Happiness is a Root Canal

Just ask my sister, Laura.  She flew out for a root canal from Randy which was too bad for her but great for me.  We used to fight like cats and dogs when we were little but I'm happy to say that those days are over.  Now we talk and talk and talk.  We talked while we biked.  We talked while we ran.  We talked while we made food {Pioneer Woman's heavenly salsa}.  We talked while we drove.  We talked while we went sightseeing.  The only time we didn't talk was when we were reading which made me feel like I was a kid again because we always read in our room we shared together.  It stinks not having a mom but having a sister is a pretty great substitute.

We biked to the beach.  I pulled the boys there, which was mostly downhill, and Laura pulled them back home, mostly uphill.  I love that she is in such great shape!

We discovered a new beach! 

It's beautiful but not a good one for swimming

But the humongous houses along the beach are a nice perk.

Because we only have a handful of weekends left in RI {I refuse to count exactly how many because I'm in denial that we leave on July 24th} we took Laura along on our family trip to Block Island.  It was no small task getting all the bikes loaded and down to the ferry dock but Randy is the man.  Ethan is the greatest for keeping up with all of us even though his bike is small, without gears, and there were a lot of hills. 

Riding the Block Island ferry

Marcus was born a teenager

Ethan is in heaven at the beach

We saw this boat with the excavator tip over and sink.  Someone got fired that day.

I love my Parker

Took this one for Linz.  I love the black sand

No filter or photoshop on this pic.  It's just that beautiful

Bookends

Rocks + water = hours of entertainment

I want this license plate on my van

Randy pulled the boys around the island with our very heavy, very full of stuff, Chariot.  Didn't even break a sweat!

Block Island, you were a dream.  The epitome of all things New England from lighthouses and rocky beaches, to seafood and grumpy locals.  Thanks for the memories!

The Bucket List is in Full Swing

The countdown is on.
Randy has a job {I'm super excited but he told me not to make a big deal about it and deleted my celebratory blog post}, we are in the middle of purchasing a home, and will be leaving RI the last week in July. 
In an attempt to make every second count, we crossed another thing off our bucket list: Purgatory Chasm.  Doesn't it just sound ominous?  Well it was pretty scary.  Even I, a person who disregards most safety precautions much to Randy's chagrin, was constantly scanning the area as I waited for someone to plunge to their death.  It was a wonder no one got hurt which makes me feel foolish for worrying.  That's Randy's job.
Randy took his scouts on an over-nighter to Block Island which is one of our most favorite places in New England.  We've have only been there once and going the second time with the scouts made Randy remember the awesomeness of Block Island so he bought us all souvenir t-shirts.  I mocked him for it and then made everyone wear them on the same day just so I could laugh because the boys have never been there but now they look like big fans.  So here are the pics from Purgatory Chasm and Block Island.

Finally, one of my boys gets to go with Randy on his scouting adventures!

Marcus was quite proud of cooking the bacon by himself.  I have failed as a mother if he thinks that qualifies as cooking.

Block Island beaches are gorgeous

Marcus crashed on the couch the next day.  Randy isn't the only one who doesn't get any sleep on these campouts

We LOVE Block Island.  Maybe someday we will all go there together!

Picnic at the park

A playground that is actually fun!  And it spins!

Purgatory Chasm - my boys were in climbing heaven

We kept Parker alive by keeping him in the backpack

The forest was beautiful

Entering the slot

Slurpees tasted heavnly after the humid hiking

Block Island Adventure

Wow!  Sometimes I get to do awesome things,  like take a ferry to a tiny little island and spend the day exploring and I think, "Wow!  This is so much better than sitting at home doing mundane things like folding laundry or cleaning the kitchen!" Not to mention the fact that Rhode Island suddenly got so much cooler now that I've been to the quaintest, most picturesque little island a few miles off the shore called Block Island.  I've been to Martha's Vineyard and trust me, Block Island is better.  Much, much better. 
This all happened because my good friend/running buddy has a birthday a week before mine so we celebrated together by spending the day with our husbands biking around little Block Island.  I had friends watch the boys so I could enjoy a whole day of sightseeing bliss which was so great for me and so nice of my friends.  {Thanks Tami and Lindsay!}
Block Island is only ten square miles and there's a lighthouse on each end of it with beautiful beaches, farms, and quaint homes in between.  My only regret was not taking my camera so I could really get some good photos. 

Saying goodbye to the RI coast

The husbands trying to avoid seasickness on the ferry ride.  Of course Alysa and I were fine because we're tough like that.

Lighthouse #1

The lighthouse overlooks these cliffs

The last time I saw a beach this beautiful and untouched was in Okinawa

Matt and Alysa - they look like teenagers but they're actually older than us

The sand was like walking on brown sugar

Stopping to get directions

Old rock walls and weathered barns = New England at its best

Quaint little Main Street

More beautiful ocean

Lighthouse in the distance

Off in the distance is Long Island, NY

I took this picture for my boys and now they want me to paint my minivan.  I'll have to think about it.

Lighthouse Number 2

This quaint little inn with the pink adirondack chairs was called Gothic Inn.  Worst name ever.

To all our friends/house guests who have visited us in RI: I owe you my deepest apologies for not taking you to Block Island.  You're just going to have to come back again because you seriously missed out on this one!