What did the fish say when he ran into the wall?

After our New Hampshire excursion, we headed back to Massachusetts to do a bit more exploring before Steffie departed to New York City to visit another friend.


So we hopped on the train with the kids, and headed into Boston to visit the New England Aquarium. Cooper loves riding on the train, but I'm sure his sentiments will fade with age. I say this from personal experience, as I always seem to encounter the crazies when riding the Red Line. Let's just say that public transportation in the States just tends to attract a plethora of unique individuals.


Currently, the aquarium has a decent sized Jellies exhibit. Jellyfish honestly creep me out. I don't mind them in tanks and such, but when I see one in the ocean...let's just say it's a hot mess. Therefore, I didn't mind admiring them from afar. With a 3 inch piece of plexi-glass between me and the jellies, I was able to admire their "grandeur" with ease.


In addition to Jellies, they had penguins, an area where you can pick up starfish and sea anemones, and a huge tank with sharks, turtles, eels and various other sorts of aquatic life that kept the wee ones amused.


As in other locations, the New England Aquarium lies adjacent to Boston Harbor....which coincidentally is rather quiet in the winter months. All in all it was a good day, and even though Tristan (my sister Jaime's youngest kid) was Suzy-Sad-pants all day....we had a great time and braved the cold weather to have some fun.

Post-storm activities up North

After getting totally dumped with snow, we decided that instead of trying to walk around in Boston...the best plan would be to go skiing. So, Steffie and I packed up our things and drove up to North Conway, NH to hang out with my family and get some skiing in.


Steffie was a little new to skiing, so I took her under my wing of experience and tried to give her a few tips. She did a great job, and didn't fall once! Impressive, if I may say so myself.


Skiing is a Bourne tradition. I was on skis at the age of 4, and as you can see...we started my niece and nephew even younger. The amazing thing is that they actually love it (to a certain point). I smell a future Bode Miller.


Here's my Mom, Dad, and my nephew Cooper (age 3), and niece Tristan (age 2). They dominated the bunny hill....like so many Bournes before them.

And the babies weren't the only ones dominating the bunny hill.....Steffie did a little bit of dominating, as well. We went up and down the magic carpet (which in reality bares no similarities to Arabian magic carpets except for the fact that it moves). She did an amazing job, and I think she's a natural!


And of course, no trip to my parents condo is complete without a sledding excursion. Granted, we didn't really "attack" the large hills....but everyone still had fun. And, I think Cooper found a new girlfriend.


But the little ones had a fun time riding down on the sled, and pushing Grammie down the hill (as you can see above).

Happy New Years....enjoy the power-dump of snow.

I had very good intentions of going out in the city on New Years Eve. I had picked out a semi-adorable outfit and was excited to get out of the house and enjoy some friends, some dancing, and maybe even a glass or two of champagne (hah, who are we kidding.... I meant a bottle).


The morning weather forecast and the apparent mounds of snow in my backyard weren't exactly encouraging. When I woke up and came downstairs at 9am, it just began to snow. In a little over 24 hours, 10 inches were dumped on us. Needless to say, we canceled our New Years plans for fear of not making it back home alive.


The snow was literally pouring from the heavens, and the visibility was no more than 20 yards or so. In the picture above, you can see my younger brother Matt using the snow-blower to clear off my aunt and uncle's driveway.


Steffie took her hand at "driving" the snow-blower, too...and did a great job at it. She said it was her first time shoveling... ever. Needless to say, I was shocked. I grew up dreading snow storms in Massachusetts....for fear of shoveling. And living in Fairbanks...you don't need shovels....just brooms because the snow is so light. So as you can imagine...her enthusiasm was encouraging.


So, after a couple rounds of shoveling, we settled down in the house for what was to be a very relaxing New Years Eve.


As you can see, we had a few drinks, played some shuffle board, and watched the ball drop on TV. It was good times had by all....and we even got phone calls all the way from Alaska!! (Hi Dan!!)

A German Girl in Boston

On December 29th, the same day Colin departed for Alaska....my friend Stefanie from Germany arrived in Boston to visit. I haven't seen Steffie in over a year, and she found wicked cheap tickets to Boston...so we shipped her over here to play in the snow.


And snow there was! Shortly after Steffie arrived, southern Massachusetts got bombed with a New Years Eve snowstorm. Lucky for her...she had some time to enjoy Boston snow-less for a couple days before the onslaught.


We went on a nice little walking tour of Boston, which included Boston Common, Bolyston Street, Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall and of course the Prudential Building. Since it costs money to go to the top of the building...we decided that if we were gonna drop any cash...we'd drop it at the bar instead. The Top of the Hub is a restaurant/bar that's at the top of the Prudential building that has an amazing view of the city (as you can see above).


We picked a beautiful day to go, and thanks to the Smiths suggestions...we enjoyed high-altitude cocktails while taking in the view.


Here we are walking down Bolyston St. in the windy weather. It was pretty chilly outside, but it added to the holiday ambiance. And the sky was so beautiful and clear....


In this picture, you can actually see the moon (the crescent above the tree) and Venus (the bright star on the top left) shining brightly. The building with the lights on the top, is where we had drinks and took tons of pictures :)


We soon moved onto Quincy Market to get some food and try and warm up a little bit. They still had holiday lights everywhere...and everything looked really beautiful.


As you can see...we really lucked out with the snow. I think Steffie really enjoyed Boston, even though she didn't get to see all of it. But that's okay...that leaves us more things to do when she comes back to play!

Colin does Boston

My Christmas present this year was a visit from Colin, which was absolutely fabulous. After a tragically long journey to the East Coast, the poor guy was then immersed the rigors of Bourne life. He powered through like a champ, and as a reward....I took him to a Celtics game.


Before the game, we went into the city to see some touristy things. The picture above is the State House in Boston....taken from Boston Common. Poor Colin was at the receiving end of all my picture taking....but I think he forgave me because we were soon going to attend a Celtics game.


In addition to all the sights we took in, Colin seemed to get a real kick out of our "accents". I personally lost my accent after years of living in other states....but apparently, everyone else in my family has retained it.


When we finally got to the Garden, there was a subtle glow emanating off Colin's face....haha...basketball does that to him. Haha...but in all seriousness....I think he had a good time.


I also had a great time. Overall, I'm a fan of professional sporting events...I've been to multiple....and have thoroughly enjoyed them....both inebriated and sober.


Needless to say, I had an amazing time with him, and it sucks not having him around all the time. But, we had a blast together....and always do....and I can't wait to see him again.