May happenings

May 29, 2016

I guess we had too much happening in May for me to blog. So many highlights, here we go:

1. Chris graduated from Pepperdine and now is a Dr. Chris and I flew to LA for his graduation and then had a quick layover in Salt Lake City where we got to see the Utah family.

2. Nicholas turned six.

3. Yardwork and we are enjoying much better weather.

4. Nicholas is a great poser. Always posing when the cameras out.

5. Baseball 3 to 4 times a week for Andrew.

6. Ben spent the better half of the month recovering from a concussion from a kick to the head during a soccer game. He even missed a week of school.

7. I took a quick trip to New York for work and got to catch up with some old Stampin' up! friends.

Spring Break & Brooks family visit

April 30, 2016

THANK YOU Brooks family for an amazing visit. So much fun! Geoff, Ky & the kids came from Utah for a visit over spring break. We packed it in, everyday something new.

Ky ran the 120th Boston marathon. So impressive! We watched and cheered her along. There were so many people cheering it made me tear up. Many spectators along the route provided water, food, lube and basically looked out for all of the runners needs. With Chris' navigation skills we were able to see Ky 4 times along the route! We even caught up to Melissa once. When we hit the city we were blown away by how many spectators. Geoff and I tried to find Ky after the run and it was insane to navigate. 27,491 runners and 500,000 spectators. WHOA!

The night before the marathon we had a quick Sunday dinner with our family, the Brooks Family and Paul and Missy (Melissa ran the marathon as well). It was so great to catch up with everyone and it literally was the first time we've had more than 2 guests over. LOL.

I should have posted pictures daily. Instead I'll bombard and download highlights from the week here. We had such a great time. Come back soon!!!

Boston Duck Tour - the kids got the drive the boat!

Antiques! - Pyrex bowl sets for 45$ & 60$ - Mom you got a deal!

Even though the older boys aren't shown in pictures they had a nice spring break too. Ben spent the first 1/2 of break in DC for a School trip. 80 kids took DC by storm. Ben got some visit time in toward the end of of the week. I believe he kicked Geoff's butt multiple times in FIFA.

Andrew had 3 baseball games, more driver's ed, game nights with friends and also tagged along on most of our adventures above. He's good at avoiding the camera!

All fixed! Super broke.

April 10, 2016

Scout is all fixed or neutered rather. I won't tell you how much it cost to do this in Massachusetts cause it'll make you cry, and maybe even swear (like I did). Everything here is so expensive. Dumb on me not to ask the fee before we did it. I just assumed it would be comparable to when we had Lucy spayed or Samson fixed. WRONG. We love the vet we found but we may shopping around.
At least the dog it cute, that is something.

Mallett March Happenings

March 31, 2016

Hello Family and Friends! Hope all is well. As we dig out from the cold of winter it seems our March ended up being pretty busy! Here are a few highlights.

In case you missed it - Chris successfully defended his dissertation is is all set to graduate in May! We are so proud of him and all of his accomplishments. Hooray for being done with school. Boo for student loans.

Chris has also been traveling a bit. Seattle, LA, Portland (OR), and next week DC for a meeting at the White House! I hope he gets to see the Cherry Blossoms. I think they are peaking this week.

Spring sports have started... Congratulations to Andrew for making the JV baseball team!!! He has spent the last six months practicing, prepping and working hard to strengthen his pitching arm, This kid is dedicated to baseball! He has had no pain in his pitching arm for over 6 months with daily PT and biweekly PTherapist visits. We are proud of him as he continues to work hard at his baseball goals.

Ben is starting another season of outdoor competition soccer. He just ended a successful Futsal season. Soccer is all about practice! His team has been practicing for a few weeks now. He has another practice tonight and will continue with a couple practice sessions every week and at least one weekly game throughout the season. Along with soccer Ben is also on the school track team. Daily track practice starts Monday. This kid will be busy and in shape this spring.

