Southwick's Zoo

We went to check out Southwick's Zoo this week while Julie and I were off from work. What a cool place - well worth the long drive along back roads to get there!


Jocelyn wanted to hold the map of the zoo, so she was our tour guide throughout. Here she is showing us the llamas, which smelled about as good as you would imagine.


Jocelyn loved petting the goats, who seemed to enjoy it as much as she did...


...but the young man chose to keep his distance.


This was a theme that developed throughout the day. For example, Jocelyn loved feeding the deer some corn right out of her hand...


...while the little man high-tailed it out of there as soon as the deer came near.

In his defense, there were some frightful creatures displayed pretty up close and personal, including an alligator who looked like he was scouting for lunch...


...ring tailed lemurs with piercing gazes...


...a giraffe tall enough to reach out of its pit to feed on some plants right at our feet (by sticking out its long tongue, wrapping it around a shoot in the ground, and yanking it out)...


...and a Bengal tiger taking a nap.


Can't blame the young man for spending much of the day holding on tight as he is here.


Just before leaving Jocelyn and Ian decided they would like to take it down a notch and ride the carousel, which had the desired effect - happy faces and a long nap on the car ride home.

Happy Birthday America!

Since there usually is not much going on in Wellesley on July 4, we took the kids this year to Needham's Independence Day celebration on July 3. Not only did everyone have a blast, but Jocelyn had her "A Star Is Born" moment! More on that below.

We started with pony rides, which Jocelyn adored (Ian was a little gun-shy, at least at first)...


...and from there we went to have our faces painted. Ian wanted a baseball painted on his cheek, and Jocelyn (surprise, surprise) went for Hello Kitty.


Then we headed over to the field where the fireworks would take place. We hung out, listening to the band that was playing, and dancing...

...when suddenly the singer asked for a child to volunteer to sing part of a song. Jocelyn was up there just as fast as you can imagine! She had the crowd eating out of her hand when she sang the line "Why's everybody always picking on me?" from "The Charlie Brown Song." She made her Momma and Poppa very proud!

When her star turn was complete, we danced while the band played until dusk...

...and Ian got so hot from dancing that we had to strip him down to his onesie!

When it got dark, the fireworks began, and they were amazing. They went on for about a half hour, and the sky was completely lit up with vibrant colors! Jocelyn and Ian seemed to love their first experience with them (maybe because they got to stay up waaaaaay past their bedtime).

For the rest of the weekend Jocelyn would spontaneously blurt out, "why's everybody always picking on me?" What fun. We hope everyone else had a safe and happy 4th too!

Jocelyn is Three and a Half!

Our little Peanut turned three last Christmas Eve, so we had a Half Birthday for her this past weekend. She is all about Hello Kitty the past few weeks, so the house was filled with Hello Kitty balloons and other decorations.

Just after arriving, Nana brought in the first gift, a scooter Jocelyn had been asking for...I think it had the desired effect!


Jocelyn asked for face painting at her party so she could look like Hello Kitty. The person we hired also did some magic tricks before starting on her works of art...


...and had all the kids enthralled while she asked them to help her pull a rabbit from her hat.


They seemed a little skeptical at first, but then were very excited to have a little bunny to pet!


And then even more surprised when a dove came out of the same hat!


When the face painting began, the Half Birthday Girl was first in line of course...


...and loved how it came out!


In fact, all the young ladies loved how their face painting turned out. Jocelyn's friends Alex and Grace were painted like princesses...




...and cousin Poppy got some cool ladybugs...


...and even Momma got some pretty flowers at Jocelyn's request.


Jocelyn asked me to get my face painted too, but the face painter explained that I would need to shave first. So I escaped by a whisker, so to speak. Jocelyn was a little disappointed, but I think I redeemed myself when the cake (a Hello Kitty ice cream cake) came out.


I don't think I've ever seen someone so happy to see her birthday cake.


She started blowing out the candles before we were even done singing "Happy Birthday" because she wanted to dig in.


And dig in she did!


Momma searched high and low for Hello Kitty candles and decorations to put on the cake, and I think Jocelyn loved the result! Happy Half Birthday Peanut!

Father's Day 2011

Father's Day this year was a beautiful day for a cook-out and that is exactly what we did! Here is Poppa hanging out on the patio after grilling steak tips for everyone - I was able to catch him in a rare smile for the camera (not a goofy face for once!).

Grammie and Pepere came over to help us enjoy the day...

And Nana too - who took the trip into Boston to surprise Poppa and Pepere with lobsters from James Hook for their special day! Ian enjoyed a brief moment on Nana's lap before racing off on his new pedal-less bike that is his new favorite toy!

Then it was Jocelyn's turn to get some attention from Nana...

and Grammie...

Before racing off on her own as well!

Poppa had opened his gift that morning because he couldn't wait any longer for his new iPad and it was too early for the camera! Here is Pepere, however, allowing the kiddos to help him with his gift! All in all, it was a great day!

Swan Boats

For Ian's baptism, his Godmother (my aunt Cathy) got him a painting of the Swan Boats in Boston that we have hung in his bedroom. Often when I am putting him to bed at night he will look at it and tell me he wants to ride the boats, so we have been looking for an opportunity to give him and Jocelyn the experience. Over the holiday weekend we met our friends the Goggins and their kids in Boston for a ride.

Here is a shot Momma took just after we got on board...Ian is behind Jocelyn but too busy watching the operator get ready to cast us off to look at the camera.


He spent most of the time standing up on our bench looking around, wondering why the operator was pedaling away, and checking out the scenery.


He had lots of other things to look at, because it was a beautiful day. The swans and ducks were out in full force waiting to be fed, and the weeping willows swayed in the breeze. The other kids were soaking it all in as well.


After the boat made its way around the island and headed back toward the dock, we saw a family of turtles heading either home to the island or out for a swim.


What a nice way to spend part of a holiday weekend!