Burlington

Last week Daniel and I drove up to Burlington, VT. Daniel had another training class to attend for work. It was nice to get away for a few days. We enjoyed an evening by Lake Champlain, eating out at great restaurants, and Dakin Farm's fantastic maple soft serve frozen yogurt cones. Dakin Farm is located south of Burlington. They make all kinds of foods, from maple syrup and cheeses to jams and jellies. They also give out free samples of many of their products. The best product by far is the frozen yogurt. At first, you may think that maple flavored frozen yogurt sounds terrible. But, it actually is very good! It's a good thing we don't live near this store because we'd be there every day.


One of the highlights of our trip occurred on the drive up to Burlington. We saw a moose lumbering along in the median of the highway! We were going too fast to get a picture, but it was fun to see it.

The Fourth of July

I had been excited about the fourth of July weekend for a while. I was looking forward to having a few days to spend with Daniel, maybe go to the beach or something. Unfortunately life does not always turn out the way we want. Because the Lawrence office was scheduled to open the following monday, Daniel needed to put in a little over time and help get the new office set up. He worked the whole day on Friday and had agreed to work Saturday morning as well. I was happy to at least have Daniel to myself the rest of the day to celebrate the Fourth. After Daniel left for work on Saturday, I decided to do a little grocery shopping. I wanted to surprise Daniel with a rhubarb cream cake, one of his favorite desserts. So, I headed to the nearest grocery store to pick up some ingredients for the cake. I was really excited to do a little baking. When I got home, I chopped up the rhubarb and mixed up the cake mix. I was getting ready to put the rhubarb and cream over the cake, but I couldn't find the pint of whipping cream that I had bought. I wondered if I had left that bag in the car so I ran out to the parking lot to check. No whipping cream! It was listed on the receipt so I knew I had gotten it. The bagger had not bagged it for me! I had to leave the cake to head back to the store. At least it was the closest store! I rushed back home and finished putting the cake together and got it in the oven. I was disappointed because it didn't turn out as well as it should since the cake batter had to sit for a while instead of going into the oven right away. The rhubarb didn't sink to the bottom of the pan like it's supposed to. I was worried that it wouldn't tasted good. Daniel was thrilled to see the cake cooling on the stove when he got home. It tasted a lot better than it looked!

Saturday evening, Daniel and I went out for dinner before heading to the park to watch fireworks. We decided not to spend $10 each to get into West Beach, so we thought if we were at Lynch park, down the coast, we could watch the fireworks from a distance. We also knew that Marblehead and Salem were shooting their fireworks off the same night, just across the bay. We had a great vantage point at the park! We watched all three displays from our spot, and they weren't too far away. When we got home we caught the end of the Boston Pops concert and fireworks on TV.

Berry Picking

Just before Daniel's parents left, we took them up to New Hampshire to go strawberry picking. Daniel found a great farm in Londonderry that grows a variety of fruits. The strawberry plants looked great and the berries were very sweet and juicy. We picked so many berries! We had plenty of strawberries, so we cut some up to freeze and I also made jam. Daniel and I definitely plan to return in a few weeks for raspberries and blueberries.

The Freedom Trail

One of the fun things about having visitors is that we can do some of the touristy things in the area. Daniel and I don't have the chance to go sight seeing very often so it was great to check out the history of Boston with his family. We all went into Boston on the train and walked part of the Freedom Trail. The trail is a 2.5 mile red brick walking path through important historical places in Boston. We only walked about half of the trail as we spent so much time exploring some of the places of historical significance. It is amazing to see buildings that date back to the 1600's.

Old Boston





George Washington Statue


Make Way For Ducklings Statues


State House (Capitol Building)


The cemetary where Paul Revere is buried along with other prominent people in history.



Paul Revere's house

Plum Island

This past Saturday Daniel and I took his parents up to Hampton Beach, NH and Plum Island, MA. We spent a few hours at Hampton Beach, enjoying a picnic lunch and wading in the cold ocean waters. It was a great time to relax and take in the warm sunshine. From Hampton Beach we drove down the coast a little ways to Plum Island. The Parker River National Wildlife Refuge is on the south end of the island. We drove down the eight mile long island, enjoying the many birds that have made the refuge their home. We also did a little exploring along the Sand Dunes Trail, which is a raised boardwalk path through the natural habitat of a sand dune. By the time we stopped at Plum Island Beach the temperatures had dropped and the wind had picked up. The waves were really crashing into the shore. We didn't stay very long. However, just before we left, we met a wildlife volunteer who was watching a pair of nesting Piping Plovers, a bird on the Endangered Species List. The refuge is one of the few remaining places on the East Coast where Piping Plovers can nest. Just off the island we stopped for dinner at a local seafood place. Bob Lobster is a fantastic little restaurant. Bob, the owner actually catches the fish that he serves his customers. Daniel and his dad ordered fish and chips while his mom and I ordered lobster rolls. The food was great! Definitely a "do-over" as Daniel would say.

An Afternoon at the Beach

Daniel and I spent some time with his family at the beach on his birthday. The weather was a little chilly, but at least the sun was shining. It was the first rainless day in over a week. We had a lot of fun and Miriam, our ten month old niece got to experience the ocean for the first time. She loved the water!

Daniel's Birthday

Yesterday was Daniel's 30th birthday. He had not been looking forward to the BIG 3-0, but it turned out to be a wonderful day. Mom and Dad Koski flew into town Monday evening to spend the week with us. Daniel was really excited to have them here for his birthday. What he didn't know, was that his brother Jonathan, sister-in-law Rachel, and niece Miriam were also flying in to surprise him! Daniel worked a half day yesterday and took the 12:20 train home. Jonathan and Rachel were supposed to get the 11:15 train and be at the house when he got home. Their flight was delayed and they ended up on the same train! Daniel was VERY surprised to see them get on the train. We had a great afternoon with the family at the beach and Daniel had a fantastic birthday.