God sure knows what He's doing...

...and sometimes I have to be reminded of that!

I've been feeling kinda ICK the last few days thanks to "girl stuff."  Today I was in a real funk because Layton left for Berkley around 12:30 and wasn't going to be home until midnight or later. I knew I was going to be home by myself ALL day and ALL night.  I was feeling kinda lonely and I've been bored since we got back from Boston.  I knew that lonely and bored meant that I would probably sit on the couch all day and that's not really good for me.  Thankfully, God did a few things to change my outlook on my day.   

I decided to go into work to get a few books to plan for the coming school year.  Unfortunately, I grabbed the wrong book but then some emergency reunion stuff came up to keep me busy for a few hours.  My wonderful friend Hannah, who is a great woman that I am so enjoying getting to know, also offered to come over and keep me company in the evening.  We watched "Bride Wars," ate some cake, and talked about her upcoming wedding and marriage.  I also read a another friend's blog about rejection and it REALLY spoke to me. All of that to say...

I'm glad that God takes care of me.  I'm glad that God KNEW that I didn't want to be lonely and bored today.  I'm glad that God put activities and people in my life to help make my day a little less lonely.  I'm glad that God provides, even in the little areas in my life.  And I'm GLAD that God is so FAITHFUL!  

Today's quote: Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...It's about learning to dance in the rain.

Today's blessing: Knowing that God wants to take care of even the little things in my life.

He gives and takes away...

Job 1:21 says, "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the 

name of the LORD." 

In the last seven months the Lord has really been doing some work in my life, particularly in my friendships. I won't go into great detail, since those of you that know me well know the story.  God chose to remove a friendship from my life and that process was extremely painful. It has been quite an amazing learning process and know that God chose for me to go through this situation to only make me a better person. At first I really didn't understand why God was allowing me to go through this situation.  Feeling hurt and rejected by a person that you never though would treat you that way is extremely difficult. I am still dealing with the hurt months later...

However...

About 7 months ago the Lord decided to place back in my life a very special person.  Because of 

various circumstances we had not spoken in a couple of years, but in December God allowed a healing in our friendship and I am so thankful that this wonderful girl is back in my life.  God knew that I was going to need her.  

I have really been learning over the past few months what friendship is.  I lost a friendship, but I gained another one back and I have seen so much support by the amazing women that God has placed in my life.  I have also learned that it's not the amount of friends that matters.  It's those deep meaningful friendships that really matter, not the trivial ones.

Samuel Johnston said: "True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and choice."

I am striving to surround myself with intelligent, integrous, honest, uplifting, and godly women.  God has given me quite a few gems and I am so proud that I can call these amazing women my friends.  Thank you so much girls for always being there, for the great moments and memories shared, and for the laughter and tears.  

Ludwig Van Beethoven said: "Never shall I forget the days I spent with you. Continue to be my friend, as you will always find me yours." 

Today's blessing:  Obviously it's the five wonderful women that I am proud to call my closest and dearest friends.  

Our last day here...

Today has been a great day! We finished off the Freedom Trail today and threw in a few other fun activities.

The 15th stop on the Freedom Trail is the U.S.S. Constitution. We got there pretty much when the shipyard opened that way we wouldn't have to wait in too long

of a line. We waited for about an hour and then we took a really cool 30 minute long tour aboard the ship below her decks. It was amazing to see this ship that was built in the late 1700's. It is the oldest commissioned war ship still afloat! After touring the ship we hopped back on the Freedom Trail and made our way up to the Bunker Hill Monument. This granite monument is 221 feet tall and has 294 steps up to the top. We climbed all of them! The view was gorgeous from up that high.

