I think one of the best parts of our vacation was not having anything scheduled. Our daily lives are so scheduled now with Addison and Fischer, so it was nice to just go and do things as we felt like it. We did have our hotel reservations made for each city, and we had a couple restaurants in mind that we knew we wanted to try. In addition, we knew we were going to do the Harpoon Brewery tasting on Thursday, we just weren't sure if we'd do the 2:00 or 4:00 one... it just depended on how our day was going!

Thursday, we woke up and wanted to try a local diner type place for breakfast.  The concierge at our hotel recommended a pub that was close by. So, we gave it a try and it was a great suggestion!

After breakast we headed over to explore Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market.  Since the Market has so many food vendors, we were going to eat lunch there before heading to the brewery.  We walked around for awhile, and tried on some lobster hats and spent some time with the Cheers crowd.

By the time lunch time rolled around, we still weren't hungry because of our big breakfast (although Scott did try a bowl of chowder from one of the vendors). We decided to walk towards the Brewery and find something to eat along the way. We ended up at Legal Test Kitchen for lunch. Many people recommended Legal Seafood as somewhere to eat, so we thought it was neat to be able to try their test kitchen restaurant. Our food was delicious, and I especially loved eating more oysters!

After lunch, we walked along the water. The water was basically infested with jellyfish - I couldn't get over how many there were!

We knew we were getting close to the Harpoon Brewery because these were on the sidewalk...

Scott was getting excited!

We arrived early for the 2:00 tasting, so we spent some time looking at all the Harpoon merchandise. Scott bought a hat and proudly wore it during the tasting. Finally, we got our tasting glasses, and the fun began. It was an hour long tasting but there was no tour since it was during the week. In between samples, the guys would talk about the history of each beer that was on tap to taste and the history of the company. Total, there were 11 beers we could try. It was informative and fun!

Afterwards, we took a cab back to the hotel so we could take advantage of our hotel's indoor pool (which was really cold), steam room and deck. I had a great time relaxing in the sun - everyone kept saying how hot it was, but in my opinion, it was perfect!

For dinner, we went to Turner Fisheries so Scott could sample some of their award-winning chowder. I decided to have some too! It was good, but not the best we had during our trip. After that "appetizer" we headed to Chinatown, which was close to our hotel.  

We were full from dinner and tired from walking all day, so we decided to make it an early night. We were excited for our trip to Portland, Maine on Friday! 

Last Wedesnday (July 7), our vacation began! I felt like I'd been packing and getting everything organized for days (or weeks!) so I was ready to get on the road. Addison and Fischer got up at their normal time of 7 a.m. and I fed them breakfast. While I was feeding them, Scott took our furry babies to "camp." Then, we fed Addison and Fischer their morning snack a little early, around 8:30, loaded them in the car and hit the road! We left at what is normally their nap time in hopes that they'd sleep for awhile on our 3.5 hour ride to my mom and dad's house.  They did sleep for awhile, and did great in the car once they were awake! I was nervous because last time we made the trip back, I was alone with them and they screamed (not just cried, but screamed) for about 2 straight hours. Thankfully, this didn't happen again!

Here they are during our ride. Fischer is wide awake, but decided to play shy for the camera... and here is Addison being her lady-like self.

We arrived at lunch time, and we were all hungry! We ate lunch, then Addison and Fischer had fun exploring their play area. We put them down (or tried to) for their 2:00 nap time. The plan was to put them down, then leave... that way, they wouldn't actually see us leaving. They apparently weren't in the mood to nap though so they cried for awhile. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to leave while they were crying, but things don't always go as planned.  So, Scott and I left for the airport, and my parents went to "rescue" them from their naps! 

We got into Boston around 7, headed to our hotel to check-in, then took a cab to dinner. We had already planned to eat at The Barking Crab, as seen on Man v. Food (a show that we both love).  Here is a picture of The Barking Crab that I took the next day as we walked by. The yellow and red part is a big tent that is open to the water. The other half is the same menu, but indoor seating, and a separate waiting list. We sat inside since the wait was much shorter.

Scott set a goal for vacation to try as many different clam "chowdas" as he could. He then rated each one on a scale from 1-10.  Here is his very first bowl, but I can't remember what he rated any of them. I just remember that none of them scored below a 6, and his favorite was when we were in Portland, Maine. 

