Boston recap

The days have been flying by since we returned from our trip, but I finally found a few minutes to sit and post a few pictures. If any of you ever have the opportunity to go to Boston - GO!!! There is so much to see and do in the city. I loved all the history and how easy it was to get around. We landed Friday morning around 8:30 and after waiting a bit for our courtesy shuttle to the rental car place, we were on our way!

We decided to drive out to our hotel first. The primary reason we were in town was for the 2008 NCAA Lacrosse tournament which was being played at Gillette Stadium, which is about 20 miles outside of town. Our hotel was halfway between the city and the stadium, which ended up being perfect. The commuter train into the city was about a 3 minute walk from our hotel, so it was easier and cheaper than parking into the city. Once getting back into the city, we headed out to see the USS Constitution aka "Old Ironsides". It's part of the Freedom Trail and it has been a commissioned ship in the Navy since 1797. It was crazy to be on something that old. After touring that we decided to go on a "Duck tour". This is a fun way to see the highlights of the city - plus it's something you can't do anywhere else! The "ducks" are old WWII vehicles that can go on both land and water. Our driver on the tour was hilarious. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the city, going to the Commons (a park in the city), and having a delicious dinner at Legal Seafoods before heading back to the hotel.

Saturday we went to the lacrosse tournament. There were two games on Saturday: Virginia vs. Syracuse and Duke vs. Johns Hopkins. Both were really good games. The first game went into double sudden death overtime, and the second game was only won by one goal as well. After sitting in the sun all day, we were exhausted and decided to just order pizza for dinner.

Sunday was back in the city - we went to the coast and walked around a few of the piers, ate at the infamous "no name" restaurant, walked more of the Freedom trail, and enjoyed the beautiful weather. If you do get to Boston, make sure to pay the $5 per person to go into the Old State House. They have some amazing stuff in there!!! The balcony of the State House is where the Declaration of Independence was read from, and inside the have an actual vile filled with tea leaves from the Boston Tea Party (one of the guys involved shook them out of his boot when he got home that night and saved them!), John Hancock's dress coat, and many other cool pieces of history. Also be sure to go to the Granary Burial grounds - Paul Revere, Sam Adams, and many others are buried here. It's so cool!

Monday was the Division 1 final game - Syracuse vs. Johns Hopkins. It was another great game. Lacrosse is such a fun sport to watch. If you've never seen it, you should definitely check it out.

Tuesday we had an afternoon flight, but before we left we made sure to visit the Sam Adams brewery. It was an interesting tour, not to mention the free beer and glass!!!

Sorry for the quick rundown - there is just so much to see and do, and not enough time to update! Here are a few pics from our trip.

We're Back!

We had a FANTASTIC time in Boston - I absolutely love that city!!! I'll try to update soon with a recap and some pictures.

Ben Graduated!

Yay! Ben's finally done with school! I'm so proud of him - and so excited to now have 2 incomes! :) Here are a few pictures from yesterday.

Showing off his diploma

With his brothers - can you tell they're related?

I love my hubby!

With his parents (his dad is a professor at Calvin and has to wear his robe to graduation)

Sad way to start a day

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Starbucks. I would go multiple times a day if it wasn't for the budget (not to mention the not being so good for your health). Since we moved in February, I have Starbucks far less often that I used to. Partially because I was spending too much money there, but primarily because I no longer drive past one on my way to work. Getting Starbucks now requires extra planning - and extra time in the morning!

Well today, my wonderful husband volunteered to bring me Starbucks at work since he has the day off. I was looking forward to my non-fat, no whip, white chocolate mocha since I got up this morning! Ben brought me my steaming drink a few minutes ago. I took one sip, and letdown. The cup says my order was a white mocha, but whatever I am drinking is DEFINITELY not one. I don't think it contains any coffee at all. I'm thinking it's flavored steamed milk. Blah.

I'm drinking it b/c I'm dutch, but it's definitely not worth the $3.45 we spent on it.

At least I'm only working a half day today! I should be able to make it til noon - even without my coffee.

I'm beginning to think we're cursed

Yes, two posts in one day!!!

I'm beginning to think Ben and I are cursed when it comes to living situations. We got married in June and were off to a good start. Summer was pretty quiet - no major issues. In October our apartment building was evacuated for Carbon Monoxide poisoning. We weren't hope at the time, but the levels were extremely high, and a number of people had to go to the hospital. We came home to a kicked-in door, courtesy of the fire department, making sure no one was left inside.

Eventually our door was replaced (we lived with a broken one that JUST locked for awhile) and things were okay again. Then came January and the fire (we lived in Indian Village Condos). We lived on the second floor, so our apartment wasn't completely burned like the 3rd floor, but we lost almost everything due to smoke and water damage. After living with his parents for 5 weeks, replacing items, and waiting for our insurance to go through, we moved into our new place.

We've really enjoyed living here. It's a much larger apartment, close to work, etc. Well, yesterday there was a water main break and now the whole drive in front of our building it totally torn up and it's going to take a few days to fix. Thank goodness it was actually the building right across from ours who lost water, however, they are running water from our building to that one, so our pressure is running quit low.

All of these events are making me nervous to buy a house! I can only imagine what's going to happen then.

Lacrosse + Senior Design + Dedication = busy weekend

I have had intentions of updating this for a week, but somehow time has been slipping by. Last weekend we had a great, but busy weekend. Friday was a lacrosse tournament in Ann Arbor (Ben was nominated first team defensive midfielder for the CCLA!!!), Saturday was Senior Design Presentation night for Ben (his team designed a wireless stethoscope), and Sunday was my niece's dedication service. Here are a few pics:

This past weekend was much more relaxing. Friday night Ben and I grilled for dinner and then went at saw the Bucket List at Celebration Woodland. It was a cute movie. I'd recommend it. Saturday we had a big brunch with his brother and sister-in-law, cleaned our apartment, relaxed, and then went out to Holland with Liz and Brad. We went for Tulip Time, but it was the last night and not much going on. It was still nice to walk around though, and we had a great meal at Boatwerks on the lake. Sunday we went to church and then had Ben's parents and brother over for Mother's Day. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful mother AND mother-in-law!

Someday...

I will find time to update this.... hopefully this weekend.