After finishing up the Freedom Trail we stopped at an Irish pub for on the way back to our place. We walked back into Little Italy to grab some cannolis from a place called Mike's Pastry. I had heard from a few people that their cannolis were a "must have." After lunch we walked up to the Boston Public Garden and took a ride on the famous Swan Boats. It was kind silly, but something that I had wanted to do since we got here. There is a small duck pond in the middle of the gardens and there are these boats on them that are powered by a person in the back that sits in a large white swan. The person peddles you around the small pond for about 15 minutes. It was VERY fun and I'm glad we got to do it. After that we went back to our place and hung out on our patio for awhile and then we took a picnic dinner up to the Boston

Common to enjoy our last evening here in this beautiful and inspiring city. We watched some dogs play for awhile and enjoyed our picnic and our cannolis for dessert :)

Now we're just packing and cleaning up our place, making sure that we have everything to take home with us tomorrow. I remember this feeling when we were leaving Chicago...glad to be going back to my own bed & home, so glad that I get to see my kids again, glad to see and hug my family and friends...but VERY sad to leave such a great experience. I absolutely LOVE sharing these types of memories with Layton and experiencing these types of cities that just have a different type of "feel" and energy than back home. I have learned that I come away from these trips with a new inspiration and desire for my life.

I'm looking forward to finishing up my last few weeks of summer and preparing for yet ANOTHER new and challenging year of teaching. Just because we're leaving Boston does not mean that I'm done blogging our counting my blessings. I'll still be around :)

Today's total mileage: 5 miles

Today's bum quote: hmmm...fakdjfalksjkarf...allllslofiosl....hmmrph - Said by a crazy man walking by us on the street

Today's blessing: Sharing a picnic in the Common with Layton and saying goodbye to this beautiful and inspiring city.

Bored with witches...

We took the commuter train into Salem today. We were both kinda bummed out by Salem. It seemed to be pretty hyped up on every website that we checked. It was actually a little boring, and the WAY over-played the whole witch thing. It was gorgeous day though, and the clouds were beautiful! We toured a really old house that is pretty much the only building left in Salem that has any connections to the witch trials. After that we walked up the pier a little bit in the harbor. We also took a tour of "The House of the Seven Gables." This is supposedly the house that Nathaniel Hawthorne's book is based off of. We also toured the little house that Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in.

We took the train back into Boston and I took a nap AGAIN! This has kind of become my afternoon tradition :) After my nap we walked into Little Italy to eat dinner. Layton read about this place online called Giacoma's. You usually have to wait in a really long line since they don't take reservations and it's a really tiny place. We decided to wait it out tonight. It was definitely worth it!! It was like the place we ate at last week with lots of Italian "Godfather" type people yelling and stuff!! It was so fun though. We laughed a lot and had a great dinner.

I'm ready for our last official day here of exploring this great and historical city!

Today's total mileage: 5 miles

Today's blessing: Enjoying yet another fabulous evening with Layton, laughing the night away!

Learning a little about history...

After thinking back on today, I've decided that I need to learn more about the history of our country when I get back home. I didn't much care for history when I was in high school. I thought it was pretty boring. I've learned so much while we've been here in Boston about the history of our country, and I've also learned how little I know about the men and women that gave their blood, sweat, and tears so that I could have my freedoms. Today we took the train into Quincy, Massachusetts, named after the grandfather of Abigail Adams. We took a 2 hour tour of the house where the 2nd President, John Adams was born. We also took a tour of where the 6th President, John Quincy Adams was born. AND we took a tour of the mansion and the library that the Adams family owned. I saw the chair that John Adams had a stroke in and a few

days later died in. We toured the church where John, Abigail, John Quincy, and his wife Louisa Catherine Adams where all buried. They are buried in a granite crypt that sits underneath the church. I touched the flag that flew above the White House when John Adams was President in 1791-1801!! It was all so amazing and fascinating to see!

After we got back from Quincy, we walked around so I could get more pictures of the doors of Beacon Hill and then I took a little nap. After my nap, we walked up to the Boston Common, which is kind of like Central Park. We walked around the Common for awhile and did a little people watching. I got some roasted nuts that I'd been wanting since we got here. Then we stopped off at a little pub that's up the street from our place called 21st Amendment. We shared a BIG plate of nachos.

We had a fabulous day today and are thoroughly enjoying our last few days here.

Today's total mileage: 4 miles

Today's blessing: Seeing the birth place and burial place of one of America's greatest leader!

Art...

