Thanksgiving was the last time I saw Camille's kids. The high point of my trip to Boston, April 8-12, was checking out things like Ezra's Batman boots, Sophia's dance costume, and how well Mia can sit up and hold a bottle!
My first morning in Boston, I drove with Camille to pick up Sophia at Sunny Hill Preschool, run by a local church.
Sophia is a willing model!
Steve was out of town, so Camille and I packed the six kids into the van and off we went, every night, on a different adventure. On Friday night, we ate pizza and popsicles at Sudbury Pizza.
We then watched the 3-D film, "Planet You," at the Museum of Science. It told about the ticks, mites, and lice that live on us.
The kids also tried experiments, such as measuring how long their arms are, compared to their legs...
and watching a computer program that showed how much older they'd look if they ate unhealthy foods!
On Saturday afternoon, I took Annelise, Sophia, and Emilie on separate birthday shopping trips. Annelise bought clothes at The Gap and then modeled them for me.
She also bought two new pairs of shoes.
Sophia bought "Kayla," an American girl doll.
She then chose her favorite flavor of cheesecake (peanut butter) at Cheesecake Factory.
Emilie, the straight A student, had a list in her head and, through careful planning, bought a silver necklace, fingernail polish, shorts and shirt, a book and two pairs of flip flops, all with her birthday money!
And then we had cheesecake.
Saturday night we stopped at the library for all the kids to get books...
and then we headed for Boston's Chinatown, the third largest Chinatown in the U.S.
We stopped at a Chinese grocery with strange produce like kohlrabi, long beans, and ?
Thanksgiving was the last time I saw Camille's kids. The high point of my trip to Boston, April 8-12, was checking out things like Ezra's Batman boots, Sophia's dance costume, and how well Mia can sit up and hold a bottle!
My first morning in Boston, I drove with Camille to pick up Sophia at Sunny Hill Preschool, run by a local church.
Sophia is a willing model!
Steve was out of town, so Camille and I packed the six kids into the van and off we went, every night, on a different adventure. On Friday night, we ate pizza and popsicles at Sudbury Pizza.
We then watched the 3-D film, "Planet You," at the Museum of Science. It told about the ticks, mites, and lice that live on us.
The kids also tried experiments, such as measuring how long their arms are, compared to their legs...
and watching a computer program that showed how much older they'd look if they ate unhealthy foods!
On Saturday afternoon, I took Annelise, Sophia, and Emilie on separate birthday shopping trips. Annelise bought clothes at The Gap and then modeled them for me.
She also bought two new pairs of shoes.
Sophia bought "Kayla," an American girl doll.
She then chose her favorite flavor of cheesecake (peanut butter) at Cheesecake Factory.
Emilie, the straight A student, had a list in her head and, through careful planning, bought a silver necklace, fingernail polish, shorts and shirt, a book and two pairs of flip flops, all with her birthday money!
And then we had cheesecake.
Saturday night we stopped at the library for all the kids to get books...
and then we headed for Boston's Chinatown, the third largest Chinatown in the U.S.
We stopped at a Chinese grocery with strange produce like kohlrabi, long beans, and ?
Emilie explored an aisle full of Asian sauces.
We ate supper at the China Pearl, with the kids practicing their chopstick skills.
Back home, we broke out Grandma's gifts from Italy, such as Toblerones for each family member and these Murano beads from Venice for the three older girls.
I took a walk Sunday morning and saw the earth come back to life both in Sudbury's gardens and in its swamps. I remember reading, in a book about Paul Revere, how some of the colonial patriots were delayed in getting to Concord by Sudbury's swamps!
After Church, we headed for the North End for pasta at La Contes and gelato afterwards at Mike's Pastry. 
We then hung out in a park near Faneuil Hall, enjoying the sun and the gorgeous Boston buildings. 
When we got home, we cleaned out the car and Annelise posed with all the junk that accumulated there in just three days!