Nicholas is also a little soccer star. He finished a 6 week indoor session last week and is now onto outdoor soccer. His team starts up next week. Nic is also into all things musical and artsy. I am searching now for beginning dance and music lessons. I found a kids hip hop class that I think would be a good fit. He had a serious cry the other day when he learned this is the last season of American Idol. He said "now I will never get to try out for American Idol". LOL. Sweet boy.

The dogs are well and are also excited for Spring. Lucy has gained a bit of weight with all of these extra puppy training treats and rewards. She needs to start working out! Scout is a PUPPY. A mellow puppy but still a puppy. He can get into trouble. He can open the door from our garage into our house. While comical it poses a problem. We were out running errands the other day and I left the dogs in the garage, usual protocol. We came home to the garage house door open, both dogs in the the house and Nic's Easter basket goodies all but consumed. Scout was fine but Nic wasn't. Ha! Scout will be fixed early next week, punishment? Nah, already scheduled. Scout STATS: 6 months, 54 lbs.

A huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Chris. He survived another year around the sun. Yippee! We had a small celebration last night with dinner (chicken cordon blue), cake (not my best) and presents. After we watched some OJ. Are you watching OJ? So fascinating!

I am well. Busy with freelance work and forever grateful for it. I can't wait to get outside and work in the yard. Maybe today even? To do: Taxes, yuck! As always I need to loose some winter weight. This year did not serve me well. I started Atkins. I've never done a carb / sugar free diet. I'm 5 days in and getting less grumpy by the day. Wish me luck!

A few random notes. Added some lights to the house = Yeah. Subaru car repairs = broke, big time. Nic Dentist = NO! Andrew is driving more and more = Yippee!

Hope your March was fabulous. Love and and hugs to all!

LA weekend w/ Dr. Mallett

March 21, 2016

He DID IT! Chris has successfully defended his dissertation and submits his manuscript for publication this week. Woohoo! What an accomplishment, he has worked so hard over the last 5 years. Chris says we can't call him Dr. until graduation in May but I say whatever! He is not a title guy so I am taking advantage of the title novelty and newness and teasing him a bit.

Chris had to defend in person at the Pepperdine campus in LA. Tough gig so I decided to tag along (yeah for FF miles). After the work we played! Museum, various beaches, good food and relaxation. It was a quick but memorable weekend. Leslie was gracious enough to stay and watch the kiddos. HUGE THANK YOU!

As I write this I am looking out our window at the 5+ inches of snow I need to shovel. I am in denial! We welcomed the firs day of spring and now snow! Oh well. Off to shovel while I reminisce about beaches.

LA weekend - Venice, Manhattan & Santa Monica beaches/scenery

TEXTURES - Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Urban Lights - Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Chris is always faking me out with celebrity sightings. It's not too hard since everyone in LA looks like the Kardashians but on our way home we spotted Lawrence Fishburne AKA MORPHEUS! Geeking out a bit for Beau I quickly texted him (as the Matrix movies were his favorite growing up). He send back this. LOL.

The color of March

March 13, 2016

I am so very happy we had a mild winter this year. I think we deserved it after the record breaking winter from last year.

This March, so far, has been warmer than last March and the world around shows signs of awakening. Soon all of this will be green but for now ... this rusty, tan, brown is the color of March. Right down to the two golden retrievers that are finally enjoying some outdoor time.

**Annisquam Harbor Light Station 2/2016**

Lighthouses in February

March 6, 2016

Mom with Annisquam Harbor Light Station in background - 2/2016 — Mom with **Annisquam Harbor Light Station in background - 2/2016**

When mom was here we spent a day seeking out the coast and a few lighthouse North of Boston. These were shot in FEBRUARY! Can you believe it? The only indication that is was bitter cold is the freezing people in the companion shots.

The above shots are of Annisquam Harbor Light Station. This lighthouse was Established in 1801 and is one of the oldest in Mass. It is not open to the public and was tricky to get to. In fact we may have trespassed a little to get these shots.

American artist Winslow Homer (1836-1910) lived at Eastern Point Light in 1880. Below are views of the Eastern Point Lighthouse and Harbor. I found the harbor views most interesting.

Shot of Nic looking out from lighthouse base.