Today we needed to sleep in after our long and tiring day to Cape Cod yesterday. After a little breakfast we made our way over to Fenway to visit the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum. I was very bummed that they did not allow any photography. This museum was amazingly beautiful! It was a very different museum experience than I've ever had. The lady who designed the museum became wealthy after her father died and she started becoming a collector of art. She bought a piece of land in Fenway and built and designed the museum herself. Most museums that I've been to have different galleries set up for different periods of time. The Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum was VERY different. She put together whatever pieces of art that she thought would look good together. There was also furniture, tapestries, little trinkets, books, etc. everywhere in this museum. In the center of the 3 story museum was a beautiful indoor courtyard with all different types of flowers, plants and sculptures. I think this was my favorite museum that I've ever been too. The way that Isabella Stewart Gardener set up each room was fabulous. I thought it was really cool that in her will she said that no one could change anything in the different rooms of the museum. I also thought it was cool, but sad, that in 1990 someone stole over 300 million dollars worth of paintings and other items from the museum. There were some empty frames left on the walls still today where the paintings had been stolen. This place is really hard to describe in words, and since I couldn't take any pictures...here's a link: http://www.gardnermuseum.org/

After we spent about 3 hours doing the audio tour in the museum we hopped back on the train and went to a place called the Sunset Tap & Grill that Layton really wanted to go to. We spent a few hours there enjoying a VERY late lunch!!

We've kind of just been lounging around the house tonight. I went back out and took some more pictures of the GREAT doors that are all over Beacon Hill. We also planned out our last few days here. It's sad to be going home, but I'm pooped and I miss my kids!!

Today's mileage: 3 miles

Today's blessing: Having an enjoyable lunch with Layton laughing and enjoying each others company!

I did it...

I rode a bike!!! We decided that we really wanted to see some of Cape Cod while we were here. Layton found a high speed ferry that goes from Boston to Cape Cod in about an hour and a half. I was totally fine with that, even though I knew I may get a little sea sick. Then he brought up that he'd like to rent bikes and take the trail out to a gorgeous beach called Race Point. After much convincing, he finally got me to agree even though I was utterly and entirely FREAKED OUT!!

I have not been on a bike in over 10 years and before that I probably only rode a bike about 3 or 4 times. Getting back on a bike is actually on my list of 30 things that I'd like to do before I turn 30...well, today I got to cross that off of my list. It was sooo scary! We rented a tandem back in Provincetown and proceeded to find the bike trail. We had to ride on street for awhile and even a small highway, so every time a car wizzed by us I let out a little scream. I also thought that we were going to tip over a few times. Let me tell you...it was not an easy task! I am so pooped out right now! We had a fabulous time learning to work together as a team to go up and down the huge hills. I made Layton promise to be very patient with me and he did an amazing job. I think I only had to remind him once or twice not to get frustrated with me.

We made it to the beach and walked around for a little bit and I got some GREAT photos! We ended up grabbing a late dinner at a small pizza place right up the street from our place. I had a fabulous day. One that I will never forget. I am so thankful that my wonderful husband encouraged me to do something today that I was much to afraid to do on my own!

Today's total mileage: Walked: 3.5 Ridden on a bike: 6+

Today's blessing: Being encouraged by Layton to conquer something that I was afraid to do...and actually enjoying it!!

A lot of history...

We were out of breakfast again this morning so we stopped at Au Bon Pain, which is Boston's La Bou. We took the train out to Cambridge to check out Harvard. It was really amazing standing in Harvard Yard knowing just how OLD it is and knowing that it is the BEST University in the world. They were doing a little archeological dig in one of the grass areas in the Yard. They said that they'd found stuff dating back to the late 1600s. We walked around Harvard for a little while and checked out a few really cool old churches.

