swellesley.

May 28, 2013

Wellesley, massachusetts art in the park via seejaneblog

last weekend our town celebrated wellesley’s wonderful weekend – a weekend packed with small town traditional festive flair. only, we’re really not that small town. only, we are.

sela art in the park via seejaneblog

kiana was sick all weekend, but the younger three kiddos and i cruised around to all that we could to enjoy the festivities.

community art installation in the park via seejaneblog

my very favorite event was the art in the park. all of the picture frames were donated from our local recycling center – wrapped in ribbons for each artist to weave fabric through the ribbons however you pleased. the fabric was also donated. then the finished hand-weaved frames were attached with zip ties to the entire community project.

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Boston Common on Memorial Day via seejaneblog

Boston Common and the Rhodes family via Seejaneblog

dining at Boston Common via seejaneblog

memorial day in boston via seejaneblog

strolling through boston common via seejaneblog

character balloons in boston common via seejaneblog

wellesley girls at boston common via seejaneblog

leaving with flags via seejaneblog

33,000 flags. *the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund sponsors a Memorial Day flag display on the Boston Common, with a sea of flags representing Massachusetts service members who lost their lives in the line of duty.

at the end of the evening, each of my kiddos took home one of these flags as a token to remember those who have served our country.

God bless the U.S.A.

{all pictures by me, Jane Rhodes} *here.

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marblehead, massachusetts

April 18, 2013

my kids are on spring break this week, so we went exploring in marblehead, massachusetts yesterday.  and since spring has officially arrived here in boston we’ve been enjoying what nature has to offer daily.  we made three stops, two were recommended by a friend and the other we found all on our own – which i love. we also ate lunch at a cute, classic new england cafe’, and visited the local toy shop for kites and yo-yos. it was one of my favorite days in new england so far.

the first stop was castle rock –

castle rock, marblehead massachusetts via seejaneblog

marblehead, massachusetts via seejaneblog copy

at castle rock copy

sitting on castle rock via seejaneblog

hiking castle rock at marblehead massachusetts via seejaneblog

sitting with my girls on castle rock via seejaneblog

our second stop was chandler hovey park,

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mary had a little lamb house in massachusetts via seejaneblog.co

talking to children about difficult topics is a hard, yet crucial, part of parenting. in the past i’ve discussed the “birds and the bees” talk on seejaneblog. that is just one of many difficult subjects to discuss with children. today, i am sharing ten recommendations for having similar conversations with your kids. i would really like to hear what you have to say on the subject. head over to Boston Mamas right here to read the post!

good luck parenting, friends.  i’m having my roughest year yet – darn teenagers.

* picture taken via instagram @see_jane this past fall while visiting the schoolhouse that inspired the nursery rhyme mary had a little lamb.

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williams farm sugarhouse

March 6, 2013

this past weekend, i was craving family time and a road trip, so we combined those two and headed to central massachusetts to visit the williams farm sugarhouse:

sela at Williams Farm sugarhouse via seejaneblog

the smell of maple is billowing out the top of the sugarhouse…

Williams Farm Deerfield, MA

boiling the fresh maple:

KJ at Williams farm sugarhouse via seejaneblog

wood pile williams farm sugar shack via seejaneblog

maple treats via williams farm sugar shack

maple frosted donut from williams farm sugar shack via seejaneblog

increidbly delicious waffles from williams farn sugar shack via seejaneblog

pure maple syrup from williams farm sugar shack via seejaneblog

have you ever visited a sugarhouse? do you have a favorite one in the northeast? i’d love to know. those williams farm waffles were worth every minute of the two hour drive…

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a winters day at the beach…

February 25, 2013

as much as i love routine and traditions, i also love doing really random things that are brand new.

for example, going to the beach for a picnic in february…

a day at the beach in the winter via seejaneblog

winter picnic on the east coast via seejaneblog

playing wiffle ball on the beach via seejaneblog

KJ pitching wiffle ball on the beach via seejaneblog

winter picnic on nantasket beach via seejaneblog

wellies at the beach via seejaneblog

winter picnic at nantasket beach via seejaneblog

beach combing in the winter via seejaneblog

wellies and beanies on the beach via seejaneblog

Nantasket beach ma in february via seejaneblog

as i mentioned in my last post, my kiddos had a week long vacation. we spent our time playing with lots of friends, visiting museums, going to movies, and running around the beach in our wellies.

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