Eastern Point Lighthouse in Gloucester, MA 2/2016

from a c. 1915 postcard.Breakwater & Eastern Point Lighthouse, Gloucester, MA; from a c. 1915 postcard. (Public Domain) — from a c. 1915 postcard.
Breakwater & Eastern Point Lighthouse, Gloucester, MA; from a c. 1915 postcard. (Public Domain)

This impromptu day trip has created further interest with Chris and I in seeking out lighthouses. Likely more posts in the future.

A visit from Mom!

March 3, 2016

What a week! My mom came for a visit. She has never been to MA before or New England for that matter so we really tried to pack it in. The boys were in school so during the day she and I did all sorts of touristy and sight seeing stuff. Since I am fairly new to the area many of our trips were new to me as well. In the off time we sat and visited, played games with the kids, watched movies, walked the dogs, crafted and basically chilled. Mom even made here famous chocolate chip cookies - which proves it can be done here. It was SO NICE to have her here and I hope she come back every week, or month or year!

We LOVE you Mom/Grandma! Hope you had a wonderful trip.

North coast day trip to seek out a few lighthouses. COLD!

Sleepy Hollow cemetery, burial spots for Thoreau, Alcott, Emerson to name a few.

Winter Break! A few days at Attitash

February 23, 2016

It's been a couple of years since our entire family has been skiing together. We fixed this problem last week with a couple of days at Chris' hometown ski resort, Attitash. We stayed onsite and it was super fun to wake up and ski right out the door. Nic took a couple of lessons and we all skied! And while cold, the days couldn't have been prettier.

Ice castle in Lincoln NH

February 23, 2016

A little delayed but here are some fun pictures our night trip to the Ice Castle in NH. We went with Megan and her kids and it was a great night. So many fun places to take pictures!

The view around our house of our snow covered trees.

Snow days

February 9, 2016

A regular weekend turned into a 4 day weekend, sandwiched by two snow days. The powers that be don't mess around when it snows around here. Friday's forecast predicted 6-8" of snow which triggered a school cancellation on Thursday night. Another forecast for Monday 6" triggered another snow day. It's strange to have the kids sitting home from school (before the snow even starts). As predicted, we got dumped on. They know their snow.

Before we checked the weather Chris has bought tickets to go see Masefield Perkins Fishman & Bolles (Fishman aka drummer for Phish for those not familiar) in Portsmouth, NH. We decided to brave the 1 hour drive and had a great time listening to a night of Jazz in a very intimate venue. Not the best pics but documented all the same.

Masefield Perkins Fishman & Bolles is the jazzy, bluegrass-y Vermont supergroup featuring Jamie Masefield (of The Jazz Mandolin Project), Doug Perkins (Smokin’ Grass), Jon Fishman (Phish) and Tyler Bolles (Swale).

A great thing about living here is so many nearby places with things going on. You can hit a band/event/something almost every day within an hour drive. So ... Saturday, Chris and Ben decided to hit the campaign trail and track down a few candidate rallies. Since the NH primaries are today, every candidate can be seen with little effort. I'm not sure anyone in particular won over Chris but he said it was fascinating all the same. Beau - they had tickets to see Bernie but got burned out after Clinton (lol).

Let's SKI! Nic started ski lessons this weekend. While he has been skiing 3-4 times with us he needs a little more help to get him up and going with the rest of the family. For the next 4 Saturdays Nic has lessons at Nashoba. Isn't he the cutest little skier?

Ben and Andrew also enjoyed the snow weekend with much needed relaxation from a serious week or two of midterms. Say screen time. Andrew also played winter ball, worked out a bit and continued with his throwing program. The weekend involvedchores & shoveling - lots of it.

January recap

February 4, 2016

I've been hunkering down working a bunch of hours lately so I have been neglecting the personal blog updates. All is well in Mallett land.

We have enjoyed a mild weather January. It feels like spring. I know this won't last but it makes daily walks with the dogs so much more pleasant.

I celebrated another year last weekend! GO 42! Andrew & Ben volunteered to watch Nic while Chris took me into the city for a spa day and a nice night at the Liberty Hotel. The Liberty is the old Boston prison converted into a luxury Hotel. We enjoyed nice food and people watching. It was a great birthday. Family and friends sent nice gifts and birthday wishes. It feels great to be remembered. THANK YOU!

