En Route

Driving from Boston to Iowa City we decided to veer north to see Niagara Falls and drive through Canada a bit. It was a mind scramble going from miles to kilometers (or as my dad tells me they're called, "klicks"). Suddenly we had so much further to go but somehow we were getting there so much faster. Anyway, years ago I stopped in Niagara coming back from Cleveland but only saw the US side which is incredibly shabby, campy and to be frank, a bit scary. The Canadian side is a whole different story. I felt uber prepared with my passport and a copy of both girls birth certificates. For whatever reason my mind was working super slow as the border police asked me routine questions.

Names of the children? That one was no problem.
Dates of birth? Uhmmmm, the little one was born in *think* *think* MARCH. She was a pi baby so that was the 14th of uh this year and the other one.... April 1st, no 2nd because I was induced on the 1st and she was late and that waaaaaaas 2008. Yeah, 2008.
Do you have a letter from the father giving you permission to travel here today? (don't ask me why, but this question irritated me a bit) WHY would I need that? We're happily married!
The police spoke slowly as he eyed me suspiciously with the next question: Is he aware you're taking the children out of the country today? Oh, yes! He is. I could call him if you like.

He let us in. It was beautiful! It was also incredibly busy near the falls so unfortunately much of our time was spent stuck in traffic. My Dad found a nice bench and hung out with Ireland while I took Liesel for a closer look.

She loved the mist coming off the water
Horseshoe Falls is my favorite and I loved showing them to her.
One advantage of going to the Canadian side is we were easily able to see the Scow barge stuck within sight of horseshoe falls. After we got to Iowa City my dad looked up the amazing story. It's apparently been there since 1918 and two men were rescued from it. I wonder when it will finally break free and go over the falls? What an incredible sight that would be! This is one destination we are definitely going to have to return to when Brent is able to come along. We'll do the Maid of the Mist.

Getting back into the US at Detroit I was no better with the border police.
Purpose for crossing the border today? I want to go home! Let me back in!
Clearly irritated, he tried me again: WHY were you in Canada? Oh! To see Niagara Falls and avoid toll roads.
Relationship? A little antagonistic... it's been a long day.
More irritated, he tried this one again: Your relationship to the occupants in your vehicle? Oh, that's my mother and these are my two children.
I rattled off their birthdays so I'd have a little more cred and was relieved when we he waved us back on home soil.

Boston You're My Home

I've had a lot of time to think about how much my life has changed between my move to Boston and my exit from Boston. Here are some significant differences I'll pass along to the 3 people who read my blog:

When I came to Boston I was broken-hearted and truly believed I would never marry. I left Boston married to the love of my life and with my adorable two daughters.

When I came to Boston I had no job and no place to live. When I left I'd recently retired from working life and walked away from our apartment. In the meantime Brent and I sold his house in Arizona. I now have way more experience with home ownership than I would like.

When I came to Boston everything I owned fit into my 1994 Honda Civic. When I left we used a 16 ft moving truck (still not bad considering we're now a family of four). The Honda Civic died long ago however.

When I came to Boston I thought it was a huge city that absolutely intimidated me. I left feeling Boston is a little-ish big city and feel perfectly comfortable not only in Beantown, but NYC and DC.

When I came to Boston I had just heard of the Red Sox who hadn't won the World Series in 86 years. When I left, they had broken the curse and won the World Series on my birthday. I'm now an avid Red Sox fan having seen a dozen or so games and am making plans to see them on the road.

When I came to Boston I knew there was a temple. I left having been an ordinance worker not only when I was single but alongside Brent. I was fortunate enough to serve for five years before being released.

When I came to Boston I didn't know a soul in or anywhere near the city. I left with some of the best friends of my life and a different perspective on how brash New Englanders can be. They really are some of the nicest people if you just give them a chance.

When I came to Boston I didn't care much about the mountains or beach. When I left I used every chance I could to take in this type of scenery in the surrounding area. Crane Beach in particular will always have a spot in my heart.

When I came to Boston I hadn't traveled much. When I left I'd seen much of the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. Brent and I have made out in a dozen airports. My frequent flier miles are now a part-time obsession.

