Here comes the sun

The sun has been up which means we have been out and about enjoying it. Two weekends ago we took a stroll along the Minute Man trail among the farmlands and fields of Lexington and Concord.

Last weekend we headed into the city for a tour of the First Church of Christ, Scientist. It is beautiful building that is well restored and has a very interesting religious history.

Mary Baker Eddy founded the church and also established the Christian Science Monitor newspaper and built a library right next to the church. Inside the library is the Mapparium -- a circular room made of glass tiles that make up a globe. You view this room by standing on a bridge that spans the middle of the globe. The echo effect is crazy and if people are whispering at the other side of the room you can hear every word like they are standing right next to you -- so no secrets here. Very cool room if you ever get a chance to see it.

After the church tour we spent some time at the Hatch Shell for EarthFest. Festival headliners included Collective Soul and Gin Blossoms which facilitated a great sing-a-long to tunes from the good old days.

I like big hats and I cannot lie...

So I've always secretly wanted -- or I guess not so secretly now -- to wear a "big" hat. You know the hats I'm talking about; think Kentucky Derby or Easter Sunday. I finally took the plunge and have decided this is the summer that I am going to try them out. I added a black and white "big" hat to my accessories and I am hoping to be brave enough to wear them. I've tried them out a few times so far and have gotten a few extra glances shot my direction. Some of the glances are promising but other glances seem to be saying, "what are you wearing?" I've decided to focus on the positive looks, be confident and just go for it because I think they are cute. So if you see a person walking around in a big hat this summer it might be me, and if it is, a friendly smile would be much appreciated as I try to rock my new hat style.

Thank Goodness It (was) Friday!

Last week was a long -- and stressful -- work week and I was more then ready when Friday finally came around. To celebrate the end of the week, Jeremy and I decided to grab some take out and have a picnic dinner at this great new park we found. It has an awesome view of Boston and was the perfect, relaxing atmosphere for the end of a crazy week.

We were also lucky to have visitors this weekend! My sister, Christanne, and her friend, Kristen, stayed with us Thursday and Friday night and we loved having them. It was a quick trip for them, but we were able to sneak in a visit to the Kennedy (John F Kennedy that is) Presidential Library and Museum as well as a tasty Thai restaurant for lunch before they headed home Saturday afternoon.

And of course, my husband couldn't bare to think of the weekend being finished without a trip to the movie theater to see "Iron Man 2".

Camping

I'm still finding new bug bites, my hair took multiple washes before not smelling of smoke and my arms and legs are a little sore from hiking, but...even I would have to admit that our camping trip last weekend with friends was super fun and something we will definitely have to do again.

I'm not a big camper -- I like outdoor things like fires, s'mores, hiking; but it is sleeping outside in a tent that I'm not usually a fan of. Knowing this, Jeremy took great care to make sure I had an extra warm sleeping bag and a blow up air mattress to sleep on. His efforts definitely paid off because I will be willing to go camping again later this summer.

Our adventures started Friday after work when we met up with some of our friends at Mt. Monadnock, NH. We set up camp, ate hot dogs, roasted marshmallows for s'mores and told stories late into the night.

Amy and Luke brought their Tonton sleeping bags (some of you Star War buffs might know what these are). The sleeping bag came equipped with artificial guts inside and a light saber for the zipper. No one should try camping without one :)

Here is our group around the fire.

On Saturday, we hiked to the top of Mt. Monadnock with Jodi and Taylor. It was a very rocky climb and pretty steep in sections but a beautiful view from the top.