Boston, Baby!

My granddaughter turned one last week.  My whole fam damily, plus my youngest sister Chrissy, flew out from B.C. to celebrate with her in Boston.

It was a fun-filled weekend of cupcakes and special meals, parties and presents.  What made it even more special was that Josephine's birthday buddy, Chrissy, joined us for the festivities.  What a blessing it was when Josephine was born on my sister's birthday!

As you know, I am one of Josephine's biggest fans.  She is smart, she is funny.  She is friendly, she is kind.  She is enthusiastic, she is a lover of life.  Everything delights her.  She is my spirit animal.

Grandma and baby.

Papa and baby.

Auntie Paige and Uncle Will with baby.

Birthday buddies.

Boston is so pretty in the autumn.

The happy family.

Baby's first steps.

Pure joy.

Fearless.

Fun with Dad.

I have seen a lot of fathers in my life.  And no one compares to this guy.  Hands down, one of the best dads I've ever known.

Snuggles on the bus with Grandma.

Make way for ducklings!

Happy first birthday, Josephine!

Baby's first sugar!  And loving every mouthful of it.

Party on!

Watching the world go by.

Boston Public Garden.

Downtown Boston.

"Farewell vain world I have enough of thee,

And now I'm careless what thou sayest of me,

What fault thou see'st in me take care to shun, 

There's work within thyself that should be done,

Thy smiles I court not,

Nor thy frowns I fear,

My cares are past,

My head lies quiet here."

Edward Carter died in 1742 at age 45.
Granary Burying Ground.

Fun on the street with Auntie and Uncle.

A baby peeing on her mother is always funny!

Fun at the playground!

Beers at one of the oldest bars in Boston.  Thanks for buying, Paige!

Peace out, man.

The girls and I went out for an early birthday celebration before Paige flew home to Vancouver.

This girl makes friends wherever she goes.  One day while on the bus, we sat beside a family with three children.  Josephine smiled, waved and cooed at them.  The next thing we knew, the children were asking to hold her.  Josephine was passed from pillar to post and she (and they) loved every minute of it.

All too soon, the party weekend came to an end.  Grandpa Joe, Auntie Paige, Uncle Will and Grauntie Chrissy all returned to their Canadian homes.  But lucky Grandma got to stay behind!

How happy was I to be a part of Josephine's first Hallowe'en?  It was a fun-filled day.  A dance party at the local library, carving jack-o-lanterns at home and trick-or-treating on Beacon Hill.

Josephine dressed up as her favourite fruit.

I got to take Josephine to the library's Hallowe'en party ALL BY MYSELF!

Babies are so helpful when it comes to carving pumpkins!

Kisses for the jack-o-lanterns!

We went trick-or-treating in Beacon Hill, one of Boston's oldest and wealthiest neighbourhoods.  My photos do not do the event justice.  Every home was decorated to the hilt and every homeowner was dressed in elaborate costumes.  

A couple of Hallo-weiners.

A trio of monkeys with their favourite banana.

Posing with pumpkins!

Josephine's first Hallowe'en candy!

This decorated dog was a hit with all of the adults and children.

Pumpkins and stars hanging from trees.

Waiting for hobgoblins.

The jack-lanterns Molly and I carved.

What a fun Hallowe'en!

I have been in Boston for a week now and thankfully I get to stay for another.  

I am looking forward to being with the gang and soaking up as much of this baby as I can.  Josephine is just so much fun to hang out with.

I cannot get enough of her.  

Magical Maui

When I retired back in June, Joe asked me if I'd like to go on a trip to celebrate.  "Hell, yes!" was my immediate answer.  I wanted to travel to Hawaii as I'd never been before.  And I wanted to go the week after Labour Day when school was back in session.

We polled many people to find out which island we should visit.  Maui was the island most people recommended.

So off we went.  For 8 glorious days.

We laid on the beach, we bobbed like corks in the ocean.  We ate wonderful food, we drank delicious drinks.  We went on a sailing trip to Lanai Island.  Sun, surf and sand.  Day after day.

The beautiful volcanic mountains of Maui.

Sitting on our deck watching the sunset played a huge part of our daily routine.

Our first day on Maui.  We were as giddy as children!

Mangrove tree in Lahaina.

Empty beaches.

 We sailed to Lanai Island with Trilogy Tours.  You should go if you ever get the chance.  I highly recommend it.

 On our way to Lanai Island we stopped to watch a group of Spinnaker dolphins playing in the waves.

 Such graceful animals.

Enjoying the sailing trip.

We went snorkelling for the very first time!

The professional photographer with Trilogy Tours took these photos for us.

 Watching these fish was mesmerizing.

I could have snorkelled around these reefs for hours.

Sailing back to Maui.

Good-bye, Lanai Island.

Lahaina Beach.

 Aloha spirit.

Sunset in Lahaina.

 The photo I took of Joe on the beach in Ka'anapali.

The photo Joe took of me on the beach in Ka'anapali.

Watching the sunset from our deck in Kihei.

 Watching the windsurfers on Ho'okipa Beach.

The surf is strong on the north coast of Maui.

Green Hawaiian sea turtles resting on Ho'okipa Beach.

The turtles heading back into the waves.

A brewing storm.

We drove with the top down on our rental car wherever we went.  And with the temperatures in the high 80s every day, we also drove with the air conditioning blasting at the same time!

Just a casual wedding on the beach with sunbathers in the background.

Working on his tan.

On most days, we had the beaches to ourselves.

The pool at our condo came in handy for sand removal after our days at the beach.

Delicious drinks at the bar of Mama's Fish House on our last night in Maui.

Thanks, everybody, for advising us to travel to Maui.  The island exceeded our expectations!  I cannot wait to go back.

It took me 59 years to visit Hawaii.  I won't make that mistake again.