BOSTON

Part one:

It has been over a month now since Tim and I took our trip to Boston.  I hadn't blogged about it because it seemed so daunting!  So, today is the day...I'm gonna do it...I'm going to sit here and blog about our wonderful trip to Boston!  (it's going to be really long and historical...sorry)

Tim did an amazing job (as usual) researching for the trip.  We have found this awesome website called   Trip Advisor you may have heard of it.  We used this site to book our lodging, find awesome restaurants, and get good advice on things to do while in Boston.  We HIGHLY recommend Trip Advisor's site.  Check it out for yourselves, you won't be disappointed! 

We flew out of KC on a Thursday Morning and got to Boston around 1:00 in the afternoon.  We knew it wouldn't be wise to rent a car, so we opted for the public transportation.  Someone on Trip Advisor gave us step by step directions from the airport... to the shuttle, to the underground T, all the way to our front door!  (I'm telling you, we love that site!)  And this is what we found at 30 Appleton Street:

This was our home-sweet-home for 3 wonderful nights.  It was listed on Trip Advisor as a bed and breakfast but actually it was a one bedroom flat that had a kitchen.  So, you could make your own breakfast if you wanted to.  We stayed on the second floor of the building and had a great street view.  Actual Bostonians live on the first floor and the guy who owns the building lives on the top floors. 

When we got there it wasn't time to "check-in" so we left our bags inside and took off to explore the city.

A closer look at our front door!

More views of the neighborhood.  Tim and I said that we felt like we were on Sesame Street or the front steps of the Cosby Show.

 Like I said, we went out looking around the city and the first big thing we came across was this:

This Episcopalian church is rated as Boston's most beautiful building. 

Me in Copley Square in front of Trinity Church

As we did some more walking we came to a place called the Back Bay/Newbury Street.  The Back Bay area of Boston was originally marshland that was filled-in in the 1800's to expand the city for settlers.  Newbury Street is the shopping area with its stores housed on many different building levels. 

Tim came upon the "Life is Good" store.  While we were there we learned that Life is Good originated in Boston!

Of course when you're in Boston there are many "trademark" things to do and see. 
One thing I wanted to see was:

 CHEERS!  This is where the show was filmed.  I wanted to take a peek inside to see if it really looked like what I thought it would...it didn't!  Apparently there have been many visitors who have voiced their opinion about the discrepancy and they have made a replica of the bar for those of us who were disappointed.  It's located in Quincy Market.

The Atlantic Fish Co. is where we ate dinner the first night.  It was one of the restaurants recommend to us from Trip Advisor.  Tim was very excited to eat the local fare.  We decided to ask our waiter what the restaurant was known for.  Tim had an amazing Halibut and I had a pretty good/spicy lobster pasta.  The lobster came out whole, so I had to ask for some help.  (Too bad the camera stayed in my purse...I had the bib and everything) 

While we were on Newbury street we came across this cute little cupcake shop called Sweet.  They had tons of cupcakes to choose from.  We chose the Red Velvet and Caramel Apple.  Both were very good, but I would have to pick the Caramel Apple.

 After dessert, we made our way back to our apartment.  We hadn't been inside yet, so we were very excited to see what it had in store for us. 

Tim on the bed watching the History Channel of all things!

This was the view from the doorway.  The bed is to the left and the kitchen is to the right.

This was the view from the bed.  It was a perfect setup for us.

 DAY 2

Tim was the official map reader.  He did a great job!  I think we only got turned around once or twice.

We wanted to see where the Boston Tea Party took place but we had a hard time finding it.

We walked around for a while and couldn't find anything.  Obviously we thought there would be something in the harbor but...NOPE! 

We walked up and down some streets and I saw a mail man.  I knew he would know, because the mail man knows everything (right dad?)

He told us there had been a fire and the city was planning to rebuild sometime in 2011. 

We ate lunch at the Salty Dog in Quincy Market

 

One thing that we were really looking forward to was a guided bike tour from Urban Adventour through the city.  (Again, Tim found them on Trip Advisor)

 

A few pics from our ride:  TD Garden & the backside of Rhi going through Boston University

Beacon Hill- One of the most prestigious areas of the city.  The house at the end of the street with the flag is where John Kerry lives.  Many notable Americans lived here, among them are Louisa May Alcott. 

The Underground Railroad used this area extensively.

A view of MIT

We stopped at Fenway for a potty break

This is what Tim found in the restroom...a view of the field!

A mans dream...so you don't miss a thing!

Durgin Park is where we ate dinner on the second night.  It was highly recommended on Trip Advisor and our bike guide told us about it too.  Great home cooked food!

Favorite Time of the Year

It's coming...my favorite time of the year!  Time to start thinking about what kind of Christmas card I'm going to send.  In the past I've written "the letter" telling everyone about how our year went, or I've found Christmas cards on sale after the holidays to use for the next year.  I know the letter and cards get read, but they just end up getting thrown away.  This year I think we'll do the picture card thing and hope that people will hold on to it for a little while longer.  I've come across Shutterfly.com and they have some pretty awesome stuff!  They have tons of choices and I can't wait to choose my favorite one.  I've used shutterfly in the past and had a notebook and a planner made.  I get so many compliments on both of them...maybe it's because of the cute little girls that are plastered all over the cover?!?!

