Boston!!

Trent and I just returned home from a kid free weekend in Boston to celebrate both of our birthdays and our anniversary. Baby Mason stayed in Jerome with Grandma and Grandpa. Although we missed him like crazy, it was nice for the two of us to get away for awhile! We saw a lot of very interesting historical landmarks, saw a Tom Petty concert, ate a lot of seafood, rode on a few boats and had a great time!!

We visited the Public Garden, where I insisted on finding the bench where Robin Williams and Matt Damon filmed Good Will Hunting. People had written quotes from Robin Williams movies all over it, so we had to contribute by writing "Beeee yourself!" He has always been one of my favorite actors and it was neat to see how many other people loved him as well.

These are the duckling statues from the childrens book "Make Way for Ducklings," which is based in Boston. 

We also visited the Cheers bar! The set is upstairs and there is an actual bar and restaurant downstairs, which used to be called Bull and Finch Pub. That was where the producers met before they created the show and based the setting for the show on that pub. 

The second day of our trip we did the Freedom Trail, which is a 2.5 mile self guided tour of all of the historical landmarks throughout the city. Right next to our hotel was the site of the first public school in the US. 

This picture was taken inside the Old South Meeting house. This is where the Sons of Liberty would meet to plan different events leading up to the Revolutionary War, such as the organization of the Boston Tea Party and to protest the Boston Massacre. It was also where Benjamin Franklin was baptized and where George Washington spoke after the end of the war. 

This is the Old State House, where the government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was located following the war. It is also where the Boston Massacre occurred, and following the evacuation of British troops, where the Declaration of Independence was first read to the people.

This picture is from the balcony of the Old State House, where the Declaration of Independence was read.  The circle on the ground is supposed to mark the place where the Boston Massacre happened. Actually, it would have been closer to the entrance of the Bank of America building across the street, the bank just didn't want to put a landmark there, so it was moved near the State House! This is where five citizens were killed after a stand off with British troops. 

Trent and Paul Revere....

The Battle of Bunker Hill Monument.

We also toured the USS Constitution, the oldest warship in the world! It's nickname is "Old Ironsides" because in the War of 1812 the British were amazed that their cannonballs would bounce off the side of the ship and not sink it. They were sure the ship had to be made of metal, so it got it's nickname. (the sides are actually made of wood)

Below deck where 500 men used to sleep.

The ship still sails the harbor once in awhile for tourists.

There were two cemeteries near our hotel- the King's Chapel Burying ground, which is the oldest cemetery in North America, and the Granary Burying ground. The first female pilgrim to set foot in the US is buried in King's Chapel and many famous people are buried in the Granary cemetery, including Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and the victims of the Boston Massacre. 

 Mother Goose's headstone.

 The combined grave of the Boston Massacre victims.

We took a boat to Salem, where a lot of their tourism is based on the Salem Witch Trials. Halloween is the huge holiday for them.  Over one hundred thousand people come to Salem to celebrate Halloween!

There are a lot of beautiful mansions there....

This was a wand shop, very similar to the one in Harry Potter!

Back in Boston, we ate lunch in Little Italy, which has 150 Italian restaurants in a very small district. We also waited in this huge line...

For this cannoli....

Which was delicious. Time well spent. :)

And of course, the main reason we went to Boston was to see Tom Petty play at Fenway Park! It was so much fun to see one of our favorite musicians play at such a historical venue!

Jackie Robinson's number.

We had such a great time!

But we were happy to get home to our baby.

And show him his souvenir. 

Adoption Finalization

On August 19th we went to court to finalize Mason's adoption! Utah law requires that we wait six months before we can finalize, so we were happy that the wait was over and he is now legally part of our family.

Trent and I both had to swear into the court,then our attorney had to ask us a few questions to testify on the record. Mostly making sure that we understood that the adoption was permanent and that we had full responsibility for Mason. After we were sworn in,  the judge looked at me and said "Jessica, there is no way I'm going to let you testify while you're holding that baby." Trent looked confused for a second and said he could hold him while I testified, but the judge said "No no, Trent. You don't get to hold him either. Give him to me." :) 

 I went up to the bench and handed Mason over to the judge. Luckily Mason is a pretty calm baby and he just sat on the judge's lap and looked at him. This Judge keeps a box of toys in his courtroom for kids, and the entire time we were talking, he was helping Mason pick out a toy! So while we were going on the record as his official parents, Mason got to sit on the Judge's lap and chew on a Donald Duck stuffed animal. :) 

After we testified, our attorney asked the judge if there were any other questions he had for us. He said "Now Trent, you know this is permanent! When he crashes the car at 16, we don't want to see you back here!" And he told Trent that he was putting him under court order to let me pick the restaurant where we went to lunch to celebrate. It was pretty obvious that he is a family man and that he looks forward to these cases. Since Mason was being good, he passed him around to all of the different people that worked in the court (the picture above is of him cuddling with the court reporter!). Finally, the Judge brought him up to his chair and handed him his gavel, which of course Mason immediately put in his mouth. I'm pretty sure that not everyone who walks through that court gets to sit in the Judge's chair and chew on the gavel!

We were so grateful to have such a kind Judge who made the hearing so much fun for us. After it was over, we filed his permanent adoption paperwork and he will be getting his birth certificate soon with his legal name on it! We are overjoyed to have the entire process complete. 

More Summer Fun...

We have had a busy summer, it's hard to believe that it's almost over! Our garden has been a little late this year, but we are starting to get a lot of vegetables from it. Lots and lots of green beans, tomatoes, strawberries and peppers, and our cucumbers are finally starting to grow too. We planted sunflowers from seed in May and they have grown so quickly! They're huge!

Mason is just getting bigger and bigger. He's in the 90the percentile for height and 50th for weight, so he is a tall and skinny boy!

That Top Pot onsie is from Trent's favorite doughnut shop in Seattle. :)

Mason has been camping a few times this summer and he has done really well, he never seemed to mind sleeping in a tent. Since he gets to sleep in his playpen, he is more comfortable than the adults who are sleeping on the ground! 

Here he is on his second camping trip....

And even though we've been in Utah awhile, he's still a Boise State fan.

Looking stylish in his hat from Grandma Vickie...

And his minion hat from his Aunt Lizzie! 

Bonding with Dad at a Real game.

 Getting ready to hike!

He already loves Ramen, just like his dad!