Last Month in Boston...

May was a busy month for the Conleys in Boston! The first week and a half was our road trip around the northeastern part of the country and the final weeks were busy with visitors and final preparations for the move back.

We had decided to keep the rental car for the entire month of May and that allowed us to do a few more trips before heading back to Finland.

We had a few visitors in May, which was nice to squeeze in some quality time before we headed back. My friend Kristyn came from London, Ontario. She is a dear friend of mine from university and is home with three young kids and a husband who works a lot of hours and travels for his job as well. It was awesome to spend some time with her and I think she really enjoyed a weekend away from her home. Andrew was nice enough to watch my kids one of the days so that Kristyn and I could go whale watching and do some shopping. Unfortunately I didn't get to see any whales but it was a nice day out nonetheless.

My friends Deb and Phil came to see us for a few days with their little guy Rowan. He is a very easygoing kid and we had a lot of fun with them. We did a Samuel Adams brewery tour, we walked around the city center along many points of the Freedom Trail, we went to the Aquarium, and we spent a day at the zoo.

And my mom came to see us for a couple days during our last week - trying to squeeze in some last minute cuddles from the kids :)

May was really nice weather, although the last two weeks were very HOT! But luckily very little rain so I got to take the kids outside a lot. The renovations at the Aquarium were completed and we got to see Myrtle the Turtle in her new tank. We took a drive to the house where JFK grew up, which was actually only 10 minutes away in Brookline. We saw a few more stops on the Freedom Trail.

One weekend we drove to Lexington and Concord, to walk along the famous Battle Trail inspired by the Battle of April 19, 1775 that launched the American Revolution. "The shot heard round the world". It was an 8km walk through the trails where the British invaded the colonial militia and also saw the capture site of Paul Revere.

We also toured the campuses of MIT and Harvard, just because we could.

Three days before we were scheduled to fly back, Maddy entertained us with her final ballet recital. This ballet class was perfect for her, it started the day after we flew to Boston and ended 3 days before we flew out. Her teacher Tom was incredible, he had a wonderful way with the kids and they all adored him. He was like a little kid trapped in a man's body. Maddy and her classmates performed in the Brookline Music School ballet recital and it was really nice. She was very proud!

And so concludes our adventures in Boston. It was a lot of work, a lot of sugar, a lot of fun, a lot of memories. Good bye Beantown.

 The waterfront

 

Boston City Center, with the Christopher Columbus waterfront park

Maddy riding the donkey in front of Old City Hall

Myrtle the Turtle in her new home at New England Aquarium

The Boston Public Garden and the famous Swan Boats.

Spent lots of time here over the past four months!

Memorial Day flags in the Boston Commons.

Maddy walking down the Minute Man Battle Trail, rifle in hand.

Charlie loving the long grass along the Minute Man trail.

Warm up on stage before the ballet recital.

Maddy's ballet class, pretty in pink!

Harvard gates. "Enter to Grow in Wisdom"

The Harvard campus was beautiful!

Fenway Park

Trying to cool off!