Boston 2018 - Day One

Who knew it'd be a trip to get me blogging again? Wait, I just realized that that's not quite true, because we went to UT for Christmas and I never blogged about that. Because I am a terrible person. No. Because I am a busy mom who just got out of the habit. And then the idea of trying to play catch up was just too much, so it was easier just to ignore the blog rather than do anything about.

So here we are. Judge me all you want.

Why Boston? Lance needed to go to PAX East for his Aimpad project. PAX is a big video gaming convention held in a few places around the country every year. I know, I had never heard of it either, but apparently it's a pretty big deal. (Cue rolling of eyes from every male in my family.) Since his airfare and housing would be paid by Aimpad, and because he got 3 extra PAX passes, we decided to make it a family trip. The boys would spend 2 days at PAX with Lance and Tess and I would wander the streets of Boston. Exciting!

Our flight out left around 9am, so we had to be at the airport fairly early. No problems getting everyone up and out the door, though, because they were all excited to be going to Boston and not to school!

Also, we flew American Airlines. I have a lifelong VENDETTA against American Airlines, but it just couldn't be helped - they were by far the cheapest and had the best schedules, dang it. And I have to say... it wasn't that bad. They didn't strand me anywhere or try to trick us or leave without us even though we were late because of them, or anything like that, as they have so thoughtfully done to me in the past. So I guess they were okay. This time.

We rented a little condo on the north side of Boston, right next to the airport. It was tiny, but it was priced right. Also, it was available, which was actually our biggest problem since everything else was booked because of the convention! It wasn't the best neighborhood, but I never felt in danger, and the location turned out to be really great - right next to a T station.

We were in the condo by about 2:30, so we decided to go check out the city. The first thing we did was buy some transit passes for Lance, Spencer, and myself. (In Boston, kids 11 and under ride free with a paying adult. Sweet!)

First we decided to tromp up to Bunker Hill. It began to rain on the way. We were under the impression that the rain would not last too long. We were wrong. It rained pretty much the rest of the day. HARD.

We checked out the little Bunker Hill Museum. Some were more interested than others. (See Josh's expression.)

Then we hiked to the top of the monument. It's actually shorter than the Soldier's and Sailor's Monument in Indy, and all the stuff we climbed in Europe, but both Lance and I agreed it felt hard to climb! (No idea why.) But... if there's a tower to climb, I'm gonna climb it.

The views would've been spectacular had it not been pouring rain...

Next, we hit the USS Constitution. I thought it was really cool!

Spencer decided to stop firing canons and join in on the picture.

Beautiful knots abounded. Also, there were US Navy people everywhere because this is still an operational ship.

Tess declared this was how to act when you fire a canon.

That. Face. Lance and I still giggle whenever we see it. Tess is the best.

By this point it had rained so much my hair was curling and my coat had given up and I was damp all over. (Except my feet. I have excellent boots.) So that was fun. And by fun I mean miserable.

But we carried on! Down into the hold of the ship! Where it was only leaking instead of raining!

I liked that most of the canons had names.

Despite being damp and tired, the kids held up surprisingly well.

Well, at least until we got on a bus. And got stuck in traffic. They were... not pleased.

It was decidedly warmer and drier, but we were pretty much stuck. Traffic drove Cole nuts. He couldn't understand why the bus just didn't move.

It must have been unusually bad, because we were on that bus with some locals, and they eventually got the driver to let them off even though we weren't at a stop. We followed suit. Then we ducked into a Dunkin' Donuts for a quick treat, because the kids were about to lose it.

Fun fact: if you can't find a Dunkin' Donuts in Boston, you're not trying. They are EVERYWHERE!! We once saw 2 of them less than 100 yards apart on the same street. I am not exaggerating. Bostonians sure love their Dunkin' Donuts.

We had to stop by the convention center to pick up the passes. It took us a while just to get there because Boston is a maze. No really. By the time we were done there, Tess was DONE in general. Which is why we went across the street to Jimmy John's for dinner. I don't usually like going to chains while traveling, but it would have been a disaster to try to go anywhere else. And it was "fun" trying to order with 4 ornery kids. The workers there were not used to circuses like ours!

Josh was... fun... on this trip. (And by fun I mean a pill. Sheesh.)

Cole, however, turns out to be a pretty good little traveler, for the most part!

We spent A LOT of time on public transportation during this trip, which was fine by me, because the thought of driving and parking in that city made me want to cry. Yeesh.

We got back to our condo at about 8:30, only to realize there wasn't enough bedding for everyone. Yikes! So I called the owner, and she directed me to the basement, where all the bedding was. Only the code for the door lock didn't work. Double yikes! So she freaked out a bit. But she called me soon after and had gotten someone else in the building to unlock the door for us, so everything turned out okay.

