Week two of our vacation in Massachusetts was even more action packed than week one which included a long day of air travel, a late night viewing of my SIL’s 70s cover band, disc golf, a drive in movie, a trip to Boston, New Hampshire and Maine, a family cookout, swimming and a birthday party.

Sunday afternoon we took the kids to one of the larger malls in the area to pick out a wedding present for my SIL who was getting married the following weekend. We found a beautiful teapot at Teavana that Dan and I both saw and instantly thought of his sister. Perfect.

The next afternoon we took the kids to the playground at the elementary school where Dan once went to as a kid before meeting my aunt for lunch at the hot dog stand down the street. Massachusetts has at least two major hot dog stand style restaurants that everyone in the area has been and most love. Hot Dog Annie’s was a central figure in Dan’s childhood much the way that Four Corners was a major part of mine. The debate still rages on as to which makes a better hot dog.

BB says she doesn’t really care as long as we keep taking her to awesome places for lunch. Our kids would happily live on hot dogs which is good because they ate a LOT of them on this vacation.

Tuesday was another Kid’s Day and BB kept cool in the kiddie pool while the older kids, including MM,  swam in the large pool. I was grateful that she didn’t seem to think she was missing out because it meant I was able to sit in the shade and relax while the kids kept cool in the water.

The next day we spent basically the entire day at Cool Sandy Beach, on and off again. Morning, afternoon and evening found us making makeshift sandcastles, hanging out with friends, walking along the water and eventually swimming also. And me taking lots of pictures.

Thursday we went blueberry picking with my grandmother and cousin. I have decided that blueberry picking is the very best kind of picking. You sit on a chair and easily pluck the blueberries from their plant. Eat some, save some and then go home and eat more. The weather was just overcast enough to keep us cool and relaxed without being cold. Perfection.

Of course I had to linger and take pictures of every pretty flower that we passed…

Then we went to a dairy farm near my grandmother’s that has a few cute animals to visit, a playground and a farm store selling ice cream, eggs, milk and more.

I made Dan take this picture of BB and I because I was reminded of taking another little tyke to this farm many moons ago when my friend’s daughter was BB’s age. Now she is practically a teenager – ack!

I don’t know why this picture is so ridiculously small – a lot of my oldest digital pictures are for some reason now very, very tiny – but you get the idea. Here’s  another picture that is actually big enough to SEE from the same day…

Seriously. I was practically still a teenager myself in this picture. Point is though – little Cay, little BB, littler Jen, bigger Jen… De ja vu. You get the idea, right? Okay, moving on…

After we looked at animals the kids played in the sand tire box and then we celebrated BB’s birthday again at my aunt’s house with a birthday bundt cake and seven minute frosting. It’s tradition that there be seven minute frosting at family birthday parties and we like to stick with our traditions. Especially where cake is concerned.

The next day was July 21st – BB’s third birthday and my SIL’s wedding – how many girl’s get to wear the most beautiful dress in the world and have a hired band sing them happy birthday in the middle of their aunt’s wedding? Some girls have all the luck, huh?

I could devote an entire post to pictures from this day but I’ll try to contain myself and just show you the best ones…

Hmmm… ok this post just got very long. I’ve got three more days to share with you from the vacation but I think I’ll save them for another post. Stay tuned for BB’s first haircut, blowing bubbles with cousins, major attitude and our flight home.

Click the links to read part one and part three of my vacation wrap-up.