and is told to find his way home (screw diplomatic immunity!)
• Danny Glover has his citizenship revoked and is sent packing with Chavez
• Citgo is shut down by US regulators and all oil imports from Venezuela are banned in the US
  
• The big Citgo sign near Fenway Park suffers an unexplanable loss of power
  
• The United Nations is given 30 days notice to vacate the property because the City of New York takes over the property by eminent domain to build a new stadium for the Yankees
  

These are just my thoughts but I bet a lot of folks are thinking the same way right now!

I'd love your comments on this one.

It's Almost Fall Which Means A Fantastic Show Of Color Here In New England

As we approach October, one of the most amazing things about being here is the show of colors nature produces this time of year.

Cranberry bogs are located throughout this part of Massachusetts and the annual cranberry harvest is underway. Driving around today, I came across this bog and had to snap the photo below.



In a few weeks the leaves will explode with color and the orchards will be in full gear for apple picking. It's a great time of year!

We Are Saddened By The Passing Of Our Hamster, Cutie

It's a sad evening at the Kozlowsky household as we mourn the passing of our hamster, Cutie.

He was a gift to Sophia for her starting to read a few years ago and was an affectionate little bugger. We originally thought that Cutie was a girl and it took us a year to realize she was a he. Cutie was 2-1/2 which is about 6 months beyond the normal life expectancy of a hamster. A few months ago he developed a bladder infection which was the result of a stone in his bladder and a maintence dose of antiobiotics kept him going for the past few months.

He had a knack for getting out of his cage and after a few days on the loose we always found him inside a baseboard heater or behind the refridgerator. One time he managed to crawl between the main and top floors of our house and we had to cut a hole in a closet floor to try and get him out. Our cat, Jello, and dog, Emma, were really gentle with Cutie and we're amazed that Jello never got a hold of Cutie and used him as a toy or a meal.

Cutie will be missed.

Nature, Nature Everywhere And Even In The House!

Tonight, while I was up on a ladder painting some exterior trim, I heard a commotion coming from inside the house. I climbed down and went inside to see what it was. I was surprised to see Sophia and our neighbors Jack and Mackenzie taking turns holding a huge dragonfly on their fingers that flew into the house. The kids were great with it and after we took the pictures (below) we brought it outside and set it on a plant outside. It was really cool!

Sophia And The Dragonfly

Jack And The Dragonfly

Mackenzie And The Dragonfly

It's Official...Summer Has Come To An End

Today was Sophia's last day of summer vacation and tomorrow she starts first grade. She is nervous and excited.

We went to the open house this morning to see her new classroom, get her supplies where they need to go and meet her teachers. At her school, she will be in the same classroom for first, second and third grade. She knows a lot of the kids in her classroom that will be in second and third grade and her friend Samantha who will be one of the second graders helped Sophia get situated today.

Being the last day of summer, we did what we always do on the evening before school starts which is to go down to the harbor, get ice cream at Peaceful Meadows and sit by the water while we eat our ice cream and look out at the boats. For Sophia it's a chance to get ice cream and for me it's the chance to go to a place that doesn't change from year to year and think about the changes that have taken place during the past year and think about how Sophia has changed over the past year.

It's hard to believe that Sophia is going into first grade. It's amazing to see our little girl growing up.

Our Thoughts And Prayers Go Out To The Family Of Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter

We were saddened by the death of Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter, this morning. Through the years we have watched Steve Irwin on a regular basis and the passion and enthusiasm that he shared will be missed by us.

Sophia said she will miss most how funny he was.

Sandy will miss most his sense of humor.

John will miss most his passion, enthusiasm and his ability to teach about and share with us the creatures he cared about so much.

He was truly one of a kind.

A Blast From My Past! (Just call me Dumbass!)

When I mentioned to some folks that we started a family blog and they reviewed the entries, my good friend, and former boss, who resides in Alabama, Richard Schlinkert, saw the entry about the backyard and how we are planning to expand it to incorporate another koi pond and reminded me that there was a picture in existence from when we expanded the yard a few years ago which showed my skills at driving a Bobcat. (It's amazing what you can rent from Taylor Rental as long as you provide them with a driver's license and credit card!) I lost my copy and he was nice enough to e-mail it to me tonight.

I'm not always the most careful person and when you look at the picture below, there's really only one term to describe it which my friend Dennis Varner from Kentucky shared with me many years ago which is:

DUMBASS!

So, if you need any help with heavy equipment and are up-to-date on your homeowner's insurance, just give me a call and I'll be there to help and show you how it's done!

Another reason why we love where we live!

Earlier this week, I wrote that we really love where we live.

I wanted to touch on this subject further.

We've got some trails around the lakes behind our street that are great for hiking, running and mountain biking. Those who know me well know that cycling was a huge part of my life growing up. It kept me in great shape and was an escape from the day-to-day pressures and routines of life and damn near killed me in college. Once I moved to Boston, I stopped doing it.

When Sophia said goodbye to her training wheels this June, Sandy and I decided to get mountain bikes of our own so that we could take advantage of this and, as a family, this is something that we could all do together. Plus, it would get me back on the bike which is a part of my life that was missing. We realized really quickly that Sophia's Barbie bike just wouldn't cut it on the trails and she got a mountain bike of her own. (Seth and Kurt at Serious Cycles in Plymouth really set-us up well on bikes and gave us some great deals. If you live around here and need a bike, make sure you go see them!)

Since then, Sophia and I have done our best to hit the trails every chance we get. The picture below is an aerial view of where we live so that you can see how close this is to us and the route we take.


Sophia has done a great job of mastering the bike and the trails. Lately, we've had a lot of rain and this has produced some huge puddles for us to ride through. It's a blast!

