The Value of a Penny

Lauren is obsessed with earning money.   This morning she asked me if I would give her money if she organized her clothes drawer.  I said, "I'll give you a quarter."  Of course this wasn't enough, so she said, "Will you give me a quarter and a penny?" I said, "Sure."  And she said "Yea!!"

Yesterday she wanted to give a cashier her dollar bill so that she could get "more money" in return.  

Somehow this concept of the value of money has been difficult for Lauren to understand. :-)

Patriots Day and the 2008 Boston Marathon

Monday was Patriots Day in Massachusetts. Ironically, when I first realized this holiday was coming up, I thought it was strange to have a holiday for our football team (New England Patriots) in April. However, much to my embarrassment, it turns out that Patriots Day is in celebration of the first battles of the Revolutionary War. (Of course!) There were re-enactments of the battle held in Lexington and Concord, which I would have liked to witness, but because it was held at sunrise... at 5:30 am... we weren't able to make it. But we did make it to another event held on Monday.

It was also the day of the Boston Marathon. Wow. It was awe-inspiring. I actually teared up as I saw the leading men and women run past us. The course entered Brookline around mile marker 23. So as the runners came near us, they were near the end. We watched near Coolidge Corner, just a few miles from our home. Sadly, Brandon had to work, so I had to manage the girls and take a few pictures without him. Now that I'm more familiar with the Boston communities, I'll always watch the Marathon in the future with more interest and more perspective.

Beacon Hill and the Public Garden

Next on our tour of Boston..... :)

Saturday after Lauren's friends birthday party and lunch, we headed into Boston for another day of sight-seeing. It was a beautiful spring day with plenty of sunshine but was a little chilly.

We walked up to the Massachusetts State House from the Boston Common. Can you figure out what is going on in our city right now? It has to do with THE Playoffs. Boston is celebrating another sports team success.

Behind the State House is a neighborhood known as Beacon Hill. It is home to beautiful streets that once were paved in cobblestones and continues to house the very wealthy and very lucky. I love this part of Boston. Turn of the century brick row homes sit side by side. Chimneys decorate the tops of the brick buildings, and you literally can jump from roof top to roof top, just like Mary Poppins. Many homes have flower boxes and with Spring arriving, many of them are fresh and colorful.

Close by is the Public Garden. We walked through and saw that the Swan Boats are out from hibernation and that the tulips will be in bloom very soon.

Boston's Children Museum

With a forecast of rain expected, we planned on spending our Saturday inside the Boston Children's Museum. It turned out to be such a fun day. We started off by taking the "T" into Boston and having some pizza for lunch at a favorite spot in the North End. The weather was actually beautiful (no rain). The sky was clear and bright blue. It wasn't too cold or too hot... I THINK spring is finally on its way!

After lunch we made our way over to the Children's Museum. When we first moved to Boston last summer, we spent a Friday evening at the museum. But this was the first time that we could go and spend the time we wanted and to see and experience all of the exhibits offered. Lauren was really looking forward to this day. The only "downer" was because it was Saturday, it was packed.

Before going into the Museum, and because it was so nice outside, we stopped and got the girls ice cream cones at the Hood Milk Bottle. Elle managed to eat an entire chocolate ice cream cone without getting chocolate ice cream on her white shirt! I was close by with a wet wipe handy and was willing to lick the sides of the ice cream so it didn't drip down the sides. :)

Inside we found ourselves exploring the Science Playground with golfball raceways, creating giant bubbles, building wooden sailboats, crafting finger puppets, and much more.
Another fun day exploring our home away from home.

Is There Room on the Feather Bed?

We have an actress in the family! On Wednesday, Lauren's kindergarten class (along with the other two kindergarten classes at her school) performed the story, "Is There Room on the Feather Bed."

Lauren was a brown dog, and with the five other dogs sang:

"Woof, Woof, Woof,

We can't relax,

The rain is pouring on our furry backs."

Other characters included pigs, skunks, sheep, geese, cows, hens, cats, a "wee" man and a "wee" woman. The kids did a great job!

Lauren had been sick over the weekend and missed Monday's dress rehearsal and Tuesday's performance for the school. BUT LUCKILY she was able to recover enough to be in the play. She is doing much better. Kindergarten is so fun!

Exciting Family News

After months of contract negotiations, excitement, tears, stress, and relief, Brandon finally signed his contract for an orthopedic surgeon position in American Fork, Utah!  He will be working at the North Valley Orthopedics and Plastic Surgery group, which is part of the Central Utah Clinic, a multi-specialty clinic with over 90 physicians in 19 specialties.  Brandon will be the only total joint fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon in the clinic, so we are hopeful that his total hip and knee replacement practice will grow quickly. 

We plan to move to Utah in August.  We are very excited for this next phase of our lives!

(This photo is of Brandon during a knee operation.  Isn't this amazing?)