After we saw Harvard we went up to the Longfellow Historical Site. On the way there, we stopped at a little coffee shop and had a Thai iced tea. The coffee shop was in a really important old house. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem called "The Village Blacksmith." (I actually teach this poem to my 7h grade class.) The man that this poem was written about lived in the house where the coffee shop that we stopped at currently is located! Anyway, we took a 45 minute tour of the Longfellow Historical

Site. I was so overwhelmed during the ENTIRE tour not only because a GREAT American writer once lived in, wrote in, and walked the halls of this house...but also because America's first President George Washington lived in the house for 9 months while he was forming the Continental Army. We got to see the parlor where amazing people where once entertained, the dining room where both Washington and Longfellow's family used to share their meals, the library where Longfellow used to play the piano, the bedroom that Longfellow and his wife Fannie slept in...Fannie also died in their bedroom from severe burns...the room that George Washington used as his war council room and Longfellow used the same room as his study. I stood in the same room where Longfellow's writing desk was...where he wrote most of his beautiful poetry. I stood in the same room where George Washington once slept! I walked the same hallway and staircase as George Washington, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Adams, and even Benedict Arnold! Everything in the house is stuff that the Longfellow family once used. The entire house was donated to the National Park Services by the Longfellow family estate.

We also checked out MIT while we were in Cambridge and then we went to the Christian Science Complex. The building is so amazingly beautiful. It had a very long pool in front of it that creates some amazingly beautiful reflections!

Now we're just sitting at home relaxing and planning our day out for tomorrow!

Today's mileage: 5 miles

Today's blessing: Feeling inspired to be great...Almost being brought to tears by walking around Harvard and the Longfellow Historical Site where so many amazing, intelligent and GREAT people once walked.

A hodge podge of a day...

This morning we were out of stuff for breakfast so on our way to the train we grabbed something to eat at a place that's similar to LaBou. We kind of went all over the place today and did all kinds of things!

We started our morning off at the New

England Aquarium. We got to see penguins, a huge 600 lb turtle, jelly fish, etc. and I even touched a star fish and a sea anemone. We stayed dry for awhile in the aquarium and then decided to knock a few more things off of the Freedom Trail. Freedom Trail stop #13 was The Old North Church. This is the church where 2 lanterns were lit to let people know that the British were coming. Freedom Trail stop #14 was the Copp's Hill Burying Ground. This was the cemetery that most Bostonians were buried at during the time of the Revolution. Before lunch we walked back through Little Italy and stopped at Modern Pastry, which is supposed to be famous. We share a cannoli and a cappucino! It was amazing!!

We also visited the Museum of Fine Arts because tonight was free admission :) This is a very large museum, so we only saw part of it in the 2 1/2 hours that we were there. I'm always amazed when I go to an art museum. It's so crazy to see things that were painted by such famous people as Picasso, Monet, Renoir, Pollock, etc. It's also crazy to see things that were painted over 700 years ago. We also saw a drunk guy at the museum that was acting like he was going to touch the painting or sit on all of the VERY old furniture that was on display. He kept setting off the motion detectors that would beep when he got too close to the painting.

I am exhausted after going non-stop for the last 7 days. We've walked over 55 miles and we've seen over 40 of the things on our list. We have 6 days left to do another 25+ items. I'm excited to have another week to explore Boston.

Today's total mileage: 8 miles

Today's blessing: Getting to see a picture of my kids :) I've missed them!! Also getting to talk to my mom on the phone. I've missed her!!

Rain Delay...

It rained on us all day! I woke up really grumpy because I didn't sleep that great last night. We took the train into Back Bay/Fenway this morning after breakfast to see the Christian Science Complex and the Isabella Stuart Garden Museum. Unfortunately, the rain kind of put our plans on delay until tomorrow. Instead we hopped on another train to a restaurant that Layton had been wanting to go to. It was called Boston Beer Works. It's right across the street from Fenway Park. It was really fun! After lunch we trekked back through the rain and hit up the Massachusetts State House on our way back home. We took a really cool tour of the place. It was great getting to see where their House of Representatives and their Senate meets. The architecture of it was absolutely amazing.

When we got home, Layton made me take a nap while he took some clothes to the laundromat...hoping that a nap would help with my grumpiness. It did!! I woke up refreshed and ready for the Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Thankfully the rain let up. We hopped on the train AGAIN along with about half of Boston's population. We looked like sardines all crammed into the subway car. It was fun. It's all part of the experience. The game was AWESOME! Of course I had to get lots of junk food-a Philly cheesesteak and peanuts :) Layton got ice cream too. The Red Sox fans are really fun. Of course we sang "Take me out to the ballgame." They also have a tradition that during the 8th inning they sing Neil Diamond's song "Sweet Caroline." That was so FUN! We did the

wave and booed at the other team. I turn into such a little kid when I'm at a baseball game. I'm ending my day no longer grumpy :)

Today's total mileage: 5.5

Today's bum quote: Well, it's not really a quote. But I did get KICKED by a bum on the subway today!!

