Hershey Park, Hershey, PA

I'm embarrassed to say that I don't have one photo of our Hershey Park adventure. Unfortunately, I didn't have my fifth hand to carry a camera to chronicle our events. One of my dearest friends, Talia (from college), joined us and now understands why she doesn't have children yet! However, she did take some pics for us and we'll get those when she's over the shock of spending three days on the road with a long, lost friend and two children. None-the-less, we had a great time. Benjamin and Leah experienced their first rollercoaster--The Trailblazer! (I did find a photo of someone else's Hershey Park Trailblazer experience, though!) After an hour of patient, or not-so-patient waiting, the 1 minute and 15 second ride was well worth the wait!

YeeHaw for James Taylor

Most of you know how much I like James Taylor. And some of you are amazed how poorly I know the words to his songs despite them being my favorite! Still others are amazed at how surprising it is that he hasn't called me to sing back up for him considering how great I sound The rest of you question why he has not sued me for making a mockery of his music!

Despite all of that, he still allowed me into his concert! My parents, my oldest brother, Craig, my Aunt Ginny, and my good college friend, Talia joined in fun. We drove the RV to Portland, Maine for his show: "One Man Band." He was accompanies by only a pianist and the concert was incredibly intimate (despite the 10,000 other fans). We didn't get a photo of us all together, but here I am with my parents and Talia.

Absolutely, one of the highlights of our trip (for the kids, too, they got to have a long awaited slumber party at Uncle Mark and Auntie Jen's)!

Just a preview...

Without taking away from the Bride and Groom...

Are they the most gorgeous "Princess" and "King" (self-proclaimed) you've ever seen?

More photos of the wedding to come soon.

Barrington Baptist Church, Barrington, RI

So here's a little back ground:

My Dad and the Brogan family--brother's, sister's, father, uncles, and children (including me) are infamous for pushing the needle to E before filling up their tanks. However, more times than one would like to count, they have lost that game (yes, including me).

So, while we were in Rehoboth I ran my generator to start the Air Conditioner for a bit (one of the few nights we actually needed it up North). For an unknown reason, the generator died and wouldn't re-start. We fiddled and poked all the known possibilities with no success. Several days later, we drove it to my Dad's work so that he could look at it with me. After a brief decoding of the user's manual, we solved the problem: GAS! Evidently, if the truck's tank is below 1/4 tank, the generator can not run! Well now, isn't that a Brogan thing!

While we were visiting, Dad encouraged the children (although they didn't need much) to drive his work cart. Needless-to-say, they're pretty convinced they can drive anything now!

New England Aquarium, Boston, MA

We had the pleasure of visiting one of my favorite Boston attractions: The New England Aquarium. When I was a private teacher for a family in Newton, MA, we visited the aquarium nearly every week, and as a result, I became quite fond of the penguins. Today, we visited the aquarium with Rich's parents and his brother and his family. The children really enjoyed the sea animals especially the sea turtles, the sharks, and the sea star "petting" tank.

Rehoboth, MA

From New Hampshire, we travel back south to Rehoboth, MA to visit with some old friends: The Louro's. Leslie and I became very good friends when her husband (Greg) and Rich were in Bosnia together in 1997 (what seems like a life-time ago). During that difficult time, we played important roles in each other's lives and continued to over the years to follow. We have watched their children grow into amazing teenagers and I'm proud of what they have become.

We spent some time by the pool, relaxed by a campfire, talked until early hours of the morning, caught a movie (Ratatouille), ate great food :) and truly enjoyed their company. Despite a few mishaps--bee stings, scraped knees, failed generators, a broken oak dining chair, dog bites...it was a wonderful visit.

I'm embarrassed to say that we didn't take any photos. And the morning we were leaving, when I finally realized we didn't have any photographic memories, they refused to indulge me in a family just-rolled-out-of-bed photo for our blog and scrapbook. (Can't say I blame them.)

Lake Winnipesaukee, Gilford, NH

We spent a nice long weekend with Rich's sister, Renee and her family, Dennis, Amanda, and David at their home in NH. The rest of Rich's family (local) was there and the children were thrilled to spend time with their cousins. We spent two days at the Gilford town beach on Lake Winnipesaukee, took a hike in the woods, did some letterboxing, visited Kellehaus Ice Cream Shoppe for make-your-own-sundaes, among many other things (including fishing for dead fish on the beach).

Let's all admit it: Every great trip deserves an evening in the Emergency Room! Apparently when we were letterboxing on Cape Cod, Benjamin discovered some poison--of some sort. Several days later while in NH, it spread into his eyes and was easily irritated by the heat. The ER doctors weren't too concerned with the type of poison--evidently they treat them the same--with a few doses of Prednisone, benadryl, and good ol'fashioned calamine lotion. He's a shot of my trooper and me in the ER taken with Nana's cell phone.

Demerest Llyod State Park, Dartmouth, MA

One thing we do miss living down south (along with family and friends) is the ocean. We've been trying to spend a good amount of time at the beach while we're here. We enjoyed a wonderful day with the "girls" (a group of high school friends with whom I share a unique bond) and their children. (You can see a group photo in our March '07 post.) Unfortunately, I wasn't insightful enough to bring a camera, much less take a photo of all the children together. --Thanks to Meg for these photos.--

Battleship Cove, Fall River, MA

Uncle Eric took us to the USS Massachusetts docked at Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA. the children loved climbing aboard and exploring the ships. Eric spent some time on an Aircraft carrier while in the Marines, so was able to share some first-hand information with us along the way. The ships were hot and tight and Benjamin decided early on that he preferred to be on the decks, seen here with Eric. Here's a shot of Leah climbing over a "knee-banger" in the submarine

Buttonwood Park Zoo, New Bedford, MA

Our quest to visit zoos across the country took us to an old favorite, Buttonwood Zoo in New Bedford, MA. Benjamin and I used to frequent this zoo for the first three years of his life. Leah was thrilled to hear that she visited it while "in my belly."

We were fortunate enough to witness Emily, the elephant, have a BM, at which time, Benjamin shook his head and muttered, "How embarrassing!" Leah's favorite were the Harbor Seals, Benjamin's, the Black Bears.

Cape Cod, Cotuit, MA

My Godmother, "Aunt" Barbara, moved to Cotuit, MA on Cape Cod several years ago with her daughter Jane and family. We were able to spend a wonderful afternoon with them which included lunch, letterboxing, and ice cream. Incidentally, I think we have hooked another family into letterboxing. Benjamin and Leah had a blast with their new "cousins" and have asked several times since when they can visit with them again. Here are a few shots on the beach (digging for hermit crabs)

Success!

And some good ol'fashioned playtime in the yard: