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.

Anatomy

Liesel: I wanna feed Ireland!

Me: Sorry honey, you don't have boobs.

Liesel: *eyes light up* I hab a boo boo!!! *points to bruise on shin*

Sand and Surf

We were finally able to have Brent to come to the beach with us! The weather was beautiful and we left fairly early in the morning so we could park as close to the beach as possible. Liesel decided to brave the tiny waves and wade into the water a bit. When she saw one coming she'd call out, "Here it cooooomes!" I had to laugh.

As the morning wore on she became more and more brazen. At one point she was up to her waist in the ocean and even my legs were getting cold but she would not be moved. Finally a big(ish) wave almost knocked her down and she thought it prudent to scootch back.


And yes, she wore those sunglasses the entire time. The apple doesn't fall far I guess. Ireland slept soundly so I think it's safe to say the trip was a success for the whole family!

A Touch of Culture

The much needed Cambridge Stake Center was recently completed and will be dedicated on Sunday. As part of the festivities, Jon Schmidt did a couple of concerts. I'd never heard of him so Brent played Waterfall for me and I was sold. We were told his concerts are great for little kids and to not let that deter us so initially we were going to go as a family. Then they announced a matinee and I decided to take the girls to that one and let Brent enjoy it on his own for the evening performance since he's a big fan. It turned out perfectly because Liesel met up with kids her age and a friend from the ward held Ireland so I could enjoy it as well.

Here's a video of Liesel enjoying Love Song Meets Viva La Vida. I love how she's just transfixed whilst eating her fruit snacks.


You may already know about this music because it went viral on YouTube about a year ago. I have to say mixing Taylor Swift with Coldplay is just genius and hearing it live was just amazing. Below is one of the versions (there are now many out there). Sorry it gets cut off on the right side, I'm not sure why my YouTube videos do that. If anyone knows how to fix it please share!
Watching this makes me desperately wish I danced ballet. Jon also does an arrangement which is a mix of Pachelbel's Canon and U2. Very cool.

Happy Father's Day!

Lest you think I'm jumping the gun by posting the night before Father's Day, let me clarify. I actually had Liesel paint a card for her father and two grandfathers. I intended to get them sent out along with the latest photos of the girls. For Ireland's 3 month photos we wanted to capture her in her blessing dress. Because we don't have any sister photos yet we put the girls in slips during the same sitting. I'm really happy with how they turned out. Unfortunately, I never made it to the post office to send the cards and photos so the grandfathers would have them in time. This is just a preview of what's to come. Watch your mailbox!

My favorite is the first photo because you can see the shamrock cuff links I gave to Brent when he blessed her. They were an early Father's Day gift and they coordinate with the shamrock charm from Tiffany's he gave me for Mother's Day. Great minds think alike...

Fishy

Oh how I love this time of day! Liesel is "resting" on her bed. If I tell her she has to take a nap she fights it but if she just has to rest that means she can have some toys and books too. As long as her head is down on her pillow she just has to wait until I come and get her. Of course, she ends up taking a nap too but I don't have the weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth to deal with. Ireland is fed, in a clean diaper and happily swinging right now. The swamp cooler is humming as it brings a nice breeze into the apartment. It's Wednesday so now I'm free to re-watch last week's episode of So You Think You Can Dance and feel fully prepared for tonight's show. And I can blog. Ahhhhh, my afternoons are the best!

Brent received two free tickets to the New England Aquarium at work. Then a co

worker gave him their two free tickets. I decided it was high time to take advantage of them so I dropped Brent off at work and headed downtown. This worked out well for Brent because he could spend a little more time at home in the morning and catch some of the World Cup games. Anyway, my plan was to go right when the Aquarium opened so I could get a spot in the metered parking. As luck would have it, there were a handful of spots still open right by Fanueil Hall which is a hop, skip and jump away from the Aquarium. When I handed over my two tickets for me and Liesel the ticket taker asked how old she was. Upon hearing she was just two he handed me back a ticket. Turns out she's free! That means we can take FOUR visits to the Aquarium this summer. Woot! One thing I like about the set up is they have a metal bar near the floor and wooden rails for smaller kids to step up so they can see better. Liesel liked climbing on those and suddenly becoming taller almost more than looking at all the fish.

I assumed Liesel would like seeing all the sea life but Ireland was completely enchanted too. Here she is under the black light. If the picture looks a bit strange, it's because she's in a sling. Liesel is in the background. She was so good about staying close to me and holding hands when we were crossing traffic to get there. I hope I don't sound cynical when I say I was surprised how good she was. One little boy took notice of Liesel and just stared at her while she ran around to the displays. I wonder what he thought of her...

We spent a fair amount of time watching the fish in the big tank. The sharks swam by a good half dozen times but they started getting closer and closer to the glass. Finally Liesel asked to get down because they were scaring her. Sorry the video starts out so dark. I was trying to capture Ireland looking at the fish. It lightens up after a few seconds.

I'm looking forward to going back to the Aquarium! Next time we'll tie in a lunch with Dad!