When I came to Boston I had a hard time understanding some of the locals because of their thick accents. Now I think some things are wicked hard, now and again I bang a U-ey and prefer to have jimmies on my ice cream rather than sprinkles.

Boston has shaped my life and my personality in so many ways. Although leaving now feels right, I will always carry parts of Beantown with me. I'm so happy to have lived there and learned all I did. Whenever I hear Dirty Water by the Standells I'll have a moment of silence for this city that took me in when I needed it most. That may sound cheesy but it's true.

Tragedy/Comedy

Since she was born, Ireland has occasionally made this exaggerated frown when she's about to fuss. I've wanted to capture it on camera but I always seem to just miss it. Lately she's been making the face less and less. I was fortunate she happened to make it while we were taking some last family photos at the Boston temple:

It makes me just want to hug her!

Capturing her laugh has been equally as difficult. I finally had the camera handy when she went into a laughing fit with her dad. I've watched this over and over.

Wicked Smaaaht

After Ireland was born I received a mailing from Harvard's Psychology Department asking if she could take part in a study. It was the exact same one that came soon after Liesel was born. Unfortunately, I was never able to take Liesel in. Aside from healing, I was hosting family, adjusting to a newborn, and before I knew it my maternity leave was over. I didn't want to pass up the opportunity again so this morning the girls and I headed down to Harvard Yard (and yes, I paaahked the caaah). Personally I think the two make a fascinating study for sibling relationships. Can you really love someone to death? But the researchers had something else in mind.

It was a fairly simple study. They wanted to see how infants react to different groups interacting. Ireland watched a group of circles dancing together and then a group of squares. They filmed Ireland so they can study her reaction when the circles and squares intermixed. I had to close my eyes so I wouldn't bias her but I'm told she wiggled her feet a lot. For the records, I have nothing against either circles or squares... or dancing. While I was with Ireland, a researcher played with Liesel and then we picked out a thank you toy for both girls. I also got $5 for travel compensation which I'll just slip into Ireland's 529 plan. Ireland was perfectly pleasant and Liesel didn't want to leave the lobby which had tons of toys.

Here's a pic of the girls with their spoils:

Those are pretty intelligent stuffed animals to be attending Harvard:

Does a Former Drill Sergeant Make a Terrible Therapist?

This commercial made me laugh sooooo hard! I don't know if it's my psych background, or how the color yellow could make anyone sad, or how this drill sergeant reminds me of my father (who actually uses terms like "mamby pamby"). My favorite part is when he offers him a tissue and then throws the box across the room.

I'm really just blogging about this so I have a convenient place to watch it over and over.

Boston Museum of Science

Fortune was smiling on us yesterday when I took the girls to Boston's Museum of Science. It seemed like we barely missed the crowds everywhere we went. We could take our time at the exhibits Liesel particularly liked without any pushy kids around. We also got a great parking spot and enjoyed lunch right by the windows overlooking the Charles river. It's been a while since I've been to this museum and it was nice to see the updates. Here are a few highlights:

Toeing the line- one foot in Boston and the other in Cambridge:

A little over 800 million nanometers high and a little over the top in personality:

Watching balls in a funnel acting as orbiting planets which never collide:

Astronaut Liesel:

Can't remember the point of this exhibit... just thought Liesel looked cool in front of the mirrors

The point of this exhibit was for kids to see if they could outrun the lights. That concept was a little advanced for Liesel but when she saw other kids doing it she wanted in. She loved going up and down the track and running into the orange pads at the ends. I loved it because she ran herself so ragged she took a 3 hour nap!

Tickled Pink

Ireland was in gales of laughter while I ran around the house like crazy to find the camera. I got it just in time to catch the tail end of the fun. Seeing my sweet so sweet husband with our girls makes my heart feel like warm butter sliding down hot toast. Ireland's laugh is absolutely music to my ears.

This weekend was the annual Wooden Soldier outlet sale and per usual I spent way too much on their lovely dresses. How can you resist when something that's typically $200 is marked down to $25? One of the dresses was chocolate brown and pink which perfectly coordinated with the shoes Liesel got for Christmas, and the bow, and an outfit of Irelands. I couldn't wait to dress the girls for church today. Unfortunately our time block is 11:30-2:30 and by the time church is over Liesel is climbing the walls for a nap. We snapped just a couple of quick photos.

