School

So last year was kind of a weird fall for us.  September came... and none of us were going to school.  That hadn't ever happened.  And it was kind of weird.  We like school here.  And so we've decided to go back.  Or to start in the first place.

September 10th was our first day of school.  Scott is taking a computer security class at Northeastern University a couple of afternoons a week.  And Alan has started Joy School.  So far they are both loving it. James and I have decided to refrain from formal education this year.

Here are some pictures of my cute boys on their first day of school!  We love you guys!

The Jacobs Visit

Over Labor Day weekend we were thrilled to have some friends from our good old Wymount days come to visit!  We had a blast with the Jacobs and got to do a lot of sightseeing.  It was also so fun to catch up and let our boys become friends (again!).   

Here we are on the swan boats- frond row!

Michael and Alan loved climbing and rolling down Bunker Hill

At the Bunker Hill Monument with William Prescott statue 

April and I with our boys on the USS Constitution

Dad and and the boys on the "pirate ship"

Family photo at the helm!

Here's old Ironsides herself.  We had never been there as a family before.

Scott and Alan at Faneuil Hall

These boys were pretty dang good while walking the entire freedom trail. Sometimes they didn't care all that much about the historical sites, but oh how they HAD TO touch this big random noodle in the middle of the city.

Here we are at Thoreau's cabin

And at Walden Pond

Being the silly boys that they are :)

Group photo at Lexington Visitor's center

They boys had a blast exploring the "secret passageways" at the North Bridge. 

It was so fun to see friends and have a reason to go exploring as a family.  So as a shout out to any other friends from our good old Wymount days... we'd love to have you! See how much fun we can have! And to any other friends from any other good old days... we'd love to have you too!  And of course any family that we can get. Let us know when you're coming. We have a room all ready for you. :)

A Great 28th

While we are still in catch-up mode, Scott turned 28 last month.  Since his birthday fell on Saturday, it was great to be able to spend the whole day with him.  Alan gets super excited about birthdays.  He woke up several times during the night hoping that it was Daddy's birthday.  I eventually ended up sleeping in his bed with him he was so excited he wouldn't go to sleep!  When we woke up he was distraught that there were no presents in the front room.  (He had helped me wrap them and put them in Scott's room, but apparently he thought they would all be in the front like Christmas.  He came running out and then said... "Where's the celebration?"  

Finally when Scott did get up, Alan was very excited to get in on the action of opening presents. 

Alan helped pick out many of Scott's gifts.  The water guns and green army parachuting men among the favorites.

As you can see, Alan made a good choice.  Dad was as excited about them as he was.

The Lobster Cake... Here's the story with this one.  Grandpa Robertson got a lobster roll in Maine.   After this Alan thought it would be a good idea to have a lobster cake.  He kept mentioning that he was going to have this for his next birthday, but then that morning he was very insistent that we were going to make a lobster cake for dad's birthday.  So we whipped this thing up.  It was really a rather quick job, not intended for display, but it became such a big deal that we had to remember it.  I don't think Scott ever imagined that he would have a lobster cake for his birthday.

Candles lit.  Alan decided he would like the singing this time and clap.

That evening was our babysit swap, so we left the boys with some good friends and ventured into the North End for some delicious Italian food.

Scott loves Italian food, and this was some of the best I have ever eaten.  Such a fun night and a perfect end to a wonderful birthday.

Robertson Reunion (of sorts)

We had a wonderful three week Robertson reunion in August.  Grandma and Grandpa came out to visit and see their new little grandson and, since the rest of us live here, it was a Bostonian Robertson Reunion.  It was so fun to be able to spend time together and the boys especially loved the constant attention that they get from Grandmas and Grandpas!  Here are some pictures of our fun times together.

Robertson ties, of course

Cousins shot

We had lots of fun playing in the back yard

We went to the beach in Maine and stopped for a lobster roll.  They were delicious.  Even Alan liked it.  Go figure.  Try getting him to eat a carrot, but apparently he loves lobster.  And this event got him started on quite a little lobster kick. 

We also had fun in the Museum of Science

Where James got to drive a boat

And Alan got to drive a camel.

I don't know who in their right mind lets their kid do this.

Baby Micah on his blessing day

We realized this was Jamesy's first time sitting on the ducks all by himself

And Grandma and Grandpa's first time visiting the ducks as well.

Michael, Sarah and Micah met up with us in the public garden too

On the swan boats

And in Frog Pond

Baby Micah was as good as can be

Rob and Evelyn's friend Carol was able to come to visit as well

And we all got to celebrate Michael's birthday too!

It was a full, fun, and exciting visit.  We love spending time with family and were so lucky to be able to hang out together quite a bit this summer.

Aunt and Uncle

Aunt Janelle and Uncle Scott. These are our new titles.  For the first time. :)  We now have a little nephew.  And our boys have a cousin. And we love him.


Little Micah was born on August 5th and, as Alan will tell you, he is such a precious baby. We also feel very, very lucky to live close enough to be able to see each other and watch this little guy grow.

Here is the precious babe himself

And the proud mom

And the proud dad

And the proud uncle

Lorena's Visit

Again, I have some catching up to do. :)

At the beginning of August my friend Lorena came out to visit for a week.  Anne also stayed with us and we had a great time reminiscing and exploring together.  The first night we stayed up til 3 am talking, and I thought we were sophomores in college again.  And then my kids woke up at the crack of dawn and I remembered that we weren't.  But we had a great time sightseeing and eating healthily. Lorena's in the last few weeks of her competition, so give her a few more words of encouragement on her blog here.  Here are some pics from her visit!

We took a ferry ride out to the Harbor Islands.

And we played on the beach while Anne and Lorena kayaked

It started looking like it was going to rain, so we came in...

And Alan insisted on hula hooping when it was raining lightly.  Then it started to DOWNPOUR!  It was crazy.  And we were stuck on this island and had to catch the ferry back. 

And so we had to trudge through the rain and ended up looking like this. :)

And this.  It was quite an adventure.

Eating lunch at the Joseph Smith Birthplace in Vermont

At the monument

We went to the Lexington and Concord sites and Alan LOVED the little activities that they had at the Wittemore House.

He would have stayed here all afternoon.

The family at Kimball Farms

And we went to a Red Sox game.  And we were won strike away from winning.   Full count.  Pitch Thrown.  3-Run Homer.   We ended up losing.  Kind of lame, but oh well.  It was still fun.

We also went to York beach in Maine.

And stopped at this light house.

And ate at this yummy seafood restaurant.

You just can't come to Boston and not ride on the swan boats.

And splash in frog pond.

We love it when people visit!  We not only get to spend time with them, but we get out and do all this fun exploring!  Good luck Lorena with the competition!