Harvard College Class of 2003

Josh and I both celebrate our ten-year college reunions this year.  Thankfully they are at different times of the year, so we are able to fully participate in both of them.  Josh's class held their festivities the first weekend in June.  We took the kids to Boston/Cambridge for five days and made it a bonafide family affair!

Honestly, I had very low expectations for the trip.  There were so many things that could go wrong:
1. We were flying right smack dab in the middle of naptime, both coming and going.
2. We were all sharing one (albeit very nice) hotel room.
3. We would be traveling exclusively by metro once in Boston.
4. We had plans for two adult-only evenings, so I found a friend of a friend of a friend's babysitter who would have to keep the kids for several hours in the hotel room each night.

But even with that list of potential catastrophes, everything was wonderful!  After some wrangling, Graham fell asleep on both flights, and even Piper took an hour-long nap on our return trip.  Piper might not have fallen asleep until 10:00 most nights in the hotel room, but she DID sleep, and Graham's hotel crib fit perfectly in the walk-in closet.  We had flawless metro use and perfect weather.  And the babysitter with whom I left my children after knowing her for all of 10 minutes was FABULOUS.

It definitely wasn't EASY vacationing in a big city with two small children in tow, but I think we did a pretty good job given all the challenges.  We can't wait for the next family adventure!

And we certainly won't mind meeting celebrities on our return flights!  Country star Luke Bryan was on our same flight, and Piper and I got a chance to meet and talk with him while we all waited on our luggage at the Nashville airport.  Swoon!

Ready to fly!

Tuckered out

We spent lots of time on the hotel steps with Graham while Piper napped. 

Go BoSox!

Graham's sleeping quarters

The kids loved playing on the window seat overlooking the busy street

Josh and the kids with the John Harvard statue

Cheese!

She's such a sweaty napper!

Looking dapper on our way to the soiree!

Josh with his senior-year roommate, Jarek

I took some photos while we waited on our train the next day.

In front of Josh's dorm, Kirkland House

We could see the Marathon Bombing site from our hotel.  There is a makeshift memorial with thousands of pairs of shoes and many other items that people have left.  It was a haunting experience.

That's our hotel in the background of this shot.

View of the bombing site from the street

In preparation for our trip, we read Piper "Make Way for Ducklings" since it's set in Boston.  She loved reading about Mrs. and Mr. Mallard, so we knew we had to walk the five blocks or so from our hotel to  Boston Public Gardens (aka Boston Commons) to find some ducklings and swan boats.

She was so incredibly excited to see the ducklings!  This could not have been more perfect!

Graham was excited, too, but I don't think he really knew what all the fuss was about.

He did, however, find great delight in poking sticks into the water.  And yes, we had to hold onto him by the collar so he wouldn't topple in the pond!

Watching the swan boats.

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