Monday, December 15, 2008

Newport, Rhode Island & Boston, Mass

We had the best time! I'll let the photos tell the story and I'll add in some commentary :)

Once we landed in Providence, we quickly checked into our hotel, changed out of our travel clothes, and went to the party for the bride and groom! (Instead of a rehearsal dinner, they invited everyone who came into town!) Our teacher friends Heather and Jeremiah, Matt and I

A big group went out after the dinner to an 80's cover band/bar...to celebrate the upcoming nuptials!

Our FABULOUS hotel in Newport...The Viking

Rhode Island had unusually FREEZING weather during our stay. I went for a walk and to get coffee Sunday morning before the wedding, and could hardly enjoy my walk I was sooo cold! I thought it was funny how cold I was so I took a picture of myself.

Ernie and Claire...so cute!

Heather, Claire and I at the reception

Chad and Melissa Abby were kind enough to drive to Newport Sunday night to see us and get dinner! We got to meet their little man, Grant. Look at that face...I love this picture! He is adorable and SUCH a good baby!! It was super fun to know someone in RI :)

We were cracking up because Grant was looking everywhere but the camera!

Melis and I being silly in the street. It was SO fun to see you Abby's!!

Sunday night the Chargers were playing so all of us San Diegans weren't going to miss it just because we were in New England! It is so weird how late their sports come on over there! We don't need to talk about the outcome of that game.

"The Breakers" One of the famous Newport mansions. It was insane. Matt wanted to send this picture out saying "We've moved!" haha

I was excited to finally see the Atlantic Ocean! It looks a lot like the Pacific :)

cool tree on the grounds of the mansion


Monday, we left Newport and drove to Boston. *Note: Don't use GPS in the city of Boston. It doesn't work very well! We went with Heather and Jeremiah and drove straight to Quincy Market.

wet willy

We stayed at the Fiala's at MIT...so fun to see them and MIT's campus! We got to see Harvard also and this is one of the buildings at Harvard.

Tuesday morning, we woke up to pouring down rain! Perfect...the day we planned to tour the city on foot! We borrowed rain gear (thank you j and josh!) and braved the weather...we set off to walk the Freedom Trail. We got to the starting point by Subway, which was the first time either Matt or I took a subway (proved to be a good time and a few funny moments along the way).

I think I have about 18 layers on, and I was thankful for every one of them! Starting the Freedom Trail.

Stopped off at Cheers...needed a break from the rain. Matt and Norm.

me and diane.

matt shaking hands with the first mayor of Boston

Paul Revere's house! We paid 3 dollars each to get out of the rain...I mean check out Paul's digs. It was actually really cool and much of the house and contents inside were original.

Can you tell how hard it was raining? We were still having fun at this point!

After about 4 hours of winding all over the city looking at different spots it takes you by, it was getting dark and COLD. The entire contents of my purse was soaked...hence this picture. We stopped at a pub to grab a beer and get directions back to MIT.

We made it almost all the way on the Trail. Unfortunately, we didn't get to cross the bridge into Charlestown to finish the trail. We'll have to go back for that I guess :) As you can see, it was getting dark, and I was starting to get COLD from being so wet!

After one subway mistake (it was totally my fault, matt said that was the last time he listened to my advice on directions!) we made it back to MIT and were very excited for warm showers!! We spent our last night in Boston by going to one of Jeanette's favorite spots...Boston Beer Works.

Jeanette and I

Wednesday morning we woke to this BEAUTIFUL day...the day we were leaving on the train to Maine! That's okay...our adventures in Boston wouldn't have been quite as interesting had we had a beautiful day :)

We left on a train Wednesday morning for Portland, Maine. The Maine portion of this post will have to follow soon. Thanks for sticking with me this long!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

a new look!

i thought it was about time to spice up the ol' blog for the holidays :)

i can assure you, oh faithful reader, that i will procrastinate this weekend on submitting grades for progress reports. what relevance is that to you? i will surely update the blog with photos, as one beautiful form of procrastination.

see you soon! xxoo

Monday, December 1, 2008

thankful

i have so much i want to post but don't have the energy at the moment! matt and i had a fantastic Thanksgiving break on the east coast! i took over 200 pictures throughout the week. i want to do this post right and take the time to document our travels. i will wait until i am inspired. hold tight.

hope everyone reading this had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving. i love this time of year...and I love reflecting on and being thankful for all the blessings in my life! tis' the season!

i will leave you with a few things in which i am thankful:
-infinite blessings in life from a loving God
-my husband who's pretty dang cool
-my parents and family
-matt's parents and family
-unbelievable friends!
-our 2 amazing pups and companions
-a job and a paycheck
-the relationships i am fortunate enough to build with awesome kids
-health
-our condo (as much as i'd LOVE a house to call home, i really am grateful for being able to pay for our condo without stress...plus it looks cute and cozy with christmas decorations up!)

Bring on Christmas!