Trot, Trot back to Boston

We took a field trip to celebrate Columbus Day on Monday.  We had not taken the kids to do the Freedom Trail since they were little and {gasp} they didn't remember it.

We have always started on the Boston Common end of the Freedom Trail and never made it to the end...which is the Navy Ship Yard and the USS Constitution.  A little research revealed that The National Park Service had a parking garage near the Ship Yard.

I'm so glad we started on that end!  It was fun to see a different part of Boston and to also see Charlestown.

My parents have a painting of the USS Constitution and I only recently realized that it was THAT ship that was moored right here in Boston.  Here are the kids in front of "Old Ironsides."

This friendly sailor was fresh out of boot camp and delighted to have scored a Boston gig.

The kids were pretty impressed with the cannon balls (lower right corner).

Quite an impressive battleship.

No idea what this was but had some eager posers.  ha.

There was also another ship, the USS Cassin Young, that we were able to board and explore.

Chloe was impressed with the size of this mixer!

Nice view of the Old North Church from the ship.

This one is for you, Dad!  {Private joke}

We then visited the Museum at the Navy Yard but didn't have time to do it justice.  At all.  But we had things to see and so we pressed on.

We hiked into Charlestown (still following the Freedom Trail red bricks the marked the it out for us) to see the Bunker Hill Monument.

There are 294 steps to the top of the monument where you can get a breathtaking view of the city.  There is a notice at the entrance that people with heart conditions should not attempt it.  Kate and SaraGrace wanted to try but didn't make it very far, so Molly took the rest of the kids to the top and I waited for them at the bottom with my heart babies.  (I was secretly happy to have an excuse not to make the climb - haha).

Molly thought it was cool to find out that the battle of Bunker Hill took place on her birth date.

Clearly, I have been missing out on the stunning views in Charlestown.  So incredibly pretty there.

Then it was time to head back into Boston because we were all starving and we needed to work on our Junior Ranger books.  I kept thinking Quincy Market was 'just around the corner,' but alas....  it was around many, many corners.  The kids were troupers for the most part.

Katie started to struggle so the bigger kids took turns giving her rides.  Jordan made an attempt and they both almost fell over.  Rather comical...but so sweet of him to want to help her.

"Seriously, Mom, you're killin' us here."

Finally found some overpriced ham and cheese sandwiches and sat by the fountains to snarf them while finishing up our Junior Ranger books.  By this time, our feet were throbbing but the show must go on.

Some guy offered to take a picture of all of us.

Ben Franklin offered us a photo op and then wanted $2 for the privilege. 

Sworn in as Junior Rangers for their Boston badge.  This guy took his job very seriously and tried to quiz the kids on some of the material in the book.  They were mortified and most of them just stood there wordlessly. 

Acrobats in front of Quincy Market.  There were other performers in front of Fanieul Hall which enthralled the kids.  Only the lure of the gift shop at the Navy Yard could tear them away.
We couldn't leave the area without making a quick dash to the Old State House.  It is being refurbished so one whole side is covered with scaffolding. 

I thought it was important for them to see the spot where the Declaration of Independence was read to the people of Boston.  (Above door, being repaired, and I think there is usually a balcony railing there.)

Beautiful staircase inside. 

Next trek was back to the Ship Yard and we made a brief stop at the Old North Church so they could see where Paul Revere and William Dawes awaited the lantern signal.

Last stop of the day was the Museum Store where the kids bought some souvenirs.  The kids were sure that we walked a million miles due to our aching feet but all agreed that it was a very fun day!

The Adams Family

Not the TV Adams Family.

The John  and John Quincy Adams Family.  

Until recently, I was oblivious to the fact that there was a very nice, nearby, almost free opportunity to visit three homes that were lived in by the Adams family.  Well, that needed to be remedied and made into a field trip.

I want to share a fun tidbit with all the mom's - especially home schooling mom's - who are looking for a fun way to teach some history to their kids.  The National Park Service has the coolest programs for kids!  If you go to their website, http://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm you can find parks in  states that have a junior ranger program.  

