There were a couple of exhibits outdoors, but the building itself is built around a huge 3 1/2 story fish tank that holds 200,000 gallons of water. It has a wrap-around spiral staircase that allows you to just see every inch of the tank. There were sharks, turtles, including one that was over 600 pounds, eels, fish of every shape and size, and divers that were feeding the creatures. I loved what I saw of Boston. We will definitely make a return trip when the kids are older and we can do a whale watch and some tours and sightseeing in the city.
The traveling went rather well both ways. Obviously we had several bathroom stops but we made the trip in 6 1/2 hours with stops. They all traveled really well considering their ages and the length of the trip. The DVD player that we bought before the trip was our best investment yet. Mackenzie could not have traveled better. She talked and cooed, squealed and kicked although at times seemed a little perturbed that she could not see the TV screen because of facing backwards. Like I said, the trip went well and we are already thinking ahead to where we will take them next.
We spent Saturday morning and all day Sunday at Hampton Beach in New Hampshire, a beautiful area about 15 minutes from our hotel. There was lots to do on the boardwalk. On Saturday we took them to the playground on the beach to burn off some energy. It was great. It is probably the length of a gymnasium and half of the width with a 5 1/2 foot tall fence around the outside and only one exit/entrance. It was very easy to contain the kids and not worry about them all being on the same toys at the same time. There were numerous arcades as well. Our favorite had about 20 rides for the kids all for a quarter each. We spent about an hour in there and only spent 5 dollars.
On Sunday we went to the playground again and hit the beach and the kids loved it. They could have spent days in the ocean. They jumped in the waves and played in the sand. They were very intrigued by the disappearing water. The tide was going out. LOL Norm kept them contained at the water and I held post at our stroller with Mackenzie.
They made friends with the lifeguards who told us as we were leaving that we had the cutest kids. DUH!!! :) At the end of the day we bought them a sno-cone to get them off of the beach. Cassie got buckled into the truck and was out in minutes. Jonathan was soon to follow. It was a good thing because traffic leaving the beach made the trip 2 hours instead of 15 minutes!
Our "home" for the trip was a Holiday Inn Express. We had a suite with a crib, 2 queen beds and a couch. The first night was entertaining as they discovered that they could not only jump really high on the beds but they could jump from one bed to the other. Everone slept well and we only had a few rolls off of the beds, no injuries though.
Our Dominic turned six on this trip. It's funny to think that 6 years ago we were still in the hospital with him and my parents were visiting their first granchild. Now we have 4 kids and my parents have 8 grandkids. Dominic has grown up so much this last year. He completed kindergarten and started riding a bike without training wheels. He has started to read and can be a great helper when he isn't in a fit of giggles. He is a very compassionate little boy. The picture below is from the park at which our niece was married. I love it!
Mackenzie continues to grown by leaps and bounds. She is the best baby we could have asked for if we could have made a request. She sleeps well even in the chaos of the house and other kids. She is starting to sleep through the night and rolls over from her belly to her back. She wakes in the morning with huge smiles and stretches. She loves to sit in her swing and watch her brothers and sisters especially outside. She spends a lot of time outside in the swing and just closes her eyes and goes to sleep when the mood hits. Jonathan is amazing with her. He can keep her entertained forever if you need to do something. He loves to hold on to her and talk to her which is quite entertaining as you hear everything that Norm and I usually say to her. All of the kids can walk up to her and say her name and be rewarded with a huge smile and wiggle. The interaction is great. As much as they seem to fight at times you can tell that there is a lot of love between them all. We don't have a lot of pictures of her from the trip because this is basically what she did for the four days. LOL
Obviously with multiple trips to the beach we encountered a lot of sand and a lot of sand traveled with us. (Norm's Durango will probably never be the same.) So, baths occurred frequently to de-grit everyone. I had to share this picture not just because I think she's so stinkin' cute, but because that's a hand towel that is wrapped around her. It makes you realize how little she still is.Cassie can make anyone melt. She is full of life and personality and is becoming VERY independent. She loves to play with other kids, but can keep herself entertained just the same. Her recent milestones include escape tactics. She is our first to ever climb out of the crib and she also tried to escape Grammie's house one day with Hailey. Mom heard them giggling after she heard the door shut and knew there was trouble brewing. I can only imagine what trouble those two girls will get into at school. They have been together since they were born and will probably be like sisters growing up.
Jonathan was very intrigued by all of the big rocks and the debris in them that had accumulated during high tide. Obviously this was taken at the wedding as well, note the shirt that matches Dominic's. Hey, I've got to do it while I can. He looks more and more like Dominic everyday.
This was the arcade that we took them to at the beach. Jonathan loved the Harley. It kind of made mommy cringe.
Photos of the three older ones on the playground at the beach. There was so much to do, but the slide was a favorite.
Cassie scaled everything by herself including some things that made other parents nervous. She has no fear which is the reason why she is going to probably be our frequent ER visitor.
Dominic climbed on things that made me cringe. He does everything at full speed.
Cassie had to be persuaded to get off of this so other kids could ride on it. She knew exactly what to do when she got on it, but I don't think we have ever taken her to a playground that has had any of these on them before.
On June 3rd Jonathan turned four years old and 4 days later Grampie turned 55! We had a joint birthday party. They shared a cake complete with a monster truck smashing cars. It was a fun party. Aunt Diane, Uncle Brian, Franny, TJ and Ella made the trip to Marathon. The kids had fun playing in the pool and bouncing in the bounce house. Yes, bounce house. We bought a Little Tykes bounce house figuring that as long as they didn't destroy it we would get many years of use out of it.
In mid-June we took Dom, Jon and Cassie to a Syracuse SkyChiefs game. It was an event sponsored by Norm's employee association. Mackenzie had her first sleepover at Grammie and Grampie's. She slept all night. Darci is convinced that our parents are baby whisperers. I just think that my parents lie! 
The kids had fun at the game. We had a patio reserved and there was tons of food. So the kids could eat, run around in a confined space and watch the game. Cassie was cute and clapped a lot.
In all, life continues to be busy and chaotic, but fun and good at the same time. I finished out my 13th year of teaching this year. Norm just celebrated 12 years with his company today. The fire department continues to be huge part of our lives as we enter summer and the kids enjoy watching the guys play water ball on Lovell's Field. Norm has been busy the last few weeks tearing apart the big garage next to our red one. It is the last of the property next door to be leveled. It will open up the whole yard and give the kids tons of room to play. I will post the transformation once it is complete. I promise to post more frequently. The return to school with only 6 weeks of classes left was a bit hectic.
Enjoy the video. It's the kids dancing at the wedding. They never left the dance floor. I think the photographer probably has hundreds of pictures of them. Check out Jonathan's moves at the end. I am trying to figure out where he has seen break-dancers in Killawog.
Mackenzie is well-traveled already. She has made daily trips to drop her siblings off at grammy day care and school. Several trips to Binghamton have proven to be positive experiences as well. Mommy and Mackenzie both had checkups a week after leaving the hospital. We left the doctors' offices at 11:00 having just given Mackenzie a bottle. She slept through lunch at the Olive Garden, shopping at Walmart and Lowes, and the return trip. 5 hours total!! Her carseat is a safety net if we are having problems getting her to settle into a good sleep. Strap her in and tuck a blanket around her and she's out like a light.
Getting ready to go home
