Wild Animal Farm

As a working mother, I really look forward to the weekends for two reasons: 1- I get a break from work and 2- I get to spend quality time with my family. I truly love being a mom, it is the greatest blessing I have ever received.
I find myself always wanting to do fun things with my family, to make sure Berkeley has the best childhood he can have. There is nothing better for me in life than to have these precious moments with my little man. No matter what we do, this kid is so much fun to be around; he is always making me laugh, smile as well as want to build my patience.

This weekend we took a trip to Mendon, MA (home of many of my ancestors) to go to the Southwick Zoo with my sweet friend Megan and her son, Quentin who is Berke's BFF.

I think this zoo is one of the better one's in the area and is worth the drive to get there. We saw 2 beautiful tigers walking around very close, we saw a family of adorable chimpanzees and lots of adorable monkeys and other zoo creatures.
The highlights for Berkeley were the petting zoo. He was cautious at first about these pesky animals, but warmed up quickly once he learned they were harmless.

He loved paling around with "Q".

The BEST part for both of the boys was the choo choo train! Berkeley pretty much asked about the choo choo for the entire trip to the zoo until we go on it, then he wanted to go on it again. It was one of the best zoo train rides I have been on, as it went through some beautiful wet lands and we were able to see and learn about these animals in their natural habitats.

Then there was the mist tent, which was Q's favorite part of the day. We had fun running through it and cooling ourselves off.

We saw some of a bird show, and after they let us hold the birds. Q loved having the bird on his arm, but cautious little Berkeley was having no part of it. So they put the birds on me instead, and Berke waved to the one on my arm.
This is when he realized there was a bird on mom's head, it was a priceless face!

As you can imagine, it was a pretty intense and fun filled day for all involved. As we drove home, Megan and I looked back to find our two sweet boys passed out.
Love these boys!

Summer time Fun in the Sun

We love the summer time in Mass because there is so much to do. We have been busy having fun since our return from out West.
We had fun at the Franklin Park Zoo with the Edwards Family. I didn't get any great pictures of Ian and Berkeley, but this one will do.

We ventured to Nahant Beach with my friend Diana from work. It was a very private and beautiful beach. The water was warm and the sand was perfect.
Berkeley LOVES the Beach! He loves to play in the sand, he loves to throw rocks into the water, he loves to have the waves hit him. He has been knocked over twice this summer by ocean waves and been completely submerged by water. This has no scared him or made him cry at all; he gets up and says, "Watch out for the Ocean."

We also ventured to Hampton Beach in New Hampshire with Nikki, Eloise and Bonnie. Berke could have stayed in the water all day long.

Berke put his dad's hat on and said, "I'm a cowboy, YeeHaw!"
I love the cute things he is always saying.

This past weekend we went camping in the Berkshires with our friends the Palmers. Their little boy Quentin, aka "Q" is one of Berkeley's bestest friends.

The boys had fun at Lenox Lake. Berke sat in there and played for a couple of hours, he was a little too brave and would have walked to his death in the lake if he was unsupervised. Next time I need to bring some floaties or a life jacket for this kid. For a kid who is cautious about everything, he has lost any fear of water he ever had.

Best Buddies! These two had fun getting dirty, going on walks, playing in the lake, finding rocks and sticks and laughing together.

The entire crew. Keep in mind this is after a weekend of camping and nobody looks great after camping even a day!
Poor Christian was seriously attacked by mosquitoes this year, he left with a grand total of 72 huge red bites! Yikes.

Never a dull moment in the summer.
We try to take advantage of the great place we live. After all, we put up with the crappy winters, so there has to be some sort of reward, right?