The Adams National Historical Park has once such program.  The park service provides the kids with a booklet that asks them to find out historical information about the park and complete the pages.  Ours was about the Quincy family and their role in shaping America.  The park service even provides pencils.  If you finish your book, you are given a prize (a patch or pin).  You might as well get some pay back from your tax dollars!

The kids were free and I only had to pay $5 to to taken from home to home in a trolly, where we were given a guided tour of each.  Sweet!!

First we viewed a 26 min. movie at the visitor center while we waited for the trolly.  It gave a good overview of the family history.  

Once we had some facts, we were ready to work on our books while we waited for our turn to tour.  There was a nice gift shop and a few chairs and tables for us to use.

Jake is all about prizes which motivated him to get started.

Zoey and Kate just generally enjoy school work.

The older kids had a harder version of the book to complete.

Jordan meticulously worked on his.

The inside of the books were nicely done.

They worked hard until it was time for the trolly.  It was fun work because it is kind of like a treasure hunt finding all the answers and helping each other.

First Trolly ride!

My heart babies having a great time!

Jordan continues to work on his book while the others just enjoy the ride. { Smile.}

Even Jake was still attempting to fill in some blanks.  Can't miss out on a prize!

First stop were two houses.  One was the birth place of John Adams and the other, John Quincy Adams.  They are only 75 feet apart and sit on their original foundations (the upper parts of the homes have been rebuilt so are not original).  This home was the birthplace of John Adams.

This one was the birthplace of John Quincy Adams and was so close to the street that I couldn't get back far enough to get a shot of the entire house.  No photographs were allowed inside either home.  

The third and final home was the home that John and Abigail moved into after coming home from years of service abroad.  It was built on 75 acres and was only a mile from their original farm house.

There were beautiful gardens around the house.  To the left, is a fabulous library separate from the house.

Meeting our guide as she took us into the Stone Library.  I wish I could have taken pictures inside.  It was an amazing two story room with an incredible number of books.

Chloe had a few blank spaces in her book so she was anxious to complete it and  get her questions answered by one of the park rangers.  The other kids also gathered round to get answers.  Jake clearly has lost interest.

One of the beautiful gates in front of the house.

A nice park ranger offered to take our picture while we waited for the trolly to come and take us back to the visitor center.  They seemed rather fascinated with our large group.  

When we arrived back, the Park Ranger checked all their books, gave them plastic park ranger badges and had a swearing in ceremony so that they could become junior park rangers.   So cute!

It was a very enjoyable afternoon that gave the kids an opportunity for some hands-on history learning.  I highly recommend looking in your state for parks that offer the junior ranger program.

This Boy....

This boy...

He will cause me to go gray early.

Last night at dinner, he started choking on a large piece of chicken.  At first we didn't know what was happening but Zoey figured it out as Jake jumped up and silently freaked out as he struggled to communicate what was wrong.

I jumped up from the table and administered the Heimlich as panicked thoughts of, "What am I going to do if it doesn't come out?" raced through my mind. 

Thankfully the offending chicken piece flew out on the first thrust.  Jake was shaking and crying and clung to me as I breathed a prayer of thankfulness to the Lord.

And then the dog rushed over and ate the chicken.

Nice.

Mystic Seaport

After a very long absence from this blog, I have been encouraged by several people to start writing again (thank you - you know who you are!).

There is much to catch up on but I won't do that in this post.  I am just going to start back a week and hopefully catch up later.

We are homeschooling again this year and we took a field trip to Mystic Seaport last week.  There is a living history whaling village there that we visited.

    Here we are at the entrance to the Seaport!

   First stop:  Listening to a man explain the life of a harpooner.  They got up close to huge (as in:  way bigger than their boat) whales and harpooned them all up close and personal.

We went on board this ship first.  It was pretty cool to be able to see what it was like on a whaling ship.  The kids thought the sailor's bunks were just the right size for them.  Not sure how the sailor's fit in them!

Another ship we boarded.  I was surprised that there was more than one to view.  I wish I could remember more details about this one but we were kind of on a whirlwind due to only having one afternoon to tour.

