Monday- Madeline's Birthday

Monday had to be super special since it was Sissy's 9th birthday. So,
our plan was to head to Boston to do the New England Aquarium.
Unfortunately, Joel had to work. I tried talking him into faking some
awful GI attack and calling in sick, but he wouldn't agree to it.
Which I guess speaks to why I'm a sahm (stay at home mom) and he gets
to go to New England for cool business trips, but whatever. (kidding!)
So after breakfast at Friendly Toast and hot cocoas at Starbucks (her
choice, really!), we headed the hour south to Boston. To be honest, I
wasn't entirely thrilled with the prospect of navigating the heart of
Boston without another adult, but I also didn't want to ride the
subway alone with the kids. It can be kind of seedy, and that didn't
sound fun. So, I studied the route before we left, had the kids help
me look for signs, and we made it with virtually no problems! Phew.
The aquarium was amazing- we all really enjoyed it. I think all of
our favoite was the 4 story tank in the middle- with a walk way that
wound around it. Inside were tons of different fish, of course, but
also some huge sharks, and a giant sea turtle.
We also went to an IMAX movie- Maddy chose 'Whales and
Dolphins' (again, in 3D!), and it while it was much more educational
than entertaining, The Bigs really enjoyed it. (Carter fell asleep!)

It was finally time to head back to Portsmouth to meet up with Joel
for M's bday dinner. It took forever to get back- thanks to Boston
traffic, but we finally did.

Dinner was at the Blue Mermaid again, Maddy's choice, of course, and
it was Joel's first time there. So yummy! M opened some presents and
was a happy girl. (pic from dessert at Blue Mermaid)