I've been looking through the site and I love how they have several religious cards.  I always make it a point to send Christmas cards with a message or a verse on them somewhere.  It's what the season is really all about right?  So. here are a few of my favorites:

So, here are a few links that might get you started:

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards

You can also find tons of other stuff to put your pictures on; like calendars, wall art, and other seasonal cards...the options are endless!  They actually have an awesome deal going on right now:

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… sign up: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

So, keep an eye on your mail box because you might be

seeing one of these cards with our picture on it

**This by no means will distract me from the wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving. 

(I feel like this holiday is getting lost these days.) 

 Don't let it slip by you!**

Running a race to learn a lesson

Never in my right mind would I think that I trained for a race for 9+ weeks so that God could teach me a very important lesson.  But, He did...

I'm not even sure where to start explaining myself.  I guess I'll go back the the beginning of the 3rd mile.  I had this feeling that I just didn't want to run the race anymore...I wanted to be done right then and there.  Tim could sense it I'm sure because he really started talking to me and trying to push me.  I actually remember thinking that I wanted to stop.  I didn't stop, but I didn't push through the uncomfortableness of the running.  I remember the finish line being in sight...down the hill, around the corner, and UP through the finishing gate.  I usually have some type of finishing push left in me, but I just went into coast mode and finished the race.

A few hours later we were on the way home and it hit me!  I COULD HAVE DONE BETTER!  Now, I'm not saying that I could have shaved minutes off my time, but I could have pushed harder and gotten through that uncomfortable stage I was in.  I realized that I often opt out of so many things in life when they get hard or uncomfortable, instead of pushing through.  Tim reminded me that our bodies can do so much more than what we think...I was totally in that situation.  I could have pushed harder and I would have felt like I had given it my all. 

After discussing this with Tim, and after shedding many tears, I realized that I had trained for about 2 months to learn this very important lesson.  It wasn't about running, it was about not giving up when I felt uncomfortable or stretched.  It's a lesson that I hope to teach my girls one day when they're old enough to understand. 

Thank you Lord for teaching me about perseverance...even if it did come after running many miles.

I am so thankful for Tim and the way he helped me run this race.  He talked to me the whole time...encouraging me as I went up a hill or reminding me to slow down my breathing.  My dad ran behind us the whole way and said he could hear Tim encouraging me.  My dad also said that it was definitely a one-sided conversation.  (I wasn't doing any talking.)  I would listen to what Tim was saying and try my hardest to do it.  Tim said there was a time when he was reminding me to control my breathing that he thought I was going to yell, "I AM BREATHING!"  But that didn't happen.  I kept thinking to myself, I've done a lot harder things than this...I've given birth to two children...I can do this!  : )   

The kiddos before the race.  Cayman in the blue stroller, Sophia in the pink hat, and Ellen and Kate in the double stroller.  Zach had two kids in a double stroller and Brynley walking.  We were well supported!  Thanks to Teresa and Jerry for coming to watch too!

Courtney, Erin, and I after the race.

Lindsay (& baby) and Dustin coming across the finish line!

The 4 original runners! 

The very cold Garber Gang!

Halloween 2010

Bolivar Middle School has an annual "Fall Dance" that Tim likes to chaperone (sp?)  The students usually

dress up and have a really fun time.  The teachers sometimes dress up too.  Tim likes to come up with a "punny" costume and so far we haven't had to repeat any of them.  You can see a couple of the past costumes here and here.  

I asked Ellen what she wanted to be for Halloween about a month before and she quickly said a cat.  I was so happy, because I had noticed a $5.00 cat mask and tail at Wal-Mart.  I wanted to make Sophia a mouse costume, but never got around to it.  So, we recycled the ballerina from a couple of years ago.

Ellen the black cat

Ellen was trying to show her tail.

Tim and the girls before we headed out the door.

Tim in his pun costume this year.  Do you get it?

He was......

Dr. Pepper!  : )

Sophia dancing the night away.

Dancing with Daddy is so much fun!

This is Ellen's future husband Jacob.  He's the son of Tim's assistant principal and school librarian.  We've had it planned for a while now, so there's no going back.  He's such a cute kid!

More dancing

The night is about over and so is Sophia  : )

Sydney (Little Red Riding Hood), Ellen (cat), and Brynley (Pocahontas)

The actual trick-or-treating night was a little crazy.  We were in Desloge for Halloween and they did their trick-or-treating Sunday night but Bolivar did theirs on Saturday night...so we were going to miss them both!  At the last minute we packed the girls up and went to Bonne Terre so they could do their thing.  Sophia missed out on the whole thing because she was already in bed.  They didn't get tons of candy, but that's okay with me!