While he enjoyed his chowder, I enjoyed some oysters. Then, we both decided to treat ourselves to crab and lobster. It was so good. Scott wasn't wild about wearing the bib, but I made him put it on for the picture.

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel so we could rest up to explore Boston on Thursday. 

Scott and I just got back from a wonderful vacation! I'm turning 30 in a couple of months, and this was our early celebration. We went to Boston, then to Portland and Freeport, Maine. We had a great time eating our way through vacation (mostly seafood!). Meanwhile, Addison and Fischer spent that time with Grandma and Grandpa Suttle, Great Grandma Suttle, and Aunt Jenny.  I know they were in great hands while we were gone, and I KNOW they got a lot of extra attention!

I will have details and pictures soon! Until then, here are a couple... the first is while we were waiting to take off, and the second is of the new chairs Addison and Fischer had waiting for them at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Here are just a couple things that have made me laugh in the past few days!

Addison and Fischer were running around the yard the other night, and our neighbor was cutting his grass. Addison watched him for quite awhile, waving and saying "hi" over and over. :)

The next day, after our trip to the zoo, Fischer was trying to relax.  I found Addison playing with his belly button, and he was clearly getting annoyed.

In other news, both are still sleeping pretty well! They've been napping great and sleeping through the night almost every night. Fischer now has 15 teeth - that's a lot of teeth! At last count, Addison had 11, but I'm pretty sure more are coming because she has been chewing on everything, including our wooden furniture.

We are gearing up for an upcoming vacation - Scott and I are going on a trip while Addison and Fischer staying with Grandma and Grandpa Suttle. I'm sure a fun time will be had by all!

Addison, Fischer and I kicked off our 4th of July weekend with another early morning trip to the zoo. It wasn't crowded at all, but was getting packed by the time we left to come home.  Each time we go, Addison and Fischer seem a little more interested in the animals. This time, they were especially into the giraffes! You can tell by their faces that they were very intrigued...

When we came home, Addison and Fischer had a surprise waiting for them.  You may recall the picture of them standing on the air conditioner vent, just to see outside...

I mentioned to Scott that it would be nice if Addison and Fischer had a little step that they could actually safely stand on, rather than stacking up toys to see outside.  So, he went to Lowe's and made it happen. When we got home, Addison and Fischer found their surprise, complete with carpet!

It's also a good bench when they need a rest from playing:

It's so nice having a handy husband! We hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! 

Today is my brother's birthday - Happy Birthday, Uncle Chris!

Chris is a HUGE Def Leppard fan... by far, the biggest I've ever known, or will ever know, for that matter. At our baby shower, he and Jamie gave us a Def Leppard onsie. It was a bigger onsie, so it has been tucked away in a drawer waiting to be worn. I got it out last week and did a photo shoot in honor of his birthday, and made a collage poster for him. Here are just a few of the pictures I took:

Yesterday, we put on our Gamecock gear and headed to the Colonial Life Arena to join the 14,000 other fans in welcoming home our baseball team! I still can't believe we are the National Champions! :) We got there a little too early, so by the time the team actually arrived, Addison and Fischer were ready to go. They sat in the seats for a few minutes, and thought that was cool. For the most part, they just wanted to run around, and they thought that was REALLY cool. We let them run until the team arrived (straight from the airport), and we watched that, then had to go.

Addison seemed to have fun taking in all of the cheers, music and noise. Fischer really didn't seem too impressed and just wanted to move around. I don't think we'll be trying to take them to a football game this season - yesterday answered that question for us. :)

I did manage to get some pictures and a couple of videos. It was such a neat atmosphere to be in, so I wanted to try and capture that! I also had to get picutres of Addison and Fischer in their new gamecock shirts - we stopped on the way to buy these since their other ones are now too small.

I'm sorry that the videos are a little shaky - I was holding Fischer and he kept trying to grab the camera. :) The first is of the "GAME-COCKS" cheer, and the second is the beginning of the song, '2001", as the team is about to run in. Unfortunately, I had to stop recording right before they ran in, but it was cool - they came in holding their trophy up high in the air! Then, they took a victory lap around the arena!