Bowles Blog

Vacation Recap: Patriot Place

Just like 'Lost', I'm skipping around in time.
On the Friday that kicked off vacation (4/17), we packed up the car and headed to Patriot Place in Foxboro.
We'd talked about going some time and BGD told us Five Guys had really good burgers & fries.
Sold!
We parked at the end near the Patriots Pro Shop and the CBS Scene. And I'm glad we did because that's where you'll find the best thing at Patriot Place--the field turf.
The shops (we went in one) were just your basic mall stores, nothing special.  But the field turf, that was cool.  They have 3 big squares of it that you can run around on.  If you bring your own football you can pretend you're inside Gilette.
Or you can just have your children tackle you and throw you to the ground.
Whatever works.         
And by the way, Five Guys was delicious.  Love those handcut fries.

{About the photos: that's Will looking majestic on the field turf.  I have several more photos that are trapped on my iPhone, patiently waiting to be uploaded.  Someday...}    

ETA (edited to add): BGD saved the day and I now have iPhone photos. Yay me! Yay BGD!            

Vacation Recap: Duxbury Beach

When we lived in Plymouth, driving onto Long Beach in BGD's 4WD Golden Chariot was one of the highlights of the summer of 2004.  Fast forward to 2009.  We don't live in Plymouth and our town is without a drive-on beach.  But we still have the 4WD vehicle.
What's a beach lovin' family to do?
What all the cool kids do--but a non-resident oversand permit for Duxbury Beach!
We made our first visit on Friday.
Q: Why did the Bowleses  drive over the Powder Point Bridge?
A: To get to the drive-on beach.

Q: Who are those people walking on the bridge and why are they carrying their tiny dog?
A:  Don't know.

Q: Which dog is that and why does she appear to be in the front seat?
A: That's Maisy.  Jake stayed home, he's not a big fan of car rides.  BGD theorizes that he's been traumatized by too many 900 mile treks between NC & MA.  Maisy started out the ride in the 'back-back', then climbed over and sat with the kids.  By the time we were on the beach road she was in my lap in the front seat.

Q: Why is Ebby wearing a fleece coat at the beach?
A: On Friday it was still a bit chilly (70 degrees) with a sea breeze.

Q:  Why is there a picture of Cuyler and Will sitting in the car?
A:  Because they both declared they wouldn't be getting out of the car.  But they both did.

Q: Who did you send that picture of the kids, Maisy and Jen to?
A: To Uncle Steven to let him know we were thinking of him while he's recovering from his man surgery.

Q: Were you the only people on the beach?  And wow, that's a long leash you have for Maisy
A:  We were not the only people at the beach, but we did have plenty of space all to ourselves.  I guess you could say we're fans of the retractable leash (and the Hidden Pet Fence).

Q: Why did Will bring a gun to the beach?
A: That's not just any gun, that's a radar gun that clocks the speed of anything that passes by.  It was a Christmas gift from Marianne of Westchester.

Q: Cuyler & Will look pretty comfortable with the soccer ball, do they play on a team?
A: Nope, the only organized sport the boys play so far is rec. league basketball.  They do enjoy playing soccer in gym, at recess and at home.  Oh, and at the beach.

Q: How many pictures did you have to take before both BGD and Maisy were looking at the camera?
A: Three, I think.

Q: Cuyler's clothes look a bit dark in one of those pictures.  What's up with that?
A: His clothes are dark because they're wet.  Ebby and Cuyler were frolicking in the waves and Cuyler 'tripped' into the water.  He was wet and sandy for the ride home.  But stayed in remarkably good spirits.

Duxbury is certainly a beautiful beach, looking forward to spending many hours there as the weather gets warmer. 
Well, just as soon as we get our tow rope and our plywood square.

 

Live blogging from the beach

Sitting at the beach enjoying the late afternoon sun. Cuyler and Ebby both totally dunked in the water--twice. Will decided to skip the beach today and is at home watching the NFL draft with Daddy and the dogs. Ebby and Ally are walking the beach for the second time. Cuyler is collecting rocks and putting them in my shoe.
Next stop, Dairy Queen of course!

Happy Earth Day!

Hopefully the cherubs will be able to get out and enjoy the earth before it starts raining again and hopefully the pups won't enjoy the earth so much that they have to be bathed...again.
Have a great, carbon-footprint-reducing day: bring a reusable bag to the store, take public transportation, don't eat beef, reuse your drinking glass, plant a tree, switch out your lightbulbs to CFLs, plant a vegetable garden.
See, it's pretty easy being green.

Hanging Around

Vacation week is moving right along, lots of photos to share but I don't want to overwhelm you so I'll take it slow.
One day last week, the man in the brown truck brought us a tall, square box with the return address, 'The Hammock Store'.  Now, seeing as I didn't just fall of the turnip truck, I knew it wasn't a boxed set of the entire Get Smart series from the 60s (which has also made an appearance at our house at some point in the past).  It was indeed, a hammock.  Apparently BGD is doing his own (early) Father's Day shopping again.
No matter, among other outdoor projects this weekend, the hammock was installed.
It took a few tries and several measurements to find 2 trees that were the right distant apart but finally we succeeded.  After a relatively painless installation, the hammock was ready for business.
Then the relaxation began.
Of course getting into a hammock isn't always as easy as one might think.

Just ask BGD.      


   

Let the Vacationing Begin!

It's sunny and warm, the perfect Friday for starting April vacation.
If only the sunshine could drown out the near constant whining and fighting.

At least the dogs are quiet.

Happy Weekend!

Dirty Rice

Last night I made Uncle Ben's brown rice for the boys.
Usually they like rice, brown or white.
Usually I make the boil-in-the-bag variety of rice.
Last night I made the mix-with-water-and-boil-on-the-stove-top variety of rice.

The reaction was strong.

Will:  (nearly choking and spitting his rice out) This tastes like dust!!

Uncle Ben, I am so disappointed.

Whereas I had to rush out to pick up BGD from the stranded commuter rail train that was stopped due to a suspicious device on a car in downtown Hingham which was not, as feared, a bomb, but rather a GPS tracking device placed by a private investigator working on a custody case, I told Ebby to give him some cereal and dashed out the door.

Another Martha Stewart moment for me, no doubt.

Savannah Pictures

Recently, my dear cousin Laura brought to my attention the fact that I hadn't posted any further pictures of my Savannah trip.
But I have.
Just not here.
But, if you click on over to my Jen Bowles Design blog you will find many pictures from my trip. Just keep scrolling down or click on 'Savannah' in the right sidebar category list.

Enjoy!

{shown here: huge container ship coming up the Savannah River, fountain at Forsyth Park}

Candy Coma

How was your Easter?
We had a lovely day here at Bowlesville on the Hill.
First, the children hunted for their Easter baskets by finding hidden clues attached to sparkly wooden carrots.
Next, Daddy sent them on a high tech Easter treasure hunting by texting clues to the children.
By late morning, our guests arrived.
{Not pictured but present:  Uncle.  Not pictured & not present: Pa--he had a previous engagement.  In Florida.}

We had a buffet brunch which included ham, egg bake, roasted potatoes, fruit salad, stuffed French toast, (slightly burned) cinnamon rolls and assorted muffins.
We hid and hunted for Easter eggs (real and plastic).
There was a game of basketball involving the older brothers (Uncle & BGD) and the younger brothers (Cuyler and Will).
More gifts were exchanged.
There was a birthday cake for Grandpa!
Games, laughter, lounging and watching the Master's were also on the docket.
Oh, and there was candy.

Check out the 2009 Easter photo album.
Be sure to scroll down far enough to read the witty captions.
I spent a lot of time thinking of them ; )