Smith Family Weblog

One of my favorite parts of the trip was an afternoon in the Public Gardens.

Shortly after we left the gardens, we headed into Beacon Hill for gelato. Olivia, who was short a nap and long on energy, ran head first into someone on the street. I apologized as I pulled her out the way, just as Katie whispered, “Hey, that was Denis Leary!”

Tom immediately recalled that he was in town to host Comics Come Home, while I posted Liv’s brush with fame on Facebook. At some point, he must have circled back, because we found ourselves waiting at a stoplight with him. I am sure he was completely impressed with the giant tantrum Olivia was executing at that moment.

After taking the train back to Medford, we drove to Cambridge to watch the Huskers take on KU. We joined what must have been the entire Boston chapter of the UNL alumni association at a small pub. I can’t recall the last time I had so much fun cheering for the Huskers.

We had a great trip, thanks to Katie and Tom. We can’t wait to go back!

While in Concord, we stopped by the Old North Bridge, the site of the first battle of the Revolutionary War.

Last night, Ava, Olivia and I arrived in Boston for a long weekend with Aunt Katie. As I noted on Facebook: “After 1,200 miles, three hours, five partially-watched DVDs, four trips to the bathroom, two complete meltdowns, countless lollipops and only one glass of wine, we’ve finally landed in Boston. When exactly does the ‘vacation’ start?”

About that time, Olivia decided to entertain us with her antics, an act she kept up until 4:30 in the morning. (Seriously.) By the time I was on my second cup of coffee this morning, I was ready to leave the kids here and head south alone.

I’m glad I didn’t, though, because today turned out to be almost relaxing. Of course, thanks to Tom and Katie, we outnumbered the children three to two, which is a near perfect ratio. (Especially for a mom that just wants to pee alone every once in a while.)

We started the day at Castle Island, on the shore of the Boston Harbor in South Boston. Here are Katie and Tom at the shoreline with the girls.

We had lunch at Sullivan’s, a food stand that offered lobster rolls and fried clam bellies—along with 80 cent hotdogs.

Our picnic table overlooked the harbor—thankfully we had abundant sunshine to offset the rather chilly winds.

The girls ran off what energy they had left tumbling down the hills and chasing the gulls and geese.

After a driving tour of downtown Boston (during which the girls snoozed peacefully), we headed north to Concord. More soon!