My Bupa Day!

Every year for their birthday, my dad gives the kids "Bupa Coupons."  The coupons entitle them to a day with Bupa to do whatever they want.  This past year, Stella and Bupa went to Build-a-Bear where she made a stuffed bunny and then they went out to lunch.  Colby and Bupa went to the Children's Museum and to lunch.  After seeing the fun that the kids were having, Kelsey got smart and asked for a Bupa Coupon for Christmas.  He got one, and he and Dad spent a day skiing at Sunday River this past winter.  Then came my birthday.... I got a Bupa Coupon too!  I finally used mine on Saturday when Dad and I went to the Red Sox game in Boston!

Dad and I met up at a T stop and rode down the green line a few stops to Fenway.  The game was moved to an earlier start time because of Hurricane Irene.  She was due to start pounding Connecticut late that night, so I was fine with an earlier game.  You would never have known a hurricane was on its way judging from the weather in Boston,  When we arrived at Fenway Park, the sun was shining and it was hot and humid. 

I absolutely LOVE Fenway Park.  It's the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use and it's full of character.  The streets surrounding Fenway are only open to game ticket holders before the games, and they're packed full of tons of Red Sox fans, vendors, guys on stilts, and bands playing music.  It's so fun walking around and just seeing all of the people.  Everyone is so happy!

We went inside the park, got some lunch (sausages with peppers and onions and a beer for each of us), and then went to find our seats.  They were great seats.  We were back in right field, just seven rows up from the grass.

I was so excited when my boyfriend favorite player, Dustin Pedroia, was up to bat. 

I got a better view of him on the big screen.  Go Pedroia!

The Red Sox played an amazing game.  By the end of the 5th inning, they were beating Oakland 9-2.  But then the rains started to come.  Thanks, Irene.  Dad and I abandoned our seats in search of a place under the roof where we could stay dry.  By the time we got up there, out came the grounds crew to cover the field with the tarps.  Rain Delay.

But, we weren't ready to give up yet.  We stuck it out and stayed where it was dry to wait out the rain delay.  (plus it was fun watching them lay out the tarps)

About 45 minutes later when the rains became lighter, the grounds crew came out again to remove the tarps.  The crowd went wild!  Game on!

But, the Sox only played a little bit longer before the rains picked up again.  It was POURING.

So.... out came the tarps again.  Ugh.

By this time, I was ready to get started on my 2 hour drive home so I could get there before Hurricane Irene.  Plus, the Red Sox were still winning 9-2.  So sadly, Dad and I left Fenway Park and the Red Sox. 

We still had to walk a ways to the subway, and we got completely soaked (along with everyone else!) along the way.  It was crazy!  Like I told the kids when I got home, it was like standing in the shower with your clothes on. 

Still, we had an awesome time at the game.  It was such a great day!   

I wonder what I'll do with my Bupa Coupon next year.....

Thanks, Dad!

The Kids' New Favorite Activity

Stella and Colby discovered this fun new game the other day and spent about an hour doing it.....

So fun!

ps.... We all survived Hurricane Irene.  I would describe her as a glorified rain storm.  We didn't even lose power. We were really lucky.

Since the last time we spoke....

This is what's been going on here at the Gilmore's........

I found a special message under a beer cap.  :)

We saw a dear friend of mine get married on a gorgeous day at the ocean.

We read Max roughly 1,000 books (or actually, the same 3 books 1,000 times!).

I embroidered a pillow with some words of wisdom from Ralph Waldo Emerson (Mom introduced me to this, and I like to credit her with this quote because it is truly how she lived.  When we follow those 3 rules, what more is there really?)

Max took a nap on Peepaw at the park during Kelsey's family's visit with us before they left for England for a year.

(and then he woke up.  And pointed to the swings where he was promptly brought.)

We fed some ducks and geese, which was nice and peaceful until they called in their hundreds of friends.

(Max liked quacking at the geese.  They were almost as big as him!)

(It's a good thing Meemaw was there to protect him!)

We went back to Dinosaur State Park for their 45th anniversary (which was on the SAME day as Kelsey's parents' 45th anniversary.  Go figure.)  where we saw an Apatosaurus.....

and a triceratops.

