A Princess Tea

Before my mom returned to Colorado, we went together with some friends to a tea party with Cinderella (Isabel's favorite Disney princess).  At the celebration, we got to drink tea and eat lady-like finger foods.  Later, Isabel got to participate in acting out the story of Cinderella, complete with walking down a red carpet and trying on the glass slipper.  She also got to take a photo with the "real" Cinderella.  Isabel, dressed in her own Cinderella dress, was smiling ear to the ear the entire time!

While we were away, Lukas went with a friend and his dad to do "guy stuff".  Apparently, even for "guy stuff" you can dress up so Lukas went on the outing as a knight. :-)

Our very own Cinderella

Lukas and Isabel both dressed and ready for their afternoon-out

Isabel drinking tea

With the "real" Cinderella

Isabel's tea tray of treats included a cookie with Cinderella's likeness on it

Acting out the cleaning and dusting part of Cinderella's story

Isabel walking on the red carpet to the ball

Wow, the glass slipper fits! ;-)

Our Celebrity Neighbors

Many of you know that our house is on a somewhat secluded street in Dedham, MA and that just down the hill from one side of our house is a large parking lot for the Registry of Deeds building.  Well, for a couple of days and nights in mid-July, Robert Downing Jr. and Dax Shepard parked their trailers in "our" parking lot while filming scenes for their upcoming movie, The Judge, across the street from our home at the Dedham courthouse and registry building.  We thought about knocking on their trailer doors and inviting them for coffee, but instead Olli and the kids walked to the end of our street to "spy" on the action and take a few photos.

Here are a few for your perusal:

Here is Robert Downing Jr. looking very debonaire as he begins to walk away from the crowd that had gathered

Blowing a kiss to the crowd of bystanders

Getting his hair re-coiffed

Getting some last minute direction from the director before the next scene

Apparently, they were filming a scene where they both vomit before heading into the courthouse.  If such things make you feel squeamish, then you may want to avert your eyes from the following photos.

One last powdering of the nose just before drinking, what I assume is the substance that they proceed to throw up in the next photo

Dax is the first to let it all out, while Robert Downing Jr. stoicly consoles him

Then Robert is overcome as well

Proceeding up the stairs into the courthouse as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred

Cut and Print. That's a wrap folks!

Bermuda

While my parents graciously stayed with our kids, Olli and I boarded The Norwegian Dawn, a cruise ship, to the island of Bermuda.  We were belatedly celebrating our 10th anniversary (which occurred January 18th) and so excited to get to experience our first cruise.

Over the course of the week, we enjoyed fine dining, fun shows in the evenings, beautiful views from on the water and under the water while sailing and snorkeling, a great tour of the island from a Bermuda native and lots of time to take things slow and relax--a fantastic vacation over all!

A photo of the two of us walking around the ship one evening

The beginning of a sunset from on-board the Norwegian Dawn

Dining at the Venetian with a view of the vast ocean

The cove where we did some swimming and snorkeling on Bermuda

Some of the brightly painted houses that are very common in Bermuda--notice the roofs made out of limestone used to catch and purify rain water

A Buttery, which was where the islanders used to store goods that needed refrigeration before electricity was brought to the island

Our last sunset from the island of Bermuda before boarding the ship for the cruise homeward

A view of the outdoor swimming pool on the ship

Whale Watching

On July 4th, we went whale watching with my parents.  We all enjoyed the boat ride with Boston Harbor Cruises out to the Stellwagen Bank National Whale Sanctuary and even saw a pod of white-sided dolphins on the way.  After searching for a long time, we finally spotted a whale exhaling through its blowhole along the horizon.  We were able to catch up to it and see many more dives and exhales as it was feeding.

The experts on board identified the humpback whale as a female named Nile (because the markings on her tail look like the river Nile).  We enjoyed watching her feed for awhile and then had an educational lesson about humpback whales, complete with a chance to see and feel real baleen, on our return boat ride to Boston.

Isabel with Yiayia and Grandpa on the boat getting ready to leave Boston Harbor

Lukas with Lauren and Yiayia as we're pulling out of the Harbor

A photo of Nile's tail as she dives for plankton

The timing of our return to the harbor was perfect because we had the opportunity to see the USS Constitution pulling back into port on her annual voyage into the bay.  It was a real and rare treat to see her while on the water ourselves!

The USS Constitution decked out for Independence Day