Today's blessing: Wearing my new Red Sox hat, eating baseball junk food, laughing and enjoying a wonderful evening with my husband in America's oldest baseball field!!

Simplicity...

We got up early today so that we could catch the commuter rail into Concord. You can't take the regular subway system, since its about 11 miles away, so we had to walk to the commuter station and wait about 30 minutes for the train. It took us about 30 minutes to get to Concord. Layton read online that Concord isn't a walking city like Boston. Boy was he right! I desperately wanted to go see Walden Pond and see the replica of Thoreau's cabin. He told me that it probably wasn't going to be an easy walk. I didn't really believe him, but he was right! Half of the time there was no side walk and we were actually walking down a highway at one point. We finally made it to Walden Pond. The pictures do not do it justice. It was SOOOO amazingly beautiful! We actually took the time to walk all the way around it, which was a little over 1.5 miles. It was quite an adventure and so beautiful and PEACEFUL!! I bought a handmade mug in the gift shop.

After we hiked back into town along the highway we grabbed some pizza and ice cream for lunch and then we headed in the opposite direction to find Monument Square, The Orchard House (Louisa May Alcott's House), Ralph Waldo Emerson's House, and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, which has what's called "Author's Ridge", where Thoreau, Alcott, Emerson, and Hawthorne are buried. It was CRAZY for me to think that all of the great literary GIANTS walked the same streets that I was walking on and were actually buried under right where I was standing.

It was quite a crazy day of walking (my feet are getting so tired!), adventure, fun, laughs, amazement, and exhaustion! I absolutely LOVED the town of Concord and could actually see myself living there. Who wouldn't want to live right up the street from Ralph Waldo Emerson's house?!?!

Today's total mileage: 11.29

Today's blessing: Eating amazing raspberry sorbet with fresh raspberries in a quaint town full of so much history. I could almost hear Thoreau speaking to me :)

I would like to end with a few words from Thoreau:

"Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb nail. In the midst of this chopping sea of civilized life, such are the clouds and storms and quick-sands and thousand and-one items to be allowed for, that a man has to live, if he would not founder and go to the bottom and not make his port at all, by dead reckoning, and he must be a great calculator indeed who succeeds. Simplify, simplify. Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one; instead of a hundred dishes, five; and reduce other things in proportion."

A day of relaxation...

Today was a chill day for us. We needed to re-charge! We were both so exhausted from the last few days of non-stop walking that we decided to sleep in and not set an alarm. Little did we know that we'd sleep in until 10:30!! We needed to do laundry today and after a few attempts at the dryer in our building, Layton figured it out that the dryer wasn't working. Then I went to make lunch and our bread we just bought was already moldy!! So on the way to Whole Foods to pick up more bread, Layton stopped by the laundry mat to dry our clothes. Needless to say, we didn't get out of the house until about 3.

We walked down to Long Wharf and just walked along the water for a little while. I got a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone. YUM!! We walked around to take some pictures and then we came back to the house to catch up on tidying up and I edited uploaded some pictures and Layton worked a little.

We ventured in to Little Italy for dinner. What a great experience. It was soooo BUSY there. Apparently it is THE place to eat dinner! We thought we'd try out a place that supposedly is the best place get Italian food, unfortunately the line went all the way around the corner, so

we went to the second place on our list. The place we ended up at was great. It seemed very authentic to me. The owner sounded like he came straight out of The Godfather. He wasn't very polite, but it didn't really matter because it was so authentic. The food and wine was fabulous!! We had such a great evening talking, people watching and planning tomorrow's activities. We're going to Concord and Lexington tomorrow! I can't wait to go to Walden Pond!

Today's total mileage: 3. 28 miles

Today's bum quote of the day: "Hey miss, do you smoke?" To which I replied, "No." "Would you staht (Bostonian for start) for me?"

