May 25 – June 5, 2019

Believe it or not, sometimes we get tired of hiking at the same old places. Then we get out the map and look for something new. On Memorial Day weekend, we decided to try a Mass Audubon property we’d never been to before. You’ll see that it was a hit.

Mina liked it because it had lots of accessories such as swings.

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And a rustic play area made from fallen logs, random pipes, and other interesting things.

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We’ve learned the hard way that Mina actually needs over-the-knee socks for hiking. The poor thing has twin skinned knees now.

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“Anh hai! Which way should we go?” Luckily it’s a loop.

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The real reason they loved this place was the combination of boardwalks and rocks to cross the creek – twice!

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I liked the ferns.

Here’s an interesting bit of trivia for you: at every Mass Audubon property, you can skip the map and just use the blazes. When they’re yellow, you’re heading away from the visitor center. When they’re blue, you’re headed back.

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Back at home, we finally got the water table out.

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Later that same day, Ba Noi and Co Ba came over and we visited Acton Arboretum.

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We really love this place in the spring because they’ve lined the path with wildflowers.

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The next day, we asked what they wanted to do. They looked at us with perfectly straight faces and said, “Let’s go back to where we were yesterday.” Even though it was a 40 minute drive! So we complied.

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Whenever I go for a morning run, I think, “Try to do it like Mina!”

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Mina’s eating a Milano cookie, in case you’re wondering.

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Yen’s latest gift to the kids: a Casio keyboard. They absolutely love it.

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The little ballerina off on a world tour.

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The next weekend we decided to visit another Mass Audubon spot we hadn’t seen in a while: Broadmoor. Mina was our tour guide.

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Linus brought his airplane along for the walk. Guess who ended up carrying it after about the first 50 yards.

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Linus’s favorite part, of course. Although he was pretty upset there wasn’t a water wheel at the bottom.

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Mina is still really excited about music. Whether it’s singing…

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…or playing the drums.

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Playing vacation again. She’s strapped into her seat just like on a plane, and she’s ordered a meal.

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And speaking of vacation, we are heading to Costa Rica in December, so we need to renew Linus’s passport! Check out this mug shot.

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He couldn’t keep it up long.

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Mina insisted on having her photo taken too. I’m not sure water wings are allowed in passport photos.

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