adorable grandkid pics

Our lonely toys had company this weekend! 5 cousins came to visit!

On the way...

On the way to New England we spent a day at the Smithsonian Museum. Fabulous! Exhausting! TOTAL BRAIN OVERLOAD! I actually got sick of looking at art! Our feet hurt!

Dinosaur bones! Gems! History! Native Americans! Joseph Smith's portrait!

It was wonderful...

Here I am at one of my all time favorite paintings!

We stopped for a day in Princeton.

And had a great time with the kids. They joined us later in Boston.

Memorial Day

What a way to spend Memorial Day!

We took the MTA to the Boston Common with David and Carol, and saw the Swan Boats (my favorite thing to do as a child)...

...and saw this fabulous display. One flag for every soldier lost in the state of Massachusetts.

Lots of fun people in the park!

Then we walked the Boston Freedom Trail where it all started.

Saw the harbor.

And the North End where Paul Revere lived...

...now the Italian section.

Very charming city!

Newton revisited.

We went to see Grandpa's old stomping grounds - a must after hearing so much about them!

This is the famous Echo Bridge in the beautiful Hemlock Gorge in Newton Upper Falls.

Our ancestors lived and worked all around this park.

The longest arch, that stretches over the Charles River, really has an echo. Jon counted 15 repeats when he clapped his hands. There are many more that cannot be heard with our ears.
Eli got to hear his echo too.

It is actually an aqueduct that you can walk over. You can look down and see the old cotton mill where our great aunt Ada worked as a child (before child labor laws).

Here is the mill from the ground. It is now offices.

My great grandfather sang in the choir at this Methodist Church. They loaned him the money to send for the rest of his family from England. My father grew up in this church too.

This is the street where my father's family lived before they bought a house.

This is where the house they bought was. It has recently been torn down and replaced. Property is worth a fortune there now.

The Ralph Waldo Emerson school. My grandfather named it. Emerson lived in the town for a year.

Piccadily Square in Newton Center. Grandpa's printing business was downstairs at #75 in that building, across from the MTA station.

Burial

What a lovely place to leave a loved one!

We buried Dad's cremated remains with his sister, parents, grandparents, aunt and cousin.

He was the last of his generation to pass. Several descendants came to see him off.

Everyone had a chance to comment before the grave was dedicated.

Miraculously, the stormy weather held off for us to do this.

Barbara, Carol, Albert, Jet, Becky, ?, Jon, Bill, David

Jonathan, Anna, Eli, Danny

The Maine Coast

The day after the burial we drove with Carol and David to the Maine Coast. It was cold and windy and a great mist came up from the sea. I can see why they had so many lighthouses. This is Nubble Lighthouse. It's an island. Can you imagine living there?Hardy tourists were determined to play on the beach despite the cold and mist. Another Beach.
We ate both lobster and Bison Burgers. Beautiful place!