We are so fortunate to have such a great resource as Morton Park so close to us. It lets us block out the outside world and spend that precious time together that we will have less of when Sophia gets older.

It's so amazing to see Sophia grow-up and to be able to hit the trails together and talk. We have great conversations about everything you can imagine. Some serious, some not so serious. Sometimes we don't talk much and focus on riding fast and hard. Sometimes we sing. Usually, at the end of the ride we talk about what was good and bad about it. The bottom line is that I get to share my love of cycling with my child and pass this on to her while at the same time I get to see her think ahead about how she is going to handle the obstacles ahead of her and execute her plan to make it from start to finish. Sometimes things don't go according to plan and she falls or has to get off the bike. Sometimes everything goes right and her feet always stay on the pedals. Two things are for sure - no two rides are the same and she always finishes. She's too young to realize it but she's gaining skills and confidences on that bike that will help her get through life. I am fortunate that she wants to do this with her old man. As Sophia gets older, I hope that she will continue to want to ride with her father. I have the feeling she will and, as she grows and faces new things, I hope that we will be able to hop on our bikes, hit the trails and talk. Maybe sometimes we'll just ride and sing.

We are truly blessed.

I have included a few pictures below from tonight's ride. If you come to visit, bring your bike and we'll hit the trails together!

It's Official! The Kozlowsky Family Backyard Certified As A National Wildlife Federation Backyard Wildlife Habitat!

As a family, we were really fortunate to move into a house with a great backyard. It had a lot of great plantings and landscaping and we've been improving upon it during the last three years and have been able to increase the number of animal species that live here. In addition to the robins, cardinals, black-capped chickadees, finches, hummingbirds, sparrows, goldfinches, bluejays, bats, snakes, insects, dragonflys, frogs, slugs, newts, moles and squirrels that we have seen, adding the pond has introduced fish and snails and attracted more birds and frogs. Plus, we've had multiple generations of birds born in our yard over the past few years and this year we saw the first baby hummingbird born in the yard appear. (As I have been typing this a sparrow flew into our kitchen and flew out and a few weeks ago a hummingbird flew into the kitchen as well and after he got tired from not being able to find its way out I was able to pick it up and carry it to an open window!)

We're proud of what we've done and even more proud of Sophia as she has developed a genuine interest in the plants and animals. We saw a show about the National Wildlife Federation and backyard habitats on Animal Planet and decided to see if we could get our yard certified to become one. We found out yesterday that our backyard meets the criteria and our backyard has been certified as a National Wildlife Federation Backyard Habitat.

While it might not mean a lot to most folks, it means a lot to us. It's pretty amazing to sit out back and, within a minute or so, have a few different types of species appear in the yard and we really enjoy every aspect of planning, planting and fostering the habitat. As time goes by we'll definately post more pictures. (expecially when we build the second pond slated for next Spring!)

- John

A Day Like Today Is Why We Love Where We Live

Today has been one of those perfect days that makes us appreciate why we love where we live so much.

This morning started off with a Pirate Cruise to celebrate the fourth birthday for one of our neighbors by the name of Jack. The Pirate Cruise is just that, a cruise where we look for pirates and buried treasure in the harbor. It's an absolute blast for the kids and the parents and we've been on three this summer. Captain Paul Quintal runs it and he does a fantastic job. (A few weeks ago we went on the Wednesday night harbor ice cream cruise and I'm bummed that the Thursday night wine cruises are already sold out for the season.) If you're interested, you can find more information at http://www.piratefun.com. The weather was fantastic and made it that much more enjoyable for a great day on the water.

After the cruise, we went to the 2006 Downtown Plymouth Waterfront Festival (http://www.plymouthwaterfrontfestival.com/index.html) which is just that, the annual summer festival down at the harbor. Tons of booths full of crafts, games for kids, face painting, etc... As you can see from the picture, Sophia decided to get a butterfly painted on her face.

The visit to festival was followed by lunch at our favorite weekend breakfast spot, The Water Street Cafe. Then it was home to work on the yard and build a stone wall. Everyone pitched in and it made the work go faster.

We decided to go back the festival and enjoy the amusement park aspect of the festival with rides and games. Sandy won two stuffed animals for Sophia at the water gun game and Sophia went on a few rides. Then it was a dinner of fried dough, funnel cakes and french fries.

To top it off there was a free concert by Plymouth Rock. The band was Parrot Beach, a Jimmy Buffett tribute band. We hung out a while and danced in the street. It wasn't exactly like being at a real Jimmy Buffett show but, considering that he probably won't ever be performing Live At Plymouth Rock this was as close as it'll get for us on the Plymouth waterfront. I was in heaven and it really was the perfect end to a great day.

We are really lucky to live here in Plymouth. We've got terrific neighbors, we've got the ocean five minutes from our house, a forest and lakes behind our street for walks and mountain biking and we've got the mountains for skiing three hours north. Today reminded us of why we live here and are so lucky to call this our hometown.

Now it's time to spend what few waking hours we have left together, as a family, just as we did the whole day!

Turkeys Everywhere And It's Not Even Thanksgiving

We live in Massachusetts - where the Pilgrims wound up and home of Thanksgiving. Today, it was easy to see why they choose to eat turkeys. Despite all the development in town, turkeys live in the woods and we have a family of them that roams the neighborhood from time-to-time and appears to be growing quite quickly. Late this afternoon, our daughter noticed the turkeys roaming in the yards across the street from our house. Here are a few pictures of them. In case you didn't know, turkeys can fly and at night they fly into the trees to avoid being attacked and eaten by the coyotes that also live in the woods. Gobble, Gobble, Gobble!