Except later we realized that the thermostat for the condo didn't actually work. The heat was on NO MATTER WHAT. It was hot. Which is why we slept with windows open and AC units on when it was 25 degrees out at night. (It wasn't that bad, mainly just an annoyance.) ((Okay, Josh waking us up at 1am that first night freaking out about how hot he was was bad. But now I can laugh about it. Kinda. That dang kid.)

Ward Christmas Party

Our ward Christmas party was last Saturday. We helped put together hygiene kits, made gingerbread houses, sang carols, and visited with ward members.

I made a gingerbread tent, complete with tiki torches. I was pretty proud.

Of course a true Madsen camping experience should have rain involved - lots of rain. But my decorating talents only go so far.

Tess and Lance also made a gingerbread house, complete with person in front.

Here's Coles. There was an attempt.

Here's Josh's. There was no attempt. Only lots of hot chocolate drinking.

We have a couple of professional photographers in the ward, so we got some pretty great shots. No one seemed to know who this Santa was. Must've been the real deal!

Not a bad family portrait!

Spencer Turned 14!

Turning 40 did not make me feel any older.

But Spencer turning 14 sure did!

We of course had the obligatory Mary Lou doughnuts for breakfast. They must've had a couple of big orders or something that morning, because when I got there at 6am they were half out of most and didn't have the usual selection. And, there was only one old guy at the counter instead of the usual dozen or so. I hope this isn't a sign of bad new management.

We let Spencer open one present before school. I know he really wanted to get his phone first thing, but I figured that was just asking for trouble - the temptation might be too great to take it out during class!

A new BYU hat was a nice consolation. (He really does like it!)

I was nicer when he got home from school and let him open the phone first thing. He couldn't even finish the cookie he was eating, he was so excited!

He's known for a while that he was getting a phone, he just didn't know what kind. Lance did a great job of picking one out that was cool enough for a 14 year old PC fanatic, but wouldn't break the bank. (It's a Chinese brand phone, a Huawei Honor 6x. I'd never heard of it, but Spencer had!)

That boy sure was excited! He spent all afternoon customizing and figuring out what his phone could do. He was super excited to learn that because it's part of our existing plan he has unlimited data.

This has been our view of him ever since! ;)

We decided to help customize his phone a little before hand and put this picture on his home page. He laughed and rolled his eyes and basically reacted the way I wanted him to. And then he changed the photo, can you believe it?!

Lance had won some free tickets to see the new Star Wars movie at an IMAX theater in Indy, so that's what he and Spencer did that evening. Lucky boys!

The next afternoon Spencer had some of his buddies over to hang out. (They're too old to come over to play, right?) They played board games and talked and had a giant Nerf gun fight. Josh and Cole and Tess were in heaven playing with the big kids - Spencer's a really nice big brother to let them.

From left to right: Andrew, Tanner, Spencer, Bailey, and Clayton. Good group of kids!

Spencer requested a chocolate peppermint cake that I think turned out beautifully!

Look at all those candles! And he blew them all out in one try. Must be those big saxophonist lungs!

 

We're pretty lucky to have Spencer in our family. Most of the time he's easy going, kind, and friendly. He's figured out that life is a lot easier when he does what he's supposed to, which makes parenting a lot easier, too. He knows how to press his siblings' buttons, but he also knows how to help them out when needed and be a good big brother. We sure love you, Spence!

Tess's First Grade Christmas Program

Tess had her First Grade Christmas Program a couple of weeks ago - something she had been looking forward to for ages!

This was also our family's very last First Grade Christmas Program - something we had been looking forward to for ages! (Okay, that's mean. The programs aren't that bad. But sitting on bleachers in a stuffy gym with kids (our kids) who don't want to be there? Not a great time.)

Tess was so cute! Up front and center.

She sang every word to each song and did actions for each - whether or not there were planned actions!

I've been trying for a while to get some video uploaded, but it just won't let me. Dang it. Well, trust me when I say it was pretty dang cute. Especially the actions to "FIVE GOLDEN RINGS" on the Twelve Days of Christmas. (Think holding hands up like Beyonce in Single Ladies. I loved it.)

After the program Tess was super excited - until she saw some other little girls get flowers. Gosh dang other parents for thinking of that and making me look bad! She was pretty mad she didn't get flowers. See that smile down there? Totally fake. I was threatening her the entire time. I just wanted one good picture with the decorations. She pulled it together for one awkwardly-smiling photo and then scowled and stomped out of the school and all the way to the car. Growl.

While first graders dressed up in Christmas colors and singing Christmas songs is pretty dang cute, this is one holiday tradition I don't think we'll miss too much!