Beantown

Last week was Arabella's Spring Break from school. So after I recovered for a day from my LA jet lag, she and I packed up the car and headed to Beantown to help Uncle Mike & Uncle Jeff move. We had great weather on the drive down and we decided to take the ferry from NY to VT again. Arabella loved it and it is a nice little break in the 6 hour drive. The waves on Lake Champlain were pretty big as it was windy, but it made the ride fun! Arabella also loved snacking on fresh berries!


We made it to Boston before rush hour which was great! Arabella was so excited to see the dogs and her uncles! We decided to go out to dinner at Wahlburgers in the Hingham Shipyard. I was hoping for a Donnie or Mark Wahlberg sighting, but no such luck...Mike thought he saw someone who might have been one of the Wahlberg brothers...needless to say the burgers were yummy (and that is a lot coming from me since I am not a meat eater!!) It was a fun place and reasonably priced too! I would go back again.



After dinner, we let Arabella run around a bit and she had a ball! Then it was back home for some more playtime and stories with Uncle Mike!



Arabella had a great time and we were lucky the weather was so warm! It was nice enough to play outside and she had a blast coloring with chalk and playing on the swing set!





She also had fun blowing bubbles with Macy!

On Saturday, we took a drive to Connecticut to meet Grampie and to spend the afternoon with him. We met him at Buckland Hills and had lunch. Arabella was so excited to see him - she ran right to him and yelled "Grampie" when she saw him! Then Arabella had fun riding the carousel with all of us. We each had to go for a ride with her and then sometimes even twice! She loved it!




We had a fun afternoon with Grampie and wish we were able to spend more time with him. Before we knew it, we were on our way back to Boston. We helped Uncle Mike and Uncle Jeff pack up for their move to Virginia. We packed boxes and loaded them on the moving truck before we hit the road back to Montreal. Arabella had a fun time helping!

Once again, our trip went way to fast, but that was probably because we had so much fun! We will miss Uncle Mike and Uncle Jeff being so close...now we won't be able to make quick weekend car trips anymore. But that is OK, we will just have to plan them a little more in advance! Thanks for a fun time, we love you guys!

Arabella & Santa

When we were in Boston, we went to the South Shore Plaza on Black Friday. I know you are probably thinking we were crazy to go to the mall, but actually it wasn't too bad. Arabella spotted Santa and as soon as she did, we had to go see him. She was so excited and it was such a difference from last year's visit. There wasn't anyone else is line, so we basically walked right up and it was our turn. That certainly made things easier. She was a little shy, but excited to sit next to him and tell him what she would like him to bring. I love how excited she is about Christmas! It is magical!

Thanksgiving in the States

Last week, Arabella and I drove to Boston to spend Thanksgiving with Uncle Mike, Uncle Jeff, Macy & Rocco. We wanted Dad/Jay to join us, but he had to work and was in Nova Scotia. We had a great day for driving and part of our journey included taking the ferry across Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh to Grand Isle, Vermont. (It was fun for Arabella, was a nice break in the driving for me and actually cuts a little time off of our trip!)
The GPS view - it looks silly to see your car in the middle of the water!
Arabella enjoyed her movies along the drive and on the ferry ride.
The view from our spot on the ferry.

Our drive was uneventful, except for the traffic once we got to Boston....it was backed up for a while. Good thing for the DVD player!

Arabella was so excited once we arrived - she couldn't wait to see Uncle Mike, Uncle Jeff and the dogs! She had so much fun walking Macy & Rocco, giving them treats, playing Barbies and airport with Uncle Mike and goofing around singing Lady Gaga with Uncle Jeff!



We had a fun and yummy Thanksgiving Day. Uncle Mike and I cooked, while Arabella and Uncle Jeff watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Everything was so delicious and we enjoyed everything. I even made my first pumpkin pie!


My first pumpkin pie!
Uncle Mike's perfect turkey!
After dinner we took a walk and the sunset was beautiful! All the Christmas decorations we starting to appear too!

Uncle Mike and I went and stood in line at Target on Thanksgiving night to score some great Black Friday deals...we were in line at 9:30, pretty close to the front of the line, so we got everything we wanted and were home by 2 am! We had fun hanging out and doing some shopping. Jack, Arabella's Elf on the Shelf joined us at Uncle Mike's house too! Arabella had a lot of fun with Macy & Rocco and even got to go with Uncle Mike when he too Rocco to the vet.






Our drive home was good, the sunset was beautiful!

And the only hang-up on the drive was our wait at Customs at the Border...we waited almost an hour to get through! I Had never seen the lines this long!
We had so much fun over Thanksgiving and it was hard to leave! Thank you Uncle Mike & Uncle Jeff!

Anniversary Weekend

Last weekend, we took a road trip to Boston for our Anniversary. Actually, it wasn't all for our Anniversary...Jay and Mike had been planning to attend the BMW Show & Shine in New Hampshire for a few months now and since it was our Anniversary, Jay asked Arabella and I to tag along for the drive. The weather on the drive was not that great...rainy and overcast for most of it, but since I was just along for the ride, I was able to take a few pictures along the way. This one is of the sun trying to peek out as we crossed Pont Champlain while leaving the island.

I had not planned on going since I thought it would be a good guys weekend for Jay, Mike and Jeff...full of "car porn" and no girls. However, it was nice to get away for a little while and spend some good quality family time together in the car...nothing like 5 1/2 hours in the car to bond! And if you know anything about me...I hate long car rides, especially if I am not driving and this time around I wasn't. But it wasn't that bad...Arabella had her DVD's,

I had had my school work and Jay just drove his new toy (which I have to admit, I really like the seats in the new BMW - they are very comfy and really supported by back)...we made a few stops along the way, were stuck at the border for 45 minutes,

started to see the foliage changing in Vermont


and then sat in some Boston rush hour traffic so we were very excited to see Uncle Mike and Uncle Jeff when we arrived. We actually surprised them when we got there which was fun. Arabella loved telling Uncle Jeff all about her ride and couldn't wait to have fun.


And she was even more excited when she spotted the cupcakes the Uncle Mike made for her on the kitchen island!

Arabella, Macy & Rocco...looking for "trouble"!

Jay and Mike had fun doing car "stuff"...I think they made a few trips to the BMW dealer and then played around on the cars for longer than I can count...but that was really what last weekend was all about.



And despite a few "hiccups" on Friday, we had a great Anniversary.

Jay and I were able to go out to dinner at Burton's...thanks Mike & Jeff for the great recommendation! Jay had steak and some type of seafood and I a had yummy vegetable risotto. I also enjoyed a delicious Autumn Apple Martini! Jay also surprised me with a trip to Verizon to pick out a new cell phone and I am SUPER EXCITED about it...I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my iPhone!!! Thanks Jay!!

Saturday was a very busy day. I had to drive to Connecticut to pick up a few pieces of furniture from my Aunt Rose. She has moved into an assisted living facility and there were some things that she wanted Mike and I to have. It was a difficult day and I am thankful that Lori was able to help me - Jay, Mike & Jeff stayed with Arabella in Boston since it was easier with less people around to go through things and decide what we would like to have. I still don't like the idea of "taking" things since she is still alive, but I am happy to have some items that I remember growing up. Having my best friend with me made it better and I am thankful that Jeff let me use his SUV to bring things back to Boston. Now all I have to do, is figure out how to get a few of the larger pieces to Montreal!

Sunday was a busy day for Arabella and I as we did some last minute errands while Mike and Jay attended the Show & Shine. It was a good weekend, that went by too fast! Thanks again for all the fun Uncle Mike & Uncle Jeff, we can't wait to come back!