 While there, Stella painted a suncatcher.....

Colby did some bowling.....

and Max did some stretching on a sign.

We went to cheer Kelsey on at his duathlon.   

(here are his very sleepy fans getting ready to cheer him on at 7:30 am.  True love.)

(Here are his two biggest fans waiting patiently for Daddy to emerge from the lake after his 1 mile swim)

"Go Daddy, Go!"

Kelsey running into the finish line after his 25 mile ride....

And, he came in 3RD place!!!  He did amazing.

All that cheering wore little Max out.

And, that is what the Gilmores have been up to.  It's been a very busy month.  Stella's first day of school is Monday, so we are now in our last week of summer.  It's bittersweet.... on one hand, Stella and Colby are SO ready to be apart from each other for part of the day.  But, we did have a very fun summer. 

The Pool, the Beach, and the Carousel

We ended the month of July with a bang.  This past weekend, we had a great time playing at the pool and hanging out at the beach.

 

Saturday, we headed over to one of Southington's public pools at Recreation Park (or, as we call it in our family, "Goose Poop Park" for obvious reasons).  We are so lucky to have access to two pools in our town during the summer months, and this summer we have really taken advantage of them.  The kids LOVE going to the pool and we are still so amazed at how well they are all doing in the water. 

We started out our day in the kiddie pool, where Max especially likes to be.  The water is only about 1 foot deep, so he can easily walk around (although he falls over a lot, so we can't take our eyes off of him for one second!).  Colby and Stella also like the kiddie pool because it has a very cool mushroom-like thing in the middle that the water falls off of  and is super fun to play under.

Then we headed over to the "big pool," which is Stella and Colby's new favorite place to be.  They especially like being in that pool with Daddy, because he does all of the fun stuff.

As soon as we got over there, the jumping began.  Jumping into the pool is their most favorite activity to do now (which is amazing considering just over a month ago, they would barely get their faces wet!).  Colby does all of these crazy flying leaps and cannonballs into the pool.  It's hysterical to watch!  Stella was having kind of a small day, and didn't do any jumping.  She still had fun swimming around.

 Since the Gilmores can never have enough water time, on Sunday we headed to the coast of Connecticut to Rocky Neck State Park.  It was a gorgeous day, so the place was absolutely packed.  It was way more crowded than I ever like a beach to be, but we still had a great day.  During our time there, we overheard several people say, "This is the most crowded I've ever seen this place."  I guess we picked a good day to go!  Still, the beach was really nice and the water was perfect.  It was very refreshing, calm, and clear.  Plus, we could walk way out without the water ever getting that deep. It is actually the Long Island Sound that we were swimming in, and we could see Long Island from the beach. 

And, of course, the kids had a blast.  They alternated between swimming around in the water and running up to our little spot to dig in the sand. 

Max made all sorts of friends (mostly of the old-lady variety) while we were there.  He would just waddle up to anybody who would give him attention (and who wouldn't!?) and smile at them and bat those incredibly long lashes at them.  He also had most of the beach laughing at his crazy walking style.  Anytime he would start to stumble, you could hear multiple, "Oh, ohhh, ohs" along the beach.  He had quite the audience!



 

 

 So, that was our weekend.  And now the countdown is on until the first day of school.  Stella starts on August 29 and Colby starts preschool a couple weeks later.  They are both very excited and scared all at the same time.  I'm trying to make the most out of our last few summer weeks, cramming in all of the activities I wanted to do into our few remaining free days.  One of the things on my checklist was to go to Hartford's Bushnell Park where there is a carousel that is almost 100 years old.  We've been there a few times before, but it is just so cool.  The ride is only $1 and it is the fastest carousel I've ever been on.  The park that it is in is right downtown, and there's also a playground and a ton of open space with lots of trees, paths, and fountains.  We found a good shady spot to have a picnic lunch in after our ride, and while we were eating......

Stella lost her 2nd tooth!  (Can you tell how proud she is in this picture??!)  What an exciting way to end our time at Bushnell Park.

And, I just had to include a picture of this sign.  It cracks me up every time I see it at the carousel.  The employees there must get handed a lot of slimy tickets from little kids for them to have to post this sign!