Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Summer Wedding.

Stephen & Darcee got married this weekend!!  Don and I flew out to Utah to go to their lovely wedding.  It was really fun, and they looked wonderfully happy. 

Here is a quick recap of the wedding weekend:

1)  Impromptu candy display for picnic luncheon.


2)  My adorable baby niece, little Nell.


3)  Baby Nell with her grandpa.  Apparently, I have no pictures of my mom.  Oops.


4)  Trying to teach Nelly to walk.


5)  She's almost standing by herself!


6)  With my handsome Don.


7)  With my pretty sister-in-law, Aubrey.


8)  At the reception.


9)  My new sister-in-law, Darcee, with my other niece, Penny.


10)  With my cute niece Penny.  Oh, wait...that picture didn't happen because Penny wouldn't stop running around.  She was SO cute!!!  I asked her to take a picture with me, and she said "No!  I'm sitting with Nana right now!".

11)  The happy couple.


12)  Army decor for the CRX.


13)  Sea of green balloons.


14)  Reunion with the best friends.


15)  On Saturday, we spent the day with Don's family.  We drove up to Sundance to catch a glimpse of the Tour of Utah, one of the more prestigious bike races in the United States.  Some of these riders rode in the Tour de France.  It was kind of a big deal.


We are so happy for you, Stephen and Darcee!  You looked stunning.

Congratulations.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

With the Wojo's.

Last week, the city of Boston welcomed the Wojo's to town.  Drew and Noelle stayed with us for several days during their vacation, and it was so fun to have them visit.  

While they were here, we paraded around the city in true tourist fashion.

We went on a Duck Tour!

Everybody always says, "If you ever go to Boston, you have to go on a Duck Tour".  And...nobody who lives in Boston ever does.  Well, the Wojo's presented me with the option, and I jumped at the opportunity.  I was thrilled to go, and the DT was every bit as interesting as I had anticipated.  

I will echo the popular sentiment and add my testimony, "If you ever come to Boston, you have to go on a Duck Tour".



I took the next picture during the water portion of our Duck Tour.

Black and white photo edit = Boston circa 1930.


Fun Duck Tour Fact #1:  There is a small section of the Berlin Wall just hanging out in front of some random building in Boston.  Who knew?!

The Duck knew.


For lunch, we had the tastiest grilled cheese sandwich ever .  Thank you Roxy's food truck.


Fun Duck Tour Fact #2:  Apparently, there is a tiny little unknown Unitarian Universalist church that is home to twenty Tiffany stained glass windows.  I was shocked at the realization that nobody knows this place even exists.

You are probably wondering why this shocks me so much.  Do you know how cool Tiffany stained glass is?  Let me explain how cool it is in one fantastically long run-on sentence:

Remember that time two years ago when there was a Tiffany glass exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, and there were only like *five* pieces in the whole exhibit, and you couldn't get remotely close to them because they were guarded and roped off and kept far away from everybody to keep them safe, and the exhibit was publicized and important, and it attracted wildly large crowds for weeks?

Well.  The twenty stunning windows that decorate this small church are virtually unknown to the public.  We walked into the church and asked the lone man at the desk if we could see the Tiffany windows in his church.  He said, "sure!" and led us up the stairs.  There he left us, unguided and unsupervised to experience the Tiffany glass all to ourselves.  The windows were completely unprotected, and I saw each one up close and personal.

Thank you Duck Tour for this hidden gem.





At the end of the week, we took a tour of the U.S.S. Constitution.

For those who don't remember their 7th grade U.S. History...the U.S.S. Constitution was the famous battleship that fought in the War of 1812.  Affectionately nicknamed, "Old Ironsides", it was constructed using a particular oak that is native only to certain parts of the United States.  As it turned out, this wood was also denser than other woods used in the construction of the enemy battleships.  Because of this advantage, Old Ironsides held up through many a battle on the water, and quickly earned its nickname.




Lots-o-rope.


Don and I decided that we wouldn't want to have been a sailor back in the day.  Unless we were captains.






We ended our tourist-ing with a quick visit to Charlestown and Bunker Hill.

"Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!"


We will always enjoy exploring Boston with the Wojo's.

Come again soon!