Today's blessing: Enjoying a fabulous Italian dinner with my hubby, relaxing and planning our next day's events.

God Bless America...

I've decided that Boston is THE best place to be for July 4th!! Everything here is so over the top and amazing.

Our day started off to a very sad start. My sister-in-law's mother passed away this morning after a very difficult struggle with cancer. The 4th of July is my sis-in-law's favorite holiday and she told my brother that she knew her mom would pass on this holiday. As I was sitting along the Charles River tonight watching the beautiful and celebratory fireworks explode against the black sky I was brought to tears remembering and celebrating not only our country, but also the beautiful life that Kathie Sutherland lived and the fantastic legacy that she left behind in her 3 children and grandchildren.

I have found myself brought to tears many times today. I'm not quite sure why. I think that it's just the overwhelming knowledge of what our country has gone through to have and maintain its freedom. I think it's the overwhelming memories that I'm making with my best friend. I think it's the fact that I'm learning to not take life for granted. There are so many amazing and beautiful things and people in this word.

It was breathtaking standing in front of the Old State House watching a general from one of the oldest artillery companies in the United States read the Declaration of Independence off of the same balcony that John Adams read it in 1776. It was simply beautiful standing in Charlestown watching "Old Ironsides" shoot her 21 one gun/canon salute. And it was unforgettable standing with over 1 million people singing "God Bless America" as I watched one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring fireworks displays that I've ever seen.

Today's total mileage walked: 11 miles

Today's bum quote of the day: We were sitting on some park benches resting our feet when all of a sudden we heard a screeching voice singing, "Dude looks like a lady!" I turned around and it was some crazy bum. Every so often he would just sing this one line out as people walked by him!

Today's blessing: Sitting along the Charles River eating a Stars and Stripes

Dunkin' Donut with my best friend waiting for the fireworks to start.

Quite the day...

...of exploration!! Whew! We did SOOOOOO much today. We thought we'd take advantage of the lack of rain and the beautiful weather. Layton tried to get me up at 7:30, but that didn't quite work out :) We still got a pretty good start at about 10:30. We decided to hit up the Freedom Trail today. I've been told that this is the best way to see Boston. It has 16 VERY historical sites/places that are a must see in Boston. It was quite overwhelming to me.

Here is a quick overview of everything that we saw/did today:

#1-Boston common. This is a 44 acre park area that used to house soldiers and livestock. It was even used to hang criminals back in the day.

#2-Massachusetts State House-Built in 1798. It is one of the oldest buildings in Beacon Hill.

#3-Park Street Church-This used to be the first landmark that travelers saw when approaching Boston.

#4-The Granary Burying Ground-Established in 1660! Has MANY noted American's buried here including: Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and the 5 men that died during the Boston Massacre.

#5-King's Chapel-Built in 1749. George Washington and Paul Revere attended church here a few times.

#6-King's Chapel Burying Ground-The first woman to step off of the Mayflower is buried here.

#7-Boston Latin School-America's oldest public school. Ben Franklin, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock all attended here.

#8-Old Corner Bookstore-I was kind of sad that this wasn't still a bookstore. It had been turned into a Diamond Store. It was still very neat to think that Hawthorne, Longfellow, Emerson, Dickens, Alcott, etc. used to frequent this bookstore!

#9-Old South Meeting House-Built in 1729 as a Puritan meeting house. Samuel Adams addressed a crowd here regarding the tax on tea.

#10-Old State House-John Adams first read the Declaration of Independence from the balcony in 1776.

#11-Boston Massacre Site-It's in the middle of an intersection now, but it is were 5 men died.

#12-Faneuil Hall-This is where American's first protested the Stamp Act.

#13-Paul Revere's House-Built in 1680. He was living here when he participated in the Boston Tea Party.

We even saw a Redcoat parade that went down the streets of Boston. Complete with muskets, bayonets, drums, flutes, etc. It was very surreal.

Those are the 13 main things that we saw today. The Freedom Trail is a red brick pathway that winds throughout the city of Boston. It takes you through so many amazing neighborhoods and there are so many awe inspiring things to see along the way. We stopped for about 5 minutes and walked through the Holocaust Memorial that brought tears to my eyes.

