Independence Day

The Fourth of July was over a month ago, so I really shouldn't care about posting this, but I am determined to record important events chronologically on my blog, even when I'm very slow about updating it. It was really cool to be able to celebrate Independence Day in Boston, the city where the idea that became America began. We went to the celebration along the Charles River and stayed on the Cambridge side. The official party is on the Boston side, but they broadcast the musical program so it doesn't really matter. Sophie managed to stay up and not be too grumpy until the fireworks finally started. The show was really good and I was definitely happy we went. That happiness evaporated a little bit when it took us an hour to drive the two miles back to our apartment. Sometimes... it would be good to have bikes for the whole family.

Sophie's Fourth of July dress

Beautiful shots of the Boston skyline:

The tall building is the Prudential Center, known to us locals as the Pru

My happy, oh so photogenic family

I was proud of myself for using the fireworks setting on my camera

Monkey See, Monkey Do

I took Sophie to the zoo for the first time at the end of June. We went with our friends from playgroup to the Franklin Park Zoo, in the suburbs of Boston. I think it's a comparatively small zoo, but it still had all the main attractions: lion, tiger, giraffe, zebra, etc., but no chimpanzees :( Here are some cute pictures, thanks to my friend Brittany.

Sophie was the first kid in the pen to pet the goat. No fear!

The lion was sleepy

I love this one!

And I'll leave you with a little Sophie...

Sophie's Summer Activities

Hello devoted blog readers,

My husband recently complained that my blog is too much like a Flikr account, i.e. it's just a collection of pictures without any "deep thoughts." That point is well taken, but I have to catch all of you up on semi-recent happenings first and then I will spend more time pontificating. Since I'm not in school this summer, I have had a lot more time to spend with Sophie and we have been able to attend all the activities we had to miss during the school year. Here are some of the things we have been doing:

Strawberry Picking at a farm with our church playgroup

Spending a Saturday afternoon on the Boston Common, riding the Swan Boats

In case Sophie's face didn't give it away, she did not like the Swan Boats. That's mostly because she doesn't like sitting still, something that is obviously necessary while on a boat.

Playing in the water with the playgroup

Sophie had kind of a hard time with the fountains. As long as the water didn't shoot too high she was fine, but whenever it did she got trapped in the middle and ran out crying with her hands up.

The park had an awesome teeter-totter!

Let me know if you agree with Loren's opinion and if I need more thoughts to balance out all the pictures.

Castle Island

We took an afternoon trip to Castle Island and Fort Independence in June. It's great to live so close to the ocean and it was my first time going to a beach in Massachusetts. I guess I forgot where we were because I was fully anticipating getting in the water and playing in the waves. Wrong! The beach was kind of rocky and the water, of course, was freezing! Sophie was deterred at first, but gradually warmed up to splashing around and ended up having a great time. After our fun in the sun was over, we went to a family-run hamburger joint there and had a yummy, unhealthy dinner. It was a good outing!

Us with the fort in the background. We couldn't go in because they only give tours on Saturdays. John Adams christened it Fort Independence, changing the name from Castle William. This was where colonial governors came to hide out when condition in Boston were thought to be unfavorable or dangerous.

Sophie loved looking at the water. She would have tried to jump in if we had let her.

Logan Airport, practically in the ocean

After a while she got sand on herself, so I filled one of the cups up with water and washed her off. She then repeated that over and over, splashing cold water (and more sand) on herself :)

Wellesley Reunion

The first weekend in June I was a student worker for Wellesley's reunion weekend. I didn't get paid very much and it was really hot all weekend, but the annual alumnae parade on Sunday morning made up for it. Classes have a reunion every five years, so this year's group was all the classes ending in a 0 or 5. The oldest graduates were from the class of 1935! It was really inspiring to see the legacy and sisterhood of Wellesley on display and to feel a connection to all of these accomplished women. Pretty soon that will be me in the parade!

Sherilyn's Day and Memorial Day

Loren is at a bachelor party tonight so I have no excuse to keep me from chipping away at bringing the blog up to date. The weekend after I finished my exams we took a trip to Denver to celebrate Sherilyn's (Loren's little sister) high school graduation. We also helped Sherilyn and Marianne (Loren's mom) get packed and ready to move to West Virginia. I know Loren was sad because it was our last trip to Colorado for a long time and that will always be his home, but it was great to see Sherilyn graduate and we were happy we could help with the move.

Sophie made it through the graduation ceremony with the help of her cousins, who fed her bits of graham cracker, but she conked out right after it was over.

Part of the McGinnis (and Nelson) family

Us with the proud graduate

Cut to Memorial Day. We had a relaxing family day, took Sophie to a cool park and went on a walk to the beautiful Mount Auburn cemetery. We finished the day with hot dogs, yum!

The Mary Baker Eddy Memorial

Life is full of surprises

Two amazing things happened yesterday:

1. Sophie let me rock her to sleep for a nap. That has not happened in months because we have trained her to fall asleep on her own in the crib, plus she is usually way too fidgety to sit still on anyone's lap. I felt very proud and happy that she let me cuddle her and put her to sleep. This is a more typical view of Sophie:

2. I ironed the big pile of wrinkly clothes that was in our closet. I rarely, bordering on never, iron. That's mostly because I'm too lazy, not because I enjoy wearing wrinkled clothes. Loren was very impressed.

Oh and also I lost my voice. Right now I am reduced to whispering and Loren keeps telling me not to talk at all (because he hates the way I sound). Now would be a bad time to call me on the phone. This is also surprising because I don't think I have ever lost my voice like this.