The dogs are well. Puppy training is helping keep Scout in line. Nicholas loves him so much that sometimes his hugs are little to hard and invoke a tiny growl from Scout. Lucy is enjoying feeling young again and I am constantly picking up stuffed animal guts as these two dogs can really tear them apart.

Ben and Andrew are great but, as you know, not too willing for photos. Andrew is enjoying ski team and is improving daily. The snow here is different from Utah and he has a bit of a learning curve. Andrew made the local paper the other day. Benefit of living in a small town.

Ben and team won a soccer tournament. Five games spread out over a Saturday their team won 4 of 5 games and Ben had a 4 game shut out with NO goals scored! He played super well and had a great time!

Chris spent a large chunk of time finishing his chapter 4 & 5 of dissertation. These are out for review right now and hopefully with minor edits he'll graduate in April!!!

New Blog for personal stuff

January 26, 2016

Hi everyone! I made a few simple changes to my website recently. Most obvious is creating a personal blog and moving personal posts to this blog. My site has a couple of different audiences. While I know BOTH audiences are totally interested in my personal posts I thought separating the two made sense as I try to grow my craft blog. I have been hesitant to post too much crafty and too much personal and now I don't have to be so selective. Now I may even post what I ate for lunch. Kidding - I'll try to keep it real. So far I have moved personal posts from Sept 2014 forward. I will likely continue to move posts in the coming weeks.

As always, thanks for stopping by, reading, commenting and keeping up with us on our life's adventures. Hugs.

Folding socks. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY! psych.

NYC day 3

January 3, 2016

Our last day in NYC had us strolling around the town playing tourist. We took a trip to central park and walked the sights. We all enjoyed greasy diner lunch food at Astros. Shopping and food.

Chris and I capped off the night with another Phish show. This show was more mellow and full of long jams. It was a good show. We had much better seats. I was able to score posters for all 4 nights. Woohoo!

NYC day 2

January 1, 2016

Happy New Year! We had a fun and memorable day yesterday. We started our morning with a nice walk and breakfast. Then a subway ride downtown to see the WTC memorial and museum. After we took another subway uptown, had dinner and went to the Phish NYE show at Madison Square garden. Stellar show, so much fun.

Grammy took Nic ice skating! Looks like he had a great day too!

NYC day 1

December 31, 2015

Great first day in NYC for the New Years Holiday. We arrived mid day and set off to the MOMO. The crowds were unreal but we still got up close with some awesome art.

We strolled around a bit stopping at St. Patrick's cathedral where we sat in on Mass briefly, toured the building and saw the nativity.

Then strolled to Rockerfeller Center with the masses. Stopped by 30 rock for Ben.

The boys were tuckered out so Chris and I went to Amma (Indian cuisine) without them and enjoyed a tasting meal.

Holiday Hugs from the Malletts

December 25, 2015

We hope you are having a wonderful Christmas and Holiday season. Sending Holiday Hugs your way. Here is our Christmas card this year, complete with a calendar year in review on the backside. Merry Christmas!

I love this image of Nicholas on the back so I decided it would make a great mailing label. He is too cute!

Puppy love!

December 22, 2015

Boy ... we are all so in love with our new little puppy! Scout is a sweet boy and fairly mild mannered. He is a beautiful dog and LOVES Lucy, I think he has finally won her over. Lucy is happy.

Scout had his second vet appointment today. Two weeks ago he weighed 16lbs. He now weighs 24lbs. What a chunk! He is growing like mad. Soon he'll be a puppy in a full sized body.

Tree Throwback

December 19, 2015

Throwback to a few weeks ago when we took the dogs on a walk and impulsively decided to chop down a tree! We reuse our tree every year and have never cut one down before. When in the WOODS I guess... Nic had fun choosing a tree and I was able to make a wreath, swag and mini tree for our dining table from the tree we cut down. These pictures are from our adventure at Steele Farm in Boxborough.