Ireland was in a bit better mood:

Like a Racehorse

Does anyone else think they look like they're standing at a urinal?

But this is by far my favorite urinal pic. Makes me laugh every time.

The Mother of All Melt-Downs

I don't think I got enough sleep last night. The apartment was unusually hot and both girls fussed well into the night. It's going to be over 100 today so I arranged as many activities as possible to be in air-conditioned places. This morning we went to the aquarium which was obnoxiously busy. As we observed the fish in the large tank, I overheard a teenage boy dropping the f-bomb and I absolutely lost it.

"Language please!!! There are toddlers present!"

He apologized right away but his friend turned slightly away from me and shook his head as if my request was out of line.

"So help me if she starts using that word I'll cut off parts of your body!" I yelled after him. He turned around with wide eyes and apologized as well.

For the record, I think I could have taken them. In the meantime, I'm going to catch a nap.

"The Time Has Come," the Walrus said

We're leaving Boston. For about a year Brent and I have felt our time in Beantown was drawing to a close. Our wanderlust has definitely kicked in and we're ready for new adventures. After living here for 8 years I'm feeling like I've been there, done that. We wanted to stay in Boston until Ireland was born because we have a fabulous OB. Then we stayed because layoffs were nigh at my company and we hoped I'd get severance. Now we have no more excuses, no more ties keeping us here. Except Brent's job of course. Perhaps I should mention we do not actually have a job offer in Chicago which is our target destination. Brent has had many promising leads but nothing firm. However, fate dealt us a hand when our landlady returned from India.

For quite some time we've been under the radar in regards to our apartment. We haven't been under a rental contract for quite a while and our landlady kept forgetting to have us sign a new one. Technically, we're on a month-to-month basis which was perfect. Even sweeter was the fact our landlady was in India so we quietly sent in our monthly rent check and had nothing more to worry about. Our upstairs neighbors recently bought a home and were hoping to find renters to cover the last month of their rental agreement for July. They asked us if we wanted the bigger space and we politely declined. Then our landlady showed up to make the same offer and point blank asked us if we were looking to move.

We were honest with her and perhaps overestimated her. We thought we'd been good renters for 4 years, of course she'd want to keep us in the apartment for as long as possible, right? Wrong. She listed our apartment and asked for a date when we would be out. Brent and I thought carefully about it seeing as the job market is difficult. We also don't want to end up paying rent for two places. We settled on Septemeber 1, crossing our fingers another 2 months would be sufficient for Brent to secure employment. About a week later the landlady showed the apartment to a couple who wanted it but hoped to be in a few days early. The landlady also wanted a day or two for some renovations before they moved in so she asked if we could be out mid-August. My parents are helping us with the move and they will be in Utah for BYU Education Week mid-August. They noted however, they'd be in Chicago on July 21 and basically headed our way anyway.

We contacted our landlady and told her we'd be out at the end of this month. There's still a possibility we will move to Chicago as a family at that time. Our backup plan is for the girls and I to temporarily move in with my parents in Iowa City which is a few hours from Chicago. They've graciously offered to store our meager belongings so we can save on moving expenses. Brent will either house-sit for one of the families in our ward who vacation during August or he will rent a hole in the wall until he has an offer.

I have mixed feelings about the whole situation. I'm about 75% excited and 25% scared. Maybe that's 75% scared and 25% excited. I'm thrilled with the prospect of spending the summer with family. Liesel can be with her grandparents and cousins and I'll have extra hands to help with Ireland. I've always loved Chicago and we have a small list of people who swear they will visit. On the flip side, I'd be more at ease if we had a job... especially in this economy. I've never been away from Brent for more than a few days at a time. A number of my own sisters and girlfriends have spent a chunk of time away from their spouses and I've always wondered how they managed. I married Brent so I could wake up next to him every day. The thought of going back to a long-distance relationship just makes me cringe.

The bottom line is it doesn't make sense for us to pack up all our thing to move somewhere across town until everything falls into place. Even if we'd lied and told our landlady we're planning on sticking around she would have made us sign a year-long rental agreement. I'm sure everything will work out, I just don't know exactly how it will happen. The only thing I'm sure of is that the time has come.