Another view of it.  So picturesque.  I kind of want to go back and see if those trees behind it are in full color now!

Captain Kate at the helm.  She was pretty amazed by the size of the wheel.

               I became completely distracted by all the gorgeous scenery in Mystic. 

The kids climbed into the small whale boat and were able to see how small they actually were.  I cannot imagine harpooning a humongous whale in one of these.  Ack!

           One of the streets in the village,  So quaint and beautiful.

This is a replica of a lighthouse that currently sits on Nantucket Island.  There were two short movies inside that gave short histories about whaling. 

 Just more pictures of charming New England-y kind of scenes. 

It wasn't long before the kids spotted a horse.  It was too expensive for all of us to ride the carriage but the caretaker was kind enough to let the kids pet the horse.  They were pretty much the only kids in the place since we went on a weekday.  That meant that the staff patiently answered all the kids' questions and spent a lot of time with them in the village 'stores' and 'businesses.'

Getting a lesson on how all the signs were carved, as well as the figureheads on the bow of ships.

 

On the porch of the General Store. SaraGrace thought this Indian was pretty wonderful.

There was a hands-on kids cottage with fun activities.  They were technically too old for it but since there were no other children, the kind lady running it invited them to come in and play.  There was a boat to climb and play in, fake fish to catch, sailor clothes to try on (being modeled above by my three munchkins) and a galley kitchen where the girls would have spent all day if I had let them.  Zoey was quite disgusted with Jake for wearing the black rain hat instead of a jaunty white sailor hat.  She told him he looked ridiculous.  Obviously, he cared not.

 

Heh.

There was a cute little play area with several wooden boats to play on.  Jordan liked steering the best.

SaraGrace poses on the tugboat.

Blond is just not his color.  Neither is the dress.

 

SaraGrace's shoes were getting too small and by the end of the afternoon, she was hurting.  Zoey offered to give her a piggy back ride for awhile.  So cute!

We closed the place down and then my matey's were hungry.  We wanted to go to the famous Mystic Pizza, so off we went!

The pizza was yummy!  I never saw the movie - however it was playing on various screens all over the restaurant.  Some of the scenes were uh...not so appropriate for kids.  I had to keep distracting them so they wouldn't look.

And then we drove home.

The end.

The Accident

A week ago today we received a call no parent wants to get.  My cell phone rang and a quavery voice on the other end said,
"Mom, I just got in an accident.  My car it totaled."

Thankfully, he was not injured severely, nor was anyone in the other car. 

Over the past week, as we pieced together what happened from what Taylor remembered and what the police report said, it was apparent that God had been incredibly merciful.  He had been going too fast and went slightly wide around a turn.  A large box truck was in the other lane and got over as far as it could to avoid a collision.

It happened a mile or so from our house and we heard the sirens.  When he called, he wouldn't tell us where he was because he thought I would freak out and said someone who witnessed it was driving him home.  I had a gut feeling that those sirens were for him.  It haunted me over the next few days as I realized they HAD been. 

We continue to be incredibly thankful for God's protection and some valuable lessons learned.

IF:
- If Taylor's car had crossed the center line and had been fully in the other lane, the head on collision could have been catastrophic
- If Taylor had hit a smaller vehicle, there could have been severe injuries for the occupants.
- If Taylor's car had hit the truck six inches closer to the drivers side door, his injuries would have been much more severe.  (The damage was mostly directly behind him)

BUT:
- The occupants of the box truck had no serious injuries.
- He walked away with no broken bones.  He does have a concussion and neck strain, chest contusion, etc.  But we are well aware that we could have spent the week planning a funeral.
- A friend had just told him to stop driving with his seat reclined so far back.  THAT MORNING, he set his seat more upright.  He says he doesn't know why.  We do--because of God!  If his seat had been reclined, he could have slipped from the seat belt and/or had a serious neck injury from the seat belt hitting him across the throat.

He is having some memory gaps from the concussion, but other than that, he is healing well.  Mom and Dad are having some post-traumatic stress but mostly we are profoundly grateful that God chose to spare his life and the lives of everyone involved.

Taylor's car at the impound lot.