Gettysburg

Checking off another of our East Coast bucket list items...Gettysburg.

It was so fun to go with Grandma and Grandpa when they were in town.  Dave is the master historian, so it was like having our own personal tour guide.

They visitor's center and museum was incredible.  At the end you go up to this panoramic mutual of picket's charge and listen to a recording telling of the events.  It was so well done.  

Learning lots from our tour guide....

On the Confederate side at the site where Picket's charge started..

Son's of Virginia monument: I might only have one son who was actually born in Virginia, but I think these boys will always consider themselves sons of Virginia.

At Little Round Top:  One thing we did that was really great was we watched half of the movie Gettysburg before we went and then the second half after we came home.  This made us appreciate things so much more!

McKenna and Zach ran the distance of the battlefield.  We were told it was about 2 miles but it ended up only being a little less then one mile.

We loved our day in Gettysburg.  It was only an hour and a half away from our house.  We sure are going to miss being so close to so much history.  I'm so grateful we've been able to soak in as much as we have in our six years here.

A Visit From Grandma and Grandpa Crane

We were so happy that we could get one more visit from Bret's parents before we move and before they leave on their mission this fall.  

Playing catch and basketball with Grandpa.

 Grandma and Gavin made cookies

 Grandpa rode the long board

This is how Grayson rides the long board...

 Gavin and Grandma played games

 And of course did some coloring...

 Grandpa was able to see McKenna's soccer game

And Grandma went to Gavin's game

This picture makes them look even,  but Abby is just barely taller then her Grandpa

 Thanks for the visit Dave and Pauline!  See you in Utah!

Boston

It wasn't part of the original plan, but as we were driving from Niagara Falls to Palmyra Bret and I started talking about how we wished we would have made it to Boston while living on the East Coast.  A few googles later and we had decided to add 8 hours of driving time to our trip, surprise the kids, extend one more day to see and explore Boston!  As we pulled into Boston Sunday night and asked how they felt about missing school on Monday...they were SO excited to be in Boston!

We got up early Monday morning and did a Duck Tour.

(Playing football while waiting for our tour)

Duck Tours are great.  It is such a fabulous way to get a lot of history and see a lot of the city.  Perfect for us because we only had about 7 hours to spend in the city.  Not to mention it kept the little boys happy and entertained!

 They liked driving.

 We walked through the beautiful city public gardens.

 Of course while in Boston you have to eat Dunkin' Donuts!

 And then we walked part of the Freedom Trail.

We stopped, ate and had some fun at Faneuil Hall Marketplace.

 Zach, Abby and Bret had amazing Lobster Rolls while McKenna, Gavin and I ate some incredible Philly Cheese steak Sandwiches.  The food was so so yummy!

 We then walked the Freedom Trail back to the Public Gardens where our car was parked and headed for home.

 I loved exploring this city!  I could spend days and days there.  So glad we were able to squeeze it in, even if it was only 7 hours!