Happy 7!

Boston

Outside the Paramount Cafe in Beacon Hill

My sister, Claire, at the race

Emily, Jennefer and Jessica- notice the lovely shirts!

Boston Harbor from the balcony of our hotel...isn't it amazing??

Little Italy...we ate dinner here on Saturday night

Post-race at the hotel. Jim loved our signs...

Lauren and I just got back last night from Boston- it was such an amazing trip. I've never been to Boston before, and I absolutely loved the city. It reminded me of New York City, but with all of these beautiful historical sites sprinkled in between the skyscrapers.

We stayed at the Custom House Marriott, which is a Boston landmark and really was beautiful. On Saturday afternoon we picked up a quick lunch at Quincy Market, by Faneuil Hall. Then, we boarded a Boston Harbor Cruise. On Sunday, we went to church in Cambridge as well as toured the city by trolley....so cool.

Monday was race day...we got up early, made some signage for Jim, donned our matching shirts, got some breakfast by the harbor and then rode the MBTA to the 21-mile mark. Finally, we saw Jim running...he finished the race in 3:19- and roadkilled about 3000 people in front of him- no small feat for the Boston Marathon. Congrats to Jim...it was a great race and so fun to take in the energy on race day that was all over that city.

The final day of our stay, we walked all the way to Beacon Hill to get some breakfast at the famous Paramount Cafe...yum. It was such a cool walk- it was raining a little bit and the walk was long, but the neighborhoods and city sites we saw along the way were totally worth it. We had to hit up H&M while we were there so after b-fast we found our way to some shopping and then picked up a late lunch. Finally, we caught our flights back home.

It was so fun to see my sisters and to hang out. There's never a dull moment when the Jewkes girls are together- I'm sure Jim and London can attest to that! Thanks Jim for giving us a reason to get together and thanks Mom and Dad for making it all happen! So fun!

Miss Lauren...

Lauren and I will be leaving bright and EARLY in the morning for our first vacation together...to Boston. My brother-in-law, Jim, qualified for the marathon this weekend and so my parents and the Taskers organized a quick trip to see him cross the finish line. Matching family T-shirts might be involved (pictures to ensue)...

Anywho...I'm so excited for a little deviation from the normal day-to-day and for a chance to see some of my family while spending time with my little Lauren- and I cannot tell you how nice the next 4 days will be. But, her daddy sure will miss her- he's got a big crush on this one...can't say I blame him. Miss Lauren will be missed!!

All the while, I will be missing my two little bug-a boos- Kate and Taylor. Here's an Easter picture of our sweet Kate...best of luck to daddy over the next 4 days!

Easter Fun

We had an Easter Egg Hunt at Nana and Papa's house yesterday. The kids were unleashed on the massive back yard scattered with over one hundred eggs and they went wild. It was pretty funny to watch. They all stuck together, like a big horde, and followed each other around until all of the eggs were found and piled in their baskets. Brian and I have been able to spend a lot of time with his family this weekend because his sister, Nicole, and her family (see below) are in town. Its been so nice to get together and do so many fun things. We've been able to ride horses, go to the mall, had a family FHE (thanks Barbara, for the great lesson!), celebrated Hannah's 7th Birthday, went on an Easter egg hunt, and more! We LOVE it when family is in town!

Peterson Preview

It's great to have Nicole & Casey in town this week from northern Cali. We were able to do a quick session in our neighborhood which turned out to be a lot of fun ... just a little chilly. Chilly? Yeah, it looks like a warm spring morning, but it was a little cold & windy--at least for little girls in spring dresses. Poor Sidney was pretty uncomfortable, but we managed ... and when we thought we were all done, it seemed to warm up and Sidney opened up a bit to finally get a family shot!

Easter at Star Creek

Our neighborhood had their annual Easter Party/Spring Fling today. It was gorgeous outside and the girls (all three!) had fun. The party started with a barrel train ride- Kate is giving a "thumbs up" to this one- they had so much fun on this that they rode it twice! There was an Easter bunny on the premises which provided some entertainment for the kids. You'll notice the picture with Kate and Taylor sitting on the ground listening to some sort of funny story/magic show which ended in the unveiling of a real-live bunny. This was followed by an Easter egg hunt in the park nearby. The party organizers had placed a ton of eggs in the park and some very nice people were kind enough to empty all of the eggs when no one was watching and so when the kids had their turn to find some loot, they were met with empty eggs. Classy.

Lauren is 3 months old and we are having so much fun with her. Most of you will already know this, but I'll explain myself: Kate and Taylor are just under 16 months apart. That certainly made the first 3 years of parenthood crazy, to say the least. While we definitely enjoyed it, both Kate and Taylor were very difficult babies- I'll spare you the details. Then, you consider that Kate was born with two birth defects which required an incredible amount of extra care for the first year of her life and well, life was a bit of a blur for a few years there. Hence, the large span of time in between my first two and Lauren. Then, we were blessed (and maybe earned it just a little bit :) ) with a very easygoing baby who requires almost nothing besides the regular feedings, baths, and laying down for naps. Brian and I are loving every minute of it- we don't take one moment of her sweetness for granted. Life is good. (I guess I should point out that I don't even mind when I'm used as a spit rag- as noted in the last picture...good timing with the camera!)