On our way home from walking The Freedom Trail we stopped at Starbucks for some coffee. We were standing in line and the man in front of us let out the nastiest FART that you've ever heard. He then turned around, kind of like a dog does when it doesn't really know that it farted. I'm not sure if he was shocked or if he was looking to see if we heard him. Layton was nearly convulsing he was trying so hard to keep his laughs in!

We had a fabulous dinner at a little Italian restaurant called Artu. After dinner we walked around Beacon Hill for awhile and I took pictures of so many fabulous doors! We

even walked up to Acorn Street, which is the most photographed street in the U.S.

My brain is so full of stuff right now! This entire day has been so SURREAL!I kind of feel like I'm on overload from today. We did so much, saw so much and I learned so much about our country. It definitely makes me want to go home and learn about history :) Layton and I have crammed so many memories into the few short days that we've been here. I can't wait to cram more into the next week and a half!!

Today's total mileage walked: 8.5 miles

Today's blessing: Getting to be in this extremely historical city during our nation's birthday. I couldn't think of a better place to be right now!

Old Hymns in Old Churches...

Today started out with us sleeping in a little later then planned. I think we were out the door by about 11. Let me just say...Boston's subway system is DEFINITELY not as easy as Chicago's. We spent quite some time trying to find the blue line. Layton finally broke down and asked someone on the street. The lady we asked really had absolutely no clue what she was talking about. She gave us about 5 different directions, none of which she actually finished. We decided to just try and find it on our own when a guy asked us if we needed help. Come to find out, he was a meth addict and he gave us MUCH better directions than the lady did, and she was a teacher.

We found our way to the blue line and then switched over to the orange line and made it to Back Bay. We spent the most majority of the afternoon exploring this beautiful neighborhood. We visited Trinity Church, Old South Church, the Boston Public Library (which was amazing) and the Boston Public Gardens. We grabbed lunch at a cute little cafe and even had to run through a torrential downpour (which was fun)! After our exploring we went home to rest our feet for a little while.

We ventured out again to dinner, and AGAIN we had a horrible time finding the orange line subway station. I've decided that they've made it a puzzle to find all of the stations. They sure don't make it easy on you. We dined at Coda Bar and Kitchen... in Back Bay. I had a fabulous dinner, Chicken Under a Brick!

Today's total mileage walked...approximately 7 miles.

Today's blessing: Sitting in both Trinity Church, built in 1877, and New Old South Church, built in 1875, listening to the organist play old hymns.

We made it...

After an extremely long day of traveling we're finally in Boston. We left the house on Tuesday, June 30 around 10:30 pm. Thankfully our flight was on time and left at 12:40 am on Wednesday, July 1. We had just a short hour lay-over in Houston where we got breakfast, which was about 3:00 am our time, and then we hopped on another 3 hour flight to Boston. We had to hang out at the airport for a little while because we couldn't get into the apartment until 4:00 pm, so we had lunch and walked around a little.

We got unpacked, explored a little bit (this neighborhood is absolutely amazing...I can't wait to get out and take pictures!), Layton went to the grocery store to pick up some breakfast and lunch foods, and then he picked up some pizza for dinner. Tonight is kinda just a chill night so we can get our game plan together for tomorrow. There is about a 60% chance of rain tomorrow so we're going to plan some a few outdoor things, just in case it doesn't rain all day. If it rains all day, we'll hit up some of the museums.

The apartment that we're staying in is absolutely amazing! The building itself was built in 1860 as a town home and in 1920 it was divided up into the 14 units that exist today. Unit #2 was remodeled in 2007 and they used a lot of original material to this area. For example, the glass in the kitchen cabinets is over 100 years old. It looks out onto a fabulous patio that I'm hoping we can use once the rain lets up. It blows my mind that the unit is only 225 sq ft!! It has a great bathtub that I can't wait to use tonight.

I am so excited to get out and see the city tomorrow. There will definitely be some pictures on my Flickr site tomorrow night!

Today's blessing: getting to experience and stay in this amazing city with all of its history. I can't wait